Women don't have to adopt male traits to show they are competent and able to lead, says talent management consultant Rhea Duttagupta

DROP the manly handshake, wear more colours, and let your hair down instead.

That was what talent consultant Rhea Duttagupta did three years ago when she decided to break out of the corporate mould and be her own boss.

"Ten years ago, I would always wear dark suits, wear thick, dark glasses, bun my hair up, try not to look attractive, and shake hands like a man," says Rhea.

"I did all these things, and they were such a waste of time."
She was one of the speakers at the summit who shared her experiences in scaling the corporate ladder and making it big.

She made it so big that she became the youngest female director at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, London, at the age of 31.

Years of working with men at the professional services firm allowed Rhea to learn not just the consulting trade, but also the trick in dealing with male counterparts.

It took her a long time, but she finally realisedshe didn't have to 'be one of them' in order to work effectively.

Instead, all it took was forging strategic partnerships.

Rhea, however, wasn't one to stay put at where success deems her to be.

Two years later, in an 'unthinkable' move, she left the firm to set up her own consultancy, CorporateDNA Consulting Ltd.

"People thought I had lost my mind. Some friends even suggested that I see the doctor because I didn't make sense."

But Rhea realised that a lot of tasks in the corporate world were limiting her time in meeting clients, something she enjoys tremendously.

Today, the 34-year-old British-Indian runs a successful leadership, high performance and talent management business for a global clientele.

"I work in Japan, Saudi Arabia, UK, Greece. Never had a problem with male management board. I've been known to be bold and direct. I've asked men to leave the room when they were being difficult."

Women sometimes can be the biggest blocks to their own success because they suffer from low self-esteem or self-doubt, says Rhea.

For one, women are far too modest compared to men.

A research shows that seven out of 10 women rate their performance as the same as their co-workers, while seven out of 10 men rate themselves as much higher.

Women have also been found to have lower ambitions.

"If men have half the skills, they would go for 100 per cent of their vision. If women have 80 per cent of the skills, they wouldn't do anything until they have the remaining 20," says Rhea.

"We want to be too perfect before we become big. That's not good."

Another common trait amongst women is a conservative career drive.

The number of men who want to move up the ranks almost doubles that of women, research shows.

Women also spend too much time building comfortable relationships, which are mutually supportive.

"It's important to take risks and start investing in some strategic relationships with someone we know who doesn't rate us well or doesn't hold a high opinion of us.

"How can we build a relationship and change that person? Lets get out of our comfort zone. Build more strategic, partnership type of relationships which can be a difficult start but have a great ending."

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THERE are 8.5 million women in Malaysia in the productive age of between 15 and 64. Less than half work. Only 45 per cent, or 3.8 million, are in the workforce.

In Sweden, the figure is 78 per cent, Denmark 77 per cent, and the UK 70 per cent.

> In government-linked companies, women make up 14 per cent of the board of directors. It's only 5 per cent in the private sector. The government's target is to have 30 per cent of women in the highest level of policy making.

> A little less than half of 73 million active entrepreneurs spanning across 34 nations are women.

> About half of all businesses are owned by women, with a success rate of 75 per cent.

> In Southeast Asia, 18 to 30 per cent of self-employed workers are women. In Malaysia, some 60,000 women-owned businesses are registered each year.

> Women in micro credit lending have a success factor of beyond 95 per cent.

> Corporations and countries will need more than 3.5 billion people by 2010 to fill knowledge positions, and 4 billion by 2020, according to Accenture data. There will be a shortage of 32 to 39 million people.

> A total of 1,300 companies have set up an internal mechanism to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace since the introduction of the Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment about a decade ago. The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is rallying to make it a law instead of a recommendation.


Rhea's 19 laws for women navigating the leadership maze

> Political savvy: Accept
that politics is there. Positive
politics can be a good thing
as long as ethics and values
are not compromised.

> Being authentic: Value
judgements – women are
feminine and soft – make it
hard for most women to be
authentic. It’s all right to use
intuition in the world of business.

> Teaming with men: The
more women see men as us
versus them, the harder it is
to reach solutions. Understand
them and get them to
understand you.

> Building your PR: PR is
about visibility.

> Perfectionism — no!
Women are too focused
on the details that they
lose sight of the big picture.

> Making your words
count: Deliver as
promised. Choose language
wisely.

> Managing your emotions:
Know when to let go
and not bear grudges.

> Knowing what you
want: Be clear of your
goals.

> Being comfortable
with power: Power is not
about control or structure,
it’s how one influences
another.

> Focus on your strengths:
Focus on strengths instead of
weaknesses. Soon, you’ll realise
your weaknesses don’t matter
anymore.

> Courage & risks: Women
need to follow their guts and
be more risk-prone.

> Embrace conflict: Manage
conflicts instead of letting conflicts
scare you.

> Think success: Have a positive
mindset.

> Different is good! The
more you celebrate differences,
the more creative the
organisation will be.

> Learning to say NO:
Women are too accommodating.
Before you take on more
requests on your plate, consider
saying no.

> 60/40 rule: Being smart is
60 per cent interpretation and
40 per cent information.

> Lead with integrity and
truth telling: Have the
courage to voice up when
something is not right.

> Make mistakes: The more
mistakes you do, the faster you
learn. Move on.

> Ask for help: It takes humility
to do this, but it’s one of
the best ways in teaming up
with men.