Learnings from a leadership journey MERLE BONIFACE DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND PLANNING

WHERE I’VE COME FROM Teaching in the DNA – but followed a corporate path Stereotypical statistic Salary gap Higher performance criteria for promotion Need to adapt leadership style Success and likeability negatively correlated for women Gender bias experienced Career choices

GENDER EQUALITY IS AN ORGANISATIONAL IMPERATIVE Diluting the talent pool as females were leaving and not making partner/management Driving cultural transformation by: – Eliminating bias in policies – Flexible working arrangements – Using assignments and projects as strategies – Creating “on ramps” and “off ramps” – Mentorship – 5 year sabbaticals from company

AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW Harvard Business School 52 women, executive level, global Purpose of programme: – to narrow the ambition gap at director level Supportive, powerful environment Time out to focus on own personal growth Sharing learnings from programme and other leadership experiences today

AMBITION GAP Ambition gap Women place limiting assumptions on themselves Men follow linear, focussed and rigid career path Men rate themselves more highly than women do Glass ceiling – is this the only factor?

HIDDEN SIGNALS – AMY CUDDY Body language: confident or not? Warmth first, followed by competence to build trust Warmth mistake more costly than a competence one Connect first – then lead Women better at displaying “warmth” than men Choose “inside out” instead of “outside in” – it is more authentic Those with “power poses” are more successful, even if less competent

DARE TO BE BAD! – FRANCES FREI Trying to excel at everything = exhausted mediocrity Trade off between cost, quality and speed. Think of a - A change to one will impact on the others Successful companies have made trade-offs: know what they want to excel at and prepared to be mediocre in other areas What trade-offs will you make in your personal and professional life to truly excel? See You Tube, Prof Frances Frei on "How to Win on Service“ Read Uncommon Service by Frances Frei and Anne Morris

FLYING WITHOUT A NET Fast paced world, threat of job loss Avoid new challenges, feel threatened Strategic roles – are disconnected from the detail Detailed roles – disconnected from the whole Focus on what we don’t know, not what we do – particularly women! This is Normal! In order to grow, one needs to first become vulnerable + learn new things Read Flying without a net – turn fear of change into fuel for success by Prof T J deLong

STAR PERFORMERS Franchise (Strengths) Portable skills “WE” or “I” culture? Internal Networks Non- portable skills Organisational context and relationships External Networks Performance drops when STARS change roles Read Chasing Stars – the Myth of Talent and Portable performance by Prof. Boris Groysberg

FOCUS ON THE “B” PLAYERS Don’t spend all your time on the A Players – the so-called high performers / stars Focus on the 60-80% of B Players – Backbone of the organisation – Long term view of the business – Drive the culture – Knowledge and majority of work Don’t abuse your STARS!

TOP CEO’S Criteria used – Market share, growth performance, what happens after the CEO leaves Found top performers – Not those constantly in the media – Not those earning highest salaries “The top 50 list shows that no country or industry has a corner on performance. But taking a longer perspective did bring to light a number of “hidden gems” – quiet CEO’s who delivered outstanding results year in and year out, away from the glare of the cover stories and the business school case studies. Their success makes a persuasive argument for a new approach to evaluating CEO’s. Only by analysing performance over their tenure and beyond, can we being to understand the nature of great leadership.” The Best Performing CEO's in the world: HBS; Hansen, Ibarra and Peyer, 2010

BEHAVIOURS OF HIGH QUALITY LEADERS

OUR REALITY Economic volatility Disruption from technology – new industries whilst others close Great need for connectedness – open collaborative cultures Social media changing how we do things Big data provides competitive advantage Engage our customers (parents, students and staff) as individuals Innovate through partnerships Need flexibility Need to reinvent ourselves

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Be self aware – play to your strengths Make trade-offs Hire for attitude Give them a purpose Remember your “B” players Manage your stress Provide an empowering, enabling structure “Own” responsibility, be careful how you “show up” Build authentic relationships Know your staff as individuals Invest in yourself Volunteer

Make others better as a result of your presence. Help them to grow and you will grow also!