The Wall Street Journal is all abuzz about Barbara Desoer who has recently been asked by Ken Lewis, Bank of America’s CEO, to take over its troubled mortgage business.  Not only is the mortgage lending business generally in trouble due to the state of the US economy but Bank of America’s mortgage business has the added burden of trying to swallow the problems of the recently acquired Countrywide Financial.  Carol Hymowitz’s Front Line blog asks readers to comment on their experiences regarding taking on high risk roles that have afforded them an opportunity to advance. 

One woman’s story (see the comment by risk taker)  reminded me about the glass cliff research I wrote about  a couple of weeks ago in conjunction with a post about Erin Callan.  While she writes that she did the right thing for herself and that it was worth it, she also describes her boss as “difficult”, noting, “when things went right he tended to take the credit”.   She also is very clear that there was a high personal cost. (more…)

TAGS: corner office, new to the job, playing to win, Risk-taking, The Wall Street Journal, women and careers, Women at Work, women leaders, women role models

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

The Pink May/June issue includes the results of a poll the magazine did of more than 2500 women who attended a series of conferences in six cities during 2007. Among the findings is that 98% of those polled believed that they have a responsibility to help other women.

So, if you too feel a responsibility to make the workplace a better place for other women, don’t just think about it, take action.

• If your company has a formal mentoring program, consider participating in it. If it doesn’t, think about starting one. Or at least mentor another woman on an informal basis.
• If your company has a women’s affinity group, join it. Volunteer to help in whatever capacity you can.
• If you lead people, be sure you offer the same opportunities to the women on your team as you do to the men. Don’t be blindsided by the gender schemas that affect both men and women.

What other suggestions do you have? What kinds of help have you given to other woman? Let’s make each other’s day!

TAGS: competition, Cultural diversity, look and sound of leadership, servant leadership, Volunteering at work, Women at Work, Women In the Professions, women leaders, women not trusting women, women role models, women working for women

While Hillary Clinton has received praise from people for her willingness to fight and not give up, it’s hard not to wonder whether people are looking at how acceptable it has become to insult women in the press. Surely there will be spillover to the workplace if people who serve as "senior analysts" for once reputable stations like CNN continue refer to Clinton in vile, derogatory ways. I’m not going to write something long about this. It’s just worth wondering whether women will find themselves dealing with more sexism.  After all, that’s what went on in election process in the mainstream media. If it does increase at work, it will be difficult for women to call upon the efforts of feminists to support them as in many quarters they’ve been dismissed as humming an old tune — not in touch with the times — still holding on to grudges when their issues no longer exist. Will we wake up soon and see that indeed people in our culture have become comfortable with patronizing, dismissing, and insulting women because of their gender? I hope not. But watching what has been going on, it’s hard not to think it could indeed happen — especially if women are not paying sufficient attention because they’d rather think those days are over or if they let insults pass to avoid appearing oversensitive. More productive, as always, is nipping put-downs in the bud with a well-turned phrase such as "Maybe you’d like to rephrase that."

TAGS: Hillary Clinton, media bias, sexism, Women at Work

I had dinner recently with a cousin; she mentioned how difficult it is for her to manage all the demands on her time.  I shared this matrix (inspired by Steven Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) with her:

Here’s how you can use this tool to keep your focus and accomplish the things that are important to do: (more…)

TAGS: career cache, focus, Stephen Covey, time, ways to work healthy, Women at Work

I’ve often thought it odd that people seem to be more reluctant to talk about their income than their sex lives-but that may be changing.  The NY Times reported yesterday that young people are more likely to share information about salary information (see Not-So-Personal Finance).  This trend is good news for women; the more women know about what others are making, the more likely they are to ask for what they are worth.

As you may know, the gender gap in pay affects not only older women but younger women as well.  For example, starting salaries of men with MBAs are 7.6% higher than those for women. Only 7% of women, but 57% of men asked for more money; those who negotiated increased starting salaries by 7.4%.

One of the things that makes the difference for women is good information.  So, keep up the sharing!

TAGS: differences between women and men, Fairness at work, financial planning, gaining confidence, negotiating pay, negotiation skills, Pay Disparity, Women at Work, women's equality

But you’ve got to say “no” sometimes and accept that the other person isn’t going to be happy.  I had to do it twice last week — and I did not enjoy it.  Nonetheless, I realized that my interests would not be met if I said yes.

One of the ways women can get in our own way is to try to make others happy at our own expense. Way too often we are so focused on building relationships with others that we forget that we too should expect — and get — consideration. (more…)

TAGS: Building workplace relationships, communication, Communication Skills, negotiation skills, Political skills, Risk-taking, ways to work healthy, women, women and power, Women at Work, Women In the Professions, women leaders

I sent out a message this weekend to friends and colleagues announcing The Thin Pink Line. I expected to get some “congrats” messages but I did not expect to receive as many messages as I did cheering us on!

One client (now a friend) wrote me mentioning that a very senior woman at her organization has just “opted out” to stay home with her three young children.  While the company is known as a leader vis-à-vis supporting women, this woman, at the pinnacle of her career,  made a different choice - for now. My friend wrote, “I, on the other hand, am still barreling down the corporate freeway while trying to raise two teenagers. The raising teenagers part is way more complicated then the corporate freeway, in my opinion.”

Oh yes!

In the next paragraph, she writes of the moment she was able to pin the Eagle Scout medal on her son’s chest, culminating years of work on his part to earn Scouting’s highest honor (and undoubtedly years of driving on her part to support him).  She described it as “beating any promotion she has ever received, by far!” 

The choices women have to make - whether they involve children or not - can be very difficult.  What I have learned at this point is that there is no right answer for all of us — only a right answer for each of us.  And whatever answer is right for you, don’t apologize for it. 

TAGS: career goals, Women at Work, women leaders

Way too often, people interview for jobs that, if they really understood what the “day-to-day” reality of the job is, they’d run the other way.  And, thankfully less often but much more damaging, they actually take the job.

Believe me, you do yourself (and your prospective employer) a favor when you ask questions of whomever interviews you about what exactly you will be doing.  Then listen carefully to the answers.  Compare the answers you may get from the recruiter with those you get from the hiring manager or those who actually work in the department.   Get clarifications as needed to figure out the real story.

I am not suggesting that you can expect to be delighted with each and every aspect of a role but you should like at least most of them.   In Her Place at the Table, we call this “drilling down.” Women sometimes avoid doing it because they don’t want to hurt their chances to get the job or for a host of other reasons.  But the worst thing is being surprised when you start the job.

TAGS: Coaching Tips, communication, disconnects, Women at Work

Dr. Stanley Fish wrote a facinating post today (Think Again , his NY Times blog) about the hatred some people hold for Hillary Clinton.  Dr. Fish characterizes  it as “crazy”; I agree. 

So, is it merely crazy people who have a problem with Hillary Clinton, a strong woman?

Eve Tahmincioglu reminds us of the Elle/MSNBC survey results originally published in March, 2007 that reported both men and women who expressed a preference, preferred to work for a man.

(more…)

TAGS: Coaching Tips, Women at Work, Women In the Professions