Open The Mirrored Door: Key Tips For Building Your Path To Leadership

Ellen Taaffe, Director of Women’s Leadership programs at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

For a generation or more, women in leadership in the workplace have focused on breaking the glass ceiling.

Now, says Ellen Taaffe, Director of Women’s Leadership Programs at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, it’s time to focus on breaking through what she calls the “mirrored door.”

“For a generation or more, #women in #leadership in the workplace have focused on breaking the #glassceiling. @EllenCTaaffe, Director of Women’s Leadership Programs at @KelloggSchool says it’s time to focus on breaking through what she calls the “mirrored door.” ”

Speaking recently at the Women In Medicine conference at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Taaffe, clinical professor of management and organizations, explains, “When faced with an opportunity, we reflect inward with doubt and criticism and get ourselves stuck in place.” she adds, “We hesitate at the opportunity and at that moment we are not ready to take that risk.”

““When faced with an opportunity, [women] reflect inward with doubt and criticism and get ourselves stuck in place. We hesitate at the opportunity and at that moment we are not ready to take that risk.”—@EllenCTaaffe. #careersuccess”

These are culturized and internalized barriers that indeed can be passed by and broken.

Noting that in this country, 70 percent of high school valedictorians are women, 58 percent of women are in the entry levels of the labor force, 38 percent are in early management levels and only 7% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, there is a trend of narrowing opportunities for elevation and escalation into top leadership. All from a very promising start.

“There is a barrier of certainty,” says Taaffe, who serves on the boards of directors of  three companies, following a 25-year career with brand management roles at Quaker, PepsiCo, Royal Caribbean and Whirlpool.

Studies have shown that women must be “certain in an uncertain world,” and err on the side of caution, that can result in many women not taking on new responsibilities or titles because of a lack of confidence.

“Studies have shown that #women must be “certain in an uncertain world,” and err on the side of caution. This can result in many women not taking on new responsibilities or titles because of a lack of confidence. #careermove”

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“The way we are socialized is that boys have far more pressure to be confident and the man-up culture is alive and well,” says Taaffe, the mother of two grown daughters. “Girls learn to know for sure. Many times we are perfecting, pleasing, preparing and posing. But imperfection can help us to grow.”

Certainly, there are many opportunities that women are already locked out of pursuing merely by the nature of gender bias rampant in workplace culture and leadership. “But we may be locking ourselves in.”

New research upholds the notion that women must be overqualified for a position, and men not so much.

Elizabeth Campbell at the University of California-San Diego writes in Fast Company about her recent research, “Across several studies, we asked approximately 1,500 people with hiring experience to rate candidates’ fit for an open position and explain their evaluations. To indicate gender, job candidates have stereotypically masculine or feminine first names. Results consistently show people are comfortable hiring women, but not men, for jobs they’re overqualified for.” Men just need to be sufficiently qualified to get hired.

Taaffe concurs that the burden of gender bias is very real. “Gender is a backpack and you may have another backpack to carry with race or culture. We can have a lot of backpacks that weigh us down.”

“@EllenCTaaffe speaking @NUFeinberg says the burden of #genderbias is very real. “Gender is a backpack and you may have another backpack to carry with race or culture. We can have a lot of backpacks that weigh us down.” #workplace”

The weight of these backpacks is also made heavier by what Taaffe called “second generation bias,” or the next phase of blatant bias that includes subversive microaggressions.

Sumita Mohapatro Pani, Vice President & Head Business Development & at Licensing at Lupin Limited, writes in Times Of India recently on how the prevalence of microaggressions can rob confidence.

“Whether intentional or unintentional, microaggressions signal disrespect and when they add up, they can shake a woman’s confidence. Some examples of Microaggressions are—Not being asked a question in a meeting,  having people talk over, being interrupted often,  being mistaken for a lower-level employee, being excluded in a mail , excluded in a formal /informal invite , excluded in social media appreciation, having judgment questioned even in the area of expertise , having someone else take credit for the ideas, unsung and under-represented  accomplishments, opinion not solicited, decisions expected from males even when you are in the decision making role, ” Pani writes.

“Women who experience microaggressions are three times more likely to regularly think about leaving their job than women who have not experienced this form of discrimination. These negative experiences on everyday basis catch up and result in loss of confidence and self- belief and impact performance negatively,” Pani writes.

This is due in part to the fact that embedded expectations of leadership traits are genderized, Taaffe says, as men are expected and regarded for being agentic. She explains that is someone who is assertive, task-driven, independent, self-confident and self-promoting. In women, these are considered negatives.

Women are expected to be empathetic, nurturing, relationship-focused, advocating for others and helpful.

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“These old-fashioned pictures are still in structures and systems from back in the day,” Taaffe explains.

Part of that antiquated imagery of genders includes the barrier of “timing.”

Particularly during COVID, when millions of women filled up the Great Resignation, their departures from their workplace positions were deemed as opting out. Taaffe explains, it is about “opting over” for other choices.

“Particularly during #COVID, when millions of women filled up the #GreatResignation, their departures from their #workplace positions were deemed as opting out. As @EllenCTaaffe explains, it is about “opting over” for other choices.”

Recent studies from LinkedIn “show that the number of job transitions for women surged in 2021. Job transitions — which can mean any type of job change, from dropping out of the workforce altogether to finding a better-paying job — for women have jumped 54% compared with a year ago, a record. Meanwhile, men's career transitions have increased about 46%, according to data across LinkedIn's network,” CBS reports.

“Women in the workplace are increasingly assessing their career goals against a number of benchmarks, including job flexibility, salary and whether a workplace has a vaccine mandate. Notably, about 4 in 10 women say they are experiencing burnout, while one-third say their income isn't enough to pay for their family expenses,” CBS reports.  

Read more in Take The Lead on gender bias at work

COVID has altered the expectations and specificities of all workplace cultures, particularly for women.

“#COVID has altered the expectations and specificities of all workplace cultures, particularly for women. #womensissues #womenatwork”

 A new ADP research study, People at Work 2022: A Global Workforce View, shows that 76 percent of workers say they would consider leaving their job and looking for a new one if there was a gender pay gap and if the company lacks a diversity and inclusion policy.

The study also shows that 71 percent of employees have contemplated a career move since the pandemic, and 64 percent say they would look for a new job if they were forced to come into work in person full-time.  

Those exits are often made during three pivot points when women are lost on the way to leadership. There is the launch, the mid-career phase and the transition to senior leadership. To maximize a woman’s upward trajectory, women need to “transition with intention.” That means keeping up with networks, honoring a non-linear path and crafting the narrative that best explains purpose.

“To maximize a woman’s upward trajectory, women need to “transition with intention.” That means keeping up with networks, honoring a non-linear path and crafting the narrative that best explains purpose. #leadership #careermove”

Of course, along those pivot points there are identity barriers when woman ask, “If I can’t see it, can I be it?”

When a woman does reach senior leadership, Taaffe says, she can find and fix the pain points in an organization, molding new policies, realities, safe spaces and mentorship options.

Above all, it is crucial to “anchor in your purpose.”

Along the way it is essential to “practice reflection, not rumination. Courage comes before confidence. Confidence is a result, not a pre-requisite.”

“When a woman does reach senior #leadership, @EllenCTaaffe says, she can find and fix the pain points in an organization, molding new policies, realities, safe spaces and mentorship options. #femaleleaders”

Understanding that concept can help you open the mirrored door, “with small steps.”