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Change Your Organization, One XX Chromosome Pair at a Time

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As the father of four daughters, I have a soft place in my heart for women and their place in the world.  Being on the front lines of significant organizational change for over 15 years, I can state with confidence that one of the biggest REAL changes I’ve seen in organizations has been the adoption of more and more XX chromosome pairs.  This is not just some regulatory/legal-mandate for employment “fairness,” but a real shift in the culture that translates into higher and higher levels of performance. 

Even when we appreciate this powerful shift, we can get it wrong.  See the link at the bottom of this post to a recent HBR post about women’s leadership programs.  That post illustrates how, in spite of significant investment and good intentions, we can get it wrong—e.g., allow our stereotypes to infiltrate our solutions to gender gaps and cultural transformations.

I think the most compelling notion of women in change is that in many ways, they ARE the change (think, “unleashing of female rights and talent in the Middle East” as a portal for viewing opportunity).  But rather than suggest, as other have, that more “feminine” characteristics are required to drive change (isn’t that simply applying the stereotype again?), I’ll emphasize more tangible, gender-neutral outcomes that have a huge impact on organizations:

• When there is a clear commitment to a level playing field, the “noise” in organizations is greatly reduced (e.g., competing cultures—the stated one and the boy’s club where we speak a different language and standards for respect become lax).  Reducing the noise amplifies focus (reducing distraction and “drag” on the organization), growing productivity.
• The perception of gender in the workplace shifts dramatically from EQUALITY (sameness, or some “acceptable balance” like a quota) to EQUITY (performance-based).
• Some (men) cling to the notion (stereotype) that because women tend to be more risk-averse and consensus-oriented, decision-making will slow and market opportunity will suffer.  I can tell you that I have seen that draconian, testosterone-laden perception smashed to bits.  With the females present, the males kept their lax, distractive behavior in check and the agenda was followed, the meeting started & stopped on time, and decisions were actually made in the meeting (not assigned to favored sons for undefined, unaccountable “follow-up”).
• The multiplier effect—this environment fosters retention of top female talent and encourages talented females aspiring to leadership roles to be more assertive.

What is your experience?  I have seen the same result by introducing an international player to a largely domestic team, and also suspect that introducing a “Gen Y” room of 40+ year-old executives has a similar impact.

HBR post on misguided “women executive” programs:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/10/stop_stereotyping_female_leader.html