Competencies and collaborations for 2022

Throughout 2022, I will be focusing my columns on looking at proven ways to advance female talent and build inclusive corporate cultures.

Initially, I will write about approaches that work in any environment, in-office, remote or hybrid. Since 2022 is likely to be rife with unknowns and uncertainties, the need for paradigms that reach across all modes of work is crucial. And fortunately, a number have been researched and field tested.

For example, in an upcoming column, I plan to share key findings from WOMEN Unlimited’s independent research from our soon-to-be released report, “IMPACT Report: Looking Back to Move Forward: Building Inclusive Corporate Cultures through Competencies and Collaboration.”

The research was conducted at the heart of the pandemic, and surveyed three key corporate constituencies: talented women, their managers and their mentors. The data and the insights of the more than 4,400 survey participants points to a flexibility and an adaptability that allow both women and their organizations to not just survive, but to thrive amidst continuing uncertainties.

The need for cohesiveness

Throughout the year, my columns will emphasize cohesive, corporatewide approaches because research shows segmented strategies are insufficient for attracting and retaining female talent.

For example, there is a tendency to see diversity, equity and inclusion — the three major components involved in advancing under-represented populations — as independent entities. This approach often works to the detriment of women and minorities in the workplace because these components all  are most effective when employed in tandem, not as free-standing initiatives. 

I like to look at it this way: 

• Diversity is the invitation to the table.
• Equity is giving everyone equal space at that table.
• Inclusion is valuing each participant’s voice as they speak up at the table.

When viewed in this light, it becomes singularly clear that these three pillars of parity need to be simultaneously addressed and embraced.

Equally important is a cohesive, organizationwide commitment to the advancement of women and minorities. We have seen over and over that without whole-hearted involvement and endorsement at all organizational levels, under-represented populations progress at a snail’s pace and corporate cultures change even more slowly.

Underpinning the need for a cohesive approach, in the months ahead I will focus my columns on:

• The interconnected roles of women, their managers and their mentors in achieving both individual and corporate goals.
• Key strategies for sustainable changes to corporate culture.
• How managerial flexibility promotes individual, departmental and corporate success.
• Specific data on how women see themselves changing amidst uncertain times vis a vis how their managers and mentors see them changing.
• The unquestionable importance of combining competencies and collaboration for the  advancement of female talent.

Cause for optimism

Both empirical and anecdotal evidence show that women often pay a higher price during uncertain times. They tend to be the ones juggling personal and professional needs. Nonetheless, pandemic-based research indicates that when supported by organizations that value them, women often push past the problems and create new, individualized pathways to success.

As I review the research and interact with leading corporations, I see that women, their managers, their mentors and their organizations are not allowing uncharted territory to sideline them. The ability to combat uncertainty with talent and flexibility has allowed them to adapt not to a mere “new normal” but to a “now normal” where the “now” is in constant flux.

I look forward to sharing the competencies and the collaborations proven most effective in dealing with this “now normal” world.