FOR WOMEN, MENTORSHIP IS KEY TO GETTING OVER THE MID-CAREER HUMP
WOMEN'S
CAREERS DON'T SLOW DOWN BECAUSE THEY "OPT OUT"; IT'S A
MANAGEMENT PROBLEM. HERE'S HOW ONE L'OREAL EXEC IS CHANGING THAT.
Mike
Larrain
is
your typical man’s man: he’s served in the Marines, spends his
weekends coaching his sons’ Little League teams, and casually uses
sports terminology to describe business strategies. So, on the
surface, he might seem like a fish out of water at L’Oreal, a
company that makes beauty
products
for
women and has a largely female workforce. But in some ways, Larrain’s
unconventional background has been an asset at the organization,
since he never makes the mistake of assuming he understands the goals
or motivations of the women on his team. He believes this perspective
has made him a better manager and a better mentor.
To
Larrain, mentorship and leadership go hand in hand. “I learned a
lot about leadership in the Marines,” he tells Fast
Company.
“I remember officers ransacking my room and then accusing me of
being untidy. It was a way to keep us in line, but not a strategy I
wanted to take with me into the business world. On the other hand, I
remember having strong mentors who were instrumental to my success.”
When
he left the armed forces, it was very clear to him that having allies
in leadership positions was just as critical to advancing in the
corporate sector. And here’s where gender dynamics come into play:
women are still vastly underrepresented at the top of
companies, making
up only 24 percent
of
senior leadership positions globally. Larrain believes it is
incumbent on male leaders to give women the support and strategic
advice that they need to move up the ladder.
At
L’Oreal, Larrain noticed that there are specific moments when women
are particularly vulnerable to falling behind. After doggedly working
through entry-level and early mid-level positions, he observed that
women’s momentum tended to flag right when they were primed to
enter top jobs. “I’ve seen far too many talented and dedicated
women rise through the ranks, but not able to reach their full
potential because they drop off or are overlooked on their way up,”
he says.
This
trend has been documented by countless business studies which say
that women “opt out” to start families. However, a breakthrough
study released by Bainlast
month refutes this logic, arguing that the real reason women fall
behind is due to lack of management effort to move even successful
careers forward. "Women lack meaningful recognition and support
from managers during their mid-level career period, when women
crystalize their aspirations and build--or erode--their confidence,”
the report found.
This
is precisely where Larrain believes male leaders can--and must--step
in. In his own career, he’s consciously devoted time and resources
to mentoring women on his team, particularly during moments when they
might be susceptible to losing faith in themselves. For instance,
he’s worked closely with Brenda Wu, general manager of
Skinceuticals, with the goal of helping her to break into the very
highest echelons at the company.
Larrain
says that discussing goals is critical to being a good mentor. “At
the start of any mentoring relationship, I always sit down with my
mentee and discuss what their objectives are,” he says. “Mentorship
isn’t one size fits all. It's about developing an individualized
relationship that helps someone reach the next level, both personally
and professionally. So, in many ways, the key to being a good mentor
is listening.” This is particularly important for male-female
mentoring, since men may not perceive the full range of challenges
women on their teams are facing.
And
even after a mentee has voiced their goals, it is important to be
attuned to what might be happening under the surface. “A mentee
might say that she wants to better engage clients, but you might
notice that she keeps mentioning conflict between team members
working under her supervision. That might be a cue to help provide
strategies and a roadmap for managing subordinates,” he says. He
makes the point that sometimes, people have faulty assumptions about
their own strengths and weaknesses; a good mentor can play a role in
helping to correctly identify the issues at stake.
Larrain
says that these mentorship relationships have also been hugely
helpful to him as a manager. These in-depth conversations have given
him insight into exactly what juggling work and life looks like for
women. “It’s one thing to read about the struggles female
employees face; it’s another thing to hear about the nuts and
bolts,” he says.
While
mentorship can be critical to helping women break into the C-suite,
Larrain is also keen to give women throughout the hierarchy a chance
to advance quickly. While this is valuable to employees of both
genders, it is particularly helpful to women who are less aggressive
about putting themselves forward, partly because it is less socially
acceptable for them to be seen as overtly ambitious.
To
this end, he initiated an incubator within his division that allows
employees of all ranks to solve pressing issues in the business, from
the need to modernize brands viasocial
media to
improving distribution techniques. For two months, each team works
with a coach to develop ideas that are then presented to senior
management in New York. This program allows bright young employees to
bring their ideas to the table and get face time with top brass at
the company.
“Younger
employees crave career development,” he says. “Our incubator
gives us a window into the thinking, pressures, and insights of the
younger workforce so we can learn from them, create an attractive
culture for them, and improve the top and bottom line.” So far, the
incubator has generated 88 ideas, 15 of which have been implemented,
which will have an estimated $3 million impact on the business.
Ultimately,
Larrain believes that men in leadership cannot shy away from
investing in women. “One of the best ways male leaders can foster
gender equality in the workplace is by cultivating the next
generation of female leaders,” he says. “I’ve found that
mentorship is a powerful tool for bridging the gap between a mentee’s
current position and where they ultimately want to be in their
career.”
BY
ELIZABETH
SEGRAN
http://www.fastcompany.com/3037827/how-i-get-it-done/for-women-mentorship-is-key-to-getting-over-the-mid-career-hump?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fast-company-daily-manual-newsletter&position=anjali&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=11042014
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