WITI OC Jan 19th recap: Why Women Need to Lead

Why Women Need to Lead.
By: Terry Dear, Program Chair for WITI OC and VP of Software Development for BMS, Inc.

January 19, 2017

WITI Orange County kicked off 2017 with 80+ enthusiastic women and men with a Will Marre (SMART Power Academy) event discussing the need for women in the new business paradigm. Sharing various research-based leadership sources, Will informed us why corporations need women to WIN, and more importantly for the ladies in the audience, how to strengthen your voice and gain new opportunities using SMART Power skills. In other words, how to kick butt (the woman way).

This recap is not going to give you the answer to life success. But will highlight a few interesting poignant points. First question is who is Will Marre? And why should we listen to him? Will is the co-founder and former president of Covey Leadership Center which brought The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to millions worldwide. He has over 25 years creating leadership breakthroughs at top organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Gap, Nike, GE, and Qualcomm. He is currently developing SMART Power leaders describing how women and men should use gender-based strengths to lead and work together. Embrace the cognitive diversity.


Della Mahone, WITI OC Leader with Will Marre

Being a skeptic, as this is a man's world, what could Will possibly say to change the future? Let's cut to the chase. There are two types of organizations: (1) Financially Driven corporations ... lots of ME-ism ... driven by acquisition, determined to make money in a highly stressful culture providing negative customer experience and negative employee experience (Philip Morris, Wells Fargo, Mylan), or (2) Purpose Driven corporations ... who applaud innovation, creating a pro-growth culture believing in value creation, creating a positive employee experience and customer experience (Patagonia, Starbucks, GE). Both models make money. It will take time for leaders to change their bias and understand what type of organization they want to run, and what does their work force want. Male leaders who succeed mistakenly believe that their leadership style is necessary for success. Until those leaders understand that the new business paradigm is about 'continuous value innovation' (e.g. Google), their companies will continue towards a death spiral. Look at Uber and traditional taxis. Did all the print media businesses declare corporate restructuring/bankruptcy due to the availability of news on the Internet?

Once you agree that the new business paradigm is about 'continuous value innovation', why should women lead? Women have CORE intelligence - which contains essential skills for the new agile, collaborative, and digital work environment.

Contextual
Operational
Relational
Emotional

What is the business case for women to lead?

1) Organizations must be agile to innovate and execute

2) CORE intelligence and thinking versatility are necessary to innovate and execute

3) CORE intelligence improves with male-female collaboration

4) There is a strong workplace bias that limit women from making their best contributions

5) Leadership synergy between men and women is essential for future success.

Let's look at some statistics.

> Whenever women make up 40% of leadership, organizational performance improves (Broad Influence: Jay Newton Small).

> Out of the 16 competencies top leaders exemplify most, the mean score for women was higher than men in all categories but strategic perspective (HBR - Women in the Workplace: A Research Roundup)

> Fortune 1000 companies with women CEO's averaged 37% greater profits than companies led by men. (Fortune.com)

Now here is the part that all women want to know. How do I talk and live each day like a leader? Will shared with the attendees his SMART Collaboration, SMART Power Alignment Dialogue, SMART Culture, and 11 commitments for SMART power leaders.

Key takeaways for all women who compete against men and what they should do more of...

> Men communicate powerfully and prolifically
- Women should have a vision and socialize it with confidence!

> Men demonstrate technical, professional or financial expertise
- Women should speak up calmly and clearly....don't apologize!

> Men communicate a strategic perspective
- Women should talk SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)

Will also talked briefly on how to work like a genius. Most of all:

- Have the courage to evolve from failure

- Stop beating yourself up...let go of mistakes

Check out photos of the event here. Attendees will be receiving a copy of Will's presentation via email.

To learn more about the WOMEN EFFECT, visit http://www.smartpoweracademy.com. On Feb 28, 2017 from 8am - 5:30pm in La Jolla, California, Will is guiding a one day seminar that elaborates on the SMART techniques mentioned above. Go more in depth on Pink Brain/Blue Brain. WITI members receives a 20% discount. Use this code, "WITIWE" when you register at http://www.smartpoweracademy.com/register

Will is also hosting a Facebook page for A Million Smart Women. https://www.facebook.com/aMillionSMARTwomen/?fref=ts

A special shout out to Point b (https://www.pointb.com/) who sponsored our event. Point b offers an exceptional breath of experience and a pragmatic approach to solving business problems depending on your industry. The Financial Services specialties are in Information & data security, Mergers & acquisitions, Process & performance improvements, Industry regulatory compliance, Risk management, and Technology innovation; while Healthcare expertise looks at Population health management, Consumerism, Retail and digital health, Regulatory compliance and cost efficiencies. Check them out (and they also have other industry expertise).

Opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of WITI.