sphinxx news alert    
4 November 2009 | www.sphinxx.com.au   

I hope you backed a winner yesterday! We started a storm in a teacup last week with our tips on salon and salary negotiations and our subsequent call for your tips on salons that won't break the bank - thanks to those of you who recommended your favorite salons in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and surrounds... and if you haven't sent us your tips we'd love to hear from you!

This week we have leadership research, free business briefings, a lingerie giveaway and much, much more:

1. What is the biggest barrier to women achieving their career goals?
2. Wage gap widens for Australian Women
3. Leadership through the crisis and after: McKinsey Global Survey results
4. Ascend development day 20 November - be quick, only 18 seats remaining
5. FREE special event: Innovative Business Strategies for Turbulent Times
6. Get our sphinxx updates in real time live on your reader
7. A touch of luxury every woman will love - www.e-lilianne.com for gorgeous French-designed lingerie online
8. The coffee's on me! Catch up with the SheEO of sphinxx in Adelaide
9. Ask someone if they’re OK on R U OK?Day November 29

If you have an idea for a topic we should include in a future news alert, please let us know - we’d love to hear from you!

All the best,

Jen Dalitz
Founder & The SheEO, sphinxx.com.au

Women. That’s right, I reckon we are own worst enemy when it comes to realising our full potential. Sure there are many other factors that come into play, some of which are unique to women, but put simply I think women often don’t believe in themselves enough.

There are of course always exceptions... like some of our sphinxx leaders who have been in the news over the past couple of weeks. You may have seen Naomi Simson, CEO of Red Balloon Days on Channel 9 last week as the Secret Millionaire (showing her generosity again - well done Naomi) and did you know that Sharyn Baker, General Manager at MLC was just announced as the 2009 CSIA Executive of the Year?

If you’re a member of the sphinxx Leadership Program you would have met or at least heard the stories of these amazing women and how they’ve backed themselves for success in their respectives careers. But what I also know is that many women lack the confidence to take their careers to the next level, to ask for a promotion or payrise or negotiate the employment terms they need to operate at their best.

In the recent sphinxx survey of working women, 27% of respondents said they had turned down an offer of a promotion due to a lack of confidence in their ability, while a further 14% had turned down a promotion due to a perceived lack of competence to perform the role.

Both of these last 2 points are linked: if a woman’s confidence isn’t at its best, nor will her perceptions be of herself and her skills and her ability to take on a new role.

In the various leadership and executive roles I held in finance and consulting before I started sphinxx, I was always amazed at the difference between men and women when it comes to self promotion. It becomes much more obvious when you are managing teams in the hundreds, and this is when I really noticed the difference. Every week I would have male members of my team dropping by my desk, sending emails or booking coffee meetings to make sure I knew they were ready for their next promotion or to let me know they needed time off for study or travel or family commitments (yes there were some who came to me about this). Although I had just as many women on my teams, I never heard from them on these points unless they’d managed to secure another job altogether or they’d decided the work-family-life balancing act was so out of kilter the only option was to resign.

The thing is this: if someone comes to you and offers you a promotion, they’ve already determined you have the skills and competence to do the job. Even if you don’t have confidence in yourself, someone else does! So why not take the job, and the payrise, and live happily ever after?

Well of course it’s not as simple as that. Research by Catalyst shows that women won’t apply for a job unless they have 90% of the required competencies whereas men will apply with fewer than 50% of the competencies. Women on Boards research also shows that 35% of women lack the confidence to apply for a board position.

So what is this research saying? That we need to get over our nervousness and start believing in ourselves. After all, as Carla Zampatti recently told me: If you can’t sell yourself then how can you expect anyone else to believe in you and all you are capable of?

So what are my tips for giving yourself a shot of confidence?

1. Recognise the little wins: start carrying a journal or notebook with you every day and write down your successes - whether large or small - as they arise. When it comes to performance review time, or when you just need a shot of confidence, you can read through your (very long) list of achievements and see for yourself how great you can be!
2. Hold brown bag lunches in your work place to get other women together for brainstorming and discussion groups on the common challenges women face in getting ahead. Negotiation, innovation, communication and personal branding are all good topics to get you started.
3. Get a mentor or a role model you can ask for advice and to work through tricky situations with. Girlfriends are also a good substitute for mentors, if you prefer.
4. Do some professional development, formal study or qualifications - but beware: Australian women are among the most qualified in the world. It’s what you do with your new found knowledge that matters. Make sure people know about it at work and in your professional networks.
5. Network. Did you know that about 80% of all job appointments are made before they are even advertised? That goes for internal and external appointments, so you should be spending just as much time on internal networking (with peers, clients, suppliers etc) as meeting people outside of your business.
6. Get involved in programs like the sphinxx leadership program and our development days that combine all of the above and package it up for you. We’d love to help you reach your full potential - so contact us if you’d like to know more.

Australian women face bigger wage gaps for doing similar jobs than women in Syria, Indonesia and Thailand, an article in the Sydney Morning Herald revealed on the weekend.

Australia was ranked 20th in the World Economic Forum's global gender gap index, down from its rank of 15 in 2006; ranked 60th for wage equality for similar work; and 50th for labour force participation - down from 41st in 2007, despite more women entering the workforce in that time.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said that as a result "over the course of her career, an Australian woman will earn $1 million less than a man, and will retire with less than half the savings in her superannuation account."

Click here to view the full article.

Leadership through the crisis and after: McKinsey Global Survey results

A global survey of leadership by McKinsey published in October 2009 shows that executives have markedly changed their leadership styles in the past year—but not their views on which ones will help companies most in the long term. And it may come as no surprise to sphinxx readers that many of the most needed leadership styles, now and in the future, are those used more frequently by women than by men.

The survey investigates how individual leaders lead and how that has changed in the past year. For example, respondents say that during the crisis they have seen far more leaders focus on monitoring individual performance—even though they see that as one of the least helpful ways of managing the crisis. The survey also asked about the organizational capabilities and leadership behavior organizations will need to thrive during the recovery and about the ways companies are approaching employee development and gender diversity in the crisis.

The kinds of leadership behavior that executives say will most help their companies through the current crisis, such as inspiring others and defining expectations and rewards, are the same ones they say will help their companies thrive in the future. The executives’ assessment of what’s needed for the long term hasn’t changed over the past year. It is notable that these kinds of leadership behavior are the ones most used by women, who also have the greatest influence on many of the organizational capabilities executives agree are important for companies now and in the future, such as having inspiring leaders and a clear direction for companies.

In that context, it’s good news that a majority of the respondents say their companies have not cut back on programs to recruit, retain, and develop women. However, this news is tempered by the finding that only a third of the respondents consider gender diversity to be among their companies’ top ten priorities and that relatively few are taking any specific actions to promote it.

Click here to access the full survey results.

Ascend development day 20 November - be quick, only 18 seats remaining

Ascend is the sphinxx development day series for senior women in business looking to advance in their careers and to gain the confidence and connections they need to realise their full potential. Each development day features expert speakers, high profile leaders and a panel of business executives who will all share their tips to help you take your career to the next level, along with plenty of facilitated networking.

An exciting speaker line up has been confirmed for our next development day in Sydney on 20th November including:

- NEGOTIATION with Candy Tymson: The Secrets Men Don't Want Women to Know
- LEADERSHIP with Cassandra Kelly, Joint CEO of Pottinger Corporate Advisory
- FUTURE THINKING with Anders Sorman-Nilsson, founder of Thinque Consultancy
- INTRAPRENEURIALISM with Julia Bickerstaff, founder of the Business Bakery formerly a partner of Deloitte for 8 years; and
- SUCCESS STORIES & STRATEGIES, a panel discussion of winning case studies for advancing women.

Click here to download the event brochure and to register online while seats last.

“Fantastic presenters and extremely relevant content – I took a lot away from each session. Probably one of the best investments I’ve made for my personal & professional development. I would highly recommend other women to attend these sessions to develop new skills & meet other fabulous women!” – Cathy Reber, VP – Head of Global Business Transformation, American Express

We have also just finalised our development day calendar for 2010 so you can save the dates:

Adelaide - Wed 10th Feb, Wed 12th May, Wed 11th August, Wed 10th Nov
Sydney - Fri 12th Feb, Fri 14th May, Fri 13 Aug, Fri 12th Nov
Brisbane - Wed 17th Feb, Wed 19th May, Wed 18th Aug, Wed 17th Nov
Melbourne - Fri 19th Feb, Fri 21st May, Fri 20th Aug, Fri 19th Nov

FREE special event: Innovative Business Strategies for Turbulent Times

If you’re a fan of the book Blue Ocean Strategy, here’s an event which may be of interest to you. Wilson Learning Australia is hosting a free business briefing that will challenge your thinking at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney on 1st December 2009.

Based on the book, Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim & Mauborgne), “Exploring Blue Oceans” is an engaging presentation guaranteed to change the way you view your products and services and where they fit in the market space. In short, Blue Ocean Strategy provides a “systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant”.

As an extra bonus to sphinxx subscribers, the first ten people to register will receive a Wilson Learning Handbook valued at $35.00 (to be collected at the event) – just say you’re a sphinxx subscriber when you make your booking.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available which apart from positioning your organisation as a strategic innovator, will secure primary sponsors 2 hours consulting time with internationally renowned facilitator, Peter Bailey - click here for more information.

Get our sphinxx updates in real time live on your reader

Some of you have asked about live feeds for our news alerts... Yes, you can do this! All you need to do is go to The SheEO Blog and sign up to receive RSS feeds. It's as easy as that - you'll then get the news alert content sent direct to you!

A touch of luxury every woman will love - www.e-lilianne.com for gorgeous French-designed lingerie online

Ladies I think I'm in love... and I'm delighted to share with you the source of my bliss! It's all thanks to a website every one of you must visit... www.e-lilianne.com

All of us in the sphinxx office have sampled the wares and can vouch that www.e-lilianne.com produces the most beautiful and affordable French-designed lingerie and sleep wear. And like many wonderful businesses, the story behind the story is every bit as beautiful as the merchandise itself. Helene Blanchard is a wonderful friend of sphinxx and started e-Lilianne Lingerie Australia with her two daughters, Lili and Anne, to continue a family tradition that began with her own mother in French-Canada in the 1950s. Helene's entrepreneurial mother designed her own lingerie range in the 1950s, growing a sizeable manufacturing and retail operation which Helene later took over and managed before migrating to Australia.

The new online site continues the family tradition and to celebrate it's launch Helene has kindly donated a $100 gift voucher to spend at e-Lilianne Lingerie. All members of the sphinxx Leadership Program will be in the running to win the gift voucher which will be drawn on 30th November. If you're not yet a member of the sphinxx leadership program you can click here to sign up online.

And as a special offer, all members of the sphinxx Leadership Program are entitled to 10% off all purchases from e-lilianne.com (including sale items and special promotions) - please log in to the Member Only section of www.sphinxx.com.au for your special discount code.

The coffee's on me! Catch up with the SheEO of sphinxx in Adelaide

I'm coming to Adelaide this month and will be hosting an open morning tea and afternoon tea on Monday 16th November. In these sessions you can share your ideas, ask questions, seek advice or simply discuss with me findings from the sphinxx survey on working women (and what sphinxx and Westpac are doing together to support women in leadership in Adelaide in 2010).

Click here to contact us and reserve your spot.

Ask someone if they’re OK on R U OK?Day November 29

Mariette Rupps-Donnelly is a great supporter of sphinxx and has drawn our attention to a very important health initiative called R U OK?Day.

You may (or may not) be aware that stress and depression are the largest contributors to lost productivity in Australia, and that absenteeism plus stress and depression-related presenteeism are directly costing employers $10.11 billion a year...

R U Ok? is a new initiative launched by Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon. R U OK?Day and R U OK?Arvo are two initiatives taking place in November that will bring Australians together in a bid to help prevent the isolation that can lead to outcomes such as employees taking their own lives. The initiative has a range of tools and services available to help employers support their employees in identifying and managing challenges they may be facing - you can find out more at R U OK?

Also, the organising team of R U Ok?Day are looking for CEOs, PAs of CEOs and people with contacts to CEOs who can support the rollout of the program into organisations, as these people are seen as the key influencers in breaking down the barriers to mental health in the workplace.

If this is you, the organisers would love to hear from you... and if you'd like to implement the program in your workplace, you can find out more information at: R U OK?