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Tag: women

Be Bossy

Be Bossy

Here she goes again. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and best selling author of Lean In has brought out the big guns like Beyonce to campaign against the word “Bossy.” #BanBossy

Really? Is it the word that’s the problem or the whole idea of women in leadership roles?

I’m bossy. There I said it. And I’m proud of it. I don’t think the word is the issue but rather our view of leadership itself. The real problem is that we have many examples of male leaders, some of who are known to be rather “difficult.” Steve Jobs comes to mind. Yet, his manner is excused by his brilliance and success. On the other extreme, there’s President Obama who is seen as consensus builder.

But women leaders? We simply don’t have many role models.

This struck me like a bolt of lightening while watching The Pianist of Willesden Lane on Saturday. There’s a scene in the play where photos of famous composers are projected on the stage and there isn’t a single woman among them. This of course isn’t unique to music.

Campaigns like “Ban Bossy” make noise. Especially in our celebrity driven culture. But our career/life choices aren’t external, they happen within us based on what we see and hear.

Let’s face it; we are all influenced by what we see around us — in real life, in the media, in pop culture. Our perceptions are shaped by our experiences. That’s why we need more Hillary Clintons, Mary Barras, Condoleezza Rices, Sara Blakelys, Amy Pascals, Diane Sawyers, and Susan Wojcickis. We need to see more powerful women in every field. But especially the visible ones: politics, media, entertainment, business, technology and science.

Young girls should be saying: “when I grow up I want to be like _____________” and be able to name a successful woman in every field.

I wish I had that opportunity when I was growing up. Instead I was the first woman “boss” in each industry I entered. I didn’t have an issue leading but my role models were all male. So I emulated their style. Which, it turns out is “bossy.”

So instead of banning words, let’s change our perception of leadership. In my fantasy world, more women will want to become leaders (because they won’t be deterred by being bossy) and in turn young girls will have great role models to look up to.

If you want more opinions on the “Ban Bossy” campaign check out these posts from other (smart) women:

Pushing a Boulder up a Hill

Sweat Equity

My sister sent me this article today after I brought up the difficulty I’ve had in raising money.

It begins like this:

“Women have it tough. Business propositions — whether presented in a boardroom, coffee shop or pitch contest — are discounted as soon as women open their mouths.

We’re not just saying that. There’s proof: Gender has a more significant impact on decision-makers than the presenter’s experience or the topic she’s discussing, according to a new study conducted by professors from Harvard, MIT and Wharton.

Researchers have uncovered “a profound and persistent preference for entrepreneurial ventures pitched by men.”

I’ve been meeting with potential investors for about a year now on and off. And while I rarely encountered sexism in my corporate career, lately I’ve been wondering how different things would be if I were a guy. (I almost called this post: “If I had a penis.”) There’s no question that tech is male dominated. Although the same can be said for the hospitality, entertainment, media and beer industries but in those cases I was brought in to strategize and execute. To make shit happen. Quite often, to turn things around.

This is a different ballgame. I’m asking investors to trust me with their money and make it grow. Exponentially. Just like the men they meet with. And the problem according to the research:

“The reason is simple: People connect with others like them and suffer from a self-selection bias. With so few women in tech, a woman standing before a group of men pitching her idea is about as foreign as they come.”

Will this deter me from my goal? Absolutely not. I believe that there are investors (of both genders) who will get the idea, the opportunity and see my passion and want to get behind it. I’m ready for “yes.”

Female CEOs

Female CEOs

On the one hand, I was thrilled to read that GM named a new CEO who is female. The other part of me looks forward to the day when that becomes the norm. When “female” or “girl” or “woman” aren’t the biggest part of the story.

Here are just a few of the headlines:

A woman can dream can’t she?

You Like Me, You Really Like Me

Lean In

Confession: I haven’t read Lean In Sheryl Sandberg’s new ode to feminism. But I don’t feel like I need to add another tome to my unread Kindle library. No other living person (except for the Pope) has received more press in recent weeks than the COO of Facebook. She has dominated the talk shows, including a flattering piece on 60 Minutes. Not to mention both mainstream publications and the blogosphere.

I decided to go hear her speak last night. She was on her whirlwind book tour and the Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills was full of women (with a few token men) who seemed genuinely excited to be in her presence. She was interviewed by Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony and yes, a man. (The original interviewer was supposed to be Maria Shriver who ended up in Rome covering the aforementioned Pope for NBC). Sheryl gave a polished performance. She was relaxed, funny, witty, smart and at times “girlie”. And very rehearsed. I basically heard a repeat of her other interviews. But this time I was seated 3 rows away. The thing that came across being there in person (especially during Q&A with the audience) was that she really really wanted to be liked.

And I left the event feeling sad. Here was the COO of Facebook, one of the most successful women in American business who according to the media is singlehandedly rebooting the feminist movement. And there she was telling us to be vulnerable using herself as an example. Her last story was about a project that she and a colleague had tried to get buy in for at Facebook. She said that when the group finally decided to proceed she gushed to them over how grateful she was that they did. All the while her male colleague said that he knew they’d come around. She wanted them to approve, to like her idea.

I believe that leadership is often about making tough, unpopular choices. Let’s look at Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo who has been blasted by the media because of her edict that employees could no longer telecommute. I get it. She needs to change the culture and one way to do it is to get people together, face to face. She’s been bashed for her wealth (she can afford child care) and for being anti motherhood. But let’s not forget that she’s the boss. Responsible to her shareholders and a board. Who will fire her just like they did the 5 CEOs before her. Marissa Mayer is NOT worried about being liked. Rather, she’s making the tough decisions to try and turn this behemoth (that’s been on a downward spiral) around. I don’t envy her.
No matter how great it sounds, you can’t run an organization completely by consensus. Even the President gets advice from his advisors but ultimately makes the tough call himself (hopefully herself someday). Leaders can’t worry about likeability (except during an election but then they’re merely candidates).

So while I applaud Sheryl Sandberg for her attempt to start the conversation, I’m not sure that she should be the role model. Especially for girls. What I saw last night was hero worship. Women of all ages who wanted to believe that they too can have it all, and still be liked, like Sheryl.

But, and it’s a big but, I believe that there’s another message that wasn’t delivered. And that is key if we want more women to ascend to the top rungs of power. It is more important to be respected than to be liked. There, I said it. If women want to be treated equally in the workplace, boardroom or congress then they should think about that. Respect for your skills, accomplishments, know how, success – they get you noticed. Being liked just feels good. And of course, I’m not suggesting that they’re mutually exclusive. But IMHO, respect should come first. Especially if you want to go all the way up.

On a personal note, after spending my childhood moving around the world and trying to fit in, I realized that as an adult this desire to be liked wasn’t going to get me very far. So I stopped trying. And yes, I’ve been called a bitch, sometimes to my face. But I’ve always operated under the assumption that my job was to be the boss and not the friend. And as the boss, I had to make the tough choices (and no, I don’t enjoy firing people) because that was my responsibility.

Sheryl Sandberg has the luxury of going on an all out media blitz. She has a platform (Facebook anyone?) I just wish that her message was stronger. She’s also #2 to a male CEO. She’s there to execute his vision. She even admitted that she still worries about being fired. What kind of message does that send?

If women are to take over leadership positions then they need to be a little more like Hillary Clinton and actually lead. Remember when Hillary baked cookies when she was first lady? That didn’t last long. She wasn’t being authentic. And look at her popularity now – it’s at an all time high. I don’t think she worries about being liked but she has certainly earned our respect.

This is a complicated issue and the numbers are depressing. And maybe I’m being too harsh on Sheryl Sandberg but I would like to see a more equal playing field someday. And to get there we need more role models for young women. So they can find their own way.

Fitting in

I’ve been to over 2 dozen tech conferences and countless meetups since I’ve been on this journey. Not being a geek means that I’m in the minority wherever I go. Being a woman over 40 makes me stand out. Especially if I’m wearing a dress. I’ve often been mistaken for a VC.

While planning for my latest trip to the bay area, I read about a conference that had 2 speakers I’d never seen live – Steve Blank and Mitch Kapor. I immediately signed up not paying attention to the other details.

I arrived at the Orrick building in San Francisco bright and early and saw a table in the lobby with a “Black Founders” sign. Oops, there’s a detail I missed. I hoped I was in the right place. Turns out I was and they couldn’t have been nicer. Even though I stuck out among the crowd.

It was sometimes hard to relate to the speakers who talked about what it was like to be a visible minority. They weren’t complaining, just relating their personal experiences.

As a woman, I’ve never thought of myself as a minority. Maybe because I’m used to being the only woman senior executive in boardrooms full of men. Whether in the beer industry, hotel business or even in Hollywood. I never let it get in the way. I always hoped I’d be judged on my performance and results.

They say that the stats for women in tech are low. We all know about the superstars – Marissa, Sheryl, Meg but where are the founders of billion dollar companies? Well, they’re just not here. Yet.

In the meantime, we have some women running cool startups: Leah Busque at Taskrabbit, Gina Bianchini at Mightybell, Alexa Andrzejewski of Foodspotting, among others. Time will tell as to how big these companies will get. But it’s great to see more women jumping in and creating companies.

I don’t believe that your gender, skin color or age should matter, but let’s face it; investors (angels and VCs) are predominantly male. And they like to bet on people who look like them. There are SO many ideas out there that they have the luxury of choosing the ones that appeal to them. The famous William Goldman line: “nobody knows anything” rings as true in Silicon Valley as it does in Hollywood. It’s a crapshoot where the best you can do is make educated guesses.

So to black founders, women founders and others who don’t come with a pedigree from Stanford, Google or Facebook, just keep at it. If you have a great idea and know how to execute it (by yourself or with a great team) then focus on 2 things: get people to use your product or better yet, get them to pay for it. It turns out that traction trumps connections. Just look at Pinterest.

And stop worrying about fitting in.