sphinxx blog

I was at the Thoughtleaders summer conference on Friday to hear Janine Allis speak about the Boost Juice success story. You’ve probably heard about Janine or if you are lucky, perhaps your paths have crossed already.

Janine Allis personifies sphinxx: she is unashamedly feminine; and what an amazing role model and leader. After what can only be described as a diverse and colorful career history, Janine saw a gap in the market and went for it. Founding Boost Juice Bars in 2000 – and averaging a growth platform of 28 new stores a year – Janine confidently oversees more than 200 retail stores in the Boost chain. Yet she has retained an earthy, matter of fact and almost humble persona which was evident as she generously shared her entrepreneurial advice with the audience.

Hearing Janine describe the development and growth of her business empire, the “courses” she took along the way (her words for describing the mistakes she made and lessons she learned from them) and her approach for building a corporate culture that has people knocking on her door for jobs, I was suitably impressed. But there was one piece of advice Janine gave that took me by surprise.

According to Janine Allis, the key to her success has been a determination to make everything that goes wrong “her fault”. Sounds odd when you consider that she now employs hundreds of people, doesn’t it? Yet she explained that when she thinks of issues as her fault (no matter what the root cause), it gives her the power to fix it and move on with the next challenge.

Seeing that level of accountability, it’s no wonder Boost receives 20 requests every week from people wanting to become Boost franchisees. It sounds like a great place to work.  I wonder if there’s a job there’s a job going for a sheEO…..

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand since last Friday you’d know that the EOWA has released its Top Earners Report.  Details of the Gender Income Distribution of Top Earners in ASX200 Companies featured in all of the major newspapers and show, amongst other things, that women hold only 7% of top earner positions in the ASX200. 

That the female median is salary only 58% of the male median salary, and less than the male median salary of top earners in nine out of ten industry sectors, is a telling sign that women have a long way to go before pay equity becomes a reality.  But the question on my mind is: do women really care?

I mean, have you actually read the full report?  It’s hardly an epic with only 16 pages to flick through.  And if you’ve read the report, have you tabled it with your leadership team to determine what – if anything – your workplace response will be?

Maybe it comes down to different measures of success.  And sure, maybe there is something more sinister at play.  But maybe the blokes are earning more because they actually appear to want it more: they are more hungry, more determined and more likely to succeed because as my friend Susan says, “the harder you work, the luckier you become”.  So maybe it’s not a case of apples for apples after all.

I’d be interested in your view on this issue.  Is pay equity a priority for women; or is it something we’ll get around to, one day.  That might explain the glacial pace of change that Anna McPhee refers to in the EOWA report.

Over to you.

When it comes to emotions, I reckon fear is one of the strongest, most common and paralyzing of them all. Fear compels us to do things we would not otherwise consider; and to not do those things that we know we should.

Have you ever had a bad experience which, like being thrown from a horse, really battered your confidence? Maybe you’ve put forward a suggestion that was belittled by colleagues; or you made a decision only to be over-ruled by your boss; or had an application rejected for your dream job. Were you afraid to give it another shot, to get back on the horse and give it another try?

It’s human nature to have a fear of failure. After all, we are constantly encouraged to pursue excellence and marketers surround us with images of perfection. Anything less is deemed “not good enough”. But the problem with fear is that the longer you leave it, the more threatening it becomes.

Franklin D. Roosevelt famously stated in his first inaugural address: the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. I wonder how often we let our fear become stronger than our desires – like women who take parenting leave with every intention of returning to the workforce, but become afraid over time that their skills have lost relevance, or their children won’t be adequately cared for, or they won’t be able to cope with the competing demands.

So it is a huge success every time you challenge your fear and get right back on the horse. And the advantage of moving quickly is you’ll know at least one way not to do it this time! Yes it can be tough – and that is why you should credit yourself with a win every time you back yourself and give it one more shot.

Yesterday I was in a public loo when I saw something gross that really made me feel sick! Before you censor me, it was only a cigarette packet – but being a non-smoker I was quite shocked by the graphic photos printed on the packaging these days. In this case it was a photo of open heart surgery being performed on some poor body, but the others like the black lungs and effects of stroke are really no better.

After being completely grossed out by the photos, it occurred to me that smokers clearly are not. Or at least the images aren’t quite shocking or scary enough to make them change their habits. Smokers have grown accustomed to the graphic imagery and our now numb to it. I reckon it’s a bit the same for women leaders who are part of a blokey workplace.

Sure, it was a shock at first to be the only female or perhaps one of two women seated around the leadership table; and for every team building day to be testosterone charged with the more scars the better – like the paint skirmish bruises and the mountain biking gravel rash. It may even have been a surprise, but not a complete turnoff, the first time your suggestion was overlooked in a meeting for the exact same idea put forward by one of your male colleagues, but in a more “on message” way by reframing and emphasizing your key points.

But over time, maybe you’ve started to patiently sit out the Action Jackson events and opt out from the boozy pub nights and dinners. Maybe you’ve stopped speaking out in meetings with your peers, thinking your point won’t make it to the whiteboard anyway. Or you’ve failed to notice that each of the executive appointments in your firm over the past 6 months has been a male, so you’ve started scanning the job ads to see whether another company would value you more.

Maybe you’ve grown so accustomed to the lack of diversity around you that you no longer notice it, or you’ve simply resigned yourself to it much like the smokers with their ugly packs (or maybe you mask it with those nifty covers I notice some enterprising smoker has designed to cover up the ugly photos!!)

In a new year, with a new world of opportunities available to you, maybe it’s time to take a step back and assess your workplace for what it is and what it could be. And then set about implementing some real and significant change in 2008.

Welcome to 2008! Those interested in numerology will know that 2008 is a one year so it’s a year of renewal and one in which new beginnings will flourish. So what better way to start the year than a blog dedicated to the individual success of each and every one of us!

So it’s a new year, new beginnings and perhaps the opportunity to redefine success for all sphinxx leaders. As the economy booms and our society becomes more affluent, more and more individuals are challenging the traditional definitions of success. Power, status and money are losing appeal in favour of freedom, choice, personal pursuits and challenge.

As a leader, what drives you? Do you define success in terms of professional or personal achievement, or both? Or something completely different? sphinxx is publishing an ebook titled “Success Stories: 100 new definitions of success”. For a free copy of the book, send us a paragraph outlining what success means to you – along with your first name, job title and age.

Happy new year and – whatever success means for you – I hope you will find it in 2008.

Well I guess that was 2007.  And didn’t it go fast.  I’m not sure what you’re wishing for from Santa, but in my rounds of the silly season festivities, there was a common wish amongst many of the women leaders I spoke with: they’re wishing for a new job or a payrise, or both.

Perhaps you are too?  In fact, many of the women I spoke with were seeking a new role due to frustrations in achieving the promotion or payrise they were wishing for in 2007.  Or a perception that the blokes are getting a better deal in this regard.

But there was another theme running through the discussions as well.  I questioned how many of these women had actually asked their boss for a payrise or promotion in 2007.  In my small sample, the answer was none.  Zip.  Doughnut.

In one instance, I was at a function with colleagues from my consulting days.  One of the guys, who was made partner before he was 30 and has gone on from strength to strength, had a clear message for the girls: ask, ask and ask for what you want.  And if that falls on deaf ears, his advice?  “Tell your boss you’ve been offered a job somewhere else.  That’ll definitely get his attention”.

The blokes are 100% clear on what they want.  And what they’ll do if they don’t get it.  I wonder how many women can say the same thing, and are prepared to act on it?

So, this Christmas, why not ask for what you want?  You’ll never know what you might get, if only you ask.

What’s your experience in asking for a promotion?  Share your views on the sphinxx blog.

In a discussion with a male colleague the other day, he hit me out of the blue when he labeled me with the f-word. No, not that one. He asked if I am a feminist. I was surprised – it’s not a term that one often hears these days. In our politically correct world, it’s attached to rather unattractive connotations of bra-burning, anti-meritocracy and distinctly unfeminine behavior. So I felt a bit uncomfortable embracing the term as part of my being.

But of course, a feminist I am. The Oxford Dictionary defines feminism as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes”. And I not only live in hope, but am trying through sphinxx to ensure there is equality for women in every leadership opportunity. I’ve held a number of senior roles, the last being an executive role where I was one of only 2 female line managers reporting to the COO. It was tough, challenging and enjoyable, but also lonely. It gave me much of the inspiration to establish sphinxx.

Now in my role as sheEO of sphinxx I receive almost daily emails from women who are enduring similar experiences. Negotiating the corporate culture is tough when you’re a minority, and gender minority is no different. But despite all of this, I love being a woman in business. It’s fun watching the guys taking the well traveled path and then finding a different, more innovative way to get your message across.

As a woman I choose not to believe in the glass ceiling theory: I think that with integrity, intelligence and persistence, and a bit of guts, as a woman one can match the men in any leadership stakes. And the increasing number of women achieving leadership success says to me that it is indeed possible, if you want it enough.

Call me a feminist; but I really do believe in equality of the sexes. No one has been able to convince me otherwise, yet.

What’s your feelings on the term “feminist” - are you one and are the men in your workplace feminists too?  Post your reply:

I attended a NSW Women in Finance event this morning.  It was the first in a CEO series they have planned, and the guest speaker was Steve Sargent, CEO of GE Australia and New Zealand.  So first of all, congratulations to the committee on putting together such a terrific initiative.

There was a great turnout at the event and – despite the preface from Sargent that he would not tell us anything we didn’t already know – I am sure no one went home empty handed.  This is not the first time I’ve said it, but isn’t GE an amazing organisation.  To have operations across the globe and representing almost every industry, and generate $23bn in earnings per annum, is simply phenomenal.  That 80% of this revenue comes from businesses not owned by the company in 1995 demonstrates its deep expertise in the processes of innovation and imagination.

Given Sargent has held some big roles (he was one of the first to lead the Six Sigma program in GE) and worked closely with some big GE names including Welch and Immelt and their executive teams, he is of course well placed to comment on the essentials of leadership GE style.  And this is exactly what he did.

Of all the suggestions on offer, the one that took my fancy is that leaders should have good deal skills.  That is, they should be experienced in building something, buying something or fixing something – and preferably all three.  It make sense, after all these are some of the core skills we’re taught at business school.  But all the case studies in the world won’t give you the same skills as actually doing it for real.

Think about your career.  Have you bought, built or fixed a business of significance?  Could you?  What did you learn from the process?  And how do women get access to these kind of opportunities, which are normally the domain of the boys club?

Tell us about your big deal on the sphinxx blog and allow other women leaders to learn from your experiences.

In business, I mean, rather than your infamy in general.   At a networking function last week I met a delightful partner in one of Australia’s top law firms.  Let’s call him Mark.  You know the kind of person I mean, the all-round-good-guy who everyone can’t help but like.He appeared genuinely interested as I relayed the story of sphinxx.  As I layered my statistics onto research and the anecdotes of glass ceilings and labyrinths, Mark was in violent agreement.  For his part he pointed out that he’s a big supporter of women in his firm, and enthusiastically introduced me to one of his lawyers who was also at the event. We’ll call her Jane.

“Jen, this is Jane.  Jane’s really one of our assets and she organized a fantastic Melbourne Cup luncheon for all the team - we’re all still recovering.”

Hmmm.  Was the introduction that Jane was expecting?

Two days later at an event for senior women in business, the debate centred on what women can do to get noticed for promotions.  Volunteering was suggested at my table as a way to raise one’s profile; and that performing those no-one-wants-to-do tasks for the boss will put you in good stead.

Bollocks!  I reckon the mere fact that you get the chance to “volunteer” to coordinate a work function – or perform the OH&S audit – or be a fire warden – is because no bloke in his right mind would put his hand up for such a thankless and un-recognised task.  They want the Melbourne Cup lunch, but they’re not going to organize it!  For starters, they don’t have the time to – because they’ve already stalked out and staked their claim on the meaty, strategic task force projects that will put them in front of key decision makers and give them a real opportunity to strut their intellectual stuff.  So they just don’t have time for the left over “tasks” that are about delivery instead of decisions.

Sure, there is a time and a place for putting your hand up.  But if you are looking for impact, then observe where the blokes are channeling their efforts and follow their cue.  There’s nothing wrong with being the social coordinator in your business, and if you enjoy it then why not?  But be aware – it just might be all that you’re famous for.

What do you think about this topic?  Post your reply here on the blog.

Congratulations to the editorial team at BOSS. In selecting OrotonGroup CEO Sally Macdonald for the cover of this month’s edition, BOSS is helping to breakdown the stereotypes of leadership.

Although Katrina Nicholas’ feature “Stepping Up” profiled many talented CEOs, the selection of Macdonald as the face of the future CEO is an inspiration to women seeking to make it to the top job and has done more for the advancement of women in this country than any editorial content could.

Let’s hope that other media houses will now follow suit.