Kimberly Nelson, Northern Illinois UniversityHeidi Voorhees, Voorhees Associates Bridget Wachtel, Village of Flossmoor

50.660.4

22.512.6

3.2

49.439.6

77.587.4 96.8

Generalpopulation

% receivedmaster's degrees

2008‐09

ICMAmembership

2011

ICMA memberswho are CAOs

CEOs‐publiclytraded

companies

Female Male

8%

32%24%

48%

91%

68% 72%

51%

CAO Asst. CAO Asst. to the CAO Midlevel/analyst

Female Male

0102030405060708090100

1989 1998 2011

FemaleMale

Women bring a number of strengths to city management

Fox and Schuhmann (1999)Women make up more than 50% of the population—is there value in representativeness?Potential shortage of qualified management applicants is likely in the future

Education

Educate high school students about city management as a careerEducate undergraduate students about city management as a careerRecruitment efforts

ICMA student chapters

New Professionals

Mentoring—by men and womenNIU’s mentoring programThe Legacy Project

Informal advising

FEBRUARY 23, 2012ILCMA WINTER CONFERENCEPRESENTATION BY HEIDI J .

VOORHEES, VOORHEES ASSOCIATES

Getting the Top Job – A Presentation of the Legacy Project

Local Government Statistics

23% of ICMA members are women 13% of CAO positions are occupied by women

(Same percentage as 1981) 34% of #2 positions are occupied by women 30% of department head positions are occupied by

women 53% of Assistant to the Manager position are held by

women

Other Relevant Statistics

Women earn the majority of bachelor degrees in business, biological sciences, and social sciences up from 33% in 1980

Women comprise 50% of law, medicine and optometry programs up from 22% a generation ago

30% of all MBAs are held by women

??% of all MPAs are held by women*

50% of all doctoral degrees are held by women up from 44% in 2000 – 39% of doctoral degrees in business are held by women

*This data is not available

Source: 2006 Associated Press and Council of Graduate Schools

Sheryl Sandberg – COO of Facebook

190 Heads of State – 9 are women 13% of all people in parliaments throughout the

world are women 15% of top corporate jobs are occupied by women

Familiar percentages?

Source: Sandberg speech at TEDWomen Conference, December 2010 as quoted in the New Yorker, July 2011

Sandberg’s Observations

Women need to “sit at the table” – 57% of men entering the workforce negotiate their salaries but only 7% of women do.

At home, “make sure your partner is a real partner” – on average women do 2/3 of the housework and ¾ of the child care.

“Don’t leave before you leave” – Don’t lean back when you are considering having children.

Other Observations

The need for women to have sponsors/mentors – difficulty in appearance of male/female sponsor relationships*

The need to feel completely competent in an area or it is considered a weakness**

The need to feel completely ready for the next job often results in missing an opportunity – many women in an “acting” role realize they can do the job, but they have already passed it up thinking they were not ready**

*(Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Harvard Business Review 2010)**Heidi Voorhees

“Don’t Fret – Just Ask for What you Want”

For fear of being perceived as too aggressive or selfish, women may be ineffective in asking for what they want –”I’m not really sure, but you could try it this way…”

Upward vocal inflection in their voice, minimizing a declarative statement and conveying “weakness, uncertainty and a request for approval.”

Build your case around the impact to the organization.

Source: New York Times, July 9, 2011, Peggy Klaus. :Don’t Fret. Just Ask For What You Want

What are Elected Officials Looking For in City Managers?

Energy, energy, energy Leadership Loyalty Collaboration with elected officials Ability to find alternative revenue sources including

grants and low interest loans Economic development experience and results Fiscal expertise

Leadership

Elected officials respect Managers who display thoughtful, collaborative leadership skills.

Elected officials want Managers who will lead them through the budget crisis, providing alternatives that do not involve tax increases – including consolidation, sharing, privatization and regionalization of services. Women must have these experiences.

Loyalty

Elected officials respect longer tenure in previous positions.

Elected officials want you to be excited about coming to their community.

Elected officials want you to make their community your home – residency issues are more complicated in recent years.

Collaboration with Elected Officials

Today’s manager will be comfortable collaborating with elected officials on:

Policy development Policy administration Hiring of key personnel Budget reductions

Alternative Revenue Sources

Elected officials are seeking Managers with skills in seeking alternative revenue sources

Familiarity with federal, state and regional grant and loan programs.

Ability to network with agency personnel and state/federal elected officials to secure funds.

Ability to try new approaches to obtain funds (i.e. roundabouts)

Economic Development Experience

Elected officials seek Managers with:

Demonstrable economic development results The ability to streamline the permitting process Willingness to make economic development

“happen” by working with developers to address their issues

Obstacles for Women to the Top Job

Residency Requirements Family Obligations Societal Norms – Aggressive vs. Assertive Held to a Higher Standard Assumptions Regarding Child Care

Residency Requirements

More communities are reconsidering this issue due to the housing market.

Be prepared to address how you will “become a member of the community” if you are not a resident.

Be specific about past and present community involvement.

This is an issue for all candidates, not only women.

Family Obligations – Advantages City/County Management Has In Work/Life Balance

Little to no work related travel Usually some ability to juggle your own schedule If you live in the community you serve, quick access

to school and other family related functions You can incorporate your family into community

obligations – festivals, parades, shopping in town

Family Obligations – Disadvantages City/County Management Has in Work/Life Balance

Long hours – numerous night meetings. Public nature of the position – family may read

about you in the newspaper, blogs, see you on television, etc.

Position is 24/7 – residents will ask questions at sporting events, school events, grocery store.

Societal Norms – Aggressive vs. Assertive

“Success and likability is positively correlated with men and negatively correlated with women.”

Sheryl Sandberg citing Stanford Business School Frank Flynn’s Roizin Case Study Experiment

Flynn’s Experiment – Heidi and Howard Roizen

Frank Flynn’s credentials:

Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business

Co-Director of Stanford’s Center for Leadership Development and Research

Co-Organizer of PSI Network for researchers who study power, status and influence

Heidi and “Howard” Roizen (2005)

Half of Professor Flynn’s class received the Harvard Business Review case study on Heidi Roizen, a successful venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.

Half of Professor Flynn’s class received the same case study, but Heidi’s first name was changed to Howard (with Harvard’s permission)

Heidi and “Howard” Roizen (2005)

Professor Flynn’s class was asked to go online and rate their impressions of Roizen on several dimensions.

Students were much harsher on Heidi than on Howard across the Board

Students viewed Heidi as competent and as effective as Howard, BUT

Students did not like her, would not hire her and did not want to work with her

The same was not true for Howard – they liked him, wanted to hire him and wanted to work for him.

The Good News –Familiarity Breeds Respect and Likability

Another Flynn Study:

Classmates’ familiarity with peers and their rating –When raters did not know their classmates, they responded as the students in the Heidi/Howard Roizen experiment. When students were more familiar with the person they were rating, the “backlash” or gender difference disappeared.

The Assertiveness Dilemma

Assertiveness is viewed as a dimension describing people’s tendency to speak up for, defend, and act in the interest of themselves and their own values, preferences, and goals (cf. Costa &McCrae, 1992; Wilson & Gallois, 1993).

Strength CommentsStrength Comments Weakness CommentsWeakness Comments

Able Willing Focused Effective Analytical Thoughtful Intelligent Motivated Considerate Constructive

Assertive (under/over) Focused Able Sure Effective Aggressive Constructive Firm Confident Involved

Assertiveness and “What Breaks a Leader”

What Breaks a Leader by Ames and Flynn, (2006), Columbia University

Held to a Higher Standard

Societal expectations of women with respect to assertiveness can result in them being judged more harshly when they are “over assertive” – “We had a woman once and that did not work out.”

Goldin and Rouse Study of Female Musicians

Orchestrating Impartiality

National Bureau of Economic Research Study by Claudia Goldin (Harvard) and Cecilia Rouse (Princeton)

In 1970, females made up 5% of players in top five symphony orchestras

Today females make up 25% of players in top five symphony orchestras

Goldin and Rouse studied the practices and records of five symphonies over a 25 year period.

In blind auditions (behind a screen) 28% of women and 20% of men advanced from the preliminary to the final round

When auditions were not blind, 19% of women advanced and 22.5% of men advanced.

Work/Family Balance

A woman in the workplace starting a family is viewed as a liability and often judged harshly for remaining in the workplace – a man in the workplace starting a family is viewed as more stable.

“How do you go to work everyday and leave your baby at home?” (question asked by male elected official and also by fellow Rotarian – female)

“I bet you are excited about having your mom around more…” (comment made more than 20 times to daughter upon Mom’s “retirement.”)

Preparation for the Top Job

Always be “interviewing” – professional development seminars, conferences, luncheons, COG meetings

Watch for opportunities to work with Police Chief, elected officials, Chamber members, City Attorney –all are excellent references

Put your hand up Dress for the job you aspire to

Interviewing Missteps

Inability to display leadership skills (i.e. toughness) Poor public presentation skills Uncertainty about wanting top job – unwilling to

take a risk Failure to make eye contact, display energy for the

position, shake hands with interviewers

Take Aways…

Yes, there is a difference between how women and men are perceived – however, that difference can be mitigated by personal experience with the individual.

Assertiveness needs to be balanced and situational. Women must be more comfortable with risk –

applying for the top job without feeling they are completely ready for every aspect of the job.

Women must advocate for themselves and not assume that hard work alone will result in advancement.

The Big Rocks—Put First Things First