LEAP Leadership Journey #1
Tue 24 May 2011
, Renata Harper , Renata Harper
Interview with LEAP founder and director Erica van Ooyen
In March 2010, the LEAP community embarked on a journey – a journey that saw deep dialogue and collaboration on issues surrounding new ideals of leadership. Over a year later, we take a moment to look back on how far we’ve come – and where we’re heading to next…
The female economy is moving in
“If this is a wave, you need a surfboard…”
Meet Erica
In 2001, Erica, a corporate banker by training, returned to the Netherlands after 13 years of working and living overseas. “When I came back to the Netherlands, I was amazed at how women were regarded in the workplace,” she says. “What I saw was a hierarchical monomodel in which women with ambition were treated merely in politically correct terms.”
Erica was surprised at the lack of urgency organisations felt towards empowering women. “As a banker, I look at organisations with a long-term view. Given changing demographics and new trends, the role of women in the workplace is a highly urgent and important strategic issue.”
Winds of change
Erica is adamant that the business world is in the midst of great transition. “Workplace demographics are changing and so are the talent and consumer pool. This day and age the biggest emerging market is women.” Education statistics certainly seem to indicate a shift. Erica points to recent OECD figures, which show that 60% of academics today are women (in law and medicine in the Netherlands, the figure sits at 75%). This is expected to rise to 70% by 2017.
“Women have become a whole new category of income earners,” she adds. “Already there are one billion women in the workplace. We are the most powerful engine of growth, expected to earn around $5 trillion over the next 5 years – more than the GNP of India and China combined. Conclusion: the female economy is moving in – and we need to join it, as both organisations and women!”
A brand-new day…
Erica’s message is very much “Wake up world, wake up organisations, wake up women!” This last point is especially important to her. LEAP’s vision is to support and inspire pioneering, entrepreneurial women to grab those opportunities, she says. “We have many opportunities and many roles – work-related, wife, mother, daughter, friend – and it’s easy to put ourselves last. Yet it’s so important to invest in ourselves in order to flourish, maximise our potential and realise those opportunities.”
Finding a balance
Key to this development of women, both personally and professionally, is creating balance in the workplace, through, among other things, creating space for what might be described as ‘feminine values’ – such as collaboration, empathy and communication. “It’s these values that LEAP wants to explore and nurture, as opposed to the rather traditional ‘command and control’ approach, which is very much a by-product of the industrial age,” she says.
What does this mean for men? “Well, to quote a comment by a man , Alexander Blake, I recently read on a blog: ‘The rise of women has not only been the best thing to men since… ever, but it’s also been the greatest thing to happen to business in America! Companies are changing and women are creating spaces, places, and ideas that turn small ideas into home runs’.”
So, do men need to share power? “Certainly! But as women are enlarging the cake, so to speak, there is enough for everybody!” says Erica. “LEAP’s vision is not about women per se and neither is it about alienating men. The focus is balance. It’s about being Better, Together, Tomorrow.”
Connecting on issues that matter
Erica feels there is often too little connection from top to bottom in the workplace. “LEAP is all about making these connections,” she says. The organisation aims to support connecting its stakeholders; to give real insight into issues that affect member organisations; and to provide the required tools and support to move into action.
“It’s time for leaders to listen to what individuals within their organisations need to flourish,” says Erica. LEAP creates and facilitates this dialogue “so that executives can hear firsthand what people are saying or craving … Finally there is the chance to ask: ‘What does this company contribute to me and to my life?’”
Taking the leap
There are organisations around the world with similar aims, like WIN (Women’s International Networking) and the Jump Forum, but LEAP is the first of its kind in the Netherlands. “We want to attract members and partners that take this concept – and their female staff – seriously,” says Erica. “LEAP is for organisations that want to grow and retain staff and become employers of choice for women.”
Of course, the concept of new leadership is all very undiscovered, and many – women included – don’t yet fully grasp the situation, its consequences and the solutions. As Erica puts it: “If this is a wave, you need a surfboard…”
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