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Unexpectedly Simple Way to get more Women Leaders

There’s too few women in leadership, there’s too few women at Davos, and that needs to change. But maybe, we’ve been approaching the problem wrongly. Maybe, we have been missing a very simple solution all along.

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Unexpectedly Simple Way to get more Women Leaders

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So we’ve identified the problem. In 2015, the 17 percent of women that constituted the conference is definitely a shameful figure. There’s too few women in leadership, there’s too few women at Davos, and that needs to change.  But maybe, we’ve been approaching the problem wrongly. Maybe, we have been missing the solution all along.

 

Robyn Scott, one of the invitees at Davos 2015, has a previously unheard of solution, to broaden the cluster of women in leadership. Get generous women to the forefront.

 

Robyn, who was a part of the Young Global Leaders session before the actual conference, was a part of a little exercise.  The speaker of that session, Adam Grant, a Wharton professor, bestselling author and expert on giving, has conclusive proof that that being generous actually helps the giver succeed professionally. The exercise, in that regard, required all the participants to submit “asks” for help, which were put up around the room. Later, the team was made to write down underneath every ask, if and how they can help.

 

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The conveners of that session then prepared a list of who had offered to help the most- in other words, the most “generous” in the room- which happened to be two women- Elaine Smith and Marieme Jamme.  And this is how they were- consistently generous.

 

And that, is a very strategic factor. Most panels, have on an average 0-25 percent women speakers, and efforts towards hiking this number have been prominent. We have been focusing on how many women are present, but perhaps, we should have been focusing WHICH women are speaking.

 

Here’s how massive a difference this could make. Say one out if four panelists is a woman, and each panelist is approached by 10 people after their speeches with help, advice etc. The woman will be approached by 5 women (women tend to approach women easier, research shows.)

 

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If our woman speaker is “generous”- she will maybe help four out of those five women, maybe even recommend one or two of them to deliver speeches at upcoming events.

If she is ungenerous, she will probably help no one and, importantly, no women. Her only contribution will be to represent that stagnant one woman per panel stat.

 

Yes, the solution may be that simple- be helpful to other women. You might counter that, saying you’re a busy person, and at high-level gatherings, you’re there with a personal agenda.  Yet, Adam Grant enlightened the group- of people he knew to be incredibly generous, despite being busy, were Sheryl Sandberg, Jacqueline Novogratz and Kat Cole. And if Sheryl, Jacqueline and Kat can do it, everyone else can, too.

 

And there’s a quicker alternative, to being more generous ourselves-Help others be generous. If women (and men) promoted not just the competent women they knew, but the most generous competent women they knew, it would make a huge difference. We all know Elaines and Mariémes. Getting one of them on a panel, means you help half a dozen other women.

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Original Source:  Medium.

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women leaders Davos WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM WEF Adam Grant
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