Why do generalised leadership programmes not work for women?
Businesses spend a shit load of time and energy on leadership training…and particularly given the ever present issue which sees women underrepresented in senior leadership positions, on ‘Women in Leadership’ programmes. Do they work? Are we clear on what we are asking them to do? Why do we continue to roll out the same programmes that do not seem to be changing anything?
According to the Women in the Workplace 2023 report conducted by McKinsey and the Lean In organisation, since 2018, the number of women in the C-Suite has increased from 22 to 28 percent. Whilst this is a promising 6 percentage point increase in 5 years, the underrepresentation (only 1 in 4 C Suite positions are held by women) remains wildly apparent. The same research reports three less favourable progress statistics:
Women of colour represent just 1 in 16 C-Suite leaders with only 54 Black women promoted for every 100 men in 2023.
Slow progress for women at the Manager and Director levels’ (only a 2 percentage point increase in 5 years for both categories) leading to a weak pipeline; and
The “Great Breakup” trend, discovered in the 2022 survey, continues for women at the Director level, the group next in line for senior-leadership positions. That is, Director-level women are leaving at a higher rate than in past years.
These hard-earned gains are encouraging yet fragile. Whilst companies are modestly increasing some women’s representation at the top, the ‘scaffolding’ is not in place to ensure that these women succeed.
I am 42 and I spent 15 years in the corporate world before birthing The Vibrancy Hub. I worked in both the UK and Australia in the world of finance and I have been led by many many leaders whilst also being responsible for leading teams of up to 50 people. I have been on leadership fast track schemes, been supported by leadership coaches / mentors and experienced more leadership training programmes than I care to remember! I've sat on the front row of the good, the bad and damn right UGLY!
We have created and built our Women Rising Programme to provide the scaffolding that women need not just to rise within their careers but to do a bloody great job when they are there and to STAY THERE without burning out.
And for this to happen, we need a very different approach. An approach grounded in women really understanding themselves. Deep self enquiry. Building a strong awareness of who they are and what they need, as individuals, to succeed. And then anchoring into the confidence to advocate for themselves.
This is the only way we will keep smart, sparky, ambitious and passionate women in our businesses.
In this article I wanted to dive into some of the problems that I have experienced which prevent traditional leadership training programmes from having the impact that they could…and how we have created a different approach to leadership development which negates these problems.
Women Rising is a 6-month leadership development programme with a difference!
It combines group coaching with one to one coaching and delivery of the programme comes in the form of deep self enquiry, small / larger group discussions of ideas and shared experiences, active listening, intention setting, somatic experiencing and physical movement, meditation and visualisation and collective action planning. The programmes brings up to 12 women together from the same organisation into a cohort, supporting them to collectively rise with impact through the organisation whilst maintaining their integrity, authenticity, radiance and joy.
Now let’s dive into four of the problems we have identified with traditional, generalised leadership development programmes…
Problem 1: Adopting a one size fits all approach
Many programmes introduce generalised tools to help you to become a better leader e.g. tools to better manage your time, have better conversations, become more visible etc. There is none to little individualised support. But this way of teaching assumes that these tools will work the same for everyone - despite how their brain works, how their lived experience impacts how they are perceived in the workplace, their needs, their preferences, their innate gifts etc
Our solution: We take time to understand the individual
Our programme might not be scalable in a way that many programmes are (and financially this might bite us in the arse!) but our programme focuses on getting to know the humans on a deep level and supporting them to find solutions that work uniquely for them and their unique situation:
We support the programme with one to one coaching where we can get under the bonnet of the individual - to see what is driving their behaviour, what might be keeping them stuck in unhealthy / unhealthy patterns and to explore individual tools that will support them to be more radiant leaders.
None of our module content is prescriptive, we encourage self enquiry and curiosity as the key tool of every module topic, encouraging them to ask the question “Could this idea work for me and if so, how?” For example, if we are working with the group to better manage their energy so they stop burning out, we will encourage them to get curious about their own energy reserves and cycles and consider their personal circumstances and limitations so they can find solutions that are ACTUALLY going to work within the context of their lives.
Problem 2: The chapter of the course that is often missing is the one about capitalism and patriarchy!
I get it - starting to talk about this shit can feel heavy, uncomfortable and maybe negative….when we want to empower and uplift women within organisations. However, these systems that are rarely spoken about are keeping women stuck in patterns of burnout, over-stretching themselves and self-abandonment. (They are also the systems that are keeping men stuck in patterns where they struggle to be honest, emotionally open and compassionate.) By not talking about these systems, we are not helping anything, we are merely keeping them in the shadow of unconsciousness so they continue to drive behaviours and make women feel ‘less than’ and like they need fixing
Our solution: We bring this shit out of the shadow and empower women to do something about it…alongside the men within their organisations
In the words of writer and feminist activist Laura Bates, we need to ‘Fix the systems not the women’. By understanding how the systems that we operate in might be hurting us all, it empowers women to stop thinking that they are broken and that they need fixing. If we want more women in their power and rising within organisations, we do not want them to be constantly changing themselves to fit in…this will just dilute their impact.
We gently lift the veil on patriarchy:
We support our cohorts to identify where systems and social conditioning may be hurting them and negatively impacting how they, and their co-workers, show up in the workplace. For example driving a culture of toxic productivity, encouraging inauthentic / perforative confidence etc
We dive deeply into authenticity and confidently anchoring into a unique leadership identity - looking at who you ARE as a leader not who you think you need to be.
We empower women to initiate change through inclusive communication - calling out where the systems may be at dissonance with their authenticity and call in friends, communities and colleagues to gently start changing the systems that are hurting us all.
Problem 3: Focusing on delivering content and teaching a syllabus of modules
So often we all know what we ‘should’ be doing but yet we still do not do the things that are good for us. I have been on many leadership programmes where I have felt inspired and interested in the content…and yet…no tangible shifts have occurred in my leadership style or my impact on the world. This is because my brain may have been stimulated but the deeper parts of my being are not online!
Our solution: We focus on connecting with the whole human and the connected experience
We appeal to the HEARTS as well as the minds of our cohorts and we adopt a more collective approach to change:
We adopt an ‘ask don’t tell’ approach - encouraging participants to interrogate how certain ideas and concepts feel and fit within the constructs of their own lives.We create space for people to not just adopt tools because ‘the data says they work’ but to connect deeply with themselves and listen more to their intuition, emotions and the wisdom that resides in their bodies
We focus on creating a space where everyone feels safe and supported enough to do to explore, to interrogate, to listen to each other and to share with honesty their own experiences. THIS is where the magic happens.
Problem 4: Focus on personal development
Many courses focus on YOU as an individual - how you can be better, get further and make more impact. This is feeding the individual, competitive environments that are present in so many organisations and getting in the way of collaboration and inclusive cultures where everyone rises and there is greater equality.
Our solution: Focus on the collective
We take so much time and care to ensure that we build a bond of trust, care and support between the women on our programmes. We start with the individual and self discovery, but then we take it further…to consider the collective and how everyone is contributing to the whole. Our women feel so much more empowered to make changes when they feel like they are part of a strong team of supportive peers all pulling in the same direction.
Common experiences that are observed through the programme: “The biggest positive shift has been feeling more connected and engaged with some of the amazing women I work with. While I've known many of them for a while, I never had the opportunity to really get to know them prior to participating in the programme, and since then I've greatly enjoyed being able to hear their perspectives, and to continue growing those connections outside the programme. It's a really positive shift from feeling quite isolated as one of the only women in my division and makes me feel empowered to drive change through the business.”
If you feel ready to consider something different when it comes to leadership development, we would love to have a conversation with you! Email: laura@thevibrancyhub.com. And cheers to together building a new paradigm of leadership.
Laura xx