Today, we continue with our celebration of women in leadership by exploring where women leaders may struggle as they climb the executive ranks.
While the professional frontier for women leaders has expanded dramatically – thanks to many female pioneers who have broken down barriers and forged new paths for us to follow, an important question remains. Are we ready? In many cases, we women are asking that question of ourselves more so than our male counterparts are asking it of us.
Consider the results of a Zenger Folkman self-assessment study that measures the confidence leaders have in themselves over the arc of their careers. The data from this research shows that women under 25 often underestimate their competency while their male peers tend to be overconfident and assume that they are better leaders than they really are. Zenger Folkman’s findings demonstrate that the playing field levels off as leaders reach their 40s and confidence ratings between genders start to merge. It is not until the age of 60, that female confidence increases significantly – 29 percentile points – just when male confidence generally begins to decline.
The results of this study reflect a pattern that women in leadership often find themselves in, especially in the early stages of their careers. Whether they have proactively positioned themselves for an executive-level role or an unexpected door opens with the invitation to make a greater impact, women are more likely than their male counterparts to ask themselves, “Am I ready? Do I have what it takes? Do I know enough? Have I had enough experience?” Women tend to second guess their professional worth, and this can create obstacles for future success.
The truth is that no one is ever fully ready to take on the next leadership challenge. Even if you are extraordinarily competent in your field, there will be unknown conditions that come as a surprise, a changing landscape to navigate without a roadmap, and unanticipated complexities that make leading well really tough.
As I reflect on my 30-year career, I am grateful that I did not let “being ready” hold me back from playing a bigger game, especially in the beginning. It was many leaps of faith and confidence in my abilities that led from starting my career as an elementary school teacher to serving as President and Chief Growth Officer of IEG (a WPP company) to finally launching my executive coaching and business consulting practice 8 years ago. There were many moments throughout those three decades that I did not feel ready yet trusted that I could figure it out – with the help of a team of mentors, friends, family members, and coaches who nudged, challenged, and encouraged me. Overcoming these readiness fears and taking a huge gulp followed by a leap of faith has been a lifelong pattern. I have learned that when I am both terrified and exhilarated, I’m usually heading in the right direction
