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McKinsey Report 2023- Women in the Workplace

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McKinsey Report 2023- Women in the Workplace

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Women in the Workplace 2024: The 10th-anniversary report

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Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, McKinsey’s annual Women in the Workplace report is the largest study of women in corporate America. See our 2024 findings.

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An interesting "at a glance" insight into what makes a great leader.

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Every leadership role has its own complicated features - there's nuance and variance to every company, team, and managerial role. But no matter who you're supervising, what goals you're hitting, and what kind of impression you want to make, UPenn has a 15-part leadership checklist that everyone can learn from. Here, we'll break down what these tools mean and how to implement them regularly.

1. "Articulate a Vision"

More importantly than anything else, leaders are expected to have a feel for what a team can accomplish and create goals that fit in with their subordinates' skill levels. This can be a one-month plan, six-month plan, two-year plan, or any length of time it'll take to complete the project. It might involve multiple moving parts and multiple deadlines, but what you're doing and why you're doing it has to be clear.

2. "Think and Act Strategically"

For every action, there should be five Ws - who, what, when, where, and most importantly, why. Strategy is key for a good leader, and like a good chess player, you've got to plan ahead for whatever contingencies may come your team's way. Whether it's a team's skepticism, a lull in the market, industry changes, or other hindrances, you should feel confident that you can navigate it all.

3. "Honor the Room"

While a leader should command a room, they should also respect those in the room. To Wharton Business School, this point means expressing "confidence in and support for" those in the room with you no matter what room you're in. This also means that you should be a solid listener, a stable force , and a reliable advice-giver.

4. "Take Charge"

This leadership tool might seem straightforward, but taking charge can be more complex than it sounds. This requires a "bias for action" rather than a watch-and-wait attitude. And if you're in a position where your team is on the line, taking charge means taking responsibility or accountability for whatever your actions might lead to.

5. "Act Decisively"

Making a choice and sticking to it is the hallmark of a solid leader, and you've got to check this box off your leadership list if you want to earn the respect of your team. Wavering or being insecure doesn't bode well for a team looking for reassurance, especially in times of stress.

6. "Communicate Persuasively"

A leader shouldn't be manipulative, but they should be persuasive. This means having a communication style "that people will not forget." This includes being clear, concise, calm and collected. Be as organized in your communication as you would be in your work.

7. "Motivate the Troops"

Like any good leader, you've got to make sure your people are working with and for you. To do this, Wharton notes, it's important to recognize everyone's best abilities and have them play to their strengths. Also, weighing your company's values and mission statement is important for integrating these rules into your pre-existing frame so you don't facilitate your team's growth in the wrong direction.

8. "Embrace the Front Lines"

Never lose touch with the daily grind of your team, lest you become an ineffectual leader. You'll never be taken seriously as a leader if you're unable to empathize with the narrative of their everyday work, you'll never be taken seriously - so make an effort to be involved.

9. "Build Leadership in Others"

Modeling leadership isn't enough. As a leader, you should develop leadership skills in others. This involves teaching about how to encourage and inspire teammates, make clear decisions, listen well, and take the helm when needed.

10. "Manage Relations"

Creating rapport with your team is important as a leader, but being a leader isn't just about making friends. You have to be able to navigate the rough patches of your own relationships with managers above you and staff below you while also resolving conflict within your team.

11. "Identify Personal Implications"

The reason employees are inspired to help their companies hit goals isn't just a paycheck - they have visions that fit into the larger scheme of a company. Leadership means finding out the reasons someone wakes up in the morning happy and helping make their role into one of them.

12. "Convey Your Character"

In every good story, you should show rather than tell, and the same is to be said for a great leader. Display integrity, strength, and morality in everything you do with your team because the alternative can damage your relationships . In a sense, the more you act like a jerk, the more people will start to believe that's who you are.

13. "Dampen Over-Optimism"

Taking the pep out of someone's step can be a grueling part of being a leader, but it's a necessary one. A team lead is like a parent trying to keep your kid's expectations in check, so they aren't heartbroken by reality. Your kid probably won't like it, but it teaches them a valuable lesson about how to manage risk and be prepared for the worst while still aiming for the best.

14. "Build a Diverse Top Team"

A leader can't do everything on their own, and though they should know how to do some of the things they expect from their team, they should also know their gaps in knowledge and how to fill them. Those closest to you need to be able to do all the things you can't, so together, you can do anything.

15. "Place Common Interest First"

Being a leader isn't just about thinking what you say goes. In fact, leaders have to be a voice for everyone and put the needs of the team, company, and bottom line before their own. Guide others by focusing on the external drivers rather than the internal ones, and be as selfless as you can without sacrificing your personal health and wellness.

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The Ultimate Leadership Checklist | Harvard's 15-Steps

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Harvard University's Wharton Business School has a 15-part leadership checklist that everyone can learn from. Here we'll break down what you need to know.

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The Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality 2024

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The Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality 2024

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The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality is the UK's most highly profiled and well-established listing of employers taking action to create workplaces where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive.

What this year's listmakers are saying...

Frequently Asked Questions
*Illustrator credit: Ana Yael

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The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality

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The 2024 Times Top 50 List for Gender Equality is now live.

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For the first time in history, a major political party in the United States has several women who have declared their candidacy to be their party's presidential nominee. But TV pundits have been questioning whether, despite the progress indicated by the huge influx of women elected into Congress last fall, the U.S. is ever going to elect a woman to the country's highest leadership position.

This is baffling to us, especially in light of what we see in our corporate research. In two articles from 2012 ( here and here) we discussed findings from our analysis of 360-degree reviews that women in leadership positions were perceived as being every bit as effective as men. In fact, while the differences were not huge, women scored at a statistically significantly higher level than men on the vast majority of leadership competencies we measured.

We recently updated that research, again looking at our database of 360-degree reviews in which we ask individuals to rate each leaders' effectiveness overall and to judge how strong they are on specific competencies, and had similar findings: that women in leadership positions are perceived just as - if not more - competent as their male counterparts.

Still, the disturbing fact is that the percentage of women in senior leadership roles in businesses has remained relatively steady since we conducted our original research. Only 4.9% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 2% of S&P 500 CEOs are women. And those numbers are declining globally.

There are of course many factors that contribute to this dearth of women at senior levels. For centuries, there have been broad, cultural biases against women and stereotypes die slowly. People have long believed that many women elect not to aspire to the highest ranks of the organization and take themselves out of the running (though recent research disputes that). Lots of research has shown that unconscious bias places a significant role in hiring and promotion decision s, which also contributes to the lower number of women in key positions.

Our current data presents even more compelling evidence that this bias is incorrect and unwarranted. Women are perceived by their managers - particularly their male managers - to be slightly more effective than men at every hierarchical level and in virtually every functional area of the organization. That includes the traditional male bastions of IT, operations, and legal.

As you can see in the chart below, women were rated as excelling in taking initiative, acting with resilience, practicing self-development, driving for results, and displaying high integrity and honesty. In fact, they were thought to be more effective in 84% of the competencies that we most frequently measure.

According to our updated data, men were rated as being better on two capabilities -"develops strategic perspective" and "technical or professional expertise," which were the same capabilities where they earned higher ratings in our original research as well.

According to an analysis of thousands of 360-degree reviews, women outscored men on 17 of the 19 capabilities that differentiate excellent leaders from average or poor ones.

Interestingly, our data shows that when women are asked to assess themselves, they are not as generous in their ratings. In the last few years we created a self-assessment that measures, among other things, confidence. We've been collecting data since 2016 (from 3,876 men and 4,779 women so far) on levels of confidence leaders have in themselves over their careers and we saw some interesting trends.

When we compare confidence ratings for men and women, we see a large difference in those under 25. It's highly probable that those women are far more competent than they think they are, while the male leaders are overconfident and assuming they are more competent than they are. At age 40, the confidence ratings merge. As people age their confidence generally increases; surprisingly, over the age of 60 we see male confidence decline, while female confidence increases. According to our data, men gain just 8.5 percentile points in confidence from age 25 to their 60+ years. Women, on the other hand, gain 29 percentile points. One note: This is what we see in our data though we recognize that there are studies that come to different conclusions on whether women truly lack confidence at early stages in their career.

These findings dovetail with other research that shows women are less likely to apply for jobs unless they are confident they meet most of the listed qualifications. A man and woman with identical credentials, who both lack experience for a higher level position, come to different conclusions about being prepared for the promotion. The man is more inclined to assume that he can learn what he's missing, while in the new job. He says to himself, "I am close enough." The woman is inclined to be more wary, and less willing to step up in that circumstance.

It's possible that these lower levels of confidence at younger ages could motivate women to take more initiative, be more resilient, and to be more receptive to feedback from others, which in turn makes them more effective leaders in the long run.

We see a similar trend in women's perceptions of their overall leadership effectiveness, with their rating rising as they get older. This data is from a study that includes 40,184 men and 22,600 women and measures the overall effectiveness rating of males and females on 49 unique behaviors that predict a leaders effectiveness. Again, women at younger ages rate themselves significantly lower than men but their ratings climb - and eventually supersede those of men - as they get older.

This data continues to reinforce our observations from our previous research - women make highly competent leaders, according to those who work most closely with them - and what's holding them back is not lack of capability but a dearth of opportunity. When given those opportunities, women are just as likely to succeed in higher level positions as men.

Keep in mind that our data is mostly perceptions of current and past behavior and performance. That's different than a promotional decision that involves movement to a higher position and involves taking a bigger risk. If 96 out of 100 people currently serving in comparable positions are male, and you are making the decision about who to promote, and you have a highly qualified female and a highly qualified male, what are you inclined to do? It may seem safer to choose the man.

Leaders need to take a hard look at what gets in the way of promoting women in their organizations. Clearly, the unconscious bias that women don't belong in senior level positions plays a big role. It's imperative that organizations change the way they make hiring and promotion decisions and ensure that eligible women are given serious consideration. Those making those decisions need to pause and ask, "Are we succumbing to unconscious bias? Are we automatically giving the nod to a man when there's an equally competent woman?" And, as our data on confidence shows, there's a need for organizations to give more encouragement to women. Leaders can assure them of their competence and encourage them to seek promotions earlier in their careers.

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Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills

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Recently updated research shows that women in leadership positions are perceived as being every bit as effective as men. In an analysis of thousands of 360-degree assessments, women were rated as excelling in taking initiative, acting with resilience, practicing self-development, driving for results, and displaying high integrity and honesty.

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Rachel Reeves has promised to close the gender pay gap "once and for all" and make flexible working the norm if she becomes Britain's first female chancellor.

In an interview with the Guardian, the shadow chancellor said she wanted to shatter the "last glass ceiling in politics" and felt a "big responsibility" to use the Treasury to improve the position of women across the UK, including by making sure they were properly rewarded at work.

A Labour government would make flexible working the default from day one for all workers, except where it is not reasonably feasible, while big companies with more than 250 staff would be required to publish, and then bring in, action plans to close the gender pay gap.

Reeves said she planned to pull other policy levers including creating more nursery places and free school breakfast clubs, reviewing parental leave within the first year of government, and working with business to appoint more female executives.

The gender pay gap in the UK currently stands at 14.3%, according to the TUC, and would take 20 years to wipe out if it continues to fall at the same rate. It is worse in some sectors such as finance, banking, law and education.

In her interview, Reeves said she was inspired by influential Labour women, including Barbara Castle, who brought in the Equal Pay Act, Harriet Harman, who introduced the Equalities Act, and Ellen Wilkinson, one of the first Labour women in parliament.

Reeves said: "I feel like in many ways, I'm standing on their shoulders, and the same way that they have made achievements for women, I want to do the same.

"In the position of chancellor, I believe the biggest impact that I can make to the lives of ordinary women, women who go out to work, is to close the gender pay gap once and for all. That's what I'm setting out to do."

However, Labour would not legally enforce businesses to reduce the gender pay gap, saying it wants to work with them instead, although they would be obliged to implement an action plan. This would not apply to small businesses "at this stage" as they were already under a lot of pressure, Reeves said.

"This is not about naming and shaming," she added. "It's just saying we recognise there are some sectors, some firms, where historically there have been a lot more men than women, but everybody can do something to close that gender pay gap."

Reeves, who would become the first female chancellor in UK history if Labour wins the election on 4 July, conceded that while it would be an achievement, it also brought with it a significant responsibility.

"I hope that one of the things I can do if I become the first ever female chancellor is show that there are no jobs that women can't do," she said.

"This will be the last big job in government that a woman has never done. We have never had a woman in charge of the nation's finances. I think that carries with it a big responsibility ... It's the last glass ceiling in politics."

Reeves wants women to occupy 50% of the seats on company boards - the figure currently stands at 42% - but said there should be more focus on increasing the number of female executives. Just a handful of FTSE 100 firms have them.

"Yes, of course. But I think there is a bigger problem here. The area where still a lot more progress needs to be made is women in executive positions ... I want women on the board not just as non-execs but also as execs making the day-to-day decisions."

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Labour has said it would open 3,000 new nurseries in school settings after signing up to the government's policy to offer 30 hours of free childcare a week to parents of children aged nine months and over, starting next year.

Reeves denied there was a lack of funding to recruit more staff, despite a study by the Department for Education suggesting the government would need to recruit 40,000 more people by September 2025 to fulfil its pledge.

"The government has already funded the additional places but the problem is it's difficult for parents to take up those places because they don't exist," she said. "So at the moment the money is not being spent because parents can't get the places in nursery."

Labour would also provide fully funded breakfast clubs for every primary school in England, which Reeves said would give parents more time to get to work, to take a job further from home or to take on extra hours "which means more money in the pockets of working families".

Despite the UK having one of the lowest rates of statutory maternity pay in Europe, Reeves refused to make any commitment to increase it. "There's lots of things that we might like to do, but I'm not going to make any commitments around spending," she said.

Instead, the party has promised to review parental leave, which will become a day one right, within a year of the election. There will also be an entitlement to flexible working, as long as it is "reasonably feasible" for the workplace.

"A lot of my friends, when they returned to work after having children, they wanted that flexibility and if their employer wasn't able to give them that, they didn't go back or they found somewhere else to work," she said.

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Rachel Reeves vows to close gender pay gap 'once and for all' if she is chancellor

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Exclusive: Shadow chancellor says she wants to shatter 'last glass ceiling in politics' and improve women's position

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Listen to Future Women Leadership Series on Spotify. Leadership takes courage and resilience. Host and founder of Future Women, Helen McCabe shares insights from some of the most influential women on the sometimes complex challenges faced by women on the path to senior leadership.

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Best-selling author Daniel Goleman first brought the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) to the forefront of business through his articles in Harvard Business Review, establishing EI as an indispensable trait for leaders. The Emotionally Intelligent Leader brings together three of Goleman's best-selling HBR articles.

In "What Makes a Leader?" Goleman explores research that found that truly effective leaders are distinguished by high levels of self-awareness and sharp social skills. In "The Focused Leader", Goleman explains neuroscience research that proves that "being focused" is more than filtering out distractions while concentrating on one thing. In "Leadership That Gets Results", Goleman draws on research to outline six distinct leadership styles, each one springing from different components of emotional intelligence. Together, these three articles guide leaders to recognize the direct ties between EI and measurable business results.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

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The Emotionally Intelligent Leader (Audio Download): Daniel Goleman, Mike Lenz, Gildan Media: Amazon.co.uk: Books

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Anything by Jen Sincero always comes highly recommended. It's sweary so not for the faint-hearted!

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Anything by Jen Sincero always comes highly recommended. It's sweary so not for the faint-hearted!

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Jen Sincero (Author, Narrator), John Murray (Publisher)

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You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

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You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life (Audio Download): Jen Sincero, Jen Sincero, John Murray: Amazon.co.uk: Books

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This made me view Imposter Syndrome so differently. Well worth a watch.

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Reshma Saujani on Instagram: "Spoiler: it’s not the hateful, misogynistic nonsense from that NFL player’s commencement speech.

Last year, I spoke to the Smith College graduating class about an actual “diabolical lie” that is holding today’s women back: the myth of imposter syndrome. Consider it my response.
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#ImposterSyndrome #HarrisonButker #Graduation #ClassOf2024 #BicycleFace"

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192K likes, 2,123 comments - reshmasaujani on May 16, 2024: "Spoiler: it’s not the hateful, misogynistic nonsense from that NFL player’s commencement speech.

Last year, I spoke to the Smith College...". imposter syndrome, bicycle face, feminist movement, women's rights, cycling

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Reshma Saujani (@reshmasaujani)

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The concept of Impostor Syndrome has become ubiquitous. Critics, and even the idea's originators, question its value.

Long before Pauline Clance developed the idea of the impostor phenomenon-now, to her frustration, more commonly referred to as impostor syndrome-she was known by the nickname Tiny. Born in 1938 and raised in Baptist Valley, in Appalachian Virginia, she was the youngest of six children, the daughter of a sawmill operator who struggled to keep food on the table and gas in the tank of his timber truck. Tiny was ambitious-her photograph appeared in the local newspaper after she climbed onto a table to deliver her rebuttal during a debate tournament-but she was always second-guessing herself. After nearly every test she took (and usually aced), she would tell her mother, "I think I failed it." She was shocked when she beat the football-team captain for class president. She was the first in her family to go to college-a high-school counsellor warned her, "You'll be doing well if you get C's"-after which she earned a Ph.D. in psychology, at the University of Kentucky. But, everywhere she went, Clance felt the same nagging sense of self-doubt, the suspicion that she'd somehow tricked everyone else into thinking she belonged.

In the early seventies, as an assistant professor at Oberlin College, Clance kept hearing female students confessing experiences that reminded her of her own: they were sure they'd failed exams, even if they always did well; they were convinced that they'd been admitted because there had been an error on their test scores or that they'd fooled authority figures into thinking they were smarter than they actually were. Clance began comparing notes with one of her colleagues, Suzanne Imes, about their shared feelings of fraudulence. Imes had grown up in Abilene, Texas, with an older sister who early on had been deemed "the smart one"; as a high schooler, Imes had confessed anxieties to her mother that sounded exactly like the ones Clance had to hers. Imes particularly remembered crying after a Latin test, telling her mother, "I know I failed" (among other things, she'd forgotten the word for "farmer"). When it turned out that she'd got an A, her mother said, "I never want to hear about this again." But her accomplishment didn't make the feelings go away; it only made her stop talking about them. Until she met Clance.

One evening, they threw a party for some of the Oberlin students, complete with strobe lights and dancing. But the students looked disappointed and said, "We thought we were going to be learning something." They were hypervigilant, so intent on staving off the possibility of failure that they couldn't let loose for even a night. So Clance and Imes turned the party into a class, setting up a circle of chairs and encouraging the students to talk. After some of them confessed that they felt like "impostors" among their brilliant classmates, Clance and Imes started referring to the feelings they were observing as "the impostor phenomenon."

The pair spent five years talking to more than a hundred and fifty "successful" women: students and faculty members at several universities; professionals in fields including law, nursing, and social work. Then they recorded their findings in a paper, "The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention." They wrote that women in their sample were particularly prone to "an internal experience of intellectual phoniness," living in perpetual fear that "some significant person will discover that they are indeed intellectual impostors." But it was precisely this process of discovery that helped Clance and Imes formulate the concept-as they recognized feelings in each other, and in their students, that they'd been experiencing all their lives.

At first, the paper kept getting rejected. "Weirdly, we didn't get impostor feelings about that," Clance told me, when I visited her at her home, in Atlanta. "We believed in what we were trying to say." It was eventually published in 1978, in the journal Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. The paper spread like an underground zine. People kept writing to Clance to ask for copies, and she sent out so many that the person working the copy machine in her department asked, "What are you doing with all these?" For decades, Clance and Imes saw their concept steadily gaining traction-in 1985, Clance published a book, " The Impostor Phenomenon," and also released an official "I.P. scale" for researchers to license for use in their own studies-but it wasn't until the rise of social media that the idea, by now rebranded as "impostor syndrome," truly exploded.

Almost fifty years after its formulation, the concept has achieved a level of cultural saturation that Clance and Imes never imagined. Clance maintains a list of studies and articles that have referenced their original idea; it is now more than two hundred pages long. The concept has inspired a micro-industry of self-help books, ranging in tone from #girlboss self-empowered sass (" The Middle Finger Project: Trash Your Imposter Syndrome and Live the Unf*ckwithable Life You Deserve") to unapologetic earnestness (" Yes! You Are Good Enough: End Imposter Syndrome, Overthinking and Perfectionism and Do What YOU Want"). " The Imposter Syndrome Workbook " invites readers to draw their impostor voice as a creature or a monster of their choosing, to cross-examine their negative self-talk, and to fill a "Self-Love Mason Jar" with written affirmations and accomplishments.

The phrase "impostor syndrome" often elicits a fierce sense of identification, especially from millennial and Gen X women. When I put out a call on Twitter for experiences of impostor syndrome, I was flooded with responses. "Do you have room in your inbox for roughly 180,000 words?" a high-level publishing executive wrote. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin confessed that her feelings of fraudulence were so strong that she'd been unable to enter the college's library for her entire first year. A university administrator said, "I grew up on a pig farm in rural Illinois. Whenever I attend a fancy event, even if it is one I am producing, I feel like people will still see hayseed in my hair." An artisanal-cider maker wrote, "I've made endless ciders, but each and every time that I start fermenting, my mind goes, 'This is the one when everyone will find out you don't know what you're doing.' "

The eminent are not immune. In fact, Clance and Imes argued forcefully in their original study that success was not a cure. Maya Angelou once said, "I have written eleven books, but each time I think, Uh-oh, they're going to find out now. I've run a game on everybody, and they're going to find me out." Neil Gaiman, in a commencement address that went viral, described his fear of being busted by the "fraud police," whom he imagined showing up at his door with a clipboard to tell him he had no right to live the life he was living. (Although men do report feeling like impostors, the experience is primarily associated with women, and the word "impostor" has been granted special feminized forms-"impostrix," "impostress"-since the sixteen-hundreds.)

Clance and Imes remain stunned by how broadly their idea has circulated. "We had no idea," Imes said. "We were just as surprised as everyone else." But their ambitions were never small. "We saw suffering in a lot of people, and we hoped we could help," Imes told me. "We wanted to change people's lives."

Clance lives in a craftsman bungalow in Druid Hills, a leafy Atlanta neighborhood. When I visited, the first thing that I noticed in the front hallway was a wooden statue of a naked woman triumphantly holding a mask above her head. Masks feature prominently in Clance's writing on the impostor phenomenon. Her book has three main sections-"Putting on the Mask," "The Personality Behind the Mask," and "Taking Off the Mask"-and argues that impostor feelings come from a conviction that "I have to mask who I am."

Now eighty-four years old, Clance has a slight, birdlike frame and is nimble-minded and affable. Draped in a wool blanket and sipping on a protein shake, she told me about years of therapeutic work with clients experiencing the impostor phenomenon, work that often focussed on early family dynamics. Clance and Imes's original paper identified two distinct family patterns that gave rise to impostor feelings: either women had a sibling who had been identified as "the smart one" or else they themselves had been identified as "superior in every way-intellect, personality, appearance, talent." The pair theorized that women in the first group are driven to find the validation they didn't get at home but end up doubting whatever validation later comes their way; those in the second group encounter a disconnect between their parents' unrealistic faith in their capacities and the experience of fallibility that life inevitably brings. For both types of "impostors," the crisis comes from the disjunction between the messages received from their parents and the messages received from the world. Are my parents right (that I'm inadequate), or is the world right (that I'm capable)? Or, conversely, are my parents right (that I'm perfect), or is the world right (that I'm failing)? This gap gives rise to a conviction that either the parent is wrong or the world is.

The impostor begins to do everything possible to prevent being discovered in her self-perceived deficiencies. Clance and Imes cite one client who, as a child, "pretended to be 'sick' for three consecutive Fridays when spelling bees were held. She could not bear the thought of her parents finding out she could not win the spelling contest." Another client pretended to be playing with art supplies instead of studying whenever her mother walked into the room, because her mother had taught her that naturally smart people don't have to study.

Clance and Imes describe the cycle that impostor feelings often produce-a sense of impending failure that inspires frenzied hard work, and short-lived gratification when failure is staved off, quickly followed by the return of the old conviction that failure is imminent. Some women adopt a kind of magical thinking about their pessimism: daring to believe in success would actually doom them to failure, so failure must be anticipated instead. The typical case hides her own opinions, fearing that they will be seen as stupid; she might seek the approval of a mentor but then believe it has been secured only because of charm or appeal; she may hate herself for even needing this validation, taking the need itself as proof of her intellectual phoniness.

Repeated successes usually don't break the cycle, Clance and Imes emphasize. All the frenzied efforts and mental calculations that are directed into preventing the discovery of one's inadequacy and fraudulence ultimately just reinforce the belief in this inadequate, fraudulent version of the self.

Clance has seen clients healed not by success but by the kind of resonance she found with Imes. Bolstered and sustained by group therapy with other women-it's easier to believe other women aren't impostors-they can then bring this recognition of others' delusion back to themselves. Sometimes Clance asked clients to keep a notebook recording how they deflected compliments (reminding me of a woman who tweeted about reckoning with impostor feelings by creating a file on her computer called "evidence I'm not an idiot"). Clance also often gave clients "homework assignments," such as asking them to study for only six hours for an upcoming test, rather than twelve. The mere idea of this gave me a pang of anxiety, and I ventured that it would be terrible if they ended up failing as a result. She nodded. "Yep. Then you really set them back."

Clance and Imes have remained friends, and both relocated from Ohio to Atlanta nearly forty years ago-Clance to teach at Georgia State, Imes to get a Ph.D. there. For a while, they even practiced therapy in the same building, a stucco house tucked away at the end of a long, shaded driveway, where Imes still sees clients. I met her there the day after Stacey Abrams lost her second gubernatorial bid, and the neighborhood was peppered with lawn signs that now seemed elegiac. Imes's office was a cozy den of soft couches and throw pillows, walls hung with quilts, and a Peruvian rice goddess dangling above us-necklace-draped, wings outstretched.

Imes has white curly hair and wore dark-red lipstick and bulky clogs that she slipped off immediately-"I think better without my shoes"-so that she could place her feet beside me on the couch. (Later, she told me she has written on the role of physical touch in therapy.) A bookshelf behind her featured family photos from her clients. Imes asked if I got anxious before interviews like this-confessing that she always does-and soon I was talking about how shy I'd been in junior high school, and how I still worried that the wrong interview questions would expose how little I knew about the subject, or somehow reveal that I'm not a "real" journalist. Run-of-the-mill impostor feelings.

Imes told me that her own impostor feelings flared up when she was applying for Ph.D. programs while studying at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. But as a therapist she found the Gestalt approach well suited to reckoning with such feelings; she explained that the Gestalt method involves owning all the various parts of yourself, accepting them instead of trying to get rid of them, and understanding their function in the larger whole. In this way, the approach offers not only an antidote to the belief in a shameful self at the core of one's being, a kernel that must be concealed, but also an intrinsic understanding of the self as many selves, rather than static or overly coherent.

Both Imes and Clance underwent Gestalt therapy, and Clance found that the work helped her recognize more fully what her mother-not always a deeply nurturing presence in her life-had done for her, and for their whole family. When I asked Clance if reckoning with delusions about her own deficiency had been connected to reckoning with the primal delusion of her mother as a "deficient" mother, she said yes, absolutely. Ultimately, she felt that her mother was able to appreciate the career she'd built, and the person she'd become. One time, she was visiting home and her mother called on her to talk to a relative in distress: "Tiny, you need to get down here, because he's going to kill himself!" The request seemed like proof that her mother understood the importance of her work. In that moment, Clance felt some congruence between the messages she was getting from the world and the messages she was getting from her mother, a bridging of the gap she'd helped other women notice in their childhoods.

As part of the process of understanding and accepting various aspects of the self, Gestalt often involves "empty-chair" work, in which you might have an imagined conversation with someone important-a dead mother, a former lover-and play out both parts of the conversation, sometimes switching chairs, in order to reckon with the lasting influence of the relationship. A philosophy pointed toward integration makes sense as an antidote to impostor feelings, which can fuel a selective self-presentation driven by shame: I can show only this part of myself and must keep that part of myself hidden.

One of the cornerstones of the work Clance and Imes did with their clients was an empty-chair exercise in which they were asked to imagine having conversations with all the authority figures they'd ever "tricked" into thinking they were smarter or more competent than they actually were. Clance would gently invite them to consider the ways that their impostor feelings constituted, implicitly, a kind of solipsism-understanding everyone else as so easily tricked-telling them, "Line up all the professors you fooled and say, 'I fooled you!' "

The first time I used the phrase "impostor syndrome" about myself, I was-as it happens-describing experiences I'd had with my own professors. This was 2015, and I'd given a lecture at a small liberal-arts college in Michigan. At a dinner afterward, I found myself telling a professor about the anxieties I'd experienced as a Ph.D. student. In seminars, I often felt as if anything I said aloud would reveal that I did not understand the first thing about Heidegger; or that I had read only three chapters of " Discipline and Punish." Once, in a moment of panic, I'd said I loved Donna Haraway, afraid to confess that I'd never read her at all, and I was sometimes confronted with this fraudulent love, an impostor even in my affinities.

The experience I was trying to describe was more specific than mere self-doubt; it was a fear of being found out, revealed for what I really was. And it was an anxiety that I felt complicit in, having produced these false fronts with my lies. I didn't feel that I was saying anything particularly dramatic. By then, impostor syndrome was already something that people routinely confessed about their experiences in high-achieving environments. But it did feel like a genuine exposure of various low-key humiliations: the blooming circles of dark sweat under my armpits as I larded my sentences with jargon, the scrambled, panicked posturing of theoretical preferences.

Once I'd finished this brief summary of my impostor syndrome-trying on the term, which wasn't one I could remember using before-my dinner companion, another white female academic, replied curtly, "That's such a white-lady thing to say."

In the wake of her comment, the table quieted a bit as people sensed-the way a constellation of strangers often can-the presence of some minor friction. My seatmate and I turned to the only woman of color at the table, a Black professor, so that she could, presumably, tell us what to think about the whiteness of impostor syndrome, though perhaps there were things she wanted to do (like finish eating dinner) more than she wanted to mediate a spat between two white ladies about whether we were saying white-lady things or not. She graciously explained that she didn't particularly identify with the experience. She hadn't often felt like an impostor, because she had more frequently found herself in situations where her competence or intelligence had been underestimated than in ones where it was taken for granted.

In the years since then, I've heard many women of color-friends, colleagues, students, and people I've interviewed on the subject-articulate some version of this sentiment. Lisa Factora-Borchers, a Filipinx American author and activist, told me, "Whenever I'd hear white friends talk about impostor syndrome, I'd wonder, How can you think you're an impostor when every mold was made for you? When you see mirror reflections of yourself everywhere, and versions of what your success might look like?"

Adaira Landry, an emergency-medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, told me about her first day at the U.C.L.A. med school. Landry, a first-generation college student from an African American family, met a fellow first-year student, a man, who was already wearing a white coat, although they hadn't yet had their white-coat ceremony. His mother was in health care and his sister was in med school, and they'd informed him that if he wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon, which he did, it would be beneficial to start shadowing someone immediately. Landry went home that night feeling dispirited, as if she were already falling behind, and a classmate told her, "Don't worry, you just have impostor syndrome."

For Landry, this was only the first of many instances of what she calls "the misdiagnosis of impostor syndrome." Landry understands now that what her classmate characterized as a crisis of self-doubt was simply an observation of an external truth-the concrete impact of connections and privilege. Eventually, Landry looked up Clance and Imes's 1978 paper; she didn't identify with the people described in it. "They interviewed a set of primarily white women lacking confidence, despite being surrounded by an educational system and workforce that seemed to recognize their excellence," she told me. "As a Black woman, I was unable to find myself in that paper."

Since then, Landry has had countless conversations with students who feel they are struggling with impostor syndrome, and she usually senses a palpable relief when she suggests that they are feeling like this not because there is something wrong with them but because they are "enveloped in a system that fails to support them." Ironically, her students' relief at being liberated from the label of impostor syndrome reminds me of the relief that Clance and Imes witnessed when they first offered the concept to their clients. In both cases, women were being told, "You are not an impostor. You are enough." In one case, an experience was diagnosed; in the other, the diagnosis was removed.

In 2020, almost fifty years after Clance and Imes collaborated on their article, another pair of women collaborated on an article about impostor syndrome-this one pushing back fiercely against the idea. In "Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome," published in the Harvard Business Review, in February, 2021, Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey argue that the label implies that women are suffering from a crisis of self-confidence and fails to recognize the real obstacles facing professional women, especially women of color-essentially, that it reframes systemic inequality as an individual pathology. As they put it, "Imposter syndrome directs our view toward fixing women at work instead of fixing the places where women work."

Tulshyan started hearing the term a decade ago, when she left a job in journalism to work in the Seattle tech industry. She was attending women's leadership conferences where it seemed that everyone was talking about impostor syndrome and "the confidence gap," but no one was talking about gender bias and systemic racism. She got tired of hearing women, especially white women-her own heritage is Indian Singaporean-comparing notes on who had the most severe impostor syndrome. It seemed like another version of women sharing worries about their weight, a kind of communal self-deprecation that reiterated oppressive metrics rather than disrupting them.

During the early pandemic, she met up with Burey-another woman of color working in Seattle tech-for an outdoor lunch, and they compared notes on their shared frustration with the idea of impostor syndrome. There was a tremendous feeling of relief and resonance. As Tulshyan put it, "It was like everybody is telling you the sky is green, and suddenly you tell your friend, I think the sky is blue, and she sees it this way as well."

Burey, who was born in Jamaica, didn't feel like an impostor; she felt enraged by the systems that had been built to disenfranchise her. She also didn't experience any yearning to belong, to inhabit certain spaces of power. "White women want to access power, they want to sit at the table," she told me. "Black women say, This table is rotten, this table is hurting everyone." She resisted knee-jerk empowerment rhetoric that seemed to encourage a damaging bravado: "I didn't want to beef up myself to inflict more harm."

At their lunch, Tulshyan mentioned that she was writing a piece about impostor syndrome, and Burey immediately asked her, "Did you read the original article?" Like Adaira Landry, Burey had felt impelled to look it up and had been struck by its limitations. It wasn't a clinical study but a set of anecdotal observations, she told Tulshyan, largely gleaned from "high-achieving" white women who had received much affirmation from the world. "I must have spoken for twenty minutes uninterrupted," Burey recalled. After that, Tulshyan said, "It's done. We're collaborating."

Like Clance and Imes, Tulshyan and Burey recognized in each other versions of the feelings that they themselves had been harboring-only these were feelings about the world, rather than about their psyches. They were sick of people talking about women having impostor syndrome rather than talking about biases in hiring, promotion, leadership, and compensation. They came to believe that a concept designed to liberate women from their shame-to help them confront the delusion of their own insufficiency-had become yet another way to keep them disempowered.

When I asked Clance and Imes about Tulshyan and Burey's critiques, they agreed with many of them, conceding that their original sample and parameters were limited. Although their model had actually acknowledged (rather than obscured) the role that external factors played in creating impostor feelings, it focussed on things such as family dynamics and gender socialization rather than on systemic racism and other legacies of inequality. But they also pointed out that the popularization of their idea as a "syndrome" had distorted it. Every time Imes hears the phrase "impostor syndrome," she told me, it lodges in her gut. It's technically incorrect, and conceptually misleading. As Clance explained, the phenomenon is "an experience rather than a pathology," and their aim was always to normalize this experience rather than to pathologize it. Their concept was never meant to be a solution for inequality and prejudice in the workplace-a task for which it would necessarily prove insufficient. Indeed, Clance's own therapeutic practice was anything but oblivious of the external structural forces highlighted by Tulshyan and Burey. When mothers came to Clance describing their impostor feelings around parenting, her advice was not "Work on your feelings." It was "Get more child care."

Tulshyan and Burey never anticipated how much attention their article would receive. It has been translated and published all over the world, and is one of the most widely shared articles in the history of the Harvard Business Review. They heard from people who had been given negative performance evaluations that featured euphemisms for impostor syndrome ("lacks confidence" or "lacks executive presence") and even refused promotions on these grounds. The diagnosis has become a cultural force fortifying the very phenomenon it was supposed to cure.

As the backlash against the concept of impostor syndrome spreads, other critiques have emerged. If everyone has it, does it exist at all? Or are we simply experiencing a kind of humility inflation? Perhaps the widespread practice of confessing self-doubt has begun to encourage-to demand, even-repeated confessions of the very experience that the original concept was trying to dissolve. The writer and comedian Viv Groskop believes that impostor syndrome has become a blanket term obscuring countless other problems, everything from long Covid to the patriarchy. She told me a story about standing in front of five hundred women and telling them, "Raise your hand if you have experienced impostor syndrome." Almost every woman raised her hand. When Groskop asked, "Who here has never experienced impostor syndrome?," only one (brave) woman did. But, at the end of the talk, this outlier came up to apologize-worried that it was somehow arrogant not to have impostor syndrome.

Hearing this story, I began to wonder if I'd confessed my own feelings of impostor syndrome to Dr. Imes as a kind of admission fee, to claim my seat-like putting my ante into the pot at a poker game. Who had made it possible for me to play this game? When I asked my mother, who is seventy-eight, if the concept resonated, she said it didn't; she'd struggled more with proving herself than with feeling like a fraud. She told me she suspected that most women in her generation (and even more in her mother's) were likelier to feel the opposite-"that we were being underestimated."

For many younger women, there's a horoscope effect at play: certain aspects of the experience, if defined capaciously enough, are so common as to be essentially universal. The Australian scholar and critic Rebecca Harkins-Cross-who often felt like an impostor during her university days, struggling with insecurities she now connects to her working-class background-has become suspicious of the ways impostor syndrome serves a capitalist culture of striving. She told me, "Capitalism needs us all to feel like impostors, because feeling like an impostor ensures we'll strive for endless progress: work harder, make more money, try to be better than our former selves and the people around us."

On the flip side, this relentless pressure deepens the exhilarating allure of people-specifically, women-who truly are impostors but refuse to see themselves as such. Think of the mass fascination with the antiheroine Anna Delvey (a.k.a. Anna Sorokin), who masqueraded as an heiress in order to infiltrate a wealthy world of New York socialites, and the hypnotic train wreck of Elizabeth Holmes, who built a nine-billion-dollar company based on fraudulent claims about her ability to diagnose a variety of diseases from a single drop of blood. Why do these women enthrall us? In the television adaptations that turned their lives into soap operas-"Inventing Anna" and "The Dropout"-their hubris offers a thrilling counterpoint to beleaguered self-doubt: Anna's extravagant cash tips and gossamer caftans, her willingness to overstay her welcome on a yacht in Ibiza, her utter conviction-even once she was in jail-that it was the world that had been wrong, rather than her.

These stories gleaned much of their narrative momentum from the constant threat of revelation: when would these impostors be discovered? Paying for things on credit without being able to afford them literalizes a crucial facet of impostor syndrome: the anxiety that you are getting what you have not paid for and do not deserve; that you will eventually be found out, and your bill will come due. (Capitalism always wants you to believe you have a bill to pay.) Part of the lure of these stories is the looming satisfaction of seeing the impostors revealed and exposed. For some of us, it's akin to the pleasure of pushing on a bruise, watching the community punish the impostor we believe exists inside ourselves.

Ruchika Tulshyan told me, "If it was up to me, we would do away with the idea of impostor syndrome entirely." Jodi-Ann Burey allows that the concept has been useful in corporate contexts, offering a shared language for talking about self-doubt and a "soft entry" into conversations about toxic workplaces, but she, too, feels it is time to bid it farewell. She wants to say, "Thank you for your fifty years of service," and to start looking directly at systems of bias, rather than falsely pathologizing individuals.

Is there some version of impostor syndrome that can be salvaged? Pulling back from the corporate world to look at the concept more broadly, it seems clear that the #girlboss branding of impostor syndrome has done a disservice to the concept as well as to the workplaces it has failed to improve. The tale of these two pairs of women-Clance and Imes formulating their idea in the seventies, and Tulshyan and Burey pushing back in 2020-belongs to the larger intellectual story of second-wave feminism receiving necessary correctives from the third wave. Much of this corrective work results from women of color asking white feminism to acknowledge a complicated matrix of external forces-including structural racism and income inequality-at play in every internal experience. Identifying impostor feelings does not necessitate denying the forces that produced them. It can, in fact, demand the opposite: understanding that the damage from these external forces often becomes part of the internal weave of the self. Although many of the most fervent critics of impostor syndrome are women of color, it's also the case that many people of color do identify with the experience. In fact, research studies have repeatedly shown that impostor syndrome disproportionately affects them. This finding contradicts what I was told years ago-that impostor syndrome is a "white lady" problem-and suggests instead that the people most vulnerable to the syndrome are not the ones it first described.

If we reclaim the impostor phenomenon from the false category of "syndrome," then we can allow it to do the work it does best, which is to depict a particular texture of interior experience: the fear of being exposed as inadequate. As a concept, it is most useful in its particular nuances-not as a vague synonym for insecurity or self-doubt but as a way to describe the more specific delusion of being a fraud who has successfully deceived some external audience. Understood like this, it becomes an experience not diluted but defined by its ubiquity. It names the gap that persists between the internal experiences of selfhood-multiple, contradictory, incoherent, striated with shame and desire-and the imperative to present a more coherent, composed, continuous self to the world.

The psychoanalyst Nuar Alsadir, in her book " Animal Joy," explains impostor syndrome by drawing on D. W. Winnicott's concepts of "false self" and "true self." She sees the anxiety as stemming from "a False Self that is so fortified by layers of compliant behavior that it loses contact with the raw impulses and expressions that characterize the True Self." Attempts to prevent the discovery of one's "true self" end up compounding the belief that this self, were it ever discovered, would be rejected and dismissed.

Impostor feelings often arise most acutely from threshold-crossing-from one social class to another, one culture to another, one vocation to another-something akin to what Pierre Bourdieu called the "split habitus," the self dwelling in two worlds at once. The college library and the sawmill. The fancy parties and the pig farm. When I spoke to Stephanie Land, the best-selling author of "Maid," her memoir about cleaning houses to support herself as a single mother, she described her own impostor feelings as an experience of class whiplash: occupying spaces of privilege after she'd grown famous for writing about economic hardship. When she flew first class with her teen-age daughter to see a Lizzo concert, and a stranger thanked her for her writing, Land felt that she'd been caught somewhere she didn't belong-as if flying first class made her current self a fraud, or else her past self a fraud; or somehow both versions of her were fraudulent at once.

Land's sense of impostordom also stems from the fact that her personal story is frequently interpreted as a consoling fable of class mobility. "I'm very conscious that my story is the palatable kind of poor-person story," she has written. "I am Little Orphan Annie skipping around in new shoes." When people love her story, she told me, they are loving a version of the American Dream that she thinks of as the American Myth. When her life is distorted and misunderstood in this way, it becomes a kind of impostor plot-and it makes her feel like an impostor as well.

Land's observations helped me realize that the impostor phenomenon, as a concept, effectively functions as an emotional filing cabinet organizing a variety of fraught feelings that we can experience as we try to reconcile three aspects of our personhood: how we experience ourselves, how we present ourselves to the world, and how the world reflects that self back to us. The phenomenon names an unspoken, ongoing crisis arising from the gaps between these various versions of the self, and designates not a syndrome but an inescapable part of being alive. ♦

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Why Everyone Feels Like They're Faking It

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Leslie Jamison writes about impostor syndrome, a now-ubiquitous concept that originated in the work of two psychologists five decades ago and has recently come under scrutiny from feminist critics.

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Women stepping into Senior Leadership starts with Pathways into Middle Leadership Posts

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Women stepping into Senior Leadership starts with Pathways into Middle Leadership Posts

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Wooden ladder with 1 broken rung on white surface, blue background
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Much has been written about the value of women at decision tables and proverbial glass ceiling that has kept so many from reaching them. Yet long before women reach the high rungs where they start knocking up against it, they face another barrier - the broken rung between entry level positions and management roles.

McKinsey's 2023 Women in the Workplace report identified the "broken rung" as the most significant obstacle women encounter on the path to senior leadership. At the crucial step up to manager, women face disproportionate challenges. For every 100 men promoted from entry-level to manager, only 87 women are promoted. In the typical company, men end up holding 60% of manager-level positions, while women hold just 40%. This disparity sets the stage for the gender gap that persists in senior leadership positions where women represent roughly one in four c-suite leaders.

With a complex array of factors contributing to this broken rung, there is no 'one and done' solution to repairing it. Operationalizing the "Invest in women: Accelerate progress" theme for International Women's Day 2024 will take a collective effort - by organizations and policy makers, by female allies and by women themselves.

Let's start at with women and work backward.
Women, own the difference your difference makes
My daughter who is just starting out in her career is far more empowered than I was at her age. Yet 'owning our power' as women is not a one-and-done. Young women today are more ambitious than ever (a good thing!), but as they enter the force and face inevitable headwinds, they need reminding that if it were easy for women to advance to the top tables, we'd see more of them there. While the normalization of hybrid and remote work has enabled many women to pursue demanding careers, it has not changed the reality that women face a more complex career journey than men.

Women must continue to own their agency, advocate for their advancement and amplify the voice of other women to 'lift as we climb'. This includes actively mentoring and supporting women on the rungs beneath us, continually reminding them (as ourselves) that power has no gender and that we have the power to redefine power as both taking charge while taking care, embracing feminine leadership strengths and dismantling outdated 'think manager, think male' agentic leadership norms.

Men also play a vital role in ameliorating the biases and double binds to repair the 'broken rung' and reinforce the rungs above it. When men champion women, advocate for their inclusion, and challenge systemic biases, they contribute to a more equitable workplaces that reinforce partnership and leverage the difference that feminine leadership strengths can make. Men who are secure in themselves are not threatened by empowered women, they celebrate them. Loudly. I know this because my husband does it often!

Forbes Stronger Together: Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Male Champions Of Women

Corporate leaders must do more than give lip service to the value of gender diversity. They must walk their talk by investing adequately in programs that develop women, address the unique challenges women face and ensure inclusive policies and practices.

Forbes Mentoring Matters: How More Women Can Get The Right People In Their Corner

Amid the polarizing controversy of DEI programs and economic pressures, leaders must think beyond the quarter end before cutting funding for programs designed to advance and accelerate women. Sponsorship and mentorship programs early in women's careers can make a pivotal difference to their whole career trajectory. Given the evidence that gender diversity at decision making tables produces higher quality decisions, ensuring gender diverse pipelines of talent up the organizational ladder is more critical than ever for long term growth.

It should go without saying, yet in a culture where some wrongly perceive comments about the empowerment of women as a war against men it bears repeating:

Advancing women is not a zero-sum game whereby the rise of women equates to fall of men. Rather it's about creating collaborative partnership that harnesses the full value of diversity, in all its forms; embracing feminine leadership strengths - empathy, compassion, and the affiliative use of power - as every bit as valuable as the traditional male strengths.

Forbes Gender Diversity At Leadership Tables: It Takes More Than Good Optics

Investing in women will not only help to unleash their untapped potential to innovate and elevate outcomes in service of service all stakeholders, but will help to create a future where every person can bring the full quota of their unique passions, talents and strengths to our most pressing challenges.

So as we commemorate International Women's Day 2024, let's recommit to repairing the broken rung knowing that when women and men are equally able to share influence and employ power, it creates a more secure, sustainable and equitable world for everyone.
Dr Margie Warrell is a bestselling author, executive consultant, keynote speaker and women's leadership expert. A passionate advocate for women in all realms of influence, Margie sits on the global advisory board of the Women's Democracy Network. Connect on .

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the broken rung: accelerate and elevate more women

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the broken rung: accelerate more women to

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IWD24: Repair The Broken Rung To Accelerate And Elevate More Women

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"Invest in women: Accelerate progress" International Women's Day 2024 will require a collective effort to repair the rung that is keeping women from rising the ranks

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Create good habits and break the bad ones with this book full of tips

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Create good habits and break the bad ones with this book full of tips

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James Clear (Author, Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)

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Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

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Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones (Audio Download): James Clear, James Clear, Penguin Audio: Amazon.co.uk: Books

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Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome

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Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome

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"Imposter syndrome," or doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud at work, is a diagnosis often given to women. But the fact that it's considered a diagnosis at all is problematic. The concept, whose development in the 1970s excluded the effects of systemic racism, classism, xenophobia, and other biases, took a fairly universal feeling of discomfort, second-guessing, and mild anxiety in the workplace and pathologized it, especially for women. The answer to overcoming imposter syndrome is not to fix individuals but to create an environment that fosters a number of different leadership styles and where diversity of racial, ethnic, and gender identities is viewed as just as professional as the current model.

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Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome

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"Imposter syndrome," or doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud at work, is a diagnosis often given to women. But the fact that it's considered a diagnosis at all is problematic.

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Lately, I have been thinking about what makes a leader in today's world.

Are we leaders simply because others report to us, or because we are responsible for an area of the business? Are we leaders because we have a future vision that no one else seems to be able to see just yet? Or is the answer that we are only leaders when others are following? After all, how can we call ourselves leaders if, when we turn around, no one is following us or the initiatives we need them to support?

After much contemplation, I propose that a leader today is someone who sparks in us a desire to help.

In our networked, matrixed, dotted-lined, ever-changing organizational structures, a leader today must be a follower tomorrow, and vice versa. Therefore, we are not leaders simply because of our titles or responsibilities, nor are we leaders because we have a vision for the future. What makes us leaders is our ability to connect with others in a way that makes them want to help us.

I once received an email from a new colleague in Asia. This colleague needed information she hoped I could provide. However, before requesting the information, she must have first taken the time to learn about me, as her email began with a short, professional introduction but then quickly turned personal. She congratulated me on the arrival of my first child (could there be a better way to get my attention and create in me a desire to help?) and then took a sentence or two to share her experience of motherhood and her best wishes for me and my new family.

To say that her email struck a cord is an understatement. I forwarded it to another colleague, who had a similar, positive reaction. Together, we wondered whether her approach was a result of culture (my experience is that Asian cultures have a stronger tendency to first establish a relationship before turning to business) and we wished that more in North America understood the importance of doing so.

Although I had several other more pressing matters that morning, I placed her request at the top of my list and responded immediately. Why? Because I felt a connection-a very real, human connection to someone whom I had not yet met or even spoken to. It was as if this new colleague was an old friend, one that I would naturally promote to the front of my to-do list! Given the personal tone of her email, I was also sure my response would get a pleasant reception, another reason I replied to her before answering the many others on my list that day (others who, by the way, do not always respond so warmly). The result was that my new colleague obtained the information she needed quicker than others who might have made similar requests. She also established relationship equity with me, so that in the future, should she need my assistance, I would be more inclined to help.

Of course, merely asking about family when you could care less is inauthentic and will only detract from any relationship you seek to create. Leading today is never as simple as just do this or don't do that. It's about making a connection. This requires you to actually consider the other person: Who are they? How do they like to work? What would they most appreciate ( i.e., what will make their day easier and/or better)? It's about taking the time to try and understand the world of another, then operate more fully within it. Sometimes this means genuinely inquiring about another's family, other times it means getting straight to business (so as not waste time when you know someone dislikes social chit-chat).

Many of us are maxed out by the demands of work and family and unfortunately, we often take out this stress on each other. After all, it has to go somewhere, right? However, by doing so, we only shoot ourselves in the foot. When we treat others poorly-a cold or sharp tone, an unnecessary cc to a colleague's boss, or venting behind another's back versus honoring the relationship by having the real conversation directly -we hurt ourselves in unseen ways. We might wonder why we were passed up for a promotion or why working with a colleague's team members is always frustrating. And yet, we fail to take into account our own contribution to the situation. If we want to make our lives easier, we need only be easier to work with: a little friendlier, more consistently responsive, and eager to help.

Our ability to connect and create relationships trumps many other factors when doing business. Ample evidence shows that people simply want to work with other people they like, sometimes selecting a likable person or company over one that actually has more qualifications or a superior product. Consider for a moment your own personal and professional life as well as how you behave as a consumer. Do you find evidence of this?

Leadership today is about working extraordinarily well with and through others. As our organizational landscapes continue to change, how we connect with others remains paramount. Every interaction we have either contributes to a relationship or it detracts from it. When what we do detracts, the result is more work for us and fewer supporters- those who are willing to help us, and ultimately, follow us and the initiatives we want and need them to support.

So, food for thought: how likable are you? How much are the people you work with most closely willing to advocate on your behalf? When you reach out, how many seem eager to assist? How many truly have your back? These are questions to consider as today's direct reports can quickly become tomorrow's boss or client.

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Council Post: What Really Defines Leadership In Today's World?

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How much you want to help is a key indicator of your ability to lead, network and succeed.

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An interesting listen from the Deloitte podcast. Covers being an authentic female leader in a male dominant setting.

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Deloitte LLP is the United Kingdom affiliate of Deloitte NSE LLP, a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"). DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL and Deloitte NSE LLP do not provide services to clients.

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Linda Allen-Hardisty is a trusted executive coach, supporting leaders' personal and company growth. | Allen-Hardisty Leadership Group
How does one know they want to pursue a leadership path? It is one thing to imagine yourself in a leadership role; however, many who decided this in the wake of the pandemic will sure have quite a story to tell someday when they talk about their path into leadership!

Usually, I coach people in CEO and executive roles; however, the opportunity to coach more leaders of all levels in the pandemic world is evidence, I believe, that many people in all leadership roles are digging deeper into their own growth-regardless of their experience. In my coaching sessions, three remarkable attributes emerged in the unique journeys of new leaders; these really stood out for me as a coach because they captured my curiosity about how this can inform leadership development in the pandemic world.

Three key takeaways emerged from people who chose leadership during this time:

1. Vision And Team, Team And Vision: In my coaching sessions, the client sets the agenda; it is their topic to bring. A pattern I noticed was how often my clients started from a place of communicating a vision that could provide purposeful work for the whole team. There is such growth that can happen from here to bring in other leadership competencies in addition to a meaningful vision and team effectiveness. At a time when employee engagement has never been more tricky, this isn't a bad place to start in establishing one's leadership philosophy. To develop more of this skill, be a role model for embracing the organization's vision, and promote teamwork through your leadership approach.

2. Flexibility And Openness To Change: One way I see this skill demonstrated is in the prevalence and normalcy of hybrid work. Hybrid work environments are just the norm for today's leaders. As leaders, they aren't viewing hybrid work as temporary or waiting for the time they will go back to the way they used to lead employees; there is no "this is how we used to do it." Especially for knowledge workers, where there is solid evidence now that employees can successfully work virtually, this new generation of leaders is well positioned to discover how to manage performance and create regular moments of human connection, including blending the right amount of in-person contact. Many new leaders are fearless in this area. To grow this leadership skill, know that you need to be ready for the next change and find ways to stay aware of the impact of future changes on employees.

3. True Leadership Presence: That which we are, we are, as Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote in one of his poems. Many of today's new leaders have no intention of bringing anything to leadership other than their true selves. They use coaching sessions to learn, explore, talk about their fears and celebrate. They want to practice so many leadership skills so as to be seen as the leaders they want to be. Their presence and how credible they are really do consume their inner thoughts. To be an authentic leader, ensure your employees feel like they are interacting with the real you; show this by holding to your values during good and challenging times and by discussing controversial issues with openness and curiosity.

As I was coaching these new leaders, I was also coaching seasoned executive leaders who continue to use the coaching process. I also noticed a pattern with this group of experienced leaders: Those who spoke about their interactions with their company's new leaders often expressed having a flashback that reminded them of their early days of leadership, bringing back that sense of optimism and grit that is still so needed today. These experienced leaders know that they need everyone locked into the organization's vision to thrive in the pandemic world, and supporting new leaders in their development is a business imperative.

In summary, lessons from those people who took on leadership roles in the pandemic world include vision and team, team and vision; flexibility and openness to change; and true leadership presence.

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

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Council Post: Three Leadership Skills Seen In Today's New Leaders

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Three key takeaways emerged from people who chose leadership during this time

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In 2023, women CEOs finally topped 10% of CEOs for Fortune 500 companies. They now outnumber men named John or James.

As one Axios story sums it up: meh.

Despite significant progress (and increase of 76%) in the Fortune 500, women CEOs have only increased 6% overall since 2017, and women in other leadership roles have only increased by an average of 3.4%.

What's more, women still face many challenges in the workplace, particularly if they're also a person of color, have a disability, are LGBTQIA+, or are neurodivergent. These challenges include:

We can't solve these issues overnight. In fact, The World Economic Forum says global gender parity could take an astounding 131 years to achieve because of various political, socio-economic, and cultural issues.

With that in mind, we don't claim to have all the answers when it comes to the gender gap in the workplace, but we do know one way to help women and non-binary folks grow their careers and achieve work-life balance: mentorship programs.

Mentors help women advance their careers - if they have one

Regardless of demographic, and whether you're mentor or mentee, mentorship programs accelerate your career.

Employees with workplace mentors are:

Yet only 37 percent of women have had a career mentor. In the last year, only 27 percent of companies have implemented mentoring programs. And less than half of remote/hybrid companies offer mentorship programs, a definite downside for working moms who say remote work is a big draw - 68% call it a caregiving benefit.

The "Mini-me" effect makes it tough for women to find mentors

The challenge of finding mentors for women is a simple numbers game. About 71% of mentors choose mentees who look like them - that's a huge problem when men outnumber women leaders.

That disparity also makes it tough to match ambitious women with high-talent female leaders, especially for the 80% of mentees who want to be mentored by someone who has taken a similar career path.

Michelle Ferguson, author of Women Mentoring Women suggests mentors look at what the mentee needs out of the relationship. A "mini-me" mentorship works really well if someone wants a mentor who shares a particular demographic. But many mentorships focus on professional skills, which anyone can teach.

The pandemic set women back; remote work created opportunities

The pandemic had a disproportionate impact on women in the workplace. Over 800,000 women left their jobs in September 2020 alone. That is four times the number of men who quit in that same period.

There is a bright spot, though. Remote work (also spurred by COVID shutdowns) has given workplaces increased opportunity to become more diverse.

"This [diversity] brings real benefits to decision-making, and ultimately, to business performance," Sinead Donovan, chair of GrantThornton Ireland, said in the company's 2023 Women in Business Report.

As these women reenter the workforce, they need mentors to show them the way.

Software built for mentorship gives companies the tools they need to launch a successful program. Book a demo to see how.

Role models champion their professional development

Workplace mentoring programs provide female role models to other employees in the company, especially other women.

"Seeing women in leadership positions where they are respected, their insights are valued, and their ability to influence/create real impact on a team or company signals to others, like myself, that it's possible." - Evelyn Ly,

These mentors are able to guide and advise these other women. They're also able to inspire them to achieve more. Seeing a leader that you can identify with in your organization gives you confidence that you too can advance to that level. This is especially important for women of color, who are among the least represented in leadership roles.

All women in senior leadership (38%) roles are more likely to sponsor women of color (WOC) than their male counterparts (23%). They're also more likely to be allies, which can help advance careers for WOC.
"Mentorship in the workplace is particularly important for women and non-binary people because of how much gender bias there is. People who aren't men have less opportunity, are paid less, and trusted less. And that can have a huge impact on our confidence." - Angela Rollins, Freelance Content Marketer
Women build a stronger professional network

Mentorships also allow women to find support and encouragement in their workplace. In a workplace where women are a minority, they may feel isolated. Developing a relationship with other women in business can help them feel more connected.

Women can also benefit by building networks of key and influential people to get to know other successful leaders through their mentors. These connections can provide women with the confidence to pursue new opportunities.
"Mentors have acted as my 'anchors' throughout my career by setting an example for me and giving me the courage to try things that otherwise might've seemed a bit too audacious and wildly out of my reach." - Lizzy Burnam, User Interviews
What women need are support networks. These can be found in employee resource groups for women or formal mentorship programs. These communities or programs give women opportunities to build connections and find support.

One example is The Forum, a Canadian-based non-profit that provides female entrepreneurs with mentors. Since its founding in 2001, The Forum has connected over 2000 entrepreneurs with career-changing mentors to help them build their businesses. They saw the need for female business owners to have mentors, and they built a community to fill it.

Mentoring programs offer robust toolkits for career growth

When women mentor women, they can develop leadership skills as well as practical abilities to advocate for themselves. Likewise, female mentors can train and equip younger women with skills like negotiating for a raise. They can accelerate their development and provide what some describe as shortcuts to success.

They can also offer advice on navigating their careers and finding a work-life balance. Women who have been mentored describe the experience and the skills they acquired as essential toolkits for their professional lives.

Male mentors provide additional opportunities for advancement

More than half of mentors are women, but men are in the majority of leadership positions. The unfortunate reality is that if men refuse to mentor women, it will prolong gender inequality in the workplace.

It's also important to note that in a Together survey of 50+ North American companies 68% of mentees said having a mentor from the same background was important to them.

But "same" doesn't have to mean "same gender." A study at UCLA revealed that women only prefer to be mentored by other women when they don't know the mentor. If they have a male colleague they respect, they're fine with a male mentor.
"Some of my most impactful mentors have been male. In organizations where there were little to no women in leadership positions, men were my only option." - Lizzy Burnam, User Interviews
Men who mentor women have a positive effect on gender equality in the workplace as well. Male leaders can help women learn new skills and break down barriers to advancement. In addition, company leaders have a lot to gain from mentoring women, including stronger leadership skills and a crucial perspective on diversity in the workplace.

To combat any concerns men may have about mentoring someone of another gender, consider finding commonalities you can emphasize when pairing up employees. For example, you could pair up people of color, non-binary employees, or alumni from the same university.

Mentorship reduces turnover and engages employees

Organizations that build workplace mentoring programs can improve their employees' skill sets, increase engagement, improve productivity and reduce turnover rates.

Mentorship is a major win for the employees and the employer.

These programs create equity in the workplace, encourage cross-functional collaboration, and support informal mentoring - all critical aspects of employee satisfaction and retention.

Mentorships create a more equitable workplace

Mentoring programs make the workplace more inclusive and equitable. For this reason, many companies have made mentorship a key part of their diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives in recent years.
"Even just knowing that a mentor got to where they are makes it feel more possible for me to do the same." - Angela Rollins, Freelance Content Marketer
But there are only 53 female CEOs in the Fortune 500 - and very few are from marginalized groups. Just 7.5% of women and less than 1% of all Fortune 500 CEOs come from marginalized backgrounds:

LGBTQIA+: Beth Ford, Land O'Lakes

People of Color: Roz Brewer, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Thasunda Brown Duckett, TIAA, and Dr. Lisa Su, Advanced Micro Devices

Disabled or Neurodivergent: None have spoken publicly about it.

Mentoring programs can help change those statistics. Women with mentors have more opportunities for advancement. When your employees achieve upward mobility, they are far more likely to stay with your company.

Mentoring fosters a collaborative culture

Formal mentoring programs build a more cohesive and collaborative workplace by building strong professional relationships. Collaborative employees share knowledge, support one another, and achieve better outcomes - factors that have a significant impact on retention.

Mentor relationships also offer more opportunities for collaborative training, like peer learning. But perhaps the biggest impact collaboration has on employee retention is that it decreases burnout while increasing productivity. Employees who collaborate feel more accomplished and supported, making them less likely to look for a new job.

Formal programs also support informal mentorships

A formal mentoring program can help break the ice for more reserved employees who find it challenging to identify a mentor on their own.
"A formal mentoring program is always the best door opener to start conversations for two reasons: 1) human nature - some might naturally seek out a mentor due to their extroversion and drive, others may need a "little push." In order for a workplace to reach their female workforce, having a formal program may increase the chances of success. And 2) chemistry is incredibly important in any human relationship. The benefit of a formal program is that women have an immediate conversation starter with someone tenured at the workplace." - Anett Tarnokova, Butter
But not all mentorships need to fall under the umbrella of your corporate mentoring program. In fact, 82 percent of women found a mentor by reaching out to someone they felt was a good fit.
"My mentors have all been informal ones, rather than part of an official program. I was mentored by women who took me under their wing because they took an interest in my career. I think that's an important aspect of mentorship - having a champion or advocate." - Carrie Chowske,
A formal program will naturally encourage employees to approach someone they feel they want to learn from at your organization. You can help create more connections by asking your leaders to reach out to junior employees they think might benefit from having a mentor.

[VIDEO: https://youtu.be/LY8KZZn2ckk?si=1Qj6-pGIN7fkR5Ub]

Do women in the workplace need a mentor or a sponsor?

Ideally, a woman will experience both mentorship and sponsorship during her career. The way to decide which is best at a particular point in a woman's career is to consider the type of guidance she or they are looking for.

What a Mentor Provides

With a mentor, the focus is on growth and learning through development and goal-setting. They serve as role models and coaches for their mentees. Mentors aren't always in leadership positions but are usually senior to their mentees in tenure or experience.

Reverse mentorships can also foster strong relationships between senior and junior employees.

What a Sponsor Provides

In contrast, a sponsor focuses on career advancement. They serve as champions and advocates for their protégé. Sponsors are leaders in an area of interest for the junior employee. For sponsors close to retirement age, their protégé may be their intended replacement.

Sponsorships can be particularly beneficial for women of color or employees in the LGBTQIA+ community because of the advocacy a sponsor can offer.
"I think women should have both, but sponsors can be especially powerful. A sponsor is more like a direct advocate who can help you find and land new opportunities. But a mentor - someone closer to your current level - can be very powerful in getting you to the next career step. I also think mentors can be more hands-on in helping you develop the skills you're seeking to improve." - Lani Assaf, Elpha
Create opportunities for women with mentorship programs + Together

Women who have role models in the workplace have longer, more successful careers. Formalize this process for your company with a mentorship program backed by Together.

Whether you're looking to support your ERG, onboarding program, DEI initiatives, or employee wellness, our mentoring software makes it easy for organizations to run a mentoring program.

Learn more about how we can help by booking a free demo. Or start building your mentoring program today.

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Why women need mentorship in the workplace | Together Mentoring Software

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Mentorship is a meaningful way to encourage the advancement of women in the workplace. We spoke to several women and non-binary folks to understand how they feel about mentorship and its impact on their careers. | Kinjal Dagli

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Having female mentors in the workplace can benefit your career.
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When women are empowered to lead, everyone wins. Yet, women continue to be underrepresented in management roles in the U.S. workforce, according to research conducted by LinkedIn. The report estimates that less than a third of leadership positions are held by women globally. In the U.S., only 37% of leadership positions are held by women despite women comprising 47% of the workforce. On top of that, the gender wage gap continues to widen, with women, on average, being paid 22% less than men. Yet women want to advance their careers. One powerful way to boost career growth is by building relationships with mentors in the workplace.

Female mentors or "femtors" are typically seasoned professionals who support mentees by providing professional guidance and support. While mentoring benefits mentees, it also brings value to the mentor and the organization. Being a mentor provides a sense of fulfillment while establishing leadership skills and adding to their qualifications. For companies, mentoring programs foster a diverse, inclusive and collaborative environment while helping to grow and develop high-potential leaders.

Having mentors in the workplace can benefit your career, whether you're an entry-level or senior-level professional. Here are some reasons why.

Mentors hold you accountable

When you struggle to stay afloat at work, creating a career plan and following through can be difficult. A mentor helps you set measurable, achievable goals and holds you accountable. They also assist with breaking long-term goals down into smaller action items so that you stay focused and on track. Regular check-ins to assess your objectives and determine areas of improvement is a key aspect of mentorship. Then when you achieve your aspirations, you'll find that your productivity and job satisfaction naturally increase.

Mentors have real-life experience

When you work with a mentor, you benefit from learning from someone who has been there and done that. They can provide a valuable perspective on the current work environment. Plus, mentors are typically further along in their careers, so they can share advice based on real-life insights.

Mentors inspire and motivate

Another benefit of having a mentor is that they inspire you to overcome obstacles. They provide encouragement and act as a sounding board. If you struggle with aspects of your job or career, a mentor provides a safe space to discuss challenges and possible solutions. While the mentee takes ownership of their own learning, the mentor leverages their experience to guide the mentee in the right direction.

Mentors identify areas for improvement

A primary benefit of career mentoring is receiving constructive feedback. Mentors are active listeners who can shine a light on your strengths and weaknesses. This benefits individuals who aren't in touch with their unique gifts and improvement areas. Your mentor can also help you strategize about other development topics like setting healthy workplace boundaries or dealing with imposter syndrome. By developing a healthy self-awareness, you will be more likely to reach your full potential.

Mentors help expand your network

Having a mentor can multiply a mentee's professional network. For example, a mentor can guide you so that you don't waste time cultivating connections that won't help you reach your goals. They can also offer you access to their own personal and professional contacts. With research showing that 70% of all jobs are not published publicly and as much as 80% of jobs are filled through personal and professional connections, this is a huge benefit.

Working one on one with a trusted advisor can be a transformational experience. Yet, according to a DDI study, 63% of women have never had a formal mentor. Don't wait to reach out to someone you admire and respect. Chances are, that person had mentors throughout their career and now would be more than happy to return the favor.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

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Why Women Benefit From Mentors In The Workplace

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Having mentors in the workplace can benefit your career, whether you're an entry-level or senior-level professional. Here are some reasons why.

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Authentic Leadership and How to Achieve It

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Authentic Leadership and How to Achieve It

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Authentic leadership is one of the most popular topics in business today, with no shortage of books, podcasts, and articles on the concept. And for good reason. Employees are increasingly seeking authentic leaders committed to transparency, integrity, and genuine relationships with their teams.

What Is Authentic Leadership?

Authentic leadership means embracing high standards, integrity, and acting in the best interests of the people you lead, which then builds trust and naturally leads to stronger teams.

And taking the concept of Authentic Leadership a step further, I want to introduce you to what I call Respectful Authenticity, which at its core is about being true to yourself and acting in ways that are consistent with your values.

Authenticity - the concept - has been around for a long time.

I'm adding the word respectful to help distinguish it as a powerful tool in the workplace. Adding the notion of respectful helps eliminate many of the downsides that can come with plain old authenticity.

Being authentic isn't about saying whatever you think or feel. That approach can be damaging either to you personally or to the company. Being authentic doesn't give you license to be an S.O.B. We all know people who've taken this kind of approach - the "This is me - like it or not!" attitude or "I'm mad and am entitled to yell at people." By contrast, Respectful Authenticity isn't about doing whatever you want and not caring about the people around you.

Here's a secret that the best authentic leaders know, that others don't: The most successful authentic leaders share their truths with quiet courage, and with a sensitivity to others' needs.

The Concept of Authentic Leadership in Business Is Relatively New

Many leaders point to bestselling author and former Medtronic CEO Bill George as the first to popularize the term with his 2003 book, Authentic Leadership. In a recent interview, George said a key goal of authentic leaders is to build extraordinary relationships with employees by reflecting on their own values and goals and working to instill a similar sense of integrity and meaningful work within the team. "How do you inspire people, how do you help them reach their full potential?" he said.

George followed up on his original book with another bestseller: True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, and recently released a new edition focusing on emerging leaders. In an interview with a McKinsey & Company leader, George described what's driving the push for authentic leadership today.

"We are going through a massive generational change in leadership, from baby boomers to Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z, and this book is a clarion call to them to lead authentically and make contributions with a deep sense of purpose," he said.

"I'm pleased to see corporations around the world are shifting to authentic leaders and moving away from the power-based command-and-control type leaders. Today, people don't leave companies, they leave bad managers, so we need strong leaders at all levels - not just CEOs."

Why Is Authentic Leadership Important?

Authenticity has never been more critical to great leadership. High-profile business leadership and ethics scandals remain in the headlines, contributing to a growing lack of trust in organizations. On average, according to multiple studies, only a third of U.S. employees are engaged and less than half of that percentage are engaged globally.

Yet research demonstrates that authentic leaders often achieve better engagement - and better business results. Here are some key specifics on why authenticity is important:

1. Authentic leaders make employees more comfortable and engaged

From our experience with clients at The Grossman Group, we've found that there are fewer question marks about what's on a genuinely authentic leader's mind because those leaders regularly communicate what matters to them and what they expect. In return, employees feel much more motivated. In the end, authentic leaders create fundamentally different relationships with the people they lead and their peers.

2. Authentic leaders produce positive business outcomes

In a report in Administrative Science Quarterly, Cornell University researchers Daniel Cable, Francesca Gino, and Bradley Staats found a distinct competitive advantage for companies that "strategically encourage authenticity at work" from the employees' initial weeks on the job. This is not just about the leader being authentic, but also encouraging the team to make authenticity a core tenet for how work is approached.

The researchers found that organizations that encourage employees to share personal strengths and values during employee orientation programs had significantly higher retention and engagement than organizations that focused solely on a company's values and expectations during employee onboarding.

Researchers pointed to more effective orientation models, where newcomers are given time to reflect on such questions as: "What is unique about you that leads to your happiest times and best performance at work?" Employees might also be invited to introduce themselves to new colleagues by sharing their "best selves," including who they are, what they do best, and what matters to them. In this way, employees get a chance to frame the new job as a chance to be their best selves at work.

The authors outline some of the positive outcomes from such an approach, including:

Giving employees greater feelings of connection with colleagues

Encouraging employees to invest more personal energy into their work

Helping employees see the workplace as an environment where they are understood

Giving employees the motivation to reach their goals by exercising their personal strengths

3. Authentic leaders build a greater sense of commitment and loyalty from their team members

Another key benefit of authentic leadership is that it's a fast track to a close-knit team. Especially in the aftermath of COVID-19, many workers began to rethink their relationship with work, often concluding that they wanted more purpose and meaning in their careers. This ushered in a "Great Resignation" of employees leaving their jobs and, in turn, caused leaders to reconsider how they led.

Researchers have seen a direct correlation between authenticity and employee personal growth and satisfaction, which can naturally boost retention. Employees who work for authentic leaders tend to have higher levels of self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-development.

Some research has also pointed to authentic leaders helping to inspire moral courage among their employees.

Several other studies have shown a direct correlation between leader empathy and stronger business results. Naturally, empathy and authenticity are closely related.

According to an EY Consulting Group Survey, 90% of workers believe empathetic leadership leads to higher job satisfaction. When employee experience is prioritized, job satisfaction improves. Another study from Catalyst found that leaders who practice empathy have been shown to have a more engaged, higher-performing team as a more profitable business overall.

Authentic Leadership Characteristics

Bill George's classic Authentic Leadership text defines authentic leaders as having five key traits:

Pursuing their purpose with passion

Practicing solid values

Leading with their hearts as well as their heads

Establishing connected relationships

Demonstrating self-discipline

"To be effective leaders of people, authentic leaders must first discover the purpose of their leadership," George said. "If they don't, they are at the mercy of their egos and narcissistic impulses. To discover their purpose, authentic leaders have to understand themselves and the passions that animate their life stories."

From our own decades of work with leaders inside top companies, we've identified similar traits, narrowing our perspective down to these five key characteristics of authentic leaders:

1. Authentic leaders respect humility and take time to reflect and bring their best selves to work

"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up." This quote from Jesse Jackson is a great way of looking at the power of humility in leadership. If you're humble, you're willing to see that there are always things for you to work on to be better, just as you should encourage your team members to reflect and be willing to learn and grow.

Along with being humble is the ability to know who you are and what you stand for. This is about having an objective understanding of your personality, desires, motivations, and strengths and weaknesses.

Leaders should take the time to constantly evaluate their skills and shortcomings, soliciting honest feedback from candid colleagues on what they're doing well and where they could improve. When this becomes part of the leader's regular practice, they are far more likely to win the respect and loyalty of their team.

In addition to self-reflection, it's important for leaders to prioritize self-care to ensure they are giving their best selves to their employees and have the energy to provide support and guidance to their team.

2. Authentic leaders are empathetic and make a conscious effort to support and bring out the best in others

Authentic leadership is all about relationship building. Authentic leaders take the time to hear how team members are doing, both personally and professionally, and are willing to put themselves in someone else's shoes.

This approach is simply about being more human as you lead, what I call leading with heart. During the pandemic and the ensuing racial unrest, I was continually inspired by the concrete actions leaders took to lead and communicate with empathy and heart. Sometimes it was just about taking time to check in with employees, with no other agenda. In other cases, it was about showing gratitude and letting an employee share their story, or their personal challenges and fears. Leaders who empathized with their employees and fostered sincere connections and relationships were most successful in rallying their teams in a time of crisis to produce positive change.

3. Authentic leaders are honest and candid about possibilities and challenges

Authentic leaders understand that to be truly effective at making change and moving an organization forward, they need to always explain the "why" behind their organizational plans. This means being transparent about competitive data, market opportunities and challenges, and making the vision relevant for employees. At the same time, leaders need to answer the question all employees ask in times of change: "What's in it for me?" Once employees know that, they're far more likely to understand how they fit in and how they can contribute.

Especially in times of change (which is what business is all about today), here are the three key things that employees want from their leaders:

What the leaders know, when they know it

What the leaders don't know and are working to understand

Information presented in a candid, truthful way (don't sugarcoat it, and address head-on any myths or rumors that may be circulating but simply aren't true)

4. Authentic leaders have high moral standards and expectations

Truly authentic leaders have a high moral compass. They care about doing what's right for their teams and moving the organization forward for the mutual benefit of the team as well as the customers and market demands.

Authentic leaders behave in ways that are in sync with their values instead of simply trying to please others or get something from them.

Along your journey as a leader looking to be better, always ask yourself this key question: "What would the best version of myself do?" You need to have the courage to lead with your heart as well as your head in order to be an exceptional leader.

5. Authentic leaders are excellent listeners and communicators

So much about being a great - and authentic - leader comes down to being a great communicator. That starts with taking the time to closely listen to your team members. As a general rule, leaders need to listen a whole lot more than they talk.

At the same time, leaders need to take communication seriously, working with a professional communications team that has a real seat at the table of leadership, helping to build plans and a cadence of communication that provides employees with a "surround sound" approach - using a variety of compelling communication channels, so team members can hear messages in the best way that suits them.

Most importantly, leaders need to ensure that employees have a voice and opportunity to share their views, ask questions, and dialogue with leaders. In this way, leaders can build engaged teams that move mountains for their organization.

How to Be An Authentic Leader (3 Key Steps)

Everyone has what it takes to be an authentic leader. The secret lies in being true to who you are and bringing out the best in others. Here are three key steps to get you started:

1. Take time to reflect on your personal and organizational goals

With the help of your team, reflect on your personal values, write them down, and chart how they line up with the organization's values. This exercise provides a great start for ensuring that what you care about is incorporated in your regular communication. Employees need to see why you are the person to lead the organization toward achieving its goals, what drives you, and why you care about not only your personal success but the success of the full team.

2. Commit to building more genuine relationships with your team

Leaders inspire their teams by showing they care. One of the best ways to do that is to commit to listening more intently to your employees. It's not only inviting employee input on a project, initiative, or ways of working; it's actively listening to understand their employee experience. It's also about proving you value that input by showing appreciation for an employee's point of view and taking action on it.

To create a culture where people feel their input is valued, authentic leaders facilitate dialogue. They set the tone, establish expectations for the entire team, and model active listening.

Some of the best ways to demonstrate active listening include:

Approach each dialogue with the goal to learn something. Regardless of the employee's level or role, think of the person you are speaking with as someone who can teach you. Have an open mind without pushing an agenda.

Stop talking and focus closely on the speaker. Suppress the urge to think about what you're going to say next or to multitask. Be present and show you care.

Open and guide the conversation with broad, open-ended questions that prompt dialogue and cue to the employee that you want to learn more.

Drill down to the details by asking direct, specific questions that focus on the conversation, such as "Tell me more about ... " or "How did you come to that conclusion?" or "How would this idea work?"

Summarize what you hear and ask questions to check your understanding. Throughout the conversation, paraphrase what you hear to show you are actively listening and considering the employee's point of view.

Encourage with positive feedback. Show appreciation for the team member's willingness to share thoughts, even if you don't necessarily agree with all that's being shared. Encourage others to express their points of view and be authentic with an observation like, "The fact that you and I may disagree on a topic is a good thing," and share why.

Listen for total meaning. Understand that in addition to what is being said, the real message may be nonverbal or emotional. Tone of voice, crossed arms, and poor eye contact can be clues that someone is feeling they aren't being heard or understood.

Authentic leaders also make a point to regularly dialogue with every person who reports to them, as well as the larger team through regular touchpoints, such as or town halls all-hands meetings . When working with teams that are regularly onsite, such as a healthcare, manufacturing, or retail center, leaders should consider regular 10-minute huddles, so people can see each other and feel connected.

3. Focus on honest, candid, and frequent communication

Too often, corporate communication can feel too practiced or surface-level. Employees can see through this kind of corporate speak and, as a result, they often tune out when they see it. Leaders who share personal reflections and stories about their own experiences can help build trust among their teams. People want to follow leaders they feel they know and understand.

Further, communication needs to follow a regular cadence, so employees know they have multiple opportunities to gain understanding, share feedback, and stay in the loop on challenges and opportunities.

Examples of Authentic Leadership

Two corporate leaders often mentioned as being clear examples of authenticity are Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs.

1. Warren Buffett

According to a piece in Inc. Magazine, Warren Buffett summarized his belief in authentic leadership by stating that the key to great leadership is "the willingness to confess mistakes and invite others to do the same."

2. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs' commencement address to Stanford students is also pointed to as one of the most compelling examples of authentic leadership. Jobs was candid about his own shortcomings, including his failure to graduate from college. "Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation," Jobs said in his opening to the address, inviting humor and signaling his candid approach. He proceeded to explain why he dropped out of college.

Before he died, Jobs was also often cited as an iconic example of an authentic leader because he was surprisingly candid about his personal feelings and failures with his own team. In our work with leaders, we've come across similar examples of the power of authenticity to build trust and engagement from teams.

3. Alisa McGowan

For example, the former CHRO of a medical device company we've worked with shared her own story of the journey to become a more authentic leader in my book, Heart First: Lasting Leader Lessons from A Year That Changed Everything.

In the foreword to the book, Alisa McGowan shared that she now looks at leadership in a new and completely different way. Today, she takes more time to listen to each employee's "story" because, as she puts it, "everyone has a story... a story that helps define who they are, what they hope to accomplish, and what truly matters to them when it comes to work and life." Similarly, she has taken more time to share her own story as a black woman leader in corporate America, and her passion for meaningful DEI initiatives. In the past, she tended to be much more private, separating her work and family life to such an extreme degree that it held her back from more meaningful working relationships.

The Bottom Line

The most compelling message from all the research on the power of authentic leadership is simple - being human, real, and values-driven in leadership matters a whole lot.

To be a truly exceptional leader, you need to take the time to reflect on what you care about and how you might build genuine relationships with your team members. Share with your team who you are and what drives you. Take the time and effort to build extraordinary relationships with the people on your team. This is the work that has the potential to be the driving force in your eventual success.
What one or two changes, if you made today, would have the greatest impact on your journey of authentic leadership?
-David Grossman

As a way to give back, we want to pay it forward by giving away copies of Heart First. If you're located in the U.S., we'll provide you, members of your team, and/or a leader you think will benefit with a copy (it's on us!). Click below to select your option and submit your book order today!

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Authentic Leadership: What It Is, and How to Achieve It

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Use this guide to help you on your journey to becoming an authentic leader and why it's good for business.

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So many great topics in this series of podcasts. They aren’t all related to Leadership but are all very interesting and great brain food.

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The Green Room: Questions That Matter Most In Business

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Listen to The Green Room: Questions That Matter Most In Business on Spotify. The Green Room by Deloitte is an award-winning podcast exploring the topics that matter most in business. Each episode we ask one big question about the world around us that's affecting business.

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When it comes to developing your career, you've heard the advice: Define your values, follow your passion, and find your purpose. But what do these concepts actually mean, and how can you use them to move forward in your career?

1. Values are the foundation for your passion and purpose - they define what is important to you and thereby can influence the passions you pursue and the purpose you seek to fulfill. Values are not just abstract concepts - they should manifest in your actions, decisions, and behaviors. When your values are in alignment with your actions, you will experience greater satisfaction and authenticity.

2. Passion is what drives you to explore and engage in activities aligned with your values. Fundamental to passion is the strong and intense emotional drive that fuels its pursuit. It's the deep, fervent interest and enjoyment you derive from a particular activity, cause, or field. Knowing what you're passionate about can guide you in many different ways - from helping you find a career you'll love, to deciding on what moves to make on your path, to balancing your work and life.

3. Purpose is a broader and more profound concept that encapsulates how your values and passions come together. It is your deeper reason for existence - it's a sense of meaning and direction in life that goes beyond personal enjoyment or fulfillment.Like your values, your purpose can help guide your actions and serve as a constant reference point for decision-making in your career. It can be a helpful guiding post for long-term planning, helping you understand your career in the context of what you ultimately want to achieve or the legacy you want to leave behind.

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Values, Passion, or Purpose - Which Should Guide Your Career?

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When it comes to developing your career, you've heard the advice: Define your values, follow your passion, and find your purpose. But what do these concepts actually mean, and how can you use them to move forward in your career?

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There's so much power in understanding what your values are - they can help you make decisions, guide your career, and even live a happier life. But how can you think about your values in an intentional way?

Step 1: Find your values. Your values aren't hiding. Even if you haven't vocalized them, they're a reflection of the most important aspects of your life. To identify yours, reflect on what's important to you, create a list of the top three things, and rank them if you can.

Step 2: Define your values. Write down what each of the values you identified really means to you, and try to keep your definition as short as possible - you want to be able to easily remember your values and how you define them. Ask yourself: If somebody were to wake me in the middle of the night and ask me to define my values, could I answer?

Step 3: Use your values. You'll know you have identified your values and truly defined them once you find yourself looking at the world around you through the framework of your values. One way to practice using your values is to reflect on a situation that's frustrating you. Ask yourself: What is lurking behind my frustration? Is one of my values not being met?

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How to Find, Define, and Use Your Values

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There's so much power in understanding what your values are - they can help you make decisions, guide your career, and even live a happier life. But how can you think about your values in an intentional way? Step 1: Find your values. Your values aren't hiding.

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The link between Imposter Syndrome and Burnout is real...

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Women in power and what they wear.

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As Angela Rayner arrived to take up her new role as deputy prime minister, some online commentators went into meltdown - not because of her historic appointment, but because of what she was wearing.

Rayner walked up to Number 10 Downing Street wearing a bright green, relaxed cut, trouser suit from the brand Me+Em. According to fashion writer Laura Craik, this is the go-to fashion brand for many female politicians, celebrities and royals.

The criticisms of Rayner in her suit were twofold. First, that it did not look good, she looked like a "clown", it was too bright, it did not fit. Second, Rayner is famously from a working-class background, and the suit is said to have cost £550.

So the suggestion is that she has "sold out", and she should have worn something more befitting a person from a working-class background. Although it's not clear what that is.

Despite having had three female prime ministers previously, (one famously the daughter of a shopkeeper), social class is still an issue for women in politics.

Another new cabinet member, transport secretary Louise Haigh, was also mocked online for her outfit - notably, for not wearing a suit.

These criticisms remind us of the difficulties that women have when they become successful and more importantly, powerful. What is appropriate to wear to convey power and success?

For men, it's very easy. Men wear suits. The man in a suit and tie is the man in charge. In Britain, one of the phrases which indicates smartness is the resolutely male "suited and booted".

I research masculinity and clothing and have found that suits are more complicated than they first seem, depending on who wears them. Academic Tim Edwards notes that one of the first suits was worn by King Louis XIV in the 17th century. This plain jacket and trousers replaced more flamboyant outfits and was used to indicate power and gravitas.

Today, suits are commonly available for men of all ages. They are as appropriate for a boy to wear to his first communion, to his prom and to the interview for his first job, as they are for world leaders. In my research, I suggest that boys who wear suits are "men in waiting", and they are waiting to gain the power that men have as they get older.

What about the women?

Given that women have traditionally been absent from powerful roles in great numbers, it's difficult to know what they can wear that conveys the same power that men in suits do.

In modern times, female politicians have worn suits in some form. Margaret Thatcher was a huge fan of skirt suits and pussy-bow blouses, for which she received little, if any, criticism.

The next female prime minister, Theresa May, received much more attention (and some criticism) for her arguably more fashionable and fun shoe choices.

The "rules" about what women should and shouldn't wear seem intrinsically sexist, given that no such rules appear to apply to men. One of the most notable male politician fashion controversies in recent years was Barack Obama's tan suit, though the attention was largely because it was an unusual choice for the president.

My research suggests that trouser suits are inherently difficult for women to wear, as they are generally cut for men. While Madonna famously made suits "sexy" for women in the 1990s, the suits were made for her to perform in, and they fitted her accordingly.

Famous women in power who wore suits, such as Angela Merkel and Hilary Clinton, wore pantsuits, a longer line jacket and often trousers in a contrasting colour. Clinton later revealed that her decision to wear pantsuits instead of skirts came after an advertisement used a "suggestive" up-the-skirt photo of her - another example of the sexism powerful women face related to their dress.

But it's only recently that suits have even been an option. While women in trousers were considered daring in the 1920s, women were banned from wearing them in Congress until the mid 1990s. An archaic law banning women from wearing trousers still existed in Paris until 2013, (of course, it was widely disobeyed until then).

Today, trouser suits are still culturally considered men's garments, and they easily represent masculinity and, therefore, power. Even Me+Em, the brand which made Rayner's suit, states on its website: "Find a selection of 'borrowed from the boys' suiting."

This leads to the idea that there is no single garment, or group of garments that can give women the same, or similar gravitas, that men's suits give men. Problematically, like young boys, women in suits look as if they are borrowing power, which suggests they cannot have power of their own.

As women become more dominant in politics, they are also trying to look smart, businesslike and powerful. One of the things that criticisms of women's clothing does is remind us of the relative novelty of women's power.

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Angela Rayner's green suit: why is it so difficult for women in power to dress 'correctly'?

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Boys who wear suits are 'men in waiting', and they are waiting to gain the power that men have as they get older.

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Could anxiety ever become your superpower?

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Visibility in Leadership

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Holistic Health and the Role of Organisations, Teams, the Job and the Individual in Avoiding Employee Burnout

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Reframing employee health: Moving beyond burnout to holistic health

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We look at how companies can take a holistic health approach with programming that helps employees prioritize physical, mental, social, and spiritual health.

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97% of Gen Z experience workplace burnout, new study finds

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Gen Z is facing the greatest impact of burnout with 97% of respondents stating they feel overwhelmed and exhausted in the workplace, according to Cigna

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A fantastic article which explains perfectly our struggle.

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A fantastic article which explains perfectly our struggle.

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No reward for leaning in: the workplace toll of emotional labor

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Women are expected to play an impossible game: show compassion and submission while being assertive and confident

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg looks at why a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions -- and offers 3 powerful pieces of advice to women aiming for the C-suite.

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Why it may be easier for men than women to gain influence at work. 

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Why it may be easier for men than women to gain influence at work. 

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World Economic Forum: Future of Jobs Report 2023

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World Economic Forum: Future of Jobs Report 2023