Women in Business: New Challenges for New Leaders
AmCham Women Leaders’ Group Launch Event
On February 23, the AmCham Women Leaders Group was launched with the “Women in Business: New Challenges for New Leaders discussion. Held at the US Ambassador’s residence, the event included a keynote address by Ine Mariën, Managing Director of Ine Mariën & Company, followed by a lively panel discussion.
What does it take to be a successful woman in business? According to Ine Mariën, the recipe for success includes five ingredients: a take-charge attitude, initiative, passion, 100 percent and a good partner.
“My inspiration to start my own company as an entrepreneur came from my desire to be the director of my own life,” says Mariën. “I knew that I wanted to be in charge of everything and that this was not possible in a ‘traditional’ job.”
From this take-charge attitude springs the initiative, or entrepreneurial spirit. “For me, initiative means recognizing an opportunity, grabbing it, managing the fear and then go, go, go,” says Mariën. “The key here is managing fear, as I believe fear keeps many people’s entrepreneurial spirit at bay.”
For Mariën, passion means having a curious personality – always being extremely curious about her business, her family and her interests. “One needs to constantly cultivate and develop their passion,” she says. “But passion isn’t a self-possessed characteristic, to become passionate about something you must share that passion with your family.”
Then there’s the 100% Rule, which Mariën says, “you can’t be a great leader when you’re only working part time.” Yet she is quick to note that 100% does not necessarily mean long-hours, although this is often the case. “You base your calculation on value, not quantity. And the 100% attitude must apply to all aspects of your life in order to create a balance.”
And the final ingredient is a good partnership, where a mutual understanding of one’s passions and one’s needs allows for success in all aspects of life.
On the topic of the unique challenges facing women in the business world, Mariën believes the business climate is changing and that the economic world is coming to a realization that it is in need of more women. More so, as the world becomes more and more global and complex, hierarchy plays a less important role as the landscape becomes more loosely organized around matrix structures, which works in the favor of women leaders since this creates a need for different and new management styles. “The global business world has a need for a more inclusive, collaborative-focused form of leadership,” she says. “Women are a perfect fit for this need.”
And Now for the Panel Discussion…
Launching the discussion with a quick reading from a recent edition of The Economist that featured the current state of women in the workplace, the panel quickly meandered through numerous topics…
On balancing career and family
Pitsy oude Hendrikman: “We have to know our values and, in order to maintain a successful balance, we must keep everything close. This means living close to the office and investing in help with such chores as cooking and cleaning.”
Delvaux: “Finding the balance is not easy, there are good days and there are bad days. The key is to have positive people around you – people who don’t make you feel guilty for having to also play a family role. Essentially, you need to find a good partner, and the best partners are those who want you to be happy.”
Leroy: “I agree, getting help is very important. But overall, I think today it is getting easier for women to cope and strike a balance. Technology has played an important part in getting us here, especially in corporate life. It is now possible to leave early and continue to work from home. You can also replace travel with video conferences.”
Verplancke: “I see progress taking place, and for me personally it is much easier now. With flexi time and home-based work I can make my own decisions on when to work. I see the barrier as not being having a family, but our inability to reframe the ‘female manager’.”
Mariën: “Although things have changed, other things have not. For example, I don’t think there has been much change in corporate culture or social barriers.”
On corporate culture
Pitsy oude Hendrikman: “Change starts at the top. The question is ‘can you find the right person for the top job?’. The current generation has to start thinking about the boardroom culture and promote things for the younger generation. After all, the right female for the boardroom job is now somewhere in that younger generation.”
Doornaert: “I myself am less optimistic about the younger generations. To me, they seem to have a negative reaction to the notion of feminism.”
Verplancke: “But there is a change in corporate culture because the general profile that companies are now looking for in leaders tends to be more feminine in characteristic. Leadership today is being defined by teamwork, being able to work in matrixes and making connections across sectors – these are all what we traditionally refer to as feminine characteristics.”
“In a way, we no longer have a gender issue because, in order to be successful, companies need female leaders. This need for a more balanced style of leadership will attract more women and, at the same time, will create a corporate culture that matches female values – meaning more women will stay in a company longer and thus be more likely to advance into the boardroom.”
On networking
Verplancke: “Networking is essential to moving up in the corporate world. For some reason, networking is not a strong point for many women leaders.”
On mentoring
Pitsy oude Hendrikman: “If we want more women to move up we need mentoring. Men typically hate this, whereas women are open to mentoring.”
On schools
Delvaux: “Schools have to work on teaching female management and how it differs from male-style management. More so, this balanced approach has to be taught to both sexes.”
On self-marketing
Mariën: “We have to walk the talk and show the younger generation what management is and that it is within the feminine sphere.”