Erin Callan, the highest ranking and most visible woman on Wall Street, lost her job as chief financial officer at Lehman Brothers last week.  Suddenly.  The New York Times reported, “On Monday, Ms. Callan ended her call with analysts by saying, “I’m going to be happy to be back here talking to you again next week,’ she said.  On Thursday morning, however, Ms. Callan gathered belongings from her office and drove to her house in East Hampton on Long Island…”

Whether she was removed as reported by the Times or she voluntarily stepped down as the Wall Street Journal states, it is clear that she didn’t last long in the role.  Callan, a former tax lawyer and investment banker took the CFO job in December, 2007.  In an article for the Wall Street Journal last month, Suzanne Craig quoted Joseph Gregory, her mentor (who also lost his job as Lehman’s #2) as saying the company made a “leap” when it gave her the CFO job but that it wanted someone who could “really explain Lehman’s story.”

Have you heard of the glass cliff research?  It’s about the phenomenon that women are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles that carry a great deal of risk of failure.  It seems pretty clear that Lehman had some problems in December when Callan took the CFO role; the Lehman story she had to tell wasn’t very pretty. 

So what can we learn from this story? 

1. Don’t be too quick to say “yes” when an opportunity comes long.  Take some time to assess the situation carefully.
2. Don’t be seduced by the title or the trappings of the job. Ask plenty of questions including: “Why me?” and ”Why now?”
3. Think about the potential challenges you will face if you do take the job and figure out what you wlll need to mitigate the risk you face.  Then negotiate for that support and those resources.

It may be that Erin Callan knew exactly how steep the glass cliff was but the fall must still hurt.

TAGS: corner office, managing your career, Negotiation, new to the job, playing to win, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, women and careers, Women at Work, women leaders

Harry Hurt III’s Off The Shelf review in  the business section of the New York Times examines Nina DiSesa’s new book called “Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactics From a Woman at the Top”.  According to Hurt, DiSensa encourages women to “seduce” and “manipulate” (referred to in the book as “S&M”, catchy enough and all the better to sell books, I guess) men at work and at home. 

It is sad that the same year we have a woman running seriously for President, we are still getting bad advice about how to get ahead.  So here’s some good advice for women who want to position themselves for success in a leadership role:

• Make Sure Key Players Openly Support You

Ask for open and unequivocal support from the people who put you in the job.  After all, their success is tied to your success.

• Tap Into Networks

Establish your own “Advisory Board” comprised of people inside the firm as well as external mentors. Ask politically savvy people to guide you; seek feedback about your performance and the perception of your performance at every opportunity. Renew and strengthen relationships with people in your area of expertise as well as with potential referral sources.

• Hone Your Listening Skills

Figure out what people need (both clients and colleagues) by listening closely. Then help them to get it by offering creative solutions.

When a book as silly as DiSesa’s gets  reviewed by The New York Times (even though it is not a good review) it is a bad thing for women.  Exposure of these “tactics” promulgates mistrust of women - think about the brouhaha about whether or not  Hillary Clinton’s show of emotion was “real”.   Hurt writes that he finds DiSesa’s invocation of “persistent sexual stereotypes” to be depressing; I find it depressing that the book got reviewed at all.

TAGS: Harry Hurt III, Nina DiSesa, stereotypes, The New York Times