In this evening workshop (part of the monthly Cooper Parlor event series) participants took a deeper look how the definition of leadership is changing, their individual leadership styles, and the gender and leadership dynamics in their own organizations. They then brainstormed new practices to help cultivate female and more "feminine" style leaders in their organizations. Created and facilitated by Teresa Brazen, Design Education Strategist, and Susan Dybbs, Managing Director, Interaction Design, at Cooper (www.Cooper.com).

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The gender,
leadership,
design axis
Facilitators:
Teresa Brazen, Design Education Strategist
Susan Dybbs, Managing Director, Interaction Design

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+ Why this topic
+ Taking a look at leadership styles
+ Cultivating leadership
Agenda

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In her book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg examines why
women’s progress in achieving leadership roles
has stalled. In the book she:
+ Describes the double standard where
ambition in women is perceived as a
negative quality, but positive in a man
+ Implores women not to forego career
advancement for family too early in
their careers
+ Calls women (and men) to work
together to build equality
Why this topic

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A few stories….

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What is leadership?

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“
”
Leadership is a process of
social influence, which
maximizes the efforts of
others, toward achievement of
a common goal.
Kevin Kruse
Author, speaker, entrepreneur. Article: “What is Leadership?”, Forbes April 2013

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What is your leadership style?
1 Write down 3+ characteristics of your leadership style.
Think about how you: communicate, managing tasks, make
decisions, plan, give feedback, set goals, encourage or develop
skills in others, manage conflict, negotiate, inspire others.

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What does leadership look like in your
organization?
1 Write down 3+ characteristics of leadership in your
organization.
What qualities do current leaders exhibit?
What qualities do people in your organization appreciate?
What kind of people are promoted?
Are there patterns around how leaders communicate, managing
tasks, make decisions, plan, give feedback, set goals, develop
skills in others, manage conflict, negotiate, inspire others?

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“Masculine“ & “Feminine“ Leadership Styles

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expressive
patient
long-term thinkers
flexible
loyal
intuitive
mentor
collaborative
positive reinforcement
empathic
confident
decisive
resilient
assertive
competitive
direct
critical
independent
self-reliant
formal
“Masculine“ & “Feminine“ Leadership Styles

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Double bind
There is a mismatch between
feminine qualities and the
perception of what a leader is.
Source: “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. HBR, Sept 2013.

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What does double bind look like?
If women are confident/assertive, they are
seen as arrogant or abrasive.
If women act conventionally feminine, they
are liked but not respected, deemed too
emotional and soft to be strong leaders.
Source: “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. HBR, Sept 2013.

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Have you had or witnessed an
experience like this?

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Cultivating new leaders

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How is leadership cultivated in your
organization?
Find a partner and discuss how leadership is cultivated in
each of your organizations.
Think about: internal or external training programs, informal or
ad hoc leadership development, mentors, how potential leaders
are selected or identified, how promotions are given, career path
development.

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Leadership is a complex skill.
It doesn’t come naturally.
?

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Leadership requires a
fundamental identity shift.
?
Source: “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. HBR, Sept 2013.

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+ Women must establish credibility in a culture that is deeply
conflicted about whether, when, and how they should
exercise authority
+ Human tendency to gravitate toward people like yourself
+ Few female leadership role models
+ Gendered career paths or work
+ Double-binds
?
Even more barriers for women:
Source: “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. HBR, Sept 2013.

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What would help women get
around or remove these
obstacles?

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+ Practice
+ Positive reinforcement
+ Safe space for experimentation & coaching
+ Education about obstacles
?
(especially the unspoken kind)
Leadership cultivation methods:
Source: “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. HBR, Sept 2013.

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Brainstorm practices that would cultivate
feminine leadership qualities.
1
2
3
Break into teams of 3-4
Pick a leadership development obstacle from your worksheet
that resonates with your group
Brainstorm a new practice that would tackle that obstacle
and help cultivate women (or those exhibiting more
“feminine” leadership traits) leaders

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Thanks
@cooper
parlor@cooper.com
teresa@cooper.com
@teresabrazen
susan@cooper.com
@dybbsy

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+ “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”, by Sheryl Sandberg
+ “Do Male Leaders Need to Think More Like Women?” by Dorie Clark, Forbes, April 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorieclark/2013/04/15/do-male-leaders-need-to-think-more-like-women/
+ Excerpts from “The Athena Doctrine: How Women (And the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the World” by John
Gerzema. (Book now available on Amazon)
https://app.box.com/s/7r9si0y2gz60mxci1m29
+ “’Feminine’ Values Can Give Tomorrow’s Leaders an Edge” by John Gerzema, HBR, August 2013
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/08/research_male_leaders_should_think_more_like_women.html
+ “It’s Not Women Who Should Lean In, It’s Men who Should Lean Back”, James Allworth, HBR, April 2013.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/its_not_women_who_should_lean.html
+ “What ‘Lean In’ Misunderstands about Gender Differences” by Christina Hoff Summers
http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/03/what-lean-in-misunderstands-about-gender-differences/
274138/
+ “Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?” by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, HBR, August 2013
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/08/why_do_so_many_incompetent_men.html
+ “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb. HBR, Sept 2013
http://hbr.org/2013/09/women-rising-the-unseen-barriers/ar/3
Sources of inspiration: