Resilience Key to Keeping Your Job
Corporate leaders around the world believe that resilience – the ability to overcome challenges
and turn them into opportunities – is key to keeping your job. These leaders view women as
slightly more resilient than men, and they are providing their female professionals with a variety
of programs aimed at developing resilience, according to new research from Accenture (NYSE:
ACN).
“In the current world of economic uncertainty and intense competitiveness, organizations that
instill resilience in their up-and-coming leadership will have a clear advantage.”
The research, “Women Leaders and Resilience: Perspectives from the C-Suite,” released today
as part of Accenture‟s sixth global celebration of International Women‟s Day, found that more
than two-thirds (71 percent) of corporate leaders report that resilience is very to extremely
important in determining who to retain. While respondents are divided about whether men or
women are more resilient (53 percent report women are very to extremely resilient; 51 percent
report men as very to extremely resilient), 60 percent are providing women with career
enhancing assignments, and 40 percent are preparing women for senior management roles.
The survey of more than 500 senior executives – including CEOs, COOs, CFOs and CHROs – of
mid- to large-size companies in 20 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America
also found that, despite the economic downturn, many corporate professional development
programs specific to women remain intact. Just under one half (48 percent) of all respondents
reported making no changes in the past year to leadership programs for women, and 48 percent
did not alter coaching and mentoring programs specific to women.
“Resilience – the combination of adaptability, flexibility and strength of purpose – may be the
new criterion for professional advancement,” said Adrian Lajtha, Chief Leadership Officer at
Accenture. “In the current world of economic uncertainty and intense competitiveness,
organizations that instill resilience in their up-and-coming leadership will have a clear
advantage.”
Few executives reported eliminating leadership curricula, mentoring activities or minority
leadership programs (cited by just three percent each). At the same time, 18 percent said they
made moderate to extensive increases to leadership programs, 22 percent said they had
augmented their mentoring programs and 17 percent noted they had enhanced their minority
leadership programs.
The survey also asked respondents what actions their companies have taken to support women‟s
career development, and almost five in ten said they provide internal mentors or work-life
balance programs (reported by 48 percent and 46 percent, respectively). Additionally, only 24
percent of respondents‟ companies assign an advocate to women early in their careers and 37
percent provide women with external coaches. At the same time, respondents associate resilience
and adaptability most frequently with seniority; they said senior managers are most resilient,
followed by middle managers and, last, by employees below manager (reported by 77 percent,
55 percent and 36 percent, respectively).
“Like other critical skills, resilience can be learned,” commented Nellie Borrero, Managing
Director, Global Inclusion and Diversity at Accenture. “Leading organizations will provide high-
performing women with a variety of experiences, including training, mentoring and „stretch‟
roles, to increase their resilience and confidence to prepare them to succeed in senior leadership
positions.”
Regional findings
Among the survey‟s other key findings:
The survey also found regional differences in how respondents rank female employees
who are Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (born between
1965 and 1978) and Generation Y (born after 1979) on certain attributes:
o Level of confidence – Four in ten respondents (44 percent) in North America
report that Baby Boomers have the most self-confidence. Their counterparts in
Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, however, say the same of Generation X
(reported by 46 percent, 43 percent and 35 percent, respectively).
o Level of productivity – Again, four in ten respondents (46 percent) in North
America rank Baby Boomers first in terms of productivity, vs. executives in Latin
America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, who rank Generation X first in this area
(reported by 37 percent, 44 percent and 38 percent, respectively).
o Degree of flexibility – Respondents from all regions – North America, Latin
America, Europe and Asia-Pacific – report that Generation Y is the most flexible
(reported by 35 percent, 55 percent, 43 percent and 41 percent, respectively).
There are also regional differences in the professional attributes executives associate
more closely with women:
o Proficiency – North American executives are somewhat more likely to relate this
trait to women (11 percent for women, vs. eight percent for men). Conversely,
more respondents in other regions say men are more likely to demonstrate this
quality (Latin America: women seven percent, men 38 percent; Europe: women
11 percent, men 19 percent; Asia-Pacific: women 11 percent, men 27 percent).
o Confidence – Executives in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific are much
more likely to link a confident demeanor to men than women. In North America,
nine percent of respondents link confidence with women vs. 26 percent who link
it with men; In Europe, eight percent attribute confidence to women vs. 39
percent to men; and in Asia-Pacific, eight percent of respondents select women
vs. 39 percent who select men. In contrast, more respondents in Latin America
assign the quality to women than to men (38 percent for women, compared to 14
percent for men).
o Team work – Respondents in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific link the
ability to work with people at all levels to women more frequently than they do to
men (22 percent women vs. seven percent men, 27 percent women vs. 13 percent
men and 27 percent women vs. 15 percent men, respectively). In Latin America,
however, 18 percent of respondents cite women, vs. 34 percent, who choose men.
Research methodology
In November 2009 – mid-February 2010 Accenture conducted an online and telephone survey of
524 senior executives (CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CHROs, CLOs and their equivalents) from
organizations with annual revenues in excess of $250 million across 20 countries (Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico,
Netherlands, Nordic [Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark], Singapore, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The margin of error was
approximately +/- 4 percent. The research sought to identify actions taken by senior executives
to develop women for leadership roles and the value they give to resilience as a primary quality
of leadership. A full report on the research, Women Leaders and Resilience: Perspectives from
the C-Suite, is available at www.accenture.com.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company,
with more than 176,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions,
and extensive research on the world‟s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with
clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company
generated net revenues of US$21.58 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2009. Its home
page is www.accenture.com.