WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

As a manager or learning and development professional, you know the compelling business case for moving more women into senior roles:

● Boards with at least three women directors are almost 50% more profitable than those without.
● Fortune 500 companies with more female executives have 35% higher return on equity and achieve 34% higher returns to their shareholders.
● Gender diversity has a positive impact on staff morale, talent recruitment and company image.

However, when you examine the C-suite, women are not featuring in significant enough numbers – and it’s not for lack of talent. While you can turn to lateral hiring to fill senior roles, change happens at the heart of a company. Developing your best people leads to higher retention. Despite your best efforts to support women into leadership roles, the situation isn’t improving fast enough.

So what’s happening?

Women on the cusp of stepping up are usually held back by the three barriers:

1) Capability: Doubting one’s ability to take on more senior responsibilities and avoids going for the promotion.
2) Congruence: Fearing that leadership will lead to burnout, less time with family and poor work-life balance.
3) Confidence: Struggling to showcase big ideas during decisive meetings and command a place at the table, particularly in male-dominated settings.

Stephanie’s Aitken’s transformational coaching address these barriers using tools designed with consideration for how women instinctively function and thrive.

Some women within your organisation are at a career crossroad. Either they have recently been promoted to a new role but experience self-doubt about meeting the expectations placed on them. Or they are poised and ready for promotion but are resisting that step up. This is when tailored one-to-one coaching can be an invaluable support to help women overcome these issues and embrace leadership with confidence and effectiveness.

For future leaders earlier in their journey, group training programmes are an effective way to give them the tools and insights to propel themselves forward at the right time.

Key components of the coaching and training include:

– Undoing the programming and habits holding many women back, such as perfectionism; imposter syndrome; conforming to please; and dealing with the inner critic.
– A robust framework for time and energy management that enables women to be more effective, productive and resilient.
– A model for female leadership that draws on collaboration, caring, compassion, connection and courage.
– Developing the features of an unmistakable leader: confidence, communication and stronger relationships.