A series of posts that explore the issue of  women in the boardroom.

Lord Davies’ report ‘Women on Boards, Feb 2011‘ opens with the quote, ‘At the current rate of change it will take over 70 years to achieve gender-balanced boardrooms in the UK.’

That’s two generations at least. Bloody hell.

I work in the heart of London City, bang in the middle of the square mile where one can smell the ambition of young men in shiny suits, I am from New Zealand where we first gave women the vote, and I am shamelssly passionate about the possibility of change. But how DO we change this? Is it as simply as mandated quotas? Will a government report REALLY spark off a revolution? Do we just have to wait until the Chairs & CEO’s who continue to recruit in their own image die?

First, lets look at where we are:

Only 3% of the UK’s Privately Held Business are led by a female CEO (the average across the European Union is 10%); across the FTSE 350, less than 9% of directorships are held by women – almost half of which were non-executives in the FTSE 100. In the FTSE 250, (often seen as a proving ground for the FTSE 100), more than half of all companies (56%) had no women on their boards, with women holding just 7% of director positions.

In a word - dire.

Lord Davies recommendations to address this pathetic level of representation are equally underwhelming. He suggests companies set targets for 2013 and 2015 to ensure that more talented and gifted women can get into the top jobs in companies across the UK. And he calls on Chief Executives to review the percentage of women they aim to have on their Executive Committees in 2013 and 2015.

There is no statutory obligation to ensure more women are at the top table, and there are no consequences for non-compliance..

As part of the report Lord Davies and his panel state that companies should fully disclose the number of women sitting on their boards and working in their organisations as a whole, to drive up the numbers of women with top jobs in business.

The report does recommend that the UK Corporate Governance Code is changed to require listed companies to establish a policy concerning boardroom diversity. This should include how they would implement such a policy, and disclose annually a summary the progress made. This is a bit more like it! There must be something behind these recommendations otherwise they get lost in the ‘would do if only we had the resource available/inclination/our Audit & Risk Committee is made entirely of men, who believe the status quo works fine, my dear’.

Next week: kicking off the revolution.

I am very excited to share that I am contributing a chapter to the ‘Handbook of People in Project Management’. This book will be co-edited by Lindsay Scott and Dennis Lock and published next year. I will be writing about how to develop project management talent from within an organisation; something very close to my heart and the ethos I work with. There are some fantastic contributing authors lined up and its a pleasure to be in such good company.

Also in the diary, I will be leading a Round Table session at the Best Practise Showcase in London on the 17 of June. I’ll be talking about how to turn your PMO from an administrative support function into a Kick-Ass Team. We’ll discuss how to engage senior management and how to demonstrate your value quickly. Round table sessions are interactive discussions – with lots of energy and ideas – a great forum for sharing learnings meeting peers in the project community. 

I attended the Best Practise Showcase last year as a delegate and was mightily impressed with the calibre of sandwiches at the free lunch buffet. Andy Murray’s keynote was also pretty good :)

Hope to see you there!

Management consultants, military leaders and politicians are perhaps the most likely to talk about their plan for  The First Hundred Days. This will inevitably include ideas about ‘quick wins’ and ‘plucking the low hanging fruit’. And other such nonsense. Unsurprisingly, the leadership industry has co-opted this idea; it’s pithy, easily marketable and plays to the fear that a weak debut is measured by a lack of action.

The desire to leap in and make a big splash is very tempting for anyone in a leadership role. I’m at day 15 and I am itching to do the right first things. Here’s what I’m thinking:

I am currently on a journey through the land of uncertainty: I don’t know what I don’t know.

There is a finite period of time where I can get away with asking pretty much any question that comes to me. This is an opportunity I must exploit ruthlessly.

Big challenges will not present easy or obvious answers.

Knowing what to do first is an art and a science: while I might have a pretty good idea of what I think the priorities are, I need to test my ideas. I am doing this by having lots of coffee with lots of smart people. These conversations are so valuable in helping me understand what matters collectively, what will and won’t work, what battles lay ahead, how to get things done here.

Find the right mixture of boldness and patience.

I need to keep thinking strategically. And get stuff done today. It’s what I signed up for; a very thorough recruitment process tested my ability to build project delivery capability, while ensuring we deliver critical business projects this year (without a project delivery capability). Yep I likes me a challenge!

Making big decisions quickly is not as important as building credibility.

Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva once said ‘a war can perhaps be won single-handedly. But peace – lasting peace – cannot be secured without the support of all’. Known for his bushy beard and penchant for Che Guevara t-shirts, Lula radically transformed an entire nation by getting 20 million people out of poverty through his anti-hunger and income-transfer programmes. By the time Rio de Janeiro hosts the 2016 Olympics, Brazil is predicted to be the world’s fifth-largest economy.

I like his style.

At around lunchtime on Tuesday 22 February 2011 a 6.3 earthquake devastated New Zealand’s second largest city, Christchurch. Being 12,000 miles from home was awful. I wanted to do something, anything. I read about some kiwi bloggers who had set up a website and were encouraging people to run 5km and donate $10. I signed up to run.

And then I thought perhaps there are other kiwis in London who would like to do this? I’m on twitter, facebook, linked in, I have some contacts; I’m a bloody project manager! Surely I could do more than just send in a tenner?

I rang Richmond Park to find out about charity runs and it snowballed from there. I just had to pick a date, choose a route through the park, pay a fee, and get public liability insurance. All done in an hour. I contacted all the kiwi publications I knew about, got in touch with friends in the Kiwi Women’s Business Network, called up a couple of friends who enjoy running and asked about charity runs that were run well. And at midnight two days later I found myself being interviewed live on Radio New Zealand. The next day NZ News UK called up. Then a couple of local papers picked up the story. GBK, a London-based, kiwi-owned burger bar emailed to say they would donate a cold Steinlarger Pure (kiwi beer!) for every runner. Friends volunteered to marshall on the day. Meanwhile the idea spread on twitter and facebook and kiwis all over the world grabbed hold of the idea: Run4Chch: a virtual 5km worldwide sponsored run wearing red and black (Christchurch colours).

Nine days after I had signed up for the run, over 150 kiwis (and two very handsome dogs) came to Richmond Park and ran, jogged, walked 5km. We were one of 110 different events worldwide and we collectively raised over $18,000 for the New Zealand Red Cross Earthquake Fund.

Without a doubt, the best project I’ve ever been part of.

From the very brilliant This is Indexed.

There is no single path into project management, but there is also no rulebook. If you are observant, determined and enthusiastic, you will find there are free opportunities to learn, to develop new skills and build up your experience. This will not require any money. And you can start now.

Know your risks from your elbow

Get savvy. This is about building your knowledge of project jargon yes, but more importantly what these things mean and why they matter. Developing knowledge will help to build your confidence and credibility.

Prince2 is fast becoming the method of choice for how projects are delivered in the UK, so start with the latest manual. Borrow it from a colleague or your local library.

Know your people

There is a wealth of information on the Internet.  Prince2 resources, blogs by project experts, forums and interest groups all have a strong web presence. Do your research: subscribe to newsletters, ask questions and leave comments on blogs. You will find out about conferences, industry meet-ups and key commentators (get their books second-hand or at the library).

Find out how projects are delivered where you work. Your organisation may have information on the intranet, document repository or library. If you have a project office at work, go see them.

Be a project manager. Right now.

You need to apply what you are learning in a practical sense so find a project and manage it.

Your first project doesn’t have to be work based; it could be a house move, a holiday, or your cousin’s best friend’s daughter’s birthday party. Volunteer. Create a plan. Is there a logical set of manageable chunks you can break the work into? What do you need to do and by when? Who do you need to keep informed? Do you need help? What skills do you need and when will they be required?  Think about what could go wrong. What will you do to make sure it doesn’t go wrong? How will you know when it has gone wrong? Learn lessons. Ask for feedback.

You don’t need an Official Title to be a project manager, just start being one. Meetings are a great opportunity to do this. Take notes, email minutes within an hour of the meeting ending. Taking notes gives you the right to ask the questions that matter: ‘Who owns this? When will it be done?’ Follow up with people. Take responsibility. Put your hand up for project work. Project Managers are doers. So do the things that need to be done.

Think about how you can make your organization or your team great. Ask for ideas. Most people have them, but they often don’t know how to present them, or they don’t have the time or the inclination (or time) to action them. The easiest things to change are forms, processes, and ways of working: things that have always been done that way because they have.

Talk to people on a one-to-one basis, test out the best ideas, and build consensus. This is called (by management consultants in smart suits) ‘getting buy-in’. Deliver. You will build a reputation as a doer.

Find your Yoda

Mentoring is a fantastic way to learn and grow. Ask around. Find someone in your organisation delivering projects well. Take them out for a coffee (no one can resist coffee). Ask them about their path to projects, what can they tell you about project delivery in your organisation. If it feels right, explain that you are looking for a mentor; someone you can meet with on a semi-regular basis to ask questions and learn from. Agree how this would work for both of you, perhaps trial the process for a few months.

There are mentoring organisations connected to industry organisations, universities and online. Often they are free. Research. Advertise.

You are a project manager. Own it

Project Management is often about leading by influence and not direction. It’s about helping people deliver by working together, showing initiative and making the most of the resources you have available. You can help make this happen without any title at all.

Start small, do the work, learn lessons, and ask for feedback.

Some of the wealthiest and most fulfilled people I know are employed, and they are brimming with enthusiasm for the organisations they are contributing too. Even as a seasoned contractor I can see the appeal of nailing ones flag to a particular mast. So on the flip-side to this weeks earlier post here are some of the benefits of being an employee:

• Autonomy ~ once you reach a position where you have some say in the running of things, you have relative free reign to develop and grow your team. It is immensely satisfying to create and deliver on your own vision.
• Choice ~  employees have a choice to stay, go, move within an organisation and go for promotion.
• Ambition ~ if you want to contribute at a senior level (Director, upwards) you need to be an employee. Many organisations use interim managers for short-periods to help slay the scary fire-breathing dragons, but companies need someone who wants to develop and grow the organisation long-term.
• Flexibility ~ homeworking and other family friendly practices are making commuting five mornings a week rarer and rarer. Organisations today are far more fluid than before.
• Community ~ we spend so much time in the office, colleagues often become friends, sometimes lovers. The workplace is a microcosm of life and it is a gift to be a part of people’s hatches, matches and dispatches.
• Security ~ contractors can be the first to be laid off in a down turn. Even in a buoyant market, there is always a level of uncertainty about where the next contract is coming from. This is no different to being an employee and worrying about redundancy (however the extra redundancy payment as an employee can be very handy).
• Training ~ smart companies invest in skill development for permanent employees.
• Commitment ~ as an employee, ones identity can become linked to a brand, an idea, a sense of purpose. This is a commitment to own the delivery, to care about the long-term future of the organisation.
• Benefits ~ Paid holidays! Sick leave! Insurance! Performance bonus! Stock options!

~ Maharishi

Having been a contractor for most of the last 10 years, here are my continuing reasons to stay this side of the HR ledger. Even in the worst recession in known history, its not quite time to get the ‘Will Work For Food’ sign out just yet :)

• Contracting is synchronistic to project management: a project is a finite, temporary thing.
• Working for different companies makes you a better leader. As a contractor you are always meeting different people, wroking within company cultures, seeing new ways of working, learning lessons.
• Keeps your brain sharp: ‘able to hit the ground running’ essentially means you often have to learn in three hours what you may be able to take three months to learn as an employee.
• Cold hard cash. The tax benefits gained from working as a day rate contractor can be significant.
• Diversity. Project Management skills and experience are much easier that other professions to transfer to other industry sectors. I went from fighting white collar crime, to working at a retail bank to setting up a corporate services department in a consumer advocacy organisation.
• *cough* no politics *cough* this is a nice idea, but even contractors get caught up in power plays and egos. This is an inevitable side effect of an organisation being made up of people.
• Power dynamics. Managers often don’t see contractors as such a threat to their empire, this means you are more able to tell the truth to senior management without (or at least with less) impunity. They are your client, not your employer.
• Relative autonomy. Contractors have the ability to be far more independent than permanent employees, you can take as much or as little holiday as you prefer. You can often agree very flexible working conditions and payment terms.
• Overseas opportunities become that much easier and you become more attractive to clients if you have a broader skill set and experience.

What do you love about contracting? Have you thought about contracting but not yet made the leap? What is holding you back?

1. What it lacks in design appeal, it makes up for in numbers: LinkedIn has over 65million registered users making it the leading social networking site for professionals. If you are looking to build a business, a readership or find your next assignment; your competition, clients and customers are on LinkedIn – this means you should be too.
2. Make it easy for people to find and connect with you. Complete your profile: include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities. Don’t be shy! This is about giving your audience information about you that you can control; put on your best frock! Ask for recommendations. Upload a photo. Proof-read everything before making it public.
3. LinkedIn is an online channel, its not just cut and paste of your CV. You can make the content much more compelling by thinking about your audience: share presentations and video files, run polls, upload your reading list and embed a feed of your blog posts. Check out the Applications Directory as more are being added all the time.
4. These days, every employer or recruitment agency who has access to the interwebs will Google your name before short-listing you. Make it easier for your professional details to be found by claiming your name as your personal URL, e.g. http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sarahlockey. Publicise your LinkedIn profile by including a link on your CV, email signature and website (this will also increase your page ranking on Google).
5. If you are using LinkedIn for job search, think about what a recruiter might be looking for. Use a job title and keywords that are easily recognisable; if your current role is ‘Minister of Intel’ and you are more commonly known as an Accountant, make it obvious that you have a brain for numbers (though why anyone would want to leave a company with such awesome job titles is a complete mystery to me); rather than just cut and paste your CV, use short bullet style fragments and provide a first person summary; don’t just list what you did, focus on your achievements.
6. Conduct stealth research on organisations you want to work for. Do an advanced search for company name and uncheck the ‘Current Companies Only’ box. This will enable you to have a look at the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship. Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company’s prospects than someone who’s still on board. Equally if you’re thinking of investing or working in a sector, use LinkedIn to find people who worked for competitors or companies that have failed – make contact and ask questions – priceless real-world experience is at the end of a mouse click.
7. LinkedIn makes it easy to expand your network: You can join up to 50 groups and once a member, you can connect to anyone in the group. Ask your network questions on anything. Start the conversation.
8. Make your profile dynamic: use the status update field to tell people what you are working on, an event you are attending or presenting at, a significant accomplishment, a blog post or article you have published (hot tip: use bit.ly to shorten the link so you can stay within the 140 character limit). If you have a twitter account, using the #in tag will automatically publish a tweet to your status field.
9. It’s more like online dating than Facebook. LinkedIn is great for keeping in touch with old workmates and professional acquaintances but its real power is in connections with future employers, customers and colleagues.  You can use LinkedIn to find the people that will be interviewing you for your next role or the client you are about to meet; knowing that you went to the same school, play table-tennis, or share acquaintances is the best kind of ice-breaker.