Why most Women in Leadership (WiL) programs focus on the tactical and often fail women and the organisations that fund them. In this article we explore what it takes to create transformative Women in Leadership programs.
Leadership development is a global industry estimated to be worth more than $50 billion, and yet only 10% CEO’s say that their leadership-development initiatives have a clear business impact. Further, only 11% of 500 executives polled around the globe strongly agreed with the statement that their leadership-development interventions achieve and sustain the desired results. This is an industry ripe for disruption, with more transparency of efficacy and measuring and of sustained results over time.¹
As leadership training has evolved, there is growing evidence that focusing on traditional tactical training skills such as tackling difficult conversations, holding your own in the boardroom and presenting confidently in front of a group of stakeholders, rarely creates sustainable behaviour change.
Tactical skills are useful. But when leadership development focuses on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of leading teams and skips over the ‘why,’ it misses the opportunity to create truly transformational change.
The default to the quick fix, tips and tricks is unfortunately particularly true of programs designed for female leaders. Programs centred on tactical leadership skills often fail to address the contexts in which women work and the personal blockers and situational obstacles standing between them and the leader they want to be.
Why there is a tendency to focus on tactical leadership skills
Tactical leadership training covers a range of skills designed to help leaders navigate the day-to-day of the corporate world. It might include skills like:
- Negotiation
- Managing conflict
- Public speaking and presenting
- Networking
- Delegation and time management
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Financial management and budgeting
- Risk management
While these are useful, in a professional setting where stereotypes and biases still exist around what a leader looks like, these skills are largely chosen to emulate the leaders who’ve come before and to fit in with existing concepts of leadership.
In many cases, this leads to the perpetuation of traditionally masculine leadership models. Women are encouraged to build the skills that will make them more like their male counterparts, disregarding the issues that impact their ability to put these skills into action. A Rutgers Business School study described this as “unintentionally communicating a culture of conformity by asking women to change who they are to succeed.”²
Planning for staff development and training is also complex and expensive, so it can be tempting to repeat what’s been done before rather than take the time to understand and measure the impact of these initiatives and design more personalised, transformational development opportunities.
Why tactics alone aren’t enough
Tactical leadership skills are an important addition to the leadership toolbox, but they alone don’t create an effective and inspiring leader. Neither do they address the underlying systemic and structural (let alone the gender bias!) barriers that exist, that impede women’s progress. Giving someone a set of tools, teaching them how they work, and empowering them with the confidence to use those tools are all very different tasks.
Tactical skills exist in a vacuum
Knowing the skills is one thing; using them effectively in real life situations is another.
Problem-solving skills for example are often taught in terms of processes and frameworks that a leader can follow logically to reach a solution. This works well in a linear context where there is an issue, and you can apply a solution barrier-free.
While these skills are useful, most business challenges don’t play out in a linear fashion. They are often influenced by complex interpersonal dynamics, different loyalties, perceptions and expectations as well as a tendency to want to rush to solutions without fully understanding the problem at hand. This requires a far deeper sense of self and other awareness and an understanding of the context than cannot be documented in a flowchart.
Navigating complex systems requires that we are attuned to both the systemic, structural and gender bias barriers that inhibit women’s confidence and progression as well as being proactive in resourcing women individually to overcome the entrenched beliefs and mindsets that are a result of those barriers.
Tactical skills assume agency
In our experience, there is often a huge chasm between knowing what to do and feeling safe and confident to do it. Tactical leadership development assumes leaders are starting from a baseline of agency and empowerment, where they can take the skills they learn and put them immediately into action.
Particularly for women, this is often not the case. Many are hindered by internal and external voices telling them a situation is unsafe, or their perception based on previous experiences and influences indicate that it may be too risky to take action. Whether it is a lifetime of societal conditioning, perfectionism, self-doubt or negative self-image; or a workplace culture that discourages dissenting voices, there are any number of reasons a female leader may not feel confident implementing the skills she’s so diligently developed.
Gender roles restrict agency
Accepted gender norms can also make it hard for women to feel safe stepping into leadership roles. Despite progress being made by female leaders and allies around the world, the corporate landscape at large is still built on a patriarchal foundation and a ‘male breadwinner model.’
Many women also still experience disadvantage in the workplace due to their current or potential role as a parent. Known as the ‘motherhood penalty,’ this can range from pay differences to being excluded from leadership opportunities due to an expectation that they will be more likely to take time off for caring responsibilities.³
A web search or AI prompt to ‘show me a CEO’ is all that’s needed to demonstrate the biases that still exist in how we perceive business leaders. Many historical studies have shown people instinctively associate traditionally masculine traits with leaders (such as ‘confident,’ ‘assertive’ or ‘dominant’) more than traditionally feminine traits, though this is undergoing a generational shift.
In this context, a woman looking to put her new negotiation or presentation skills into action can be perceived very differently than her male counterparts – if she even feels safe to do so in the first place.
Taking action requires self-awareness
These factors are complex, wide-reaching and deeply engrained in our society and our identities. They can hold us back without our realising. Training that focuses on tactics assumes people have the self-awareness and support to identify their blockers and the ability to rise above them, so they can put their tactical skills into action.In truth, this is deep, challenging work that requires personal and professional development well beyond what’s offered in a one-day leadership skills course.
Why not fix the system first?
Catherine Fox’s landmark work Stop Fixing Women made the case for emphasising systemic change to address workplace gender equality, rather than focusing on women’s perceived flaws.
It is true that placing the onus for change solely on women is unproductive and unfair. Changing our businesses and political systems so that inherent biases are broken down and opportunities for women are increased is crucial.
However, focusing solely on this overlooks the immediate needs of women working within these systems. Women have been conditioned by societal norms from a young age, and this doesn’t vanish overnight.
Ignoring these challenges leads to approaches like ‘fake it ‘til you make it.’ As we discussed recently, this often causes anxiety as we experience the cognitive dissonance of acting in a way that doesn’t align with our beliefs and feelings.
Fixing the system, and equipping women to continue working within its current context must go hand-in-hand. It’s not an either / or – it’s an ‘AND’ proposition.
We have heard first-hand from many female leaders who’ve been ‘raised in the system’ and want to feel safe or confident to act and lead authentically. To truly empower and resource women to achieve equity, we must support them to address these internal barriers and beliefs while they navigate existing structures.
When women learn from and with each other, encouraged and supported by networks where their challenges are normalised, the behaviour shifts are profound and in many cases life-changing. Walking the path with others offers the accountability and encouragement women need to make lasting changes. Ultimately, by acknowledging that women need to thrive in the present while advocating for a better future, we can equip them to lead confidently and authentically, driving meaningful change both within themselves and in the wider world.
What it takes to truly transform
Transformational leadership programs go deeper and wider than tactical skills.
They work at the level of a leader’s identity, developing the individual as a person as well as their actions and behaviours. By shifting core beliefs and mindsets, a person can then operate from a place of authority and agency rather than calling on purely tactical training.
As leaders transform, they see what is possible for them and gain new perspective which cannot be unseen. Through this awareness, they become more willing to challenge old operating models and drive change.
With greater insight, they also build the ability and practice of self-coaching; allowing them to self-regulate, maintain awareness of themselves and others and in turn, be their own and others’ best coach.
In doing so, truly transformational programs build a leader’s capacity to drive change in any environment.
Transformational leadership development may include:
- personal and professional development focused on self-awareness, to become conscious of the internal and external factors holding you back
- understanding your conditioning and the roles you have intentionally or unintentionally adopted – such as the ‘good girl,’ the ‘yes girl,’ the ‘quiet girl,’ and other people pleasing or perfectionist tendencies
- identifying and learning strategies to overcome derailers and roadblocks such as self-doubt, over-thinking and second guessing, as well as imposter syndrome and your inner critic
- understanding what leadership looks like to you, and how this relates to your current life stage and experience
- providing practical pathways for action and gathering the evidence to drive behaviour change through small, imperfect steps – building your ability to coach yourself
- fostering a growth mindset where you are willing to experiment, test and learn
By integrating self-awareness, personal growth, and practical strategies, including the safety to test and learn in a supportive community, transformational leadership programs empower individuals to break free from limiting patterns and confidently navigate their leadership journey and career ambitions.
The ripple effect of transformational leadership programs
Transformational leadership programs significantly empower female leaders, helping them develop confidence and authenticity in their leadership styles. These programs enable women to break through self-limiting beliefs and put effective leadership behaviours into action, such as improved delegation, constructive feedback, and the courage to have difficult conversations.
Transformational leadership development creates long-term, sustainable change – rather than temporary boosts in skills or knowledge that are abandoned or drop off after an inspiring event or one day training experience.
In our experience, women who have undergone transformative women in leadership programs training are more adaptive, future-oriented, agile, collaborative, willing to share innovation and take risks.
And the benefits of this approach to leadership development go beyond the individual. Transformed leaders are self-evolving and more willing and able to empower others. They act as role models and bring a diversity of thought and approach to an organisation that ultimately overcomes groupthink and improves decision making.
By building the capacity to self-coach, transformational WiL programs also create leaders who will continue to identify and challenge their own blockers, build strategies to overcome these, and support others to do so too.
Researcher and leadership expert Brené Brown talks about how leaders use their power and compares the positions of ‘power over’ people vs ‘power with/to/within.’ Leaders who believe in the latter are more likely to share their power with others and draw on connections and empathy in their leadership.
This is exactly the type of leader that transformational leadership programs create.
What’s more, it is a future-proofed approach, as leaders with internal agency over their own skills and development are better equipped to evolve as the needs of a workforce or a workplace change.
How to shift the focus to transformative leadership development
For individuals
Create a life-long practice of self-awareness
Becoming a truly transformed leader is not a ‘set and forget’ exercise. It relies on a commitment to ongoing self-development to ensure your skills, attitudes and behaviours continue to evolve and adapt as you as a person and the context around you changes. This means prioritising the time and space to unpack and challenge old default beliefs and assumptions when they rear their heads.
It also includes identifying what leadership looks like for you and setting clear goals for how you want to work and lead. In developing female leaders, it’s crucial to recognise that leadership does not have to look a certain way or follow the models we’ve seen historically. Workplaces are increasingly recognising different leadership styles and the benefits of diverse viewpoints.
Consider the leaders you admire and analyse how they conduct themselves. Read up on different leadership styles and see what resonates. There are many approaches to leadership in terms of values, goals, and practices, Identifying what feels right for you and the leader you want to be is important, and can work in tandem with clear career goal setting to find a path forward.
Leverage coaching, and become your own best coach
The personal development work required to understand what is going on for you beneath the surface and then to overcome both the mental and emotional blockers can be really challenging. A good coach asks great questions, challenges your default thinking and beliefs and helps you take the small steps that enable you to move past obstacles.
The true power of transformational WiL programs however is the ability to become your own best coach. Self-coaching draws on your growing insight to gain clarity about your goals, question and challenge your thinking, design a path forward and assess your progress so you continue to evolve, learn and build your skills.
Tap into the power of community
While a coach or mentor can be a useful partner to guide you through this process, the power of working through these challenges in community with others is unparalleled. Charles Duhigg writes in his book The Power pf Habit that “belief is easier when it occurs within a community.” Learning alongside others can help to normalise challenges, build accountability and gain valuable peer support from people like you. Forbes reported that peer coaching and development programs create a “focus on practice, feedback, and reflection” that can boost their effectiveness. In fact, making a commitment to someone else and setting an appointment to hold yourself accountable was shown to increase success by up to 95%.
Specifically for women, female-only leadership programs have been shown to promote psychological safety, improve self-awareness, encourage action taking and foster inclusive leadership. In our experience, we fast-track progress in female only cohorts due to the similarities of experiences and roadblocks. Women are relived to find they are not alone and willing to get on with the work of shifting their mindset in order to achieve their career ambitions.
We have the privilege of witnessing this first-hand in our Women in Leadership program Acts of Confidence. Acts of Confidence is a transformational; the data gathered over the past 5 years demonstrates the efficacy and sustainability of the design and structure of the program. Working over 10 weeks, we support women to navigate roadblocks, clarify goals, take courageous action and lead with confidence. It is the regular feedback from participants who report how the program has changed their life, transformed their world / workplace experience, supported them to go after things they would never have considered before that demonstrates the truly transformative nature of the methodology.
Hear more from about the transformations women who’ve participated in the program have achieved via our YouTube channel. Find out more about the Acts of Confidence program today.
For organisations
Audit your Women in Leadership training programs and lived experience
The first step toward improving outcomes achieved is to assess what you’ve done in the past; what is working and what is not? Many organisations will have a catalogue of commonly used development programs or trainers that are recommended to staff looking to build their leadership skills.
Take a moment to audit and assess the programs women in your organisation have undertaken over the last 12-24 months. How many of these are short-term and tactically focused, compared to those that deliver long term transformational and embedded behaviour change? What are the sustainable, measurable results for participants six and twelve months after participating? Can you build a business case for the interventions you are currently offering?
Facilitated roundtables with senior leaders and /or executives in your organisation can help review the organisation through a gender balance lens to map systemic issues, unconscious biases and blind spots that inhibit gender equity and create practical interventions to shift those dynamics.
Encourage individualised development plans that expand self-awareness and agency
When planning for future development opportunities, resist the temptation to assign training based on job title or career stage and instead look at the individual; their experience, their skills and their opportunities for development. Invite women to assess what may be getting in the way of achieving their career goals, the areas where they struggle, the things that feel hard or impossible. Be sure to ask good questions to help them unpack what this may be i.e. is it about not having the skills to present, or are they worried about looking stupid or getting something wrong in front of a senior stakeholder? (It may be both, but just addressing the ‘presentation skills’ will not overcome the underlying fears and concerns).
In our experience women are often far more capable than they initially believe themselves to be. The problem is not always skill or tactic related, it is about reshaping engrained beliefs, assumptions and default behaviours like negative self-talk, a fear of failure and being disliked or the wariness of the backlash experienced when speaking up and asserting themselves. Before encouraging them into a tactical skills-based program, have an honest conversation about what personal and professional development support they may need to truly unlock their career potential and consider building this into their plan.
Create new, transformational, psychologically safe women in leadership initiatives
To fast-track the pipeline of female talent, it is important to create psychologically safe learning communities that resource women to unpack and normalise what has previously held them back, and explore new ways of operating via small, incremental steps (we call this small acts of confidence). Having worked with thousands of women, we know what it takes to provide truly transformational programs that support, empower and equip women with the confidence and skills to advance their careers and achieve their leadership potential. These include our public Women in Leadership program, Acts of Confidence and bespoke in-house Women in Leadership programs, which can be integrated and tailored as part of an overall development strategy within an organisation.
Contact us to find out how we can support your organisation to facilitate transformational women in leadership initiatives.
Conclusion
Tactical skills are an essential part of leadership, but they don’t fully address the deeper challenges faced by women in leadership roles. Transformational WiL programs help women build self-awareness, challenge internal barriers, and lead authentically. By focusing on personal growth alongside professional skills, these programs empower women to navigate systemic biases and create lasting change by becoming their own best coach. In doing so, these programs extend far beyond individual development, fostering a ripple effect that enhances organisational culture, drives innovation and inspires future leaders.