ARTISTIC MANAGEMENT

Let's usher in the New Year on a positive note.

Despite all the gloominess and all the negativities, we will bring in the new year on a high note.

And talking of highs, let's talk about the highest most management role: The CEO. (The news is rife that Yahoo! has hired Carol Bartz, former chief executive of Autodesk, as the new CEO).

And why not talk about the CEOs with a difference. The first issue of the first month of the new year is getting dedicated to the first ladies of the corporate world.

Let's find out if you have it in you?

Nothing. Nothing at all. It's just the perspective that needs a change. And change we must if we want to see her at the top.

Let's talk about an approach to leadership that can help women become more self-confident and effective business leaders.

Women start careers in business and other professions with the same level of intelligence, education, and commitment as men. Yet comparatively few reach the top echelons.

This gap matters not only because the familiar glass ceiling is unfair, but also because the world has an increasingly urgent need for more leaders. All men and women with the brains, the desire, and the perseverance to lead should be encouraged to fulfill their potential and leave their mark.

With all this in mind, McKinsey set out four years ago to learn what drives and sustains successful female leaders.

They wanted to help younger women navigate the paths to leadership and, at the same time, to learn how organizations could get the best out of this talented group.

To that end, they interviewed more than 85 women around the world (and a few good men) who were successful in diverse fields. Some lead 10,000 people or more, others 5 or even fewer. While the specifics of their lives varied, each one shared the goal of making a difference in the wider world. All were willing to discuss their personal experiences and to provide insights into what it takes to stay the leadership course. We also studied the academic literature; consulted experts in leadership, psychology, organizational behavior, and biology; and sifted through the experiences of hundreds of colleagues at McKinsey.

From the interviews and other research, we have distilled a leadership model comprising five broad and interrelated dimensions (exhibit): meaning, or finding your strengths and putting them to work in the service of an inspiring purpose; managing energy, or knowing where your energy comes from, where it goes, and what you can do to manage it; positive framing, or adopting a more constructive way to view your world, expand your horizons, and gain the resilience to move ahead even when bad things happen; connecting, or identifying who can help you grow, building stronger relationships, and increasing your sense of belonging; and engaging, or finding your voice, becoming self-reliant and confident by accepting opportunities and the inherent risks they bring, and collaborating with others.

Centered Leadership. McKinsey has been hard at work for more than a decade developing female leaders. Centered leadership is a simple yet powerful model that has infused tremendous energy into our efforts. They are now beginning to see the power that comes from putting all the pieces together. Since March, they have introduced the centered-leadership model to a thousand women and half as many men in regional and global learning programs. Work on building the skills at its core has unleashed collective and individual energy. Some participants quickly reached out to people who might sponsor them; others began to give their career focus greater meaning right away by asking to be involved in new projects that reflect their specific interests. Many of the women reported a tremendous increase in their energy and motivation. Indeed, more than 100 of them signed onto an interest group to compare notes about how they are applying centered leadership. It’s early days for centered leadership, but like a grassroots movement it is proliferating organically. Interestingly, they initially rolled out these ideas only to women but were immediately approached by many men who wanted “what the women were having.”

So, all you women-managers and aspiring managers-to-be (men too!), send in your comments on what do you think of this model of leadership and how even men can benefit from the same.

WHAT DID YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT CEOs?

One in five CEOs believe electronic commerce will completely reshape competition in their industries.
More than half of the CEOs of the top companies consider their personal computer skills to be excellent or good.
Almost a third had logged onto the Internet for ten days or more in the previous month.
41 percent think government regulation will be a major obstacle to their growth in the future.
Fully a third of the CEOs polled declare they are extremely optimistic about growth prospects.
Only 5 percent are pessimistic about growth in the future.

From the first Price Waterhouse / World Economic Forum annual survey of CEOs titled INSIDE THE MIND OF THE CEO: A SURVEY. Survey of 400 global CEOs.

"On the outside, Yahoo is a fun and irreverent place, but on the inside we are extremely competitive."