Everyone knows that having a child makes a business leader’s life more challenging, especially if she’s a woman.  But now there is evidence that a pregnancy can be a smart business move.  Mindy Mercaldo, the Illinois President and Chicago Market President for Citibank, was the speaker this morning at a breakfast for StepUp, a great organization that provides mentors for promising teenagers.  Mindy reflected on her own decision to have a child in her late 30′s when she was already a senior executive..  Mindy had built her career by being a hard-driving, high-achieving leader who strove for perfection in everything she did.

But after the baby came along, Mindy realized she couldn’t do it all herself.  She got better at delegating and fostering the talents of her team members.  She discovered that talking about the baby helped to build warmer relationships with her employees.  And to her delight, her business results sky-rocketed.

So there you have it.  Far from being the career-derailer we hear so much about, having a child can be a career-enhancer – if, like Mindy, you pay attention to the lessons you can learn.

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Lately there has been renewed attention to the issue of promoting women to positions of senior leadership in the C-suites and on the Boards of large corporations.  The dismal news is that after some early gains, women have made little progress toward equal representation at the top over the past two decades.  So what is a talented, ambitious woman to do?

It seems to me there are four key questions women need to ask as they contemplate the challenge of becoming a senior executive in a major corportation:

1.  Do I want to play this game?  Becoming a senior executive requires ferocious discipline and a single-minded pursuit of excellence.  The game is highly competitive and political.  It is not a path that offers what most people think of as work-life balance; instead, it requires considerable sacrifice.  For some people, the rewards are worth it, but for many, there are better paths to fulfillment, meaning, and accomplishment.

2.  Do I know the rules of the game?  Many women make the mistake of believing that hard work is the key to promotion.  Hard work is necessary, but it is only a small part of the game.  Learning what the key criteria are, mastering the art of subtle self-promotion, and building a network of strategic relationships are examples of a few of the rules.

3.  Can I compete?  Do I have the right stuff?  Playing this game to win requires a wide range of highly developed skills such quantitative analysis, business acumen, political savvy, the ability to inspire others, and an eye for talent, to name just a few.  Fearless self-assessment is essential in order to build on your strengths and close any gaps.

4.  Is the game rigged?  Usually there is not a level playing field.  Senior leaders, like many people, are most comfortable with people who remind them of themselves, which makes it hard for women to break in to the inner circle.  And there continues to be out-and-out sexism that leads to under-valuing women’s contributions and abilities.  To compete, women need to recognize the barriers and confront or work around them.

Asking and answering these four questions enables women to focus their energies to win.

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As many businesses outsource work that used to be internal, there’s more and more work for consultants of all sorts. Consulting can be fascinating and lucrative, but it also has its challenges, one of which is business travel. Depending on the consulting gig, travel can be very rare, or you can leave home Sunday evening and return Friday evening, every week. How do you decide how much travel is right for you?

I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to consider this challenging question in Today’s Chicago Woman. Read my thoughts, which apply equally to women and men, by visiting the complete article, here.

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From time to time business leaders may perceive that their enterprise is not sailing on an even keel.  Perhaps morale has dipped, productivity is off, or employees are heading out the door.  A 360 evaluation can be an effective remediation tool, using feedback provided by peers, superiors, subordinates, and individuals themselves to rate the effectiveness of key contributors or leaders.

Most senior leaders are familiar with the potential value of 360 evaluations.  But if not carefully executed, these evaluations can do more harm than good.  It is important to identify at least 8-10 raters for each subject; otherwise the results are not reliable.  These raters should be selected collaboratively by the subject and his/her manager, and should include both fans and critics.

A critical part of the 360 process is confidentiality.  Raters will not be candid unless they are assured of their anonymity, especially if they are rating their boss.  Subjects will often try to guess who said what, so it is essential that the 360 process absolutely protects the confidentiality of the raters.

The feedback process may be the most important determinant of the effectiveness of a 360 evaluation.  An evaluation report cannot simply be left on the subject’s desk.  Without constructive guidance, the subject is unlikely to interpret the data accurately.  High-achieving individuals often focus exclusively on critical feedback and ignore the positives.  A subject may become demoralized if the feedback differs substantially from his/her self-perception.  And the anonymity of the 360 process sometimes means that raters write very cutting comments.

So it is essential that the professional overseeing the 360 process meet with each subject to help him/her make sense of the feedback and put it in perspective.  Best practice is that this coach then works with the subject to create a development plan to build on his/her strengths and make the necessary behavior changes.  The subject must commit to working on change, not merely acknowledge that something is wrong.

As senior leaders continue to guide their firms through a challenging economic environment, it remains critically important to mold and maximize the talents of their managers.  Properly undertaken and pursued, the 360 evaluation can provide powerful results.

The ideas in this post are condensed from a recent issue of our newsletter, “The Cautious Optimist.”  They are drawn in part from Harriet Edelson’s article, “Do 360 Evaluations Work?” in the November 2012 issue of the American Psychological Association’s “Monitor on Psychology.”

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When will John Smith buy his next car, and what brand will it be?  Which residents on Chestnut Street are undecided about how to vote?  Where is the next terrorist attack going to happen?

These are the kinds of questions “Big Data” is already answering.  Suddenly, Big Data seems to be everywhere – on the cover of October’s Harvard Business Review, in articles about the Obama campaign, and in many other references.  Big Data looks like The Next Big Thing.  But many business leaders aren’t even sure what the term means.

In brief, Big Data differs from traditional data on three dimensions, the “3 V’s”:

• Volume – quantities of available data are so huge that traditional methods of storage and analysis are inadequate.
• Velocity – data analysis happens in real time, rather than traditional batch processing like reviewing business metrics at the end of the week or month.
• Variety – much of the data is unstructured, like video recordings or social media commentary, and cannot be easily analyzed in a traditional spreadsheet.

The challenges of collecting, storing, analyzing, and interpreting Big Data are daunting.  But leading edge companies like Amazon are already deep into Big Data, and companies who figure out how to manage Big Data effectively will gain a considerable competitive advantage.  Big Data will enable company leaders to answer questions and make predictions they could only guess at before.

Beyond the technological challenges, Big Data poses a great leadership challenge.  A good analogy is an airplane pilot, who has to learn to trust his instruments when he’s flying in a fog, because his inner ear will mislead him about which way is up.  Business leaders will need to learn to trust their data, even when their instincts are telling them something different.  This will be very difficult for leaders whose intuition and gut instincts are hard-earned.

Big Data is already here, and it is changing the landscape of business leadership.   What do you think – will it be a powerful tool to make the world a better place or an insidious “Big Brother” that spies on us and ultimately controls us?

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The energy in the room was buzzing.  Over twenty women entrepreneurs had come together to talk about their businesses and share their creativity.  It was the annual reunion of the Herman Fellows – scholarship winners at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.  I had been invited to speak with them about personal branding – how to do it and why it matters for entrepreneurs.

What were some key take-aways I shared with them?

• When you are building a new company, it is your personal brand that will win over investors and customers.
• Creating a personal brand involves a process of self-discovery followed by a systematic program of communication.
• Developing personal presence requires confident inner self-talk as well as attention to outside characteristics like posture, voice, and the balance of tension and relaxation.
• Authenticity is crucial to creating and maintaining an impactful personal brand – you can’t fake it.

And what did they teach me?  That there is an amazing cohort of talented young women who are energizing the business world with their innovative ideas and their sheer joy in making something happen.  It was an inspiring afternoon.

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The Executives’ Club of Chicago honored me as Mentor of the Month in their September newsletter, much to my delight.  I have served as a mentor for members of the club’s New Leaders’ Circle for over five years, mentoring both individuals and groups of young executives.  This has been one of the most satisfying parts of my experience with the ECC.  Conversations with the young leaders range over a wide variety of topics, from developing strategic thinking skills to demonstrating executive presence to selecting top talent for their organization.  Not only do I get an opportunity to share my knowledge and perspective, but I am simultaneously learning from my mentees, whose intelligence and energy is an inspiration.

Working with young leaders has convinced me that people who are wringing their hands about the younger generation are missing the boat.  While every generation has its share of low-achieving people, the talent of this new crop of young leaders constantly amazed me .  Most of them are smart, incredibly hard-working, and fearless.  Spending time with them keeps my thinking from petrifying.  As the old song says, “It is hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind if you’re young at heart.”

Excerpt from Executive Club of Chicago’s September announcement:

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“Today’s most highly-sought-after early career professionals are constantly networking and thinking about the next step,” say the authors of “Why Top Young Managers Are in a Nonstop Job Hunt,” a recent article from Harvard Business Review, July-August, 2012, by Monika Hamori, Jie Cao, and Burak Koyuncu.

The authors’ research demonstrates that high-achieving young managers – thirty-ish, with strong academic records from elite schools – are “antsy.”  The vast majority of them update and circulate their résumés, contact search firms, research prospective employers, and interview for new jobs at least once yearly while at their first job. On average, they move on after 28 months at their first position.  These young managers touched by wanderlust generally earn much more with each change of employer than peers who stay in place.  And the job change is the single most significant determinant of increased pay.

What drives top-flight talent to roam?  It goes beyond short-term financial rewards.  These managers are generally satisfied with their high-visibility positions, increasing responsibilities, integration into global teams, and support from both direct and more senior management.  What they find lacking is active mentoring, personalized coaching and, in particular, ongoing formal training.

The competitive environment for top talent requires senior leaders to create not just an effective recruitment program but a high-powered recruitment-and-retention program.  The HBR research makes it clear that top young leaders are looking for well-designed on-going leadership development.  While such programs may be expensive, those costs must be compared with the considerable costs of constantly recruiting and on-boarding new talent.

The popular press would have us believe that young leaders are attracted and retained by casual dress codes, loft office spaces, and flexible work schedules.  While this may be true of some employees, the HBR data suggest that the more important retention factor is employers’ willingness to invest in the on-going development of young leaders.  Perhaps they are more willing to commit to an employer when it is apparent that their employers are committing to them.

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How should an American company prepare for an international acquisition?  Walgreen’s recent purchase of Boots, a European company, raises interesting questions about how to maximize the value of such an acquisition.  Many businesses have learned that acquisitions often do not provide the hoped-for returns.  This disappointing outcome usually results from a lack of attention to cultural integration.  Business leaders spend their time focused on financial and operational integration and neglect the important task of learning how to get the two companies to work together productively.

On a recent episode of First Business, a nationally syndicated television show about business, I was invited to comment on this issue.

What has been your experience with mergers and acquisitions?  Successful or not so much?  What would be your advice for the leaders of Walgreens?

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The American Cancer Society hosted a wonderful event in Chicago to launch their new Leadership Circle on May 22. The Tiffany store on Michigan Avenue provided a glittering setting for a gathering of Chicago’s women leaders. The participants enjoyed champagne, hors d’oeuvres, and good conversation, as at many other fundraising initiatives.

But this event was set apart by two elements. First, we heard from two women scientists who spoke with passion and authority about the importance of the ACS’s new initiative to increase screening rates for colorectal cancer in Illinois. Let’s face it – colorectal cancer is not a heart-warming subject. But the two scientists effectively communicated the importance and the urgency of the project.

Second, there was absolutely no fund-raising at this event – no envelopes passed, no auction, no pledge cards. The only “ask” was for our contact information. Of course, I have no doubt that the ACS will follow up with requests for substantial financial support, as they should. But it was refreshing to walk away without feeling I had been shaken down.

Well done, ACS!

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