68 PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINE APRIL 2020
Dossier
‘If I accept that “life is not fair” is one of my core beliefs,
it means that when anything happens to me that is
patently unfair, I don’t spend a disproportionate amount
of my life ruminating on it. I can swiftly move on.’ And
the belief can tap into a deep sense of purpose. For
Anderson, it has meant he has accessed an inner drive
to help others for whom life has not been fair. Another
of Anderson’s core beliefs is: ‘The goalposts always
move.’ Again, this could be perceived as a negative belief
on which to focus. ‘What it actually does is keep me
flexible and agile, which are valuable skills for a leader.’LEARN TO LOVE NETWORKING
If you’ve never had the most senior job, how on earth are
you supposed to get the necessary experience to go for it?
Short of doing an MBA, there’s no Boss
School to train you.
‘Cultivate people who are doing
the next job up from the one you’re
in within your organisation,’
suggests Fenwick. ‘That will
enable you to observe role models’
behaviour. Women also need to get
their heads around wider networking
as a skill for leadership because, as a
leader, your ability to build bridges
with other parts of your organisation
and outside it is a key attribute.’
The trouble is the very word ‘networking’ makes me
feel itchy. I’ve got better things to do with my time than
sip bad white wine with a bunch of careerist strangers.
‘Even if you feel like you don’t want to be seen as
self-promoting or whatever, networking is actually one
of your responsibilities when you’re a leader.’ In other
words, the sooner you learn to love it, the better. ‘The
key thing is to remember that you’re not there to make
new friends,’ says Fenwick. ‘Nor are you there just for
what you can get. Reframe it as an exchange of value,
which is what a network is at its heart. So, if you go in
focusing on what you can give other people at the event,
and what you most want to learn, that can help.’YOU HAVE MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK
Einzig coaches female leaders to acknowledge and
understand the power they have as individuals.
‘The first step is to accept that you have power, we
all do, and if you don’t believe that, just think of a
newborn baby and the power it has over its parents.
After you’ve thought about what kind of poweryou have, think about how you want to use it. With
power comes responsibility.’ This sounds lovely
but I admit to Einzig that I’m not clear about the
dierent types of power a boss can wield. ‘In 1959,
researchers John French and Bertram Raven identified
five ways we can display or exercise power. These
include having expertise, another is having relational
power so that people trust you and understand that
you are more than your job title.’ The other types
are coercive, rewarding and legitimate (other people
believing that you have the right to make demands
of them). The researchers later added a sixth type of
power, informational, which is a person’s ability to
control the information that others need to accomplish
something. Overall, the idea is that by understanding
these variations, you can use the
positive styles to your advantage,
while trying to avoid the negative ones
that managers often resort to,
especially if you are under pressure.GIVE EMPLOYEES A VOICE
‘This isn’t about having power over
other people,’ says Einzig. ‘It’s about
using power to empower others.
There’s a dierence between having
power over a person and sharing
power with someone. Think of it as a win-win game. If
you can make other people feel more; better; bigger,
they’re always going to love and respect you as a leader
because you’re actually helping them. And it’s good for
the organisation because all voices need to be heard.’
She believes this is the key to wielding authentic power
and that, thankfully, styles are moving away from the
didactic type of management training I received.
‘Programmes that teach you how to have a dierent type
of voice or to dress dierently are incredibly patronising
and play to an outdated system.’
As women, if we focus more on the contribution
we can make to create change and leave a legacy for
the women who are coming after us, having power
feels like a much more alluring prospect. ‘Right now,
we’re living in a world that’s in deep trouble,’ says
Einzig. ‘I reckon all of us are thinking about why
we do what we do and for what reason; what’s the
contribution we want to make? What are the changes
we want to bring about? That’s compelling! Find your
role models and look at what the world needs.’
hettyeinzig.co.uk“Networking
is one of your
responsibilities
when you’re a
leader. Remember,
you’re not there
to make friends”