Written by Anju G Parvathy & Dr Hima Elizabeth Mathew
A study commissioned by EY – GDS and undertaken by Avtar delves deep into the leadership trajectories of women to identify sustainable leadership models.
Leadership is the aspirational destination of every corporate entrant. When we juxtapose the gender lens to the leadership pipeline, skews become visible across the globe; women in leadership are grossly under-represented – an underlying narrative across countries and geographies. The skews are generally attributed to phenomena like the leaky talent pipeline, the elusive glass ceiling (factors that make it difficult for women to progress beyond a career stage) and the unrelenting sticky floor (factors that hold back women from making career progress). But in the VUCA, disruptive and fluid world we inhabit, we also see signs of change. We see progressive governments introducing administrative reforms towards gender balance and parity and we see discerning organizations adapt their work ethos and structure to be more equitable. Businesses, communities, and countries are increasingly recognizing the case for gender balanced leadership and women leaders are increasingly becoming vocal of their journey to leadership, hoping to inspire more women.
The latest research on leadership models of women in emerging markets – commissioned by EY – GDS and undertaken by Avtar, delves deep into the leadership trajectories of women spread across the following geographies – Argentina, China, India, Philippines & Poland. This study of over 1200 women leaders (from across these geographies) aimed at identifying the sustainable leadership models for women professionals that can be used by them to pursue leadership aspirations. Leadership models, a composite of strategic competencies and an enabling work environment, helps understand the success trajectories of leaders. The study identifies five distinct leadership models, namely, 1-Warrior – the resilient leadership model, 2-Bootstrapper – the astute leadership model, 3-Powerhouse- The transformative leadership model, 4-Savant-The purposeful leadership model and 5-Matriarch-The empathetic leadership model.
The findings showed that Powerhouse or Transformative Leadership, which is a composite of agility, curiosity, teaming and inclusiveness, is the most dominant leadership model amongst women. Interestingly, Teaming, Strategic Thinking and Empathy emerged the Top 3 leadership competencies of women leaders, from across the research universe. In the research universe were women on unbroken career paths and women who returned to formal careers after breaks. Results tell us that women who had taken career breaks reported higher aggregate leadership model scores in most leadership models, indicating higher levels of leadership intentionality. In terms of the extrinsic enablers that fuelled women’s leadership journeys, sponsorship and ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) topped the chart, across career stages of women.
Women leaders are becoming increasingly vocal of their journeys to leadership – their accomplishments, vulnerabilities etc. Defined leadership frameworks for women can help women professionals sharpen their aspiration, fuel their intent and accelerate their pace of growth through a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
