The Nine Strategies of High Potential Employees: Why Women Lag Men
What is your business strategy for getting ahead? Are you effectively using all the right levers? How do women compare to men with faced with the same challenges and opportunities?
To determine what individuals do to advance their career Nancy Silva, Director Research and Dr. Christine Carter, authors of articles and books for The Harvard Business School, working on behalf of the Catalyst organization surveyed 3,300 high potentials about the tactics they used. Some strategies focused on preparedness some within their companies and some on other firms, and others comparing the differences and similarities between high potential men and equally high potential men. Here they are:
- “Get Trained through Experience”, Ask for and earn work assignments that increase your knowledge, exposure and skills.
- “Gain Access to Power”. Identify the most influential people in the firm and their circles of influence then get on their project teams and work hard to make a positive impression. Identify routes to networking with these influencers and power holders. Learn how things “really work” within the firm and what people need to see in your proposals.
- “Make Your Achievements Visible”. Make sure your managers and others in the organization are aware of your accomplishments. A good way to do this is to seek additional performance feedback. Volunteer to do post project analysis to see what really works and what people’s information and decision biases might be. Ask to be considered for promotions when you see a need you can fulfill.
- “Work Life Boundaries”. Communicate a willingness to work long hours and to meet tight deadlines. If your boss arrives early be an early riser, if he works late shift to his schedule plus five minutes—if this sounds sneaky, it is, and it works. Decide where and when you want to be indispensable.
- “Get Formal Training.” The paper matters and so do the networks and skills it will give you especially when you may need to job hop or need to impress someone who doesn’t know your value. If your company has a worldwide talent bank be sure your profile has all the right checks and passes all the screens.
- “Plan your Career”. This means write you career plan like a business plan. What are the resources you need, the market you will serve and the action steps you will undertake? Then gather greatness around you and date your milestones.
- “Seek Advice”. You don’t know what you don’t know.
- “Scan for Opportunities Outside the Company”
- Monitor the market
- Keep in friends with head hunters – let them know about leads and talent
- Know your Market Value
- Double scan for Opportunities within the Company. A rise of three positions within the same company always impresses someone outside. Some companies make it a screen.
Interestingly enough, what they found was that even when women had equal or better formal education and used the same tactics they still lagged their male counterparts. This was particularly true at the top and on boards of Directors and even though research has proven that companies with stronger women involvement at these senior levels do financially better.
“When men and Women did all the right things men advanced further and faster” In fact employing the strategies above did little to advance high potential women compared to those that coasted. It wasn’t because they were satisfied at lower levels and in fact they grew to be more dissatisfied with their assignments and income (66% satisfied vs. 77% for males) Women benefitted most by making their achievements known versus other strategies but still received lower level mentors which led to less senior level sponsorship.
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