TIGARD, Ore. - Women in business often need to take risks to get ahead, a panel of female executives told a conference of the Network of Executive Women here this month.
"Women often limit themselves because they're afraid to make decisions because there are so many other people to make decisions," Jennifer Davis, associate director for Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, pointed out.
"Men seem bolder about taking risks, and they seem to take a more disciplined approach to their options. One option women may consider is doing nothing because that seems less risky, but women need to learn that if they don't address an issue now, it could create problems in the future."
She recalled an instance where she was reluctant to voice her objections to a new product P&G was introducing and the product failed. "But the next time they asked me to commit to retailer support for a product I thought was a bad investment, I told them so and eventually saved the company money. That's how I learned the greater risk may be not going out on a limb."
When she moved to P&G headquarters in Cincinnati, Davis added, "it seemed to me that everyone knew so much more about the business than I did and was able to quote numbers to prove their point. But the more I learned, the more I realized most of the guys were pulling those numbers out of the air, and that helped me become more comfortable with the concept of making decisions based on my own judgment and intuition, which is more of a female approach."
Davis said she advises younger female employees "to trust their instincts more, even when they're young, because women can drive more change than we realize."
Carolyn McKnight, director of graduate programs in the School of Business at Portland (Ore.) State University, also urged women in business to take risks. "Don't let preconceptions box you in," she advised. "Begin with small risks to build that muscle."
Cynthia Malen, regional food supervisor for Fred Meyer Stores, Portland, Ore., said she encourages her employees to take risks "to show strength by making decisions rather than vacillating."
Lateral moves that seem risky can often lead to achieving one's goals, she added. "When I joined Fred Meyer I wanted to be a food [store] manager, but I took an offer to become a buyer-merchandiser to learn the other side of the business, even though it was a lateral move, just to learn more about the business."
Ginnie Roeglin, senior vice president, e-commerce and publishing, Costco Wholesale Corp., Issaquah, Wash., said she was reluctant to change positions at her company when offered a new job "because it didn't look like it would lead to where I wanted to be. But being open to those kinds of moves may open up new paths, and avoiding a decision by doing nothing is a barrier to doing something new and different."
Sherry Smith, vice president, sales and marketing, for Mass Connections, Cerritos, Calif., said she spent time early in her career "re-evaluating my life and my priorities, and I took the time to plan how I could have both a family and a career and then proposed a position to my boss that focused on my interests, and that was the best decision of my career."
Davis expressed a similar thought: "You need to be open-minded to change, and if you're not in the right position, don't be afraid to suggest something else."
