Your company, and many others, invests millions on multi-year women’s leadership initiatives, but there’s little if any return on the investment.
Women still exit in large numbers. There are too few women in the C-Suite, in the neighborhood nearby, and in clout positions. People ask or don’t ask (even worse) if all the effort and money will ever produce results. The better question is “What are we missing?”
Women’s Leadership Initiatives – Three Missing Ingredients
Like most recipes, it’s not a single ingredient but the interaction between ingredients, that makes the cake, or ROI, rise. The key interactive ingredients for successful women’s initiatives include:
- Link women’s leadership initiatives to the company’s desired business results
- Integrate confidence building experiences with skill development programs (coaching, mentoring, training, thought leadership) that contribute to business goals
- Measure results
For the pudding of proof, consider the 6.5 million dollar ROI Rothstein Kass, now part of KPMG, realized from its Women’s Leadership Initiative by focusing on those three ingredients.
Ingredient 1+
Tie Women’s Leadership Initiatives to Company Business Results
Rothstein Kass’ initiative was started by its founder. That’s the + in 1+ and it’s important. A power push from the very top ignites and fuels culture change. RK’s women’s leadership initiative, LIFE (Leadership, Inspiration, Family, and Empowerment) included a strong focus on business development. Why? The firm’s future rests on its ability to bring in new business, so proven abilities to develop business is a requirement for leading at the most senior level.
Ingredient 2
Build Competence and Confidence in Skills that Contribute to Business Goals
Rothstein Kass developed and implemented Rainmakers with external consulting partner Melissa McClenaghan Martin, M3 Strategic Alliances. This comprehensive program included a series of workshops to ensure women develop competence and confidence in marketing as well as business development skills and strategies. But things didn’t stop there.
To truly effect change and build confidence, people have to develop new habits, new pathways in the brain, by consistently practicing new skills. To that end, Rothstein Kass rolled out the Rainmakers program in conjunction with their ongoing business referral series, which introduces managers to potential sources of referral, then helps nurture these relationships through formal events. This dual approach brought together women from Rothstein Kass and sources of referral such as law firms and banks, utilizing their women’s programs as a point of entry. Three years later Rothstein Kass’ women’s leadership initiative claimed 6.5 million dollars in new revenues and has new referral sources for future growth.
Ingredient 3
Measure Results
The MOVE project helps Rothstein Kass, and other firms, track the success of women’s initiatives through business metrics directly tied to the firm’s bottom line. Consistent with the adage, “You get what you measure,” establishing clear business objectives up front, and measuring results along the way, makes a difference.
Why Companies Don’t Follow This Recipe
Some male executives are concerned that expecting a women’s leadership initiative to contribute financial value may cause women to feel used. Instead, their companies lean on “It’s the right thing to do.” But that doesn’t work, and women, like men, should be valued for our contributions, not excused from them. To think otherwise implies the company should expect less from women, and doesn’t that amount to unconscious bias?