How often do we hear that women need to support other women? I wholeheartedly agree; but want to share a different perspective. Sometimes we cannot (should not) simply support a woman just because she asks.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree that when women help other women, powerful things happen. In fact, Madeleine Albright is famously quoted:
“There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.”
But a good friend, mentor and wise industry leader recently helped me see a different perspective.
As leaders, our job is to develop talent and position individuals in the right seat to be successful in their current and future roles in the organization. We cannot simply support, sponsor or champion a woman for a position just because she asks me to do so and just because she is a woman. She has to have the skills, experience, talent, capacity and capabilities to do the job…to be deserving of our sponsorship. Just the same as a male employee would need to demonstrate.
And if a female leader promotes a male candidate to a new role over a female choice, we can’t assume that she should go to that “special place in hell”; rather it might just be that she’s demonstrating smart leadership!
As female leaders, we need to continue to encourage and support our up-and-coming talent; both men and women.
What’s your perspective? I hope you’ll share your feedback, insights and comments.
Photo by Anika Huizinga on Unsplash