B.

Who Can Be More Successful As The Ceo-Male Or Female

More women are becoming CEOs, it is good but not enough. Success in breaking the glass
ceiling will then be accompanied by success in performing the leadership role. Men will play an
significant role in doing this: recent research reveals that female CEOs' chances are significantly
improved by their predecessors' support, most of whom are male. The research writers, published
by Academy of Management, analyzed increasing succession of large corporate CEOs between
1989 and 2009 in which a woman occupied the top spot. (The findings would also extend to
smaller companies, the authors say.) For statistical reasons, they compared each case with a case
concerning male succession in the same sector, of a comparable scale, and in the same year.
They described good CEOs as the ones who in their first three years on the job achieved positive
financial results. The analysts find that, despite a lengthy time of grooming by their peers,
women CEOs do better when recruited from within their businesses. These predecessors are,
despite the shortage of women at big organizations Mostly male, though female counterparts will
possibly have a similar effect. In example, as they are called on from outside based on their track
histories, male CEOs excel in identical environments, with very brief grooming times. For two
reasons the predecessor CEO's actions had an outsize effect on woman leaders. Firstly, the
predecessor has an unrivaled ability to tutor and support high-potential women. The predecessors
handpicked their female counterparts for positions of authority in the cases examined, and
oversaw their professional advancement. People who succeeded "have an in-depth intimate
Awareness of the business and the problems, and the predecessor appears to play an tremendous
role in this, "says Priyanka Dwivedi, Management Professor at Texas A&M who co-authored the
article. Second, the predecessor establishes the framework for a woman's promotion. One
explanation why few women play the leading position is the omnipresent stereotyping why
CEOs are males."So it is a chicken-and-egg problem," Dwivedi says. To address that problem,
"managing stakeholder expectations is key," says Aparna Joshi, a Penn State executive professor
and another paper co-author. The predecessor will foster an inclusive community around the
organisation and "signal this woman is a tool worth promoting," says Joshi. The CEO's patronage
of and confidence of the female executive will be noticeable to the entire company because it
provides opportunities for her. Dwivedi cited the former and current PepsiCo CEOs Steve
Reinemund and Indra Nooyi as examples. Reinemund "announced that [Nooyi] needed to work
with him during his tenure as CEO," she says. "Five years before the transition, he suggested that
she was the preferred one." CEOs who remain active on the boards of their businesses tend to
control the output of their female subordinates, albeit in less clear ways. The continuing advisory
role is useful in several smaller companies and sectors that aren't predominantly male. Yet
"women became more competitive in male-dominated sectors and in bigger companies when the
mentor wasn't around," says Dwivedi. "And the female CEO retained control and authority
instead." The writers suggest such activities will be repeated by existing CEOs who recognize
their ability to affect a female successor's performance. "We also wonder what women should
do" in the corner office, Joshi says, to increase their numbers. "Women have made incredible
strides in education, in intellectual resources, in every area. I believe it's up to the members of
organisations to respond now." Their ranks are still well from what they need to be and progress
is slowly coming. But a seminal study by Korn Ferry has identified the essential features of
being a CEO that place women in the rarified environment. According to the report, women
CEOs are considerably older than their male peers, partially because entering the corner office
takes them 30 per cent longer than men. Yet those who have hit the top have also been dedicated
to fundamental improvements at their organisations.

The four-month study offers a remarkable insight into how female CEOs work. About 57 woman
CEOs — from 41 Fortune 1000 firms and 16 major private holders — were consulted during the
spring and summer, and provided comprehensive evaluations. As part of the "100x25" campaign,
which seeks to promote the recruiting of 100 Fortune 500 woman CEOs by 2025, the research
was funded by a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation. "As there were only 94 women CEOs
ever in the Fortune 500, we were thrilled with the high turnout," said Jane Edison Stevenson, the
global CEO succession leader of Korn Ferry, who led the groundbreaking research initiative.
"Instead of focusing on why more women are not CEOs, we concentrated on quantifying what
their common success factors were: common experiences, skills, traits, and drivers that enabled
them to become CEOs of a major business. Knowing these surprisingly reliable primary
measures of women's ability and, in effect, redefining required organizational influence variables,
will help shift the game for both organisations and the people who will lead them. The CEOs
were asked to explore a variety of subjects as part of the interviews, including their life
experiences, professions and primary personality characteristics and drivers. Many have already
done their own corporate appraisal of Korn Ferry. Six key observations emerged with remarkable
consistency from all the female CEOs who took part in the study:

1. These Chief Executives struggled harder and faster to get to the top. The female CEOs were
on average four years older than their male counterparts, employed in a marginally greater
variety of positions, duties, companies, and sectors.

2. We were also motivated by a sense of mission and producing market objectives. More than
two-thirds of the people interviewed and analyzed said they were inspired by a sense of mission
and their conviction that their company will have a positive effect on the society, the workforce
and the world around them. Nearly a quarter have pointed to the development of a healthy
community as one of their most proud achievements.

3.The differentiating attributes maintained the success of women on the road to CEO. Defining
the qualities and competencies that appeared in the study time and time again included
confidence, risk-taking, endurance, strength, and uncertainty management.

4. They were more likely to involve team power. Scoring slightly higher than the modesty test
group — indicating a strong absence of self-promotion, shared respect for others, and a loan-
sharing tendency — women CEOs were more inclined to exploit others to produce desirable
outcomes.

5. The women have usually not set their eyes on being CEO, despite apparent potential. Two-
thirds of the women said they never knew they could become CEO until they were motivated by
a manager or coach, and then concentrated on meeting corporate goals and searching for new
opportunities rather than improving their personal careers. per cent of women had demonstrable
6. The women shared financial and STEM backgrounds which served as a springboard. Late in
their careers, almost 60 skills in either STEM (40 per cent) or business / finance / economics (19
per cent)—all areas in which they could prove themselves with accurate, definable outcomes,
and therefore vital to the growth of the company.

The research report suggests concrete measures that businesses should take to promote and
sustain a consistent pipeline of female CEO applicants, including early detection of high-
potential talent and addressing prospects in ways that tap into the strengths of women and
include unique drivers. Mentors can play an important part, affirming the ability to inspire more
women to aspire to become CEOs, so supporters will personally help promote the careers of
women later on. Similar guidelines are being implemented to develop tailored initiatives for a
roster of test companies that are willing to create more female members. "One thing that
surprised us in the course of the study was how similar the traits of women CEOs matched with
those of the new leadership boards are now seeking: brave and able to effectively handle
complexity and confusion in a rapidly evolving climate," said Evelyn Orr, Chief Executive
Officer of the Korn Ferry Institute and a member of the research project. "Although the 100x25
plan of the Rockefeller Foundation is ambitious, we are confident that as more organisations
realize the beneficial business effects of including women in the CEO pool, more businesses will
follow suit."
Links and References:

https://www.inc.com/leigh-buchanan/what-female-ceos-need-to-succeed.html

https://www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/women-ceo-insights