A new study [PDF] suggests that managers can boost team performance by offering “prosocial” bonuses. The study’s authors say that teams do better when individuals get bonus compensation which they are then instructed to spend on another team member or a charitable group.

The Harvard Business School working paper was released this month and written by Lalin Anik, Duke University; Lara B. Aknin, University of British Columbia; Michael I. Norton, Harvard Business School; Elizabeth W. Dunn, University of British Columbia; and Jordi Quoidbach, University of Liège. The researchers were looking for ways around common problems caused by traditional bonuses, which have been shown to be ineffective in increasing morale and productivity.

According to Anik et al, prosocial bonuses, or bonuses that are spent on other people, may be the answer. Teams that employed prosocial bonuses reported higher productivity and more satisfied employees than those that only used traditional bonuses. They write, “These results suggest that a minor adjustment to employee bonuses – shifting the focus from the self to others – can produce measurable benefits for employees and organizations.”

Apparently, the sense that they are doing good can motivate people to work better together – here’s how.

Bonus Methods

Bonuses have long been used to reward individuals and teams for outsized behavior – and they are effective – up to a point. But they present challenges as well. Anik and her colleagues write, for example, that “individual incentives – such as large bonuses – are often surprisingly ineffective in increasing employee morale and productivity.”

Individual incentives can cause team mates to compete against one another, rather than working together for the good of the group. “Rewarding individual employees can produce negative outcomes by eroding workplace cohesion, as employees become reluctant to share information with others even at the expense of reduced output,” the researchers explain.

Team-based bonus schemes can also backfire, causing the sense that the poorest performers are freeloaders. Top performers may become de-motivated if they feel their team will miss out on a bonus because of less successful colleagues. The researchers write, “Thus while team-based bonuses have the potential to improve relationships between co-workers, they can also lead to ‘antisocial’ behaviors – and decreased employee outcomes.”

Anik and her colleagues decided to investigate whether a team’s dynamic could be improved by changing what bonuses look like. They write:

“We examine whether randomly assigning employees to engage in prosocial behavior – via prosocial bonuses – can have a causal impact on employee well-being, job satisfaction, and job performance. In both field studies, some employees and teammates are given non-contingent ‘prosocial bonuses’ – money that they receive as a windfall that they are encouraged to spend in a prosocial manner.”

The team performed two experiments. In the first, employees at an Australian bank received bonus money to spend at a charity of their choice. In the second experiment, employees on pharmaceutical sales teams and members of sports teams were given bonus money to spend on a colleague. In both studies, prosocial bonuses produced stronger results than the traditional bonuses.

For example, in the second experiment the sales team showed a “large and significant” increase in performance after the implementation of the prosocial bonus scheme. There was no increase for teams that simply received personal bonuses. Similarly, at the Australian bank, employee happiness and job satisfaction increased significantly for individuals who received a $100 AUS voucher for charity, whereas there was no change for those who received a $50 AUS voucher or no voucher. Anik and her colleagues write:

“Across the studies, we show that prosocial bonuses can benefit both individuals and teams, on both psychological and ‘bottom line’ indicators, in both the short and long-term. Unlike some research suggesting a weak link between factors that improve job satisfaction and those that improve job performance our results suggest that prosocial bonuses have a meaningful impact on both metrics.”

The study suggests that by “shifting the focus from the self to others,” managers can better leverage the motivating benefits of bonuses, while avoiding the competitive nature of traditional bonuses that can demotivate team members. They do caution, however, that prosocial bonuses should not take the place of traditional bonuses overnight. “In particular, it seems likely that prosocial bonuses could backfire if they were introduced by companies as a replacement for more standard bonuses.”

Finally, they add, prosocial bonuses can help bridge the growing struggle between work and life that is exacerbated as people spend more and more time in the office. “We suggest that rather than force
employees to make a losing tradeoff between social life and work life, employers can focus instead on using prosocial bonuses to create a more altruistic, satisfying, and productive workplace.”

The research indicates that by introducing elements of altruism, connection, and choice into the compensation structure, managers may be able to get more from their employees. What do you think? How would your team respond to a prosocial bonus structure?

Imagine if you were able to recruit women from across the country to spend hundreds of hours debating how best to help women stay on the leadership track at American companies.

Then imagine what might happen if a small group of those women spent countless more hours distilling the resulting ideas into 78 solutions, 16 ideas for CEOs to make change in just 24 hours, and tips and advice for women themselves.

Well, Bentley Center for Women and Business (CWB) did just that. The resulting report—Idea Exchange: Advancing Women in the Workplace—helped move this type of conversation into action by sharing ways to eliminate barriers both small and large to the supports women need inside the office and at home.

The Glass Hammer spoke with Susan M. Adams, PhD, senior director for the CWB, who helped lead the Idea Exchange initiative and facilitated the writing of the report by serving as the content expert.

What’s Behind the Idea Exchange?

The CWB’s mission focuses on identifying and sharing actionable ideas to increase the number of women leaders in business and helping companies harness the talents of women. Adams explains that the Idea Exchange was born because the organization wanted to hear from those closest to the issues to understand what they thought was needed.

“We needed to hear what was most important to them,” says Adams. “So through an online discussion platform, over 350 men and women shared their suggestions and commented on others’ recommendations for three weeks.”

But that was just the beginning. A trained moderator, Cindy Richards, posted comments at least once daily to ask for clarifications and to highlight interesting postings for others to notice and comment on. Following the three weeks of online discussion, 11 of the active and most provocative participants were invited to create the writing collaborative that produced the report.

Adams explains that the eight-week writing process started by identifying the major issues raised during the online discussion. The 11 participants of the writing collaborative then broke into topical subgroups to summarize and build on the issues. “At that point, the moderator became a task master to keep the project moving, and I supplied data and research findings as needed so they could relate and extend their recommendations to past studies,” says Adams. “About week three of the writing collaborative phase, they started creating the report. The ground rule for the report was that everyone had to agree with recommendations for them to be included.”

During the initial online discussion phase, the moderator and Adams had daily phone calls to review comments and decide which ones should be highlighted. During the writing collaborative phase, the writers, moderator, and Adams held weekly phone calls—and occasionally twice a week calls—to discuss issues and keep the project moving. “I can’t overemphasize how intense the process was, because all involved were so passionate about creating a report that could positively impact future opportunities for women.”

78 Solutions

The resulting 54-page report featured 78 solutions to help advance the careers of women. Here are 10 of the recommendations for actions that companies can take:

• Embed gender diversity initiatives into strategic conversations and strategic planning.
• Review your strategic framework—mission statement, vision statement, and values—to ensure it contains a commitment to inclusion and diversity.
• Set a corporate policy that says your company will not sell products with advertising that sexualizes girls or is sexist in nature.
• Require existing board members to sponsor a female leader.
• Foster non-competitive workplaces, allowing employees to seize the “anti-ladder.”
• Conduct regular retention interviews of high-potential women.
• Make distance learning available to women who have chosen to slow down their careers.
• Construct networks—both external across industries and internal to companies—to support women networking.
• Document childcare options close to the office, or offer on-site childcare.
• Invert the traditional approval process by making managers get approval to deny an employee’s request for a flexible/alternative schedule.

The most important finding, according to Adams, is that the problems unearthed by the Idea Exchange require concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders — women, their employers, their families, CEOs, and public policy leaders. “Women in finance, law, and technology are fighting an uphill battle in fields where the business practices cater more to men’s ways of working and are not very accommodating of women’s styles or life challenges,” says Adams. “Women need to enlist the assistance of others to make genuine, sustainable change in entrenched systems, practices, attitudes, and behaviors that are creating the barriers to career advancement for women in those fields.”

What Can Be Done

The report left no stone unturned in providing these multiple stakeholders with news each can use to solve and resolve women’s challenges to workplace advancement. Adams shares some actionable ideas for each group:

• CEOs. “CEOs who claim to want to retain and promote women need to ‘walk the talk’ by providing necessary resources such as training to navigate politics and identify career paths, and offering flexible work arrangements whenever possible,” says Adams. “CEOs can also demonstrate their commitment by openly grooming a few women as their sponsors and encouraging or mandating that other male senior executives do the same.”
• Companies. “Company practices need to be intentionally inclusive to make sure women are not left behind,” says Adams. “If a company does not recognize the strategic advantages of a gender-diverse organization, corporate practices are more likely to mimic and cater to senior management leadership styles and preferences—which are most often male. There are many barriers that women may face in male-dominated environments. Creating a gender-inclusive culture will also allow men to take advantage of flexible work arrangements to be more accessible fathers and lighten the ‘mother-load.’”
• Women. “Women should become more proactive and not wait for others to help them,” says Adams. “They need to continuously prepare themselves and other women to take advantage of opportunities. For example, do you know who is involved in the strategic planning process in your organization? If there are no women involved, approach your CEO to discuss the best way to ensure greater diversity in the process.”
• Public Policy Makers. “Policy makers can encourage more support to working parents with better childcare options and school programs to prepare girls for business leadership,” says Adams. “They can also highlight businesses that are supporting women to demonstrate importance and that it can be done.”

There is no single solution, and the report doesn’t pretend otherwise — it offers a wide array of recommendations. Different women and different companies can pick and choose the solutions that work best for their unique situations. “Every woman, every family, and every company deals with changing priorities on a continuing basis, so the suggestions from this study should be seen as options to consider on a continuing basis,” says Adams. “The group had many more ideas, as I am sure readers of The Glass Hammer will. It’s time to start implementing them.”

A new McKinsey report suggests that while tracking and analyzing diversity metrics is important for success in gender parity, we should not downplay the importance of personal experience. Leaders should be encouraged to engage in storytelling, McKinsey suggests, making their connection to diversity personal.

Lareina Yee, a Principal in McKinsey’s San Francisco office, explained that while, in the past, she and her team had researched into problem areas that companies experience when it comes to diversity, for this research they decided to delve into the things that companies are doing right. “Instead of framing all of the things companies were not doing, we decided to ask ‘what are things that companies are doing that make them better?’ Who are the positive deviants?”

She continued, “That’s how we got to the storytelling piece. It’s about commitment, and we believe that intensity of commitment is critical for the success of the program.”

Yee, who wrote the report with Joanna Barsh and Sandra Nudelman, says that when leaders are genuinely committed to improving workforce diversity, they put their passion and their resources behind numbers-based corporate initiatives in a combination that yields success.

Benefits of Storytelling

“Storytelling is linked with authenticity in leaders,” Yee explained. “In storytelling, they can personalize diversity and make it their own, and talk about their experiences; for example they could describe a time when they created an opportunity for a woman on their team and how it benefited the company. The value of the stories they tell is about inspiration, not only in that they believe diversity can happen, but that they can prove, with their own experience, that it worked.”

Beyond authenticity, storytelling is simply a way that successful business leaders communicate about change, and model how to approach it successfully. Yee explained, “When we think about huge things that rock a company – like changing a business model or a restructuring or merger – when we think about change management, it’s essential that the leader is role modeling. If we think about gender diversity as a business imperative, then it is not surprising that storytelling and role modeling is such an important piece of the success model.”

Talking frankly about diversity is also important in building credibility around a diversity program. Yee’s team studied organizations that had prioritized gender diversity – yet, when surveyed, less than half of their workforces recognized diversity as an actual priority. When actions do not match words, gender diversity programs can be met with skepticism that can ultimately be harmful to the organization. “It’s almost seen as lip service in some companies,” she said.

Storytelling can be a step forward in turning around those perceptions. “We have to say that we’ve made modest at best improvement and that we have work to do,” she suggested. “We have to match perceptions with fact, to look at the evidence but provide a glimmer of hope.”

Finally, storytelling can also provide avenues for discussion that lead to new tactics. “When we share stories, we can work together to make success cases more systematic,” she explained. “Together, the data and the personalization can be pretty powerful.”

Linking Data and Passion

In the past, McKinsey’s gender research has focused largely on the business-case for diversity, and the importance of setting goals and tracking metrics. The new suggestions take a decidedly qualitative turn.

Yee said, “You have to have both – the quantitative and the qualitative. The numbers are very grounding for some people, especially in a business context where people are concerned with cold, hard facts. But when you look at the stalled level of progress over the past five or six years, at the end of the day, the results aren’t happening.” Something else is missing, and, McKinsey’s research suggests, that something is passion.

She explained, “The quantitative side provides transparency and accountability that is very important. Especially in the business sector, it’s what people relate to. But even our highest performing companies are nowhere near population parity. We have so much farther to go.”

That gap can be bridged by ensuring leaders are living up to their values and communicating about them regularly. That includes setting companies up for success by ensuring diversity programs have the backing and resources they need to make a difference.

“Diversity starts with a deep commitment at the top. You ultimately have to have your values in check first, and a level of commitment that is connected to the topic. Then the rest flows,” Yee said.

According to a recent study by Mercer, the percentage of women assigned to international projects currently sits at 13 percent, a 3 percent increase from 2010. Mercer’s research suggests that 39 percent of companies say that employees with international experience are promoted more quickly, it is encouraging to see more women are being considered for international assignments, and subsequently accepting these roles.

The dialogue around international assignments and female expatriates has most recently been focused on the question of fairness – are women receiving equal opportunities to take advantage of the international experience that can positively impact their career trajectory? A study conducted by Catalyst last fall indicated that women, in fact, are not being equally considered for critical international experience that will enhance their career. Or, if they are chosen for an international assignment, women are most likely to receive smaller projects with small budgets and less corporate impact, compared to their male colleagues.

However, Mercer’s Global Mobility study results paint a different picture of women in international assignments. Historically, eligible women have been overlooked for international assignments due to assumptions about work-life balance constraints and the potential safety risks of sending females to work in different cultures where views of women – especially of women in dominant business roles – were not yet widely accepted. Now, 13 percent of all international assignments belong to women. This number might not feel very significant in the grand scheme of things, but is actually a solid indication that there is a very noticeable sea change taking place within the international business community.

Female Breadwinners Rise to the Occasion

Like many of the debates about women’s advancement in the workplace, the key question here is whether or not companies are making more of an effort to include women during the selection process for international assignments, or if female executives are showing more interest and initiative when it comes to accepting international assignments. According to Ed Hannibal, North America Leader of Mercer’s Global Mobility Practice, “The dynamic is changing as more women are represented in upper management roles.” He continues, “This is resulting in an increase in female lead expatriates.”

If you take Hannibal’s explanation for the shift in the number of female expatriates, it seems like there is a very natural trickle-down effect taking place in multinational companies. As more women assume leadership positions, they also are proving to have more of the qualifications and experience required to take on the challenges associated with global mobility. These challenges, according to Hannibal, are not gender specific either. He notes, “Companies are not putting different resources in place to support more female lead expatriates. The overall support of the family unit is key whether the lead expatriate is male or female.”

Hannibal also stated that in addition to the career oriented challenges, the personal challenges involved with taking international assignments are also becoming more gender neutral. He says, “The non-working spouse piece has changed over the last 20 years. There are more dual career partners than ever before.” Having been involved with global mobility for 20 years, Hannibal has observed the evolution of female expatriates since the early nineties, when international appointments were rarely being offered to female leaders. Speaking about the 13 percent of females currently working on international assignments, Hannibal says, “This is an exciting statistic to see.”

A Giant Leap for Womankind

There is no question that a direct correlation exists between international experience and accelerated career advancement. As the playing field begins to even out, women in mid and senior level positions across large multinational corporations are seizing the opportunity to position themselves for success. These global trailblazers are paving an important path for younger generations of businesswomen to follow as the trend of females in international assignments continues to move upward.

In an article published by the Wall Street Journal last May, eleven female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies gave their thoughts about women’s advancement in the workplace in response to Jack Welch’s remarks that performance is the only important metric that determines an employee’s success. Angela Braly, CEO of WellPoint said, “Be open to opportunity and take risks. In fact, take the worst, the messiest, the most challenging assignment you can find, and then take control.” This seems like fitting advice for women questioning whether or not they should accept an international assignment.

Want to get choice assignments? Want to make more money? Want to have a bigger impact? Get sponsored.

Only 13 percent of women leaders have sponsors according to data from the Center for Talent Innovation. How do the rest of us get the right sponsors? Sponsors are the people several levels up in the organization who have political clout and influence to get us promotions, the right assignments, and visibility. To get the inside scoop on how people really decide who they sponsor, I spoke with several people in leadership roles and those in HR who have the inside scoop on how this actually happens.

Five Factors That Drive Sponsorship

1. Consistent Results. We have to be great at what we do and we have to do it consistently. In order for sponsors to be willing to use their precious political capital on our behalf, they have to have confidence that we will deliver for them. “Demonstrate competence consistently. It’s what builds confidence and credibility” advises Chris Lowe, President of Food Service at Coca Cola North America. This is a necessary factor, but it’s not sufficient.

2. Communication of your personal brand. What is it that you’re great at and helps you stand out? This is not about fulfilling the job description. This is about us understanding the special spark or talent we have that creates value in an important way. Are you the person that is able to turn around client relationships? Are you the person that’s able to solve the toughest problems? Are you the visionary that is able to envision future trends like no one else? A great tool for doing that is using personal assessments (I recommend Strengthsfinders and Stand Out) in addition to feedback. Discover and articulate your personal brand in your performance review and career discussions.

3. Clearly understand fit between your brand and value drivers in the organization. “It’s important to take ownership and navigate your career toward projects and assignments where your special talents also create tremendous value for the organization”, says Tammy Woodard, an HR leader for KPMG.

4. Connect strategically. Who are the people who have power and influence in the organization? They are likely two levels up in the hierarchy. Get to know them. Work on projects or teams where they can see you in action. “Find out what matters to them. It may be very different to what matters to you, so listen carefully. If our goal is to get promoted and they are a decision-maker then we need to help them get what’s important to them,” says Woodard.

5. Collaborate across the network. “Sponsors want to support people who have good social skills”, says Lowe. “They have the ability to get others to collaborate with them. They have the ability to get things done because they are seen as team players.” Socialize (get informal feedback and discussion going) on your ideas. Sponsors want to propose people for advancement who others will also give the nod to. Make it easy for your sponsor to sponsor you by making sure you have a wide network of influential people who know you and are aligned with you.

You’re probably thinking, “And I do this all in my vast reserves of spare time?”

1. Delegate and de-clutter activities that don’t count. Like most things in life, 20 percent of our effort generates 80 percent of the results. Take some thinking time to de-clutter or delegate activities that don’t count. Plan thinking time on your calendar to do this.

2. Bring a strategic mindset to what you’re already doing. Much of this doesn’t need to take extra time. All it requires is a different mindset. The next meeting you’re in, make the effort to connect with influencers and understand their goals. Help them get to know you.

3. Commit to collaborating in what you’re already doing. Make it a leadership practice to help someone feel heard and understood in a meeting. It is in our enlightened self-interest to help others get what they want. These are the “social skills” that Chris Lowe mentioned.

What is it that you’ve observed in your organization that gets people sponsored? Pick at least one action you will take from reading this that will help you get sponsored.

Henna Inam is CEO of Transformational Leadership Inc., a company focused on helping women achieve their potential to be transformational leaders. A former C-Suite executive with Fortune 500 companies, her passion is to help leaders be successful, deeply engaged, and create organizations that drive breakthroughs in innovation, growth and engagement. Connect @hennainam. Subscribe to her blog at www.transformleaders.tv.

So you read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, and perhaps like our editor liked it more than you expected to. Now what?

The messages in the book are a powerful call to action to do more than just read and move on. The author’s expressed hope at the end of the book is that women will not only keep talking about the ideas that she raises, but will form “Lean In Circles” to facilitate the dialogue.

We interviewed Gabriela Franco Parcella, chairman and CEO of Mellon Capital, on her progress in championing a Lean In Circle at her firm. She explained, “My feeling is that if we can help accelerate the learning curve for women, why not? It took me 18 years of working to learn some of the lessons described in the book. I would like other women to benefit from our experiences so that they can avoid mistakes that we have made.”

What Are Circles?

Lean In Circles are small groups that meet regularly to share and learn together. The Lean In organization describes Circles “like a book club focused on helping members achieve their goals.” If members want extra support and structure for starting a Circle, Lean In provides an online space and Circle Kits to help Circle moderators get organized and stay connected.

Lean In recommends that Circles meet 10 times a year, starting with a Kickoff Meeting [PDF] and then hosting Education Meetings [PDF] and Exploration Meetings [PDF] . Education Meetings involve watching an online lecture developed by Lean In’s education partners, and then discussing the topic. Exploration meetings feature two members sharing personal opportunities, challenges, or decisions, and then hearing feedback from other group members.

The Lean In website provides free online tools for those who are interested in serving as moderators to host Kickoffs, Education Meetings, and Exploration Meetings as well.

Launch Inspirations

One of the women who has started a Lean In Circle is Gabriela Franco Parcella, chairman and CEO of Mellon Capital in San Francisco. Parcella is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), which partnered with Sheryl Sandberg and the Lean In team to create a structure for Lean In Circles. Through YPO, Parcella was asked if she would be willing to champion one or more Lean In Circles. She then read the book and did some research on the messaging behind Lean In. Parcella was impressed that Sandberg partnered with Stanford’s Clayman Institute of Gender Research to explore the issues that women face, and that she put facts and figures behind her messaging.

In explaining why she was inspired to start a Circle, Parcella says that Lean In resonated with her. “Many of the experiences that Sheryl shared were ones that I have also had in my career,” says Parcella.

Parcella adds that she was surprised by some of the negative press surrounding the launch of the book and website, and wanted to raise her hand to help further Lean In’s mission. “After listening to Sheryl speak (she opened her home to us and also invited us to the Facebook campus to talk about the most effective ways to launch Circles), I was sure that this was something that I wanted to be a part of and that I could use my voice to counter some of the unfair press,” says Parcella. “The Lean In official launch was last week and included 30 women from YPO that came in from around the world, not just around the United States. It was inspiring to see how quickly a movement like this could spread around the globe.”

Start-up Mode

For her first Circle, Parcella asked senior managers at Mellon Capital to nominate a woman on their team who could benefit from a Circle experience. She then invited 11 women to join, and 10 accepted. “Although I thought the time commitment was not too much (meeting once a month for 2-2.5 hours), the biggest hesitation women had was that they couldn’t find the time,” says Parcella. “For those with doubts, I counseled them that this was an investment in themselves that they deserve. As women, we tend to take care of everyone else (our spouses, children, parents, and teams) before we focus on ourselves.”

Parcella is using the Circle Kit and other information on the Leanin.org website to help structure her meetings. “The material is very easy to follow and they lay out exactly how to run the meetings and the agenda for the meetings,” says Parcella. “I am very pleased that Lean In has placed all of the material, including the instructional videos, on the public site. No login or password required. It is an incredible opportunity for women (and men) around the world to have access to top quality instructional videos presented by professors and other experts.”

Though Parcella’s Circle is still in its early days having just held a Kickoff meeting, she’s gearing up for the next meeting, where the group will discuss a video called “Power & Influence.” “I think it is great that the website has discussion guides for the educational videos,” says Parcella. “We plan to follow the recommended order of educational topics and alternate between educational and exploratory sessions. And there are more videos on the way.” She adds that the four additional education topics already available on the website are right on point—negotiation, harnessing the power of stories, team dynamics, and creating a level playing field.

Passing the Torch

In considering potential challenges to launching a Circle successfully, Parcella emphasizes that it is important for each participant to recognize the commitment involved. “It is worth spending some time to make sure that you have assembled a group that wants to share and grow,” she says. “One of the goals I set for myself when starting the Circle at Mellon Capital was to establish a network of peers. We all run into work, work really hard so that we can then run home and see our families. That doesn’t leave much time for building relationships at work. I am hopeful that these amazing Mellon Capital women will get to know each other better, be able to relate to each other, celebrate successes, be there for each other when there are challenges, and make each other stronger as a result.”

Other important tips that Parcella recommends to potential Circle starters and participants are to agree on the length of the meeting, and to schedule at least six months out so that everyone knows the dates and can make childcare or other arrangements at home. “This is all new and we are learning as we go,” says Parcella. “One piece of advice that I got from the Lean In team was to get the Circle started and quickly hand off the moderating responsibilities to someone else. That way they can be a self-sustaining group without the CEO’s involvement.” To that end, Parcella’s next meeting will be her last. She will hand off the reigns, continue to act as an advisor, and start thinking about how to launch more Circles.

According to Suzanne Muir, a Global Client Partner at Capco, a financial services consulting firm, women would benefit by reaching out to one another more often. “We don’t collaborate enough. I don’t see enough women keeping up with peers. Women need to stick together and I really encourage a lot of that.”

In fact, she is helping launch a new mentoring circle initiative at her firm. “We launched our executive women’s network about two years ago, and over time it’s really gelled into a great group of women at all levels. Now we want to add that mentoring component.”

Each circle will include a senior woman and nine to ten junior women with the goal of attracting and retaining high performers. “The junior women will lead and facilitate the circles and bring ideas and thought leadership forward to create their own community of interest. They are still looking for their best fit in their career, and giving them a sense of community will enable them to feel comfortable. I think that’s important.”

She continued, “Our future leaders are those women, and it’s incumbent on us to provide that path forward.”

Career in Sales

Muir started her career at Digital Equipment in the early 90s working in sales and marketing, and while it was mostly marketing, she explained, she was able to be involved in interesting work. “It introduced me to the corporate world,” she said. “I was surrounded by a number of women in sales who were not a lot older than me, and they had taken me under their wing. They showed me the ropes and what sales was all about.”

A few years later, Muir landed a job at GE Capital and her career started taking off. Now a Six-Sigma greenbelt, she credits the Six-Sigma methodology with helping unlock her personal best. “It’s the foundation of everything I do,” she explained. “It guides how I look at things and operate, through a process of define, measure, analyze, improve and control.”

She spent ten years consulting to tier-one clients in the telecom industry, and then joined BearingPoint, managing Tier 1 financial institutions and insurance companies. That experience ultimately led her to Capco. “I’ve always had a consultative approach, analyzing the needs of the client. That made me a little different from my colleagues doing the usual sales actions. My foundation set me apart.”

After three years at Capco, in 2012 Muir made partner, one of a handful of women to do so. “It stands among my most important professional accomplishments in life,” she added.

Industry Changes

“As a new partner, I’ve been assigned ad hoc duties in addition to client work, and that is something I am enjoying. Last year I went to Latin America to do due diligence around opening a consulting practice in Brazil. There are 40 million people there with no bank accounts – it’s very exciting to think about the opportunities.”

She is also closely following the changes taking place across the financial services industry. “Overall, the industry is going through extraordinary change, while still maintaining a focus on increasing profits while decreasing costs and maintaining that balance despite the increasing demands of the regulatory environment. It’s a three-pronged situation that is creating chaos.”

She continued, “It’s really creating a churn in the industry and making banks take their eyes off the ball when it comes to making the changes that will get them to the next level.”

For Muir, the industry changes are personal. “The thing about being at a financial services consulting firm is that you are working on consumer products and services. You’re always thinking about it from a customer standpoint as well. The long term dynamic change makes it a very interesting environment.”

She is also interested in increasing the proportion of women in the industry. “I’m one of a handful of female partners at a global consulting firm, and the fact that we are in the financial services and technology industries – it’s almost the trifecta of being in a male-oriented world,” Muir explained. “Consulting, finance, technology – in the past, there have been few opportunities for women in senior leadership in these industries. But what we’re seeing now is a shift.”

As more women enter leadership roles in these industries, women throughout them gain influence, she explained. “What I’ve seen in Canada, in our market, there are more women in senior places who have a voice. It’s a typically male oriented environment, but we’re starting to see some changes.”

Patience and Eagerness

“I just had lunch with a client and we were talking about things we’ve learned along the way. And one of those things for me was patience,” she said with a laugh. “I was so eager when I first started. I thought everything needed to be done with a sense of urgency. I’m not saying that when you have patience you don’t get things done in a timely manner, but there’s a sense of maturity in how you take part.”

She continued, “You can step back, listen to others, and hear them out. Patience leads to trust and that enables us to come to one another as a team. It makes you approachable. It’s a quality I have learned over time and I have seen the fruits of patience.”

Muir admits to sometimes counting in her head to help practice patience. “It’s a trained behavior,” she explained. “I’m very excited and passionate about what I do, and patience sets a nice balance for how I collaborate with others.”

Her eagerness has also been a boon to her career, she continued. “One of the things that has been instrumental to me has been putting my hand up. I’ve always wanted to take on more.”

“I liked the feeling of having multiple balls in the air. You need to take on risks and contribute to something that stretches your mind,” she continued. “And when you do that, the support you receive will help you be successful. Having a voice is so important and when people see that you want to contribute, they generally go out of their way to help you be successful. Women generally want to be perfect, and we often don’t ask for support enough.”

She added, “If you find a way to take on more risk in your DNA, I believe you will see success.”

In Her Personal Time

Muir keeps busy outside work as well. In the past she has been involved in the Special Olympics, and she is hoping to do more, especially now that her son is in university. She continued, “I’m also an avid traveler. I relish any moment I can put myself into a different culture. It all goes back to how do I choose to live each day to the fullest. Capco totally embraces that – our culture here is so open and really embraces that energy.”

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

How often do you truly take credit for your accomplishments on big projects? According to a new article published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, for women working in male-dominated environments, the answer might be “not often enough.”

The research, carried out by Michelle C. Haynes, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and Madeline E. Heilman, New York University, suggests that when paired with male colleagues, women tend to give credit for success to men on the team. The reason, they suggest, is because women expect to perform worse than men on stereotypically male tasks (like making management decisions), and when the team generates success, they figure it must be because the work was carried by their male peers. Haynes and Heilman explain:

“Most high status, high power, professional positions are thought to require agentic characteristics for success, characteristics that are congruent with the male stereotype but incongruent with the female stereotype. As a result of this perceived “lack of fit,” men are generally expected to perform successfully in these types of roles; women are expected to be less likely to do so.”

The team performed a similar study in 2005, and this study corroborated those results and went further. The two determined that this wasn’t simply a case of women being “modest” and giving credit to any team-mate, rather than draw attention to themselves. After all, in another test, when women were paired with female colleagues, they didn’t give their partner credit for the team’s success.

It was only when they were working with men that women assumed success was their team-mate’s doing. Given that the professional workforce is dominated by men, especially higher tiers of the corporate ladder, that amounts to a lot of credit handed over to men, when they didn’t necessarily deserve it. It also suggests that there a lot of women not taking credit for excellent work, performance that could lead to bigger responsibilities, promotions, and salaries.

Next time you attribute the success of a project to someone else’s prowess, it is perhaps literally worth your while to stop and think about where that success really came from. Go ahead. Give yourself credit.

The Research

The researchers performed several tests to get to the root of why women were giving credit to men. They told individuals they were going to be paired up with another person in a remote location on a task and then their work would be evaluated as a team. In reality, there was no other person. Participants received a dossier about their “partner” which indicated their gender. They they were given a work scenario – making management decisions as a supervisor in an investment company, where colleagues of the same position were 86 percent male.

Each “team’s” performance was evaluated positively, and women who were paired with men generally attributed success to their partner (even though there really was no partner). If they were paired with women, they did no indicate that success was the result of their partner’s work. Not only does this show that stereotypical assumptions about work and gender are held by both women and men, it shows that women tend to believe that men are better than them at stereotypically male tasks.

But when women in the study were told they scored positively on a pre-test on management skills, they tended to keep credit for themselves rather than give it up to their supposed male partners. When participants were evaluated individually, they did not give up credit to someone else. That shows that team-based ambiguity leads women to give up credit for success.

Institutions and Managers

This study is not only about women not taking the credit they deserve. It’s important to consider the context and motivation that women have for giving up credit. For example, society dictates a fine line for women at work – push too hard for yourself and there’s a chance you’ll get labeled “difficult.” And the ugly assumption that women don’t perform as well as men on stereotypically male tasks can be a self fulfilling prophesy that shows up on subjective performance reviews undeservedly. After all, both women and men judged women’s performance more harshly than males’.

This study shows that it is imperative that companies, and particularly managers, take a careful look at how they are evaluating women’s performance on their teams. Setting clear expectations for success and stating up-front how success will be measured for each individual on a team is imperative for gender fairness. That accountability and transparency will go a long way in building a pipeline of high performing women to the top.

It will also help women acknowledge that – yes – they do deserve personal credit for their team’s success. Acknowledging that can help us take more of those big career risks that propel us forward.

“If men have taken the C-suite hostage, then Lean In presents with underlying symptoms the Stockholm syndrome,” writes James Allworth, in a recent Harvard Business Review blog post entitled “It’s Not Women Who Should Lean In, It’s Men Who Should Step Back.”

After reading Sheryl Sandberg’s controversial bestseller, Allworth asks that we examine closely the strategies of Lean In. He states that the book’s encouragement to women to be “more like men” is counterproductive in the workplace and in the world at large. He discusses Lean In’s example of a study of students in a surgery rotation which revealed that, when each individual was asked to self-evaluate, female students gave themselves lower scores than their male classmates did, despite faculty evaluations that showed the women outperformed the men.

The bottom line: Women outperformed the men. But Allworth highlights that Sandberg found fault with the women’s lack of confidence, urging them to “fake it until they make it,”

He then asks: “But is this really good advice?”

Allworth suggests that the breakdown in male students’ performance was directly linked to their swagger, that the ones more confident in their ability were less likely to “do the hard yards” in preparation. He asks that, contrary to Sandberg’s advice in Lean In which asks women to adopt habits of men, men explore what they can learn from women.

But will men “leaning back” really lead to equality at the top? What’s the magic formula to positive social change?

Meaningful to Mainstream

Throughout US history, social movements have always required support from the majority group in order to gain traction. Only two months before President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he gave the commencement address at Howard University, stating, “You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say you are free to compete with all the others, and still just believe that you have been completely fair.”

Even before Johnson, civil rights got a boost in 1941 from FDR’s Executive Order 8802, creating the Fair Employment Practices Committee, the mother of affirmative action. In 1954, Brown vs. Board of Education shifted the landscape of race relations in the US. Later, in the 1960s, white supporters of racial equality joined marches and sit-ins, creating a cultural tipping point for mainstream America.

Likewise, gay rights have been championed by politicians and celebrities through legislation and campaigns such as the It Gets Better Project.

Arguably, the women’s movement has gotten the public support of men for nearly 100 years. It’s been a long time since women were granted the right to vote in 1920. Yet even after Rosie the Riveter, Title IX, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, we’ve got one of the only female billionaires in the world talking about how women still get 70 cents on the dollar. Not that the issues within civil rights or gay rights have been solved, but women’s earnings, as a percentage of men’s, have halted. So what’s the hold-up?

What’s Best for Everyone

“On paper, at least, women have the same rights as men,” Allworth, who is also a fellow at the Forum for Growth & Innovation at the Harvard Business School, told me. “What we’re talking about are elements that are much more subtle – for example, for a variety of cultural and social reasons, women find it harder to get into leadership roles in organizations.”

Despite years of Congressional support, the Women’s Liberation Movement, first-, second-, third- and now fourth-wave feminism, women are still unequal in the workplace. But if “leaning in” simply prolongs bad habits created by working men, what about Allworth’s suggestion? Do men need to adopt the habits of women?

“Part of the problem is framing the argument in terms of gender,” writes Allworth. “As soon as you do that, it turns into zero sum game where the aim is to win the most number of executive positions … A better way to be thinking about it is instead: what will result in the best outcome for each individual?”

Ultimately, Allworth suggests that one must assess priorities for her or himself and allocate resources according to those priorities. “We’re all leaning into a system which is broken,” he writes. “[L]ots of the folks who had traditionally leant in ended up falling over. It might not happen straight away, but invariably, it does happen.”

Building a Better Workplace

“The rationale for men stepping back … is simple,” writes Allworth, “because the starting point needs to be what creates the best long-term outcome for the individual involved.”

If we are all responsible for our parts, then not only can women be more vocal about their ambition, men can invite themselves to be a bigger part of the conversation. Groups like Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) provide a candid forum in which men can focus solely on progressing toward gender equality, adopting best practices for all. It is their belief that we all benefit from raising the bar for both genders.

Success will also come from women acknowledging men for their work. Marlo Thomas, actress, producer, and well-known feminist who is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, wrote a recent piece celebrating men who “Get It” (much like our feature, Men Who Get It highlighting our favorite male feminists). In it, she opens with a riddle:

“A trucker is sitting in a bar next to a feminist. They’ve both had a lot to drink and they’re arguing. The feminist says women have been oppressed for centuries — the trucker says they haven’t. The feminist says women deserve equal pay — the trucker says they don’t. The feminist says a woman should be president — the trucker just laughs. They simply don’t see eye to eye.

“What’s the one thing the trucker and the feminist have in common?”

Go on – before you look, give it a guess. No fair peeking.

“They’re both men.”

Hopefully one day soon, this “big reveal” will not surprise us. Civil rights needed white people. Gay people need straight people. We can achieve equality, but only if we make the effort, look beyond ourselves and into the big picture, and open the door for our neighbors, women and men.

Last week, I was lucky to attend the 3rd Annual Out on the Street conference, where 300 LGBT executives, along with some leaders who are straight allies, convened at Goldman Sachs. It was an excellent event that gave a platform to some amazing leaders to discuss their views on LGBT equality at work, workplace culture, and their role as allies to the LGBT constituents in their firms.

The work that has been going on in the gender space for women to advance is now almost 20 years old in some firms, and I believe could benefit and learn from the workplace LGBT movement, which is less than 5 years old and is gaining lots of support.

In fact, our research from last year shows that LGBT women are likely to be more active within their firm’s women’s network, rather than their LGBT group, relating most strongly to the challenges of being a woman in a male dominated workplace.

This also resonated at the event, with a heavy majority of attendees being LGBT men. The women’s panel, called “The XX Factor,” reinforced that sexism, overt or otherwise, can stall careers more than any other factor. Kathy Levinson, Managing Director of Golden Seeds who is openly gay, remarked, “The silence can be deafening when I am with gay men, as there is no obligation to be verbal and visible about being LGBT. The discrimination that women feel, by being visible, well, I relate to that more.”

It is evident that the firms that are gaining the most ground have leaders who understand talent and human capital and are striving to create workplaces where everyone can thrive.

Voices of Leadership

My latest top three favorite high profile male feminists are Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jim Turley, Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young (and Chairman of Catalyst.org), and Zach Wahls, Executive Director of Scouts for Equality. All three spoke at the event. The event drew many top level allies to comment on the value of LGBT and gender equity.

Blankfein said, “Our industry has shown some forward thinking on this issue. No one came to this issue early but at least we are here now. On Wall Street, at the end of the day, all we have is human capital, this is all about people.”

Turley suggested that in order to be successful, corporate leaders must sit up and take notice of the competitive benefits of diversity. “CEOs care because we like to win. We are competitive and this is all about talent. Organizations shouldn’t just tolerate differences, but value them. All people are going to be on more diverse teams in the future than they were in the past. Research shows diverse teams either perform greatly or really badly. It all depends on the culture.”

By creating gender ally recognition and rewards as well as systemic support for the issue, it is clear that leaders are starting people start to do the right thing.

He added, “On any issue, more people would agree if they were forced to think about it. By and large, people are cheering on this movement. Once you accept people, you ask yourself, ‘what was I thinking?’”

Irene Dorner, CEO of HSBC, agreed. She said, “People are talking about LGBT and gender, the stakes have been raised. My job is to make sure everyone in my firm can bring their true selves to work, and as a CEO you are insane to ignore that.

Lara Warner, Chief Financial Officer of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse, continued that she sees a connection between being open about one’s identity and the drive to lead. “I became an ally because I can see how, by not being yourself, it can diminish your desire to lead. The common denominator on Wall Street is that people are looking to lead and the bottom line is that a leader can do no small thing, that’s both positively and negatively.”

She went on to reinforce the gender dimension. “Give people something. If you have equity, and I mean that in the sense of social capital, then spend your equity on women and on gay women also.”

Are You a Change Leader?

It is important that leaders speak up strongly about being straight allies and gender champions, so that they can give other champions and allies, as well as diverse group members, the tools to be a change leader in their own right.

In the work that we are doing here at The Glass Hammer and Evolved Employer – such as our upcoming dinner on “Owning Your Influence as a Change Leader” – I believe that it is necessary to give people room to take their own journey around differences, so that they can understand why they should advocate for others and use their powers for good.

Levinson explained the benefits of educating people in their journey. She said, “People may not have experience in dealing with people who are different to them, no matter what those differences are. I found I could be become part of senior people’s inner circle by helping them get comfortable with differences.”

Lloyd Blankfein has also clearly taken the time to go on his own journey. “I grew up in a civil rights time. I studied history and social science. I felt different myself; I was in sales in an investment bank. I have always been sensitive to how other people are thinking and hearing. I have empathy for other people.”

He added, “Who doesn’t want to see people happy? All that crying at weddings,” he added with humor, “it’s not like the type of crying you do at work!”