Accolades to Sara Larch and Bergitta Smith who presented at Annual Conference last week in San Diego on how to brand yourself as a female leader. If you did not have the opportunity to attend the conference, I encourage you to download the slides that include a rich Appendix with references. I would like to add one more book as a must read for any woman who is in the workforce and that is What Men Don't Tell Women About Business by self-named recovering "Alpha male", Chris Flett (a quick read that I highly recommend).
My post here is not intended for females only and I encourage the guys to read, respond, critique and post. This conversation, as Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook notes in her book Lean In is one of inclusion. I read her book many months ago to help feed my appetite for following leadership trends regardless of gender. If you don't have the time to read her book, then I recommend you listen to her Ted Talk which is easily found on YouTube. Sara and Bergitta also recommended reading the September issue of Harvard Business Review where the emphasis of this particular issue is on how to "overcome" biases that hold women back from moving up and into C-suite jobs. Generally speaking, the perspective of the authors come from larger organizations, but let's not forget that over 85% of physician practices in the United States consist of five or few physcians.
Regardless of the size of the organization you belong to, I agree with one observation shared by seven CEOs interviewed for the article. The CEOs agree that the single most important barrier women are affected by it's the exclusion from networks and conversations. Time to Lean In, Ladies and it's also time for the Gentlemen in the room-to make room. The proof of disparate income in our industry is in our very own MGMA Management and Compensation Survey where we continue to see a difference in salary between men and women-for the same exact job. I recently pointed this out to the students in my Human Resources class where I teach and they were stunned.
I have always had the outlook of what the glass is full of; rather than what it is lacking. And, I try to look at my professional life through a lens of what I am capable of doing and learning instead of "what is holding me back". In fact, I find the discussion what conceptually "holds women back" something that needs to be discarded all together. Discrimination exists at all levels and against all classes-protected or not. We need to be careful in this case where we continue to look at what is "holding us back" because we can easily tip into "victimhood" status. The persona of leadership and professionalism simply doesn't ask the question "what is holding me back" because it is defeatist.
Men have been naturally networking through private clubs, golf and other venues for years and we refer to this as the "good old boys club". Women in the workplace have no barriers to network in their own way; on their own terms. There are no excuses why women cannot have the same strong networking as our male counterparts, however this will take practice at deconstructing and changing the behaviors that may have held us back. My other observation with women and networking is we need to be more conscious of promoting each other.
Bergitta and Sara made a resonant point that has stuck with me and I keep coming back to it because I have been asked about my communication style many times. The reason for this is my audience changes and as noted in the session-we must know our audience. Are you addressing your Board of Directors? Your staff? I know my style of communication changes; however my responsibility to lead-does not. Males represent the majority of practicing physicians and females represent the majority of nursing staff. I challenge you to understand the "pack" you are part of and start leaning into that pack in your own way. Women do not need to "be a man" in order to lead and men do not expect it. Not too long ago I had an opportunity to start working with and ultimately mentoring a new female physician in our group who was so fiercely indepedent that she could not communicate and earn respect of other women. We need to be mindful of this possible backlash. As Bergitta and Sara pointed out in their session-correct your mistakes and errors in real time. Humility is not a weakness, but rather a strength and this young physician learned this lesson with regret.
Finally, Ms. Sandberg shares the importance she places on the decision on how she and her husband are equally committed to make each others career a priority. Some days are unequal no doubt, however, neither one of them have settled into gendered roles in the home and this arrangement has been invaluable to Sheryl's ability to commit professional energy to her career with the knowledge she does not have to shoulder the historical majority of domestic and responsibilities. Impossible for you, you say? Not necessarily. We may not have entered relationships with this arrangement, but we are victims of ourselves and our own behavior if we do nothing to try and change it. The majority of the physicians in my group (all male but one) had substantial child care responsibilities and we moved or changed many meetings based on carpool or other child-related issues. In some instances they would bring their kids and put them in the call room with the TV and a snack. This is the wave of change I am proud to encourage and support. We all win when we stop the bias and barriers and look at a new way to support each other.
Dea Robinson, MA, FACMPE, CPC