There exists both institutional and personal barriers to success for women attempting to obtain leadership positions in the corporate world. In Sheryl Sandberg’s HBR Interview, she reveals that she aims to increase the number of females holding positions of power by creating authentic spaces for gender equality in which such barriers may be addressed. She acknowledges that it is important to move away from the negative perceptions of females in the workplace where being female is no longer synonymous with a request for special treatment or even lawsuits. It is Sandberg’s opinion that in addition to institutional barriers, there is less desire amongst females to strive for leadership positions because of the factors such as the social stigma…show more content… While these standards and beliefs are largely culturally created and upheld, they are ultimately personal barriers to success that females possess the individual power to overcome. According to Sandberg, it is important for women to strive towards overcoming personal barriers by refraining from leaving the corporate world and instead, distribute responsibilities at home. Furthermore, she stresses the importance of forming natural and lasting mentor relationships with others.
While it is important to be mindful of the perception of one’s peers, it is also important for females to not let fear inhibit them from voicing their opinions, regardless of one’s position in the organization. The perfect illustration of the value of women in the workplace and not letting individual barriers prevent female’s success in the corporate arena is Julie Gilbert, founder of the Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF). WOLF at Best Buy describes the immense network that connected customers and employees across the world both…show more content… Why is organizational culture important to leaders? Leaders should care about organizational culture as it works in partnership with company strategy, it establishes employees’ level of involvement and motivation, and a top high-performing culture supports innovation. Also, while leaders create culture in the early stages of an organization, as the organization matures, said culture in turn molds leaders. Leaders and managers do not alter culture; they merely invite their people to change the culture through daily behaviors. To successfully reconstruct culture there must be a progressive, optimistic, and compelling vision, official training, consistency amongst systems and structures, as well as willingness from everyone to learn. With that said, leaders should be supportive and execute which ever particular leadership style(s) their subordinates requires. Overall, while the topic of culture may not be the organization’s and/or leaders’ main concern, it is a topic that repeatedly emerges as a differentiator in inviting and developing the top talent for the future while intensely impacting financial gain, partnerships, stakeholders relationships, brand, and other essential organizational
