Leading with Purpose

Transcription

1 Leading with Purpose Robin J. Ely Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration Senior Associate Dean for Culture and Community Celebration 60 Harvard Law School September 28, 2013

2 Leadership is... Enabling others to bring their best selves forward in service of a meaningful goal.

3 Leadership is... Enabling others to bring their best selves forward in service of a meaningful goal.

4 Leadership is... Enabling others to bring their best selves forward in service of a meaningful goal.

5 What the culture tells us The double bind Woman Warm Nurturing Communal Leader Competent Dominant Agentic Woman = Leader

6 Cultural Messages

7 Research Findings Experiment: MBA students evaluate two different versions of case of a successful woman entrepreneur (Heidi and Howard). Asked to evaluate style, competence, likeability, whether to hire. Outcomes: Equally competent and effective. He s more genuine and kind; she s more self-promoting and power hungry. He s more likeable and more likely to be hired. The more aggressive they perceived her; the more they disliked her. No effect for him. Frank Flynn and Cameron Mitchell, MBA Class experiment, NYU Stern School of Business

8 Hillary Clinton and the Double Bind

9 More Hillary...

10 And another...

11 Other Media Depictions England s Margaret Thatcher Israel s Golda Meir India s Indira Gandhi Attila the Hen the only man in the Cabinet the old witch -Richard Nixon Germany s Angela Merkel the iron frau

12 Advice in the Popular Media

13 The Scholarly Literature: Androgyny?

14 The Scholarly Literature: Androgyny?

15 Effective Leaders Effective leaders pursue purposes aligned with their personal values and oriented toward advancing the collective good (Fu et al., 2010; Lord & Hall, 2005; Quinn, 2004). Leaders hyper-focused on self-image/engaged in self-serving impression management are: Excessively concerned with meeting others expectations. Unable to step outside their comfort zone. Disconnected from their core values and purpose (Sosik, Avolio & Jung, 2002; Quinn, 2004).

16 Don t let stereotypes derail you Ask: What is necessary to get the work done? What kind of support do your subordinates, coworkers, & superiors need from you to be able to accomplish whatever the goal is? And then be responsive to those needs. 16

17 What we tell ourselves We get (the equivalent of) the following report card: MATH A ENGLISH C ART A SCIENCE A- HISTORY A+ What is our typical response?

18 The perfect is the enemy of the good! - Voltaire 18

19 What perfect looks like (behind the scenes!)

20 Can you relate??? 20

21 A Little Quiz 1. Have a hard time saying no? 2. Feel like you have no time for yourself? 3. Have a hard time prioritizing tasks? 4. Sometimes feel so depleted that nothing seems as important as getting some sleep? 5. Sometimes wonder why you are driving so hard? 6. Feel bad about how little time you spend with your family/friends/community? 7. Feel bad about leaving work on time/early/exiting altogether? Yes?? You are losing sight of what s meaningful to you!

22 Research Findings People who anchor their lives in a meaningful purpose report: Less depression, anxiety, stress, substance abuse, and workaholism More engagement in their work More control over their lives (Steger & Kashdan, 2013)

23 Create networks of support with other women Find safe spaces for learning, experimenting, community: Women-only leadership-development programs Lean-in circles Monthly dinner groups with similarlypositioned women

24 Research Findings Women partners Women peers Low Proportional Representation of Senior Women Being female is a liability: Double -binds Poor role models Act too much like men Too sexual Gender no basis for identification Not supportive Dysfunctionally competitive High Being female is indifferent/ a good thing Great role models Supportive Gender a positive source of identification Supportive Competitive, but able to stay in relationship

25 Leadership is... Enabling others to bring their best selves forward in service of a meaningful goal. People don t follow you because of what you do... They follow you because of why you do it. (Adapted from Simon Sinek)

26 What Is Your Work Purpose? In moments when you are at your best, what kind of work are you doing? What values or meaning characterize that work? Recall times when you have been most creative or felt most proud; what were you doing? When have you taken the strongest stand in your life? What were you standing for? How do you want to contribute? What impact do you want to have? Are you pursuing your purpose in your present work? How? If you died tomorrow, what regrets (if any) would you have about your professional life?

27 Tips on How to Lead with Purpose* 1. Clarify your values; state your commitments to someone out loud. 2. Think small. 3. Be specific. 4. Focus on what you will do, not what you won t do. 5. Make self-care a top priority (self-care selfishness!). 6. Focus your attention on the present moment, and ask yourself: Am I living in a manner that is aligned with what matters most to me? * From Ellen Ostrow, New Year s Resolutions: Personal Forthcoming in GP Solo, Nov./Dec