When It Comes To The Talent Of Women In Business, The Glass Is More Than Half-Full

In The Center For Women's Leadership

While corporations worry about how to keep women in their leadership pipelines, they might do well to take a cue from the women who are running businesses for answers. 

The 2003 Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts survey -- conducted by The Center for Women's Leadership at Babson College and The Commonwealth Institute -- of more than 250 women chief executives found a rich pool of leadership role models.  These women CEOs lead firms generating more than $7.5 billion in revenues across an array of industries; from high tech to apparel, from construction to office products, from professional services to manufacturing. 

A couple of highlights from the survey:

• Woman-led companies are growth oriented.
 
• Further, the focus on growth takes a long-term view. 
 
• To support that growth focus, woman-led businesses have built organizations that look a bit different. 
 
• The talent pipelines at these firms are full and succeed in advancing women.

• Women CEOs have been highly successful in weaving together their business careers and private lives.

√ Note: Companies questioning how to enhance the pool of women managers ready to take on senior management positions might do well to take a cue from women chief executives. A few suggestions are clear.  Focus on building collaborative value, seek consistent growth through customer focus, and be sure there are at least a few senior executives to model the ways in which women successfully lead.