What Women Know

Rachel Happe, Principle in The Community Roundtable, wrote a recent piece on "What Women Know and How it Drives Profitability". She makes the case that businesses with more women in senior leadership positions are more profitable and innovative. Here what she says about how what a woman knows translates into business success.

Women know high risk comes with high potential upsides and high potential downsides. She says that means women focus less on what could be and more on what can be today.

Women know relationships and know that the more open and transparent we are the closer the relationships are that we can foster. Rachel claims this allows women to form more enduring relationships that aren't built on weak links, like money and rewards.

Women know how valuable communication is - at all levels. According to Rachel that means people around her are better informed and therefore more trusting and open.

Women know how to navigate emotional conflict better and have an easier time discussion deep rooted differences of opinion between colleagues in a friendly way. This allow for early conflict resolution.

Women know how to identify subtle social ques and can tell when someone is being open. This allow more accurate assessment of customers and others.

Women know that telling people what to do is not the most effective way to lead.

Women know complexity. We can never focus on just work, or just money, or just family. It is always about the best decision for everyone rather than the best decision for just one constituent.

For me, a man, I find these as better descriptions of those rare people who make good leaders than any unique set of skills that a person has due to their gender. I've worked with too many women who were none of these... women who went on for months with "strategic planning" processes but couldn't decide to approve my order for lunch for tomorrow's training...women who whisper and close doors and hide plans until implementation is far more difficult...women who hold grudges that impact their business decisions for years, and years, and...women who leave a trail of devastated employees in their path. In short, women who are bad leaders.

I, for one, cherish the opportunity to work in an environment with diversity of ideas, where people are respected and trusted to be part of the team and where they show their commitment through their focus and accomplishments and not through their hours. The situation needs to include men and women and, for me, I value both.