BMA eBook - Manual / Resource - Page 278
with others. In a company this
vast, it may seem hard to create
a broad network. But it’s degrees
of separation; you’re closer to
everyone than you think.
Are there aspects with which
you’ve struggled? I’m not good
at saying no to collaborative
requests. I always want to help.
But one principle I’ve implemented for myself and across
the organization is saying no
so that you can say yes to something more important: constant
prioritization. Also, in the past
when I made a connection, it was
hard for me to let it go. But my
mom always told me, “You can
have a relationship for a reason,
a season, or a lifetime.” I’m starting to take that to heart.
What are you really good at?
Boundary spanning. A lot of
that was just wanting to
spend time with people who’d
had different experiences,
being curious, and feeling OK
asking dumb questions. And
I think I bring good energy to
relationships. Most people who
interact with me would probably
describe me as positive or
optimistic or can-do.
What research have you done
on how your female peers
at Ford have built networks?
We did some work studying
women who rose to leadership
positions but chose to opt out.
One reason was that they weren’t
enjoying their work experience
because they felt isolated and
disconnected. The women leaders
who stayed and continued to be
successful had developed their
networks early on and usually
Photograph by CJ BENNINGER
had a mentor or champion who
helped them build those networks
in an authentic way.
What have you done to help
women at Ford become better
networkers? We’re trying
group inclusion training, with
men and women sharing their
professional and personal
experiences; we’ve found that
to be much more effective
than online bias-prevention
training. We’ve begun to connect
all our professional women’s
groups across skill teams and
geographies; now the Women in
Finance chapter can interact with
the Women in India group, and
so on. We’re looking at a program
that will help our high-potential
women by training them in the
action steps that drive successful
network development. And
we’re increasing the dialogue
between women and our senior
leaders, the vast majority of whom
are men. We have a “Mustang
council” of key women who
meet regularly to talk with Jim
Hackett, our CEO. We want all
our employees to expand their
networks, not only internally but
also beyond Ford, in the service
of the company. We call it Raise
Your Gaze.
Harvard Business Review
November–December 2019
23
