EDHEC'ELLES 30 January: Leadership, a question of genre?

The lobby of the Paris Executive Campus was full of men and women of all generations who came to EDHEC to discuss this issue with our representatives: Valérie Petit, PhD , Professor of Management and Leadership EDHEC Ghislaine Auxoux ( EDHEC GE 1981) Xerox CEO France (32 years at Xerox ) and Amelie Vidal- Simi ( EDHEC GE 1989) CEO Henkel ( Henkel 23 years ) .
Many also came to learn from the experience of our two leaders witnessed .
Beatrice Herbomez ambassador club EDHEC'elles , prepared the account of these exchanges :

1 / A bit of theory , leadership : a gender issue ?

Speech from Valérie Petit
This is a rhetorical question which also amounts to asking who has the power .
In attitudes , power, strength , rationality, self-confidence , authority and charisma are associated with the male . However , there are precisely those associated with masculine adjectives when considering the stereotypes of leadership : strength, power, authority, charisma. The women stereotypically is warm , concerned for others, listening, empathy , emotional and sensitive would not have their place as leader.
A female leader; would it be "a bearded lady ? "
The facts overlap stereotypes associated with leadership :No woman is the head of a CAC 40 company and 94% of SBF 120 leaders are men. Only 6% of women in management committees (places of power) of the SBF 120 with 75% HR .

How do we overcome these stereotypes and societal change towards greater parity ?

On the one hand , it is important to note that history has shown that legislation alone and not just the weather change attitudes. On the other hand , leadership is not defined by the stereotypes associated with it .
Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.Behaviors of effective leadership among studies are:

1 . Individualized consideration ( attention to each)
2 . The idealized influence ( a leader leads by example and is thus an identification medium )
3 . Inspirational motivation ( hopefully communicative )
4 . intellectual stimulation

Leadership based on these four points is called transformational style . It is recognized as an effective and above the management.

Some techniques to be an effective leader :

1/Cultivate transformational skills listed above
2 / Practice minority influence remaining authentic remain so few and consistent.This continuity can " switch from alien status to the Saviour ! "
3 / Be strategic :- If I am an English woman and it is better to be English then a woman when I introduce myself, I make sure to be seen as primarily English .
- Advance masked "I 'm kind mercilessly ," said Sheryl Sandberg , Issue 2 giant Facebook . It should be emphasized that women should not be promoted because they are women but because their skills are recognized .

2 / From theory to experiment with the testimony of our two guests

Ghislaine Auxoux :Attitudes are changing : Xerox was a very masculine society with a military recruitment , the United States, in its infancy. Departments of the company were districts and missions commandos ! Xerox has changed : the company is headed for 10 years by women.

Amelie Vidal- SimiShe was the first woman in the sales department and the first sales manager at Henkel.It wishes to emphasize that the situation of women in business in France is better, on average, as in Europe . However, the U.S. is far ahead in terms of improving the situation of women in business through quotas in place, there is a long time.

Here are 11 tips from their experience:
1 . We must dare : know what you want , ask what is due of us
2 . Do not set barriers in front of yourself : "I'm pregnant so I can't accept a promotion"
3 . Do not hide behind success : a woman finds external or occasional reasons for their success, while a man thinks he is successful because he is good and he is right .
4 . Forget the pursuit of perfectionism that we sought after in our studies : perfectionism actually hampers you .
5 . Faced with a macho boss, you have to play the network within the company and highlight its performance and results.
6 . Faced with a sexist remark , it should be noted that remark must not be ignored , and respond with wit and humor . For example, a colleague launches at Amelie Vidal- Simi: " it appears with a smile you can motivate a team ." She replied simply: " Yes but not only that" Valérie Petit recalls that this example is a form of benevolent sexism.
7 . If faced with sexism in team work or the Executive Committee, Ghislaine Auxoux recommends creating green cards and red cards to reward interventions reflecting openness and punish "macho" interventions.
8 . Aim higher. Amelie Vidal- Simi 's goal was to be Director of Marketing, Ghislaine Auxoux, to be HRD, to realize their potential and their journey led them elsewhere. They succeeded.
9 . You have to do different jobs , taking jobs out of envy and not for the power they provide. The business change is not necessary , it must be judged . When you stay in the same box it has the advantage to capitalize on the confidence gained . As a woman , it is an advantage to stay in the same company.
10 . Managing your network : a woman perceives general network as easy as it is to use to progress.
11 . Keeping yourself and know how to play roles if needed

Valérie Petit , from her part , said that there must be intelligent leadership :
1 . Get your own profile 
2 . Go where it is known to be good
3 . Go where there will be least difficulty

Some questions / answers
- What would you say about leadership?
Be yourself .
There are two components in our education , part is the individual and the other corresponds to a submission to the expectations of others regarding our role as a constituent part of society .
Man or woman, we should be treated as "pros" and position ourselves accordingly.
- What characterizes your leadership?
Amelie Vidal-Simi: be recognized as effective, kind and demanding. Have a positive attitude and be enthusiastic.
Ghislaine Auxoux : Try to available even when you're not expected to be. And be caring and flexible.
- Did you have a mentor?
Ghislaine Auxoux and Amelie Vidal- Simi had no official mentor but both have been advised by people when needed. Being surrounded by good people is paramount.
- What life balance should we adopt in high responsibility business? 
Evaluate what is a priority , not accepting meetings after 6pm and do not accept applications to be done for the next day from a certain time.
Learn to be flexible and organized and override the culture of working all the time.
Be 100% CEO at work and 100% family at home.