Chicken or Egg? Professional or Personal Development

Dear Divas,

I’ve received a number calls over the past few weeks asking: “where does professional development end and personal development begin?” These queries came from women interested in attending our 2009 Learning Journey to Ireland.

Before these successful women could commit to something which, in their hearts, they understand is right for them, each rang or wrote to me seeking assurance that spending time and treasure to address foundational issues of identity development can be justified as professional development. “Leanne,” they asked, “isn’t this just self indulgence?”

We tend to mis-take personal development as being selfish or indulgent and professional development as being about helping or doing for others.

I believe it’s time we realize that this is just not the case.

It’s time to understand that all professional talent development is personal and vice versa—especially women’s talent development.

As individuals and change agents we need to realize that women are relational by nature. Women care about others. We seek consensus. We want people to have a voice. We readily shift tasks. We adroitly read situations. These are all powerful and positive attributes that make us good leaders, team builders, mothers, caretakers, community members. 

Simply put, understanding and acknowledging that these attributes are key to our personal identities allows us to better employ them in professional settings.

Yet these issues and concerns are areas that women’s professional development rarely address.

Research indicates—from Mckinsey to Tricia Naddaff, from Sally Helgesen and Marta Williams to Herminia Ibarra—women’s development needs are fundamentally different from those of men.

A report just released from Catalyst reveals that in 2008 the overall representation of women corporate officers and top earners continues to stagnate.*

A primary reason for this continued lack of progress is that traditional models for executive women’s talent and leadership development are deficient. These models have yet to take into account the relational nature of women. They don’t do enough to help women realize and come to trust their own capabilities. They don’t focus specifically on identity development.

Unfortunately, even with all our successes, we are often unsure of ourselves, lack confidence in our capabilities, and disbelieve the powerful influence and affect we have on those around us. Ultimately, we end up questioning our value, our worth, our talents, and, finally, our very identity.

By nature and necessity, women’s leadership and talent development is personal development, identity development. And there should be no confusion: personal development supplies immediate workplace returns.

Women become noticeably better leaders, contributors, mentors, and coaches when they feel their lives are grounded and rich with meaning, when they gain confidence in who they are and what they offer.

It’s important for anyone involved in organizational change to understand that women's leadership and talent development is inherently a process of developing self.

I believe this message is both timely and urgent. Now is the time to pay attention to our development. Ilene H. Lang, president & chief executive officer of Catalyst, places this in context in terms of their recent findings:

“No change in a year of change is unacceptable—for business, for investors, for policy makers, and for the public which looks to business leadership for innovative solutions and accountability.”

As women, we must understand and come to terms with the fact that focusing on our identity development might just be our best chance for professional development and, in the end, what leads to meaningful organizational change.  Now is the time.

With warm regards,

Leanne

* See the Catalyst report.

Please consider joining us on our 2009 Learning Journey to Ireland for some personal & professional identity development (and a bit of pleasure, too.) Bring a friend. Tell a friend.

Diva La Différence

Friends of Diva,

We founded Divanation to help illuminate and recognize the voices and passions of extremely engaged and wildly talented women from all walks of life.

With that vision in mind, I would like to offer you a complementary download of the debut publication from our Diva La Différence—Women Leaders Series.

In this inaugural publication entitled Leading the Way, Lisa M. Cregan shares her powerful opening remarks to the UBS Women's Leadership Conference. While Lisa's talk was given to an internal audience, I believe you'll find her call to question unquestioned assumptions about gender and good business inspirational and thought provoking.

As Lisa writes:

"What I've come to see as the greatest unquestioned assumption is that women and men are the same.... I've come to see we are not the same.... I stand here today to say that the way men and women understand leadership, engage collaboration, build teams, construct networks, experience competition, resolve conflict, and welcome achievement is very, very different—but that difference is often unquestioned."

Lisa is the first of many important voices we intend to publish and distribute.

Diva La Différence™ celebrates women leaders who make a difference by promoting the difference women make in the workplace or within society. The Series will publish original writings, essays, reviews, profiles, opinion pieces, and other works relevant to the theme.

We urge you to read or download a complementary pdf version of the full text of Lisa's talk.

After reading the piece we'd appreciate any comments that you may have on the piece.

In peace and goodwill,

Leanne

Speaking Truth to Power

Dear Divas,

We reach out to you, as always, in passion and in peace.

Today, the Tankman and Bobby Kennedy got us going (see bold below)...and got us thinking about what it means to stand true to one's convictions, true to beliefs, true to actions. What does it mean to live a passionate life and to be part of a something larger than each of us?

So very many of you have told us how you are moved by Speaking Truth to Power.
How truth alters power.
How truth inflames passions.
How truth, in spite of its consequences, set you free in ways that serve, support, and sustain your worlds.

We hope the following stirs your thoughts and energies, as it has ours.

We are interested in your insights, your remembrances, your thoughts, your feelings....
What are some of your speaking truth to power aspirations or experiences?

Please post a response.

With much warmth,

Leanne and Frank

---------------
Nineteen years ago, June 5, 1989, the world witnessed a spectacular, unforgettable, and universal act of courage and valor: "An unarmed young man carrying shopping bags suddenly steps out in front of the column of tanks as they slowly moved toward Tiananmen Square. Instead of running over him, the first tank tries to go around, but the young man steps in front of it again. They repeat this maneuver several more times before the tank stops and turns off its motor. The young man climbs on top of the tank and speaks to the driver before jumping back down again." To this day, the identity of this person remains unknown.

See the links below for more information or to view a video of the "Tank Man."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/cron/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrQqDqOx3KY

---------------
June 6, 2008 is the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Bobby Kennedy's energy, enthusiasm, and passion helped move a generation and change a country. He challenged the complacent in American society and sought to bridge the great divides in American life—between the races, between the poor and the affluent, between young and old, between order and dissent.

We were touched by this refection (link below) by Kerry Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy's daughter. We believe you will also find it of interest.

Kerry Kennedy's piece provides an engaged and passionate woman's perspective on the influence of her father. Ms. Kennedy's observations about fairness, equity, love, and responsibility speak to the immediacy of engagement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/opinion/05kerrykennedy.html

# # #

Why Women's Leadership Programs?

We've been fielding questions asking us if is it still necessary for there to be women's leadership programs? The most common question goes something like this: "Isn't leadership leadership?" As if there is some predestined, form-fitting suit that one puts on, and, there you have it, one is a leader. We get this fairly often from some fairly senior people who are what we'd consider to be open-minded and engaged.

We see these questions as indicative of how hard it is for even the most broad-minded to see how he or she is fitted and pressed by the stereotypical understanding of leadership. Action-oriented, analytical, calculative, decisive, black & white, one right answer, definitive…. These nearly unquestioned, right-way leadership traits overlook and dismiss perspectives, those specifically feminine in nature, that approach leadership in ways most concerned with developing and maintaining community, talent, and relationships. Traits that by the way mesh with the emerging theories of organizations as social structures—communities—built on relationships, identity, and shared purpose.

We see women's leadership programs as foundational, and more relevant than ever. Programs designed to build confidence and voice, intent on promoting dialogue in service of change that makes a difference. We see women's leadership programs as leading the charge to question the unquestioned assumptions that blind. Such as, "What does it means to lead?" "What are the dominant perspective driving the day-to-day understanding of the organization?" "What are we missing by missing the ingenuity available in the various voices and points of view we have at hand?" "Why are we so vested in the current strong-man ideal of leadership?"

There is a change in the air. We have organizations asking us to bring these themes to men, good men, who have just have not been given another way to assess their own assumptions about agency and power. Women's leadership programs are key to facilitating change that changes how we work and live. Women leave these program and take their change-agent energies back to the firm. Their voices provide organizations with ways to blossom which helps them attract and retain talent...and to learn to call upon diverse points of view to promote ingenuity and, subsequentially, market share.

But that enough of this...what do you think on this matter?