During a recent experience, interviewing candidates for a role, I was struck by the variety of backgrounds each was coming from, all with a common desire to land up in strategy.
I was excited to see that many were coming from an academic background in strategic brand communications, marketing and advertising communications and the like. I recall having to make up a mix of courses during my undergrad studies that would eventually lead to the route, as there was no straightforward path into the discipline.
I was also struck, by the lack of a clear way into the field. Neither candidate envisioned a clear career path nor confidently articulated what they saw in their long-term journey.
The question was, are those of us already in the field doing enough to share or even inspire an organised route for growth in our industry? To what degree do we consider succession in our roles? What happens with the brilliant talent at all levels of our industry once they have made their way in?
Naturally being a woman, the deeper reflection was on the female experience. Being a strategist myself, of course I sought a few sources for perspective.
‘The Broken Rung and Similarity Bias’
This phrase from a McKinsey report resonated with me. As explained by Dr Margie Warrel, it refers to the concept of a broken ladder symbolising too few women’s ascent in business overall. It’s an issue we all know too well, but when coupled with “similarity bias”, you’ve got a proper challenge.
Similarity bias simply refers to an unconscious bias towards similar people – similarities in educational background, values, hobbies and even appearance can make a person relatable. Additional research shows that similarity bias plays a significant role in succession planning, manifesting as leaders are more likely to invest in and elevate a likeness of their own.
In ad land (as in corporate), unless checked and consciously reversed, the pipeline for talent development and promotion runs the risk of remaining the same. The invitation especially among us women, I think, is to make the circle bigger; and indeed, more diverse. Think purely along life-stages, let alone race, and you’ve got something!
Daily, it’s clear as a millennial, how little one knows about the latest apps to simplify tasks, the latest lingo, the latest trends but I also have the benefit of a rearview mirror that helps contextualise how we got here; and a little black book that I can call on for advice.
The love is in the sharing I say! Imagine deliberately bottling the constant learning, investing it in a reciprocal exchange at work and baking it into organisational culture. Imagine how much more dynamic the choice of present and future leaders would be?
Get to know those you don’t already know
It’s often said that at a certain level of your career, it’s not just what you know, but rather who knows what you know. Among us women, I think it’s time to cultivate our eyes and ears to see and hear others we don’t know; because there’s an abundance of diversity.
At each stage of our careers, could we explore breaking the similarity bias and mending the broken rung well beyond Women’s Month?
While we work on a straightforward path through ad land, how about we pave the way with some interesting material – something “Boomer”, a little Millennial in the mix and Gen Z to boot; then get ready to hand it over to Gen Alpha when they come calling.
Tumi Rabanye is chief strategy officer at Leagas Delaney South Africa with experience in various sectors including broadcast, telecoms and financial services. Leagas Delaney is an independent communications agency with offices in London, Hamburg, Milan, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
