This year marked the eighth annual Women’s International Networking (WIN) Global Leadership Forum, held on 6-8 October in Geneva. Nearly 500 women and men convened on the subject of “Leadership for the Future”. PWA has been a partner network of WIN since the conference began in Milan in 1998.I am often asked what WIN is like, what it is all about. In the words of the WIN website <www.winconference.net>, the annual forums are “designed for women and men who want to be part of shaping the newly emerging paradigm of leading results through authentic action”.
But what does this really mean?
The interpretation of such a phrase would surely vary from one participant to the next. However, I think all would agree that the conference provides:
the possibility to gain relevant skills and knowledge via specialized workshops;
the chance to make new business, associational and personal contacts, and to renew existing ones, during the many networking occasions built into the programme;
and especially – and here is where the “shaping the newly emerging paradigm” comes in – the opportunity to gain inspiration, motivation and new ideas, through the plenary speaker sessions and debates.
This year, four key concepts threaded their way through the presentations, all essential components of successful leadership in the 21st century. These, in my view, represent the meaningful and inspiring core of the conference.
Know your strengths and believe in yourself
Nearly all of the speakers emphasized this trait, in as many different ways: Know yourself, what makes you tick, what gives you energy. Find the environment that you thrive in and that is best for you. Know what you’re good at and like to do, and do it. Identify your distinctive competencies. Don’t try to improve from incompetence to mediocrity; it’s much easier to go from good to excellent. Draw on your gifts. Don’t submit to your fears and insecurities. Get out there and use 100% of your potential.
One woman’s story, that of Victoria Petrova, was particularly striking. Victoria followed her dream, trained as a doctor and became a cardiologist. However, she could not afford to remain in that profession. Since Russia’s centralized medical system paid so poorly, she could not come close to supporting herself and her family. Therefore, she became a secretary in the better-paying world of business. Victoria worked her way up step by step, believing in her abilities and persevering, despite difficult moments. She is now head of Human Resources at Rusal, the third largest aluminium company in the world.
Presenters repeatedly referred to the phenomenon that men think they are better than they really are, whereas women do not think they are as good as they truly are. One often-quoted statistic: men apply for a position and think they can do it well if they master 60% of the job, whereas women tend to do so only if they know 100% (or more!) of the job. According to Mr Alex Tosolini, a firm believer in the abilities of women – and, incidentally, General Manager of Procter & Gamble, Poland and the Baltic States – women need to learn to be arrogant in order to close further the gap with men in the corporate world. His reasoning: if women start learning to be arrogant, they might start realizing that they are better than they think … and it is unlikely that they will actually become arrogant in the process.
Know where you are going and make the right choices
The second prerequisite for effective leadership is being clear on your goals, setting the bar high, and pursuing them relentlessly: As long as you have the passion for it, you can do whatever you want. Stop talking about it and start making it happen. Go after opportunities when they arise. But don’t choose the easier roles. If you don’t push, stretch and challenge yourself, you will be contributing to that infamous glass ceiling by inadvertently limiting your possibilities for advancement. Rediscover the courageous person that you are. Take risks!
Women are more and more assertively choosing their priorities these days. This may be considered as making sacrifices, yet it really boils down to making strategic choices and accepting them. Women are taking control of their lives, not letting outside factors control them. Work-life balance, anyone?
Food for thought, on the subject of choices: Alex Tosolini, originally from the Turin area, knowingly chose to work for a company that rewards performance (Procter & Gamble), rather than working for the main local Italian employer … because of the high levels of nepotism that still exist in Italy.
Build bridges, make connections
In today’s world it is becoming increasingly necessary to establish connections – between individuals, departments, companies, cities, governments, and so on. The world is becoming “inter-reliant”. Good leaders “create a common platform”, have “cross-boundary rotations”, and “encourage open collaboration between eco-systems”. In short, they network effectively. The ability to build bridges, relationships and partnerships is crucial to achieving success.
Women, as it turns out, are better at relationship-building than men. Women excel at working well in groups and have higher levels of social intelligence, i.e. the ability to communicate with, motivate, understand and leverage the skills of others.
As one presenter quoted, “It’s time to realize, brethren, that a woman is not just a female man” (Ogden Nash). Women are capitalizing on their differences, differences which are major strengths in today’s bridge-building world. Hence the inevitable conclusion drawn: the future is for women.
Believe in the future and your impact on it
Yes, the future is indeed for women, and it is also unpredictable in other ways. Consider the following titbit of data: 80% of the technology that will be used in the next 10 years has yet to be invented. The future is not traced out. Bottom line: we can all have an impact, no matter how big or small. Effective leaders believe so, and live and lead accordingly.
“No person can make a greater mistake than [s]he who did nothing because [s]he could only do a little.”
(adapted from Edmund Burke)
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As every year, there were a number of accomplished leaders at the WIN conference – leaders from the business world, from academia and think tanks, from NGOs and non-profit institutions. They were of varying nationalities and ages, some men, mostly women, different in many respects. Yet there was a clear common denominator: all of these leaders displayed the traits mentioned above. They “walked the talk”, as it were. Confidence in their abilities, passion, enthusiasm and determination in pursuing their goals and belief that they could indeed make a difference brought them to where they are today. May they be a model for us all.
See you at WIN 2006!
Valerie Ryder
President
