4 Reasons Why We’re Still Talking about Diversity

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The business case for having more women on boards and in top executive positions is clear. It has been shown that when there are two or more women on a board of directors, the organization performs better on ROI by 66%. When companies are more racially and gender diverse, they outperform those with the least by 35% and 15% respectively. If any other investment opportunity presented this kind of potential gain, businesses would have jumped. But they haven’t. Some say it’s due to a lack of understanding of the business imperative, others point to a pipeline issue or a lack of mentoring. However, neuroscience points us to reasons that may not be in our current consciousness, creating barriers to capitalizing on those would-be gains.

Here are four types of gender bias that are contributing factors, the awareness of which is only the first step toward parity on boards and in top leadership positions.

Performance Bias:
Studies show that performance of those in the dominant, “in-group” (in this case white men) is based on their potential, not on their accomplishments. Therefore, male performance is over-estimated compared to that of women. Because women are held to stricter and higher standards, the odds of them progressing are lower.

Performance Attribution Bias:
When men and women perform an act, men are given credit more often while women are judged more harshly. Men are thought to have innate brilliance, where as women are thought to have made it due to a stroke of luck or help. Who would you like your board? Someone who you think is brilliant, or someone who got there because of pure luck?

Maternal Bias:
There is a general belief that women cannot be both good mothers and good performers, therefore women with children are less likely to be hired and promoted. Could this be a contributing factor in decisions made about women coming on to boards who are of mothering age?

Double Bind:
Women have the unique challenge of having to choose between being seen as competent or being liked, walking a tightrope between being too nice or being assertive, which often puts them in a double bind. Leadership qualities are still attributed to masculine qualities like being assertive, confident and direct, but when women present with this style, they are chastised.

Of course, there are many other types of unconscious bias, however these four in particular make it infinitely more difficult for women to break through into the ‘boy’s club.’ Awareness, mindfulness and behavior change are the antidotes, as is honest and open dialogue about the real impacts of bias and how to overcome them to achieve more balance.

Leaning into Our Dormant Power through Feminine Leadership

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It’s great when I hear from women in the business/entrepreneurial world that resonate with my message. Learn Savvy’s Jen Aubert was one of those women who “get it” and I was thrilled when she invited me as guest on the new Learn Savvy podcast, where we spoke about the dormant power that lies in every woman, which I speak about in my book, Leading Gracefully. Having accessed my own “dormant power” many years ago while climbing a 40 foot tree and subsequently jumping out of said tree (while harnessed, of course!), I realized that this is a unique gift that women possess, yet many are either unaware of it or don’t tap into it as much as they could be.

This power lies in our second chakra, and is where our creativity and sexuality resides. It’s where life is created, but it’s also an immense source of power for women. But because of all the body shaming, objectification, and pressure to conform, our relationship with this part of our bodies is usually one that brings up a lot of shame, pain or even embarrassment. Rarely do we view it as a source of great creativity or power that we can utilize to our advantage. And yet tapping into it myself, I realized that when we do, we are much more tuned into the bigger picture, and we’re able to be strong, confident, and creative as a result.

So that’s the topic du jour in my lively conversation with the lovely fierce and feminine Jen Aubert as we explored what it means to be a feminine leader in today’s world.

Check out the full conversation on Learn Savvy’s podcast here: http://www.learnsavvy.co/dormant-power-feminine-leadership-interview-monique-tallon-fstu005/

Learning How to be an Authentic Leader in Business and Life

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Had a great time speaking with my good friend, Annette Stepanian on her new podcast Office Talk. Annette is a lawyer that provides legal services to creative entrepreneurs, but is also passionate about helping people be their best selves, so it was awesome to talk about how women can be more of themselves in business and thrive. In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Why I transitioned from working in Silicon Valley to starting my own coaching practice
  • What it means to be operating from an empowered feminine state
  • How to effectively utilize vulnerability and why some women struggle to do just that
  • Why trying to prove your worth all the time is actually not a good idea
  • Why being competent and being liked don’t have to be mutually exclusive
  • Why the skills I speak about are even more important if you’re an entrepreneur
  • How your negative association with your body impacts your decision-making
  • The one exercise we should all be doing … and it doesn’t involve going to the gym
  • Why I opted to self publish her book versus working with a publisher
  • Some of the mistakes she made while self-publishing and how you can avoid them

Check out the full episode here: http://www.annettestepanian.com/podcast/6

The Future of Work: The Art of Collaborative Leadership

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The way we work is shifting. We see that in subtle ways and other times in not so subtle ways. Even traditional companies like Deloitte are investing in people development, realizing that it is the best resource they have to stay ahead of the curve. Those with a real competitive advantage intuitively understand innovation and creativity as essential to meeting market demands and crucial in facing our collective sustainability challenges. The future of work as we know it is shifting from an outdated directive approach toward collaborative frameworks that inspire us to engage in new and different ways with our work and with each other.

Read the rest of the article on the Huffington Post here.

Women in Leadership with Angela Mezzetti

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I had the honor of being a featured guest on the Women in Leadership podcast with Angela Mezzetti. We had an in-depth discussion on how women can lean into their natural strengths, like using vulnerability as a strength, and how when we let go of the need to micro-manage and trust our team, how that can inspire creativity and innovation, some of the key ingredients to success in today’s competitive market. We also talk about the Queen Bee syndrome and how women have to do better at supporting one another and helping each other up the ladder.

Listen to the full interview here: http://womeninleadership.ie/2016/07/monique-svazlian-tallon-leading-gracefully/

How to Set Your Business and Life Up for Success

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Running a business is an exciting adventure. There is something powerful, yet humbling about creating a product or service that helps change lives. It truly makes you feel as if you are living in your purpose. Yet, how do you bask in this amazing feeling while managing the other responsibilities and personal goals in your life? More specifically, how can a woman successfully manage her business while being present for her family, taking care of her body, and completing the endless to do list?

Have a vision.

It is quite difficult to achieve anything in life if you do not know what you want. This is especially true when it comes to balancing your family, your business, and anything else that is important to you. What kind of life do you envision for yourself?

If this question overwhelms you, you can begin by simply writing down a list of things that are important to you. Write down how you want to feel everyday, as well as the people you want to have in your life. Really dig deep and be as honest as possible. If you are more of a kinesthetic learner, you can create a vision board to display the kind of lifestyle you would like to have. Images are very powerful and can help you visualize the life you want.

Create a realistic plan.

Once you know the kind of life you envision for yourself, create a plan to achieve it. Just make sure your plan is realistic. It is perfectly okay to want to run your business, take your children to soccer practices, go on date nights with your spouse, exercise three times per week, travel internationally, write your next book, and more. Yet, if you overplan your days, you may feel defeated when you’re not able to keep up. Find balance by only planning things you can accomplish. Don’t feel the need to do it all. Instead, delegate responsibilities that can alleviate stress and free up more of your time. This may mean asking your family to contribute more or hiring someone to clean your home, do laundry, or cook.

Set boundaries.

It can be difficult to leave life at the office some days, but it is necessary. Although there will be times when work and home life overlap, you must be cognizant of your boundaries. Know when to switch on the “off” button. While it certainly is not easy to successfully achieve balance between your business and other responsibilities, it is doable.

The Male Perspective on Women’s Leadership

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I recently had the pleasure of being featured on the Dose of Leadership podcast with Richard Reirson, who I can only describe as one of the men who “gets it.” He understands the need for more women in leadership because of the unique perspective they bring to the table, along with the great range of leadership skills that he thinks is much needed in the corporate world. I must admit it was refreshing to speak to someone who supports not only having more women at the top but an attitude that men can also learn a lot from women, especially about how to bring more heart into business.

Listen to our full interview here: http://www.doseofleadership.com/monique-tallon/

 

 

Transforming A Dinosaur: How the Legal Field Is Embracing the Diversity Challenge

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When one thinks of the legal industry, diversity isn’t a word that usually comes to mind. And perhaps rightfully so, as the legal profession is one of the few remaining industries to yet undergo a diversity revolution. According to the National Association of Women Lawyers annual survey, women make up about 18% of equity partners, an increase of 2% since 2006. Not great news for female lawyers who can expect to achieve gender parity by the year 2176 at the current rate of progress.

One might attribute this slow uptick due to a pipeline issue, which in fact might be a contributing factor, as only 37% of graduating lawyers were women in 2004, compared to 62% of men. And even if a woman does become an equity partner, she is still only going to make 80% of what a male lawyer makes, a figure that has decreased from 84% a decade ago. Lawyers of color make only 8% of partners and the LGBT community is represented at only 2%. Needless to say, there is a diversity crisis in the legal profession, but luckily one that is not going unnoticed by forward-thinking firms.

Read the rest of the article on Huffington Post.

Leading Gracefully Toward Global Change – Women Like Us

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The Women Like Us Foundation supports women’s leadership for Gender Equality and Social Justice in the areas of Sex Trafficking, Homelessness and Social Justice. I was honored to be interviewed for their blog by my good friend Molly Lyda, where we spoke about how I stepped into my own leadership, the lessons I learned and how I help to empower other women to their own authentic, feminine leadership, and how I believe that we can create global change when more women embrace their strengths and own their voice.

Read the entire blog piece here.

Got Vision? Three Tips to Effectively Communicate Your Ideas and Inspire Your Followers

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We all know that vision is one of the cornerstones to effective leadership. Yet despite this well known fact, I’ve worked with many leaders who struggle to effectively communicate their vision, and I am always surprised at how often many leaders overlook this important step. After much analysis, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two types of thinkers: Big Sky Thinkers and Detailed Thinkers, and depending on where you fall on that spectrum, it could determine how well you communicate and execute your vision.

In my new book, Leading Gracefully: A Woman’s Guide to Confident, Authentic and Effective Leadership, I offer a short quiz to my readers so they can quickly assess which category the fall into. Lucky for you, you can find that quiz in my free workbook, 15 Exercises to Feminine Leadership Mastery, that you can download from my website. Once you’ve taken the quiz, you’ll have a better idea of whether you’re someone with great vision but lack in execution, or someone who gets so focused on execution, that you forget to take a step back and get people on board with your vision first. Both steps are crucial to leading well-performing, collaborative teams that produce great results.

Here are 3 tips that I offer in my book, Leading Gracefully that both men and women can practice to ensure they don’t fall into the trap many good intentioned leaders fall into.

1) Decide on Your Goal: Is your goal to motivate and inspire your team to follow your vision? Or is it to execute flawlessly on a strategic plan? You can’t have one without the other; as a leader your job is to inspire your people into action and be clear in your expectations, delegate effectively, create accountability, and deliver results. But depending on whether you are a big-picture thinker or a detailed thinker, this may not come as easily or naturally as one would think. Make sure you do both and preferably do the first before the latter. Each requires a different strategy and approach.

2) Be Assertive: If you’re a Detailed Thinker, make sure you’re taking the step back to assertively communicate your vision before forging ahead with the to-do’s. Many women in particular get stuck here because they tend to get wrapped up in the “proving my value” mentality, taking on tasks and going into execution mode to show they are capable of producing results. Those who are promoted to a higher level of leadership (usually Director level or above), also might struggle with letting go of the “doing” and embrace the “being” required of leadership, which starts with assertively and passionately communicating your vision and getting buy-in from key stakeholders before moving into action-planning.

3) Learn to Delegate: If you are a big-picture thinker, once you’ve communicated your grand vision it’s important to follow through with clearly set expectations, roles, responsibilities, direction, and delegation. Execution does not mean taking everything on yourself. Perfectionists (and many women, again for reasons stated above) have a difficult time with this. The fix: stop micro-managing and start empowering your team to take ownership of their areas of responsibility. You’ll be surprised at the results you get.

To learn more about how to effectively communicate your vision and other tips to be a great leader, check out Leading Gracefully, available on Amazon.