Retaining and Developing Top Talent Regardless of Gender

I recently came across this article in the Financial Times by Michel Ferrary of the Ceram Business School, in which he argues that companies (and the boards and senior management therein) with a higher number of women managers are better able to face the economic downturn. This finding will certainly find favour across a number of quarters.

However, the research that we have conducted–which spans 12,500 top teams and well over 2,000 boards–suggests that there is no difference in operational or strategic performance between male and female managers. In fact, gender emerged as the least predicted demographic concerning effectiveness of performance.  It should be noted that similar findings applied to education, sector, religion, geographical location and personal background.

Interestingly, only age drew significant positive correlation with leadership and managerial performance. Those managers that responded best to challenges of diversity and strategic complexity were the older ones. Age, coupled with experience, produced leaders who could control their ego and get the best out of others.

Therefore, how do our research results explain (or not) Michel Ferrary’s perspective that a higher percentage of women managers equates with improved performance?  Well, a cursory look at the companies quoted in his article–Hermes, Sodexo and Danone–shows that these are are companies envied for their outstanding performance.  These are the companies that integrate corporate strategy with operational efficiency and with CSR and talent leadership.  These are the companies that attract highly capable men and women and genuinely give the most demanding jobs to the most capable of leaders.

The issue is not so much differences in performance between males and females–it’s more that of attracting and retaining high quality talent.  It is not so much that the high performing company has more women managers–it is far more important that top talent has been retained and developed.

Perhaps analysis of these companies can give some sort of clue as to why so many women drop out of management at middle management levels.  Perhaps answering this question will induce many other companies to take on a more sensitive diversity perspective which will facilitate the development of talent irrespective of gender, race, age and religion.