A great blog and website for women is called LeadingWomen.biz. I’m very excited to share their findings from a recent study titled: Closing the Leadership Gender Gap.



I’m sure you’ve heard these statistics or something similar:

• 4.6% of Fortune 1000 CEOs are women


• In 1998, 11.2% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies were women. This percentage has risen to 15.7% and has not significantly changed since 2008.

So what’s preventing companies from closing the gender gap?



First, let’s define leadership based on the study from LeadingWomen.biz.

Leadership is using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others.


- Susan L. Colantuono, CEO of LeadWomen.biz.



Next, leaders need to exhibit three core competencies or key skills:

1. Achieving and sustaining extraordinary outcomes


2. Engaging the greatness in others


3. Bringing out the greatness in themselves

The LeadingWomen.biz study shows that from these three core competencies, to be successful at the top of the corporate ladder, women and men should deliver on all three but with this mix of focus and emphasis:



Outcomes:

• 50% - Achieving and sustaining extraordinary outcomes (Business, Strategic and Financial Acumens)


• 26% - Engage Others (Interpersonal and Team-building Skills)


• 24% - Personal Greatness (personal skills and attributes)

What the study found was not only are these three areas key for climbing to the top of a company, but that bosses carry perceptions as to which gender demonstrates these abilities.



Bosses perceive that to lead at the top – men have all three abilities with a greater dominance on achieving and sustaining extraordinary outcomes. Bosses perceive that women demonstrate and deliver two out of three: engaging others and personal greatness. Studies also found that career advice given to women focus on Engaging Others and Personal Greatness. What we can conclude from this study is that if women focus on developing their strategic, business and finance acumen skills – they have a better probability of moving to the top. I would add one more thing—women often have these aptitudes but need to bring more visibility to them through business results. If we don’t bring more visibility to these attributes, we will forever work hard and miss the opportunity to provide feminine know-how at the top.



I don’t know about you but I always appreciate insight and data into what is keeping women from the top whether it’s our own “inner” glass ceilings or those perceptions others have of us which we will need to overcome. I believe men are as bewildered by the gender gap as women are--not understanding what to do about it in ways that cultivate constructive support for women’s success.



Women and men together can make a powerful team that will serve us all. Thanks to this study by LeadingWomen.biz, we now have additional information that can propel women forward and upward if we wish to do so.



Which competencies or skills can you add to your success portfolio to accelerate your potential?