Diversity in business: getting out of the “chic girl” syndrome

‍During the week of International Women's Rights Day in March 2019, we wanted to reaffirm our commitment to gender diversity in companies through a series of videos on the subject. For more than 10 years, Talentis has supported several dozen major groups in the development of real diversity policies at all levels of the organization. Among other things, we organize seminars to enable talented women to develop their leadership and give their professional careers the full dimension they deserve. Find below episode 1 of this series: “Diversity in business: getting out of the chic girl syndrome”.

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‍Transcript of the video:

#1 Diversity in business: a real challenge at all levels of the organization

Valérie Rocoplan, CEO of Talentis and professional coach: “This week is marked by International Women's Rights Day. To this end, Talentis reiterates its deep conviction in the interest of Diversity in companies and will share with you some videos around the areas on which we work:How can women's ambition be encouraged?

How to give them all the cards in hand so that she takes their rightful place in the company? How to raise awareness among managers, managers and all employees about the fundamental subject of diversity in companies?

‍Today, we are going to talk about the “good girl” syndrome. We work with talented women in businesses at various levels of responsibility to ensure that they have all the cards in hand to be identified as talent, develop their skills, develop their skills, reveal their ambitions, and reflect on their professional career. Chic girls aren't for everyone, but it's interesting to see how certain stereotypes can impact our influence and our ability to be truly seen as a talent. So let's listen to Marylyne Declercq, professional coach at Talentis, on this subject.”

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‍Marylyne Declercq, professional coach at Talentis: “The numbers speak for themselves. When we look at the statistics in Europe and the Middle East, women represent 22% of managers, 9% of Comex members and only 2% of CEOs while they represent 52% of employees who join the company.

#2 What is the “good girl” syndrome?

When I interview the women I work with and ask them to do a robot portrait of this chic girl, the words that come out are: perfectionist, meticulous, conscientious, committed. Indeed, the chic girl attaches great importance to the smallest details. The quality level is essential. She is very demanding of herself and of her teams. She also has difficulty saying no because for her it is an issue to say no, she is afraid of not being recognized as living up to the goals that are set for her. Finally, the chic girl has difficulty setting limits and enforcing them because for her, it is important to be loved before being respected.

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#3 The “good girl” syndrome: why is it a problem and how do you get out of it?

In fact, since she is a perfectionist, the chic girl often finds herself overwhelmed, she lacks time. So to get out of this, the first thing I say to the women I work with is: manage their time differently. Devote 80% of their time to “their essentials” and delegate the rest or “botch” intelligently. What are the essentials? These are the objectives on which they are expected, these are the strategic projects and of course it is their visibility and their “network time”.

‍To preserve their essentials, talented women can set up “RVMM” (Appointments With Myself). They will have to protect these appointments as very important appointments to devote time to their essentials. The other thing they will have to learn is to say no. No to become “bad girls”: not to say no to say no, but simply to say yes to their needs.