Skip to main content

How To Increase Profits Through Gender-Balanced Leadership


"While the global population is largely gender balanced, men hold eighty-five percent of senior leadership positions in public companies," states Melissa Greenwell, author of the new book, Money on the Table: How to Increase Profits Through Gender-balanced Leadership.

Furthermore, Greenwell shares that at the current rate of change, most readers of her book this year will be dead before gender balance hits fifty percent.

And, the fact of the matter is, explains Greenwell, "Hardwiring in the brain is different for men and women. The physical differences are associated with natural tendencies in thinking, communicating, and problem-solving that are all needed in business. Men and women demonstrate these traits in varying degrees. Successful organizations have leaders who exhibit the characteristics of both genders."

Melissa Greenwell

"You are leaving money on the table and forfeiting your strategic advantage if you don't have women well represented on your boards and seniors management teams," argues Greenwell.

For those organizations who have gender-balanced boards, data is striking:

  • Since 2005, publicly traded companies with more than one women on their boards have seen stock market returns of a compound 3.7 percent a year higher than those with no female representation.
  • Firms with a higher proportion of women on the board have higher valuations, better returns on equity, and higher payout ratios.
  • In every sector, form telecommunications to utilities, companies with no gender balance on the board have lower-than-average market capitalization; those with three or more female board members exceed the average.
Citing evidence from Greenwells' book, a more gender-balanced board will see these benefits to the board's culture and behaviors:
  • Enhanced dialogue
  • Greater collaboration
  • Better decision-making, including the value of dissent
  • More effective risk mitigation and crisis management, with better balance between risk-welcoming and risk-aversion behavior
  • Higher quality monitoring of and guidance to management
  • More orderly and systematic board work
So, what do you do as a leader? Greenwell says, "Defy the norm. Throw out old policies and practices that get in the way of attracting and retaining women. If you want the best talent, you have to compete with organizations that already get it."

She adds, "Although the issue is one of diversity, it's different and must be specifically addressed."



Here are 10 steps to take for attaining greater gender balance:
  1. Don't accept that there aren't enough female candidates for your senior leadership roles.
  2. Increase your pipeline of female talent across the organization.
  3. Take more risks on your female employees. Take a second look at those who aren't raising a hand but need to be called upon. High-potential women often operate under the radar.
  4. Create an employment brand that attracts more females and retains the ones you've got.
  5. Keep your female talent. Do your practices and programs support women?
  6. Mentor your high-potential females. An effective mentoring program demands structure.
  7. Identify and communicate criteria for successful leadership.
  8. Establish a succession plan.
  9. Measure progress. Set goals for gender balance in your organization.
  10. Communicate all the above, clearly and often.
And, if you are a woman in a organization, Greenwells advocates that you:
  • Speak first, not last. Be aware of any tendency to not speak up.
  • Stop apologizing. Don't qualify your statements.
  • Choose a mentor. Don't ask for one, pick one. Choose someone who is really good at something you want to be good at.
  • Make time for face-to-face communication.
  • Think about what you want to do next and make sure that people in control of those decisions are aware of your aims.
Money On The Table draws from the latest research and in-depth interviews with CEOs and other senior leaders.

Greenwell is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of national retailer The Finish Line, Inc. She is also a certified executive coach.

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability .  They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

Resolve To Find A Mentor In 2025

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide soon to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2025. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the trait...

How To Lead A Family Business

Julie Charlestein  is the author of the book,  How To Lead Your Family Business: Excelling Through Unexpected Crises, Choices, and Challenges . Charlestein is also the fourth-generation leader of an incredibly successful family-owned enterprise, and she’s seen it all firsthand, including family drama in the workplace and the office politics that come with any corporation. Her book features her  unique set of strategies for navigating the distinctive challenges and choices facing family businesses. In her highly personal storytelling style, Charlestein shares her experience as an emerging leader and ultimately CEO, who has worked to earn her colleagues’ respect. She details her leadership adventure, offering actionable strategies for those leading and working within their own family businesses. The book is ideal for anyone leading a family business or starting a family business.  It’s also good for anyone taking over an existing (or new) business. More about Charleste...

How To Delight Your Customers

If you want to delight your customers, then the book by  Steve Curtin ,  Delight Your Customers -- 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service from Ordinary to Extraordinary , is a must-read for you and your employees. The book explains the  seven ways  for you and your employees to demonstrate  exceptional customer service : Express genuine interest Offer sincere and specific compliments Share unique knowledge Convey authentic enthusiasm Use appropriate humor Provide pleasant surprises Deliver service heroics "Exceptional customer service typically costs no more to deliver than poor customer service," explains Curtin. For example: How much does it cost to express genuine interest in customers or to anticipate their needs? Does it cost more to display a sense of urgency or to pay attention to detail? Do you pay your employees more to smile, to make eye contact, or to add energy to their voices? Curtin reminds readers that: Customers don't establish relationship...

Reach Communications & Leadership Expert David Grossman Via His New App

If you haven't engaged with David Grossman's website, Blog and incredibly useful eBooks, make a point of checking them all out at his website for The Grossman Group. David just launched his new App, called " Ask David ."  Via the App, David promises to bring his communications industry expert advice and wisdom right to your fingertips. Topics covered include: Employee engagement Internal communications Change management Leadership effectiveness Crisis messaging Diversity and inclusion

Resolve To Find A Mentor In 2011

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2011. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions: 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person ha...

5 Tips For Generating Ideas From Employees

Your employees have lots of ideas.  So, be sure you provide the forums and mechanisms for your employees to share their ideas with you.  Hold at least a few brainstorming sessions each year, as well. And, when you are brainstorming with your employees, try these five tips: Encourage ALL ideas.  Don't evaluate or criticize ideas when they are first suggested. Ask for wild ideas.  Often, the craziest ideas end up being the most useful. Shoot for quantity not quality during brainstorming. Encourage everyone to offer new combinations and improvements of old ideas.

How To Improve Your Internal Communication Skills

Here is this week's book recommendation.  It's a quick read, yet power-packed with useful tips for communicating effectively -- tips you can start to use tomorrow.  And, the eBook is free! As author David Grossman says, "good internal communication gets the message out, but great internal communication helps employees connect the dots between overarching business strategy and their role. When it’s good, it informs; when it’s great, it engages employees and moves them to action. Quite simply, it helps people and organizations be even better." I really found this book useful.

Ask Your Customers To Help You Write Your Strategic Plan

Mike Brown, the founder of the Kansas City company called, The Brainzooming Group, encourages business leaders to solicit feedback from their customers when creating a strategic plan. Brown recently wrote in Smart Companies Thinking Bigger magazine, that you should “ask a group of current, former and potential customers the following questions:" If you’re a current or former customer, why did you start using us? What have we done in the past to make your biggest challenges more difficult? If you still use us, why do you continue to do so? If you don’t use us currently, what are some of the reasons why you don’t? “These questions are designed to allow your customers to share their perspectives and opinions openly, not rate performance on a numerical scale,” explained Brown. He explained that the answers to the questions will provide you valuable insight into : Your current strengths and weaknesses Opportunities to more successfully help your customers Potential challen...

Do You Really Need To Read Leadership Books?

The answer is yes.  And, fortunately, there are lots out there to select from.  However, if you don't have time to read books about how to be an effective and good leader, you can select a few words from the list below and then practice what those words mean, as you lead your team every day. Leaders on the LinkedIn Executive Suite group came up with these nearly 50 words in answer to a discussion topic I posted in the group forum:  " A Good Leader Is [insert one word]."  A big thank you to that group for this valuable list. Accountable Adaptable Approachable Authentic Aware Bold Brave Candid Caring Clear Challenging Charismatic Compassionate Courageous Credible Decisive Dedicated Ethical Empowering Engaged Fearless Forward-Thinking Gracious Honest Humble Inclusive Influential Inspiring Intuitive Loyal Mindful Moral Motivating Objective Open Passionate Pro-active Receptive Responsible Respectful Skilled S...