• The Source: Research by INSEAD professor Herminia Ibarra discussed on INSEAD Knowledge.

The Takeaway: Studies show that in almost all measures of executive performance women are equal to or outperform men, with one exception: vision. Ibarra's review of the 360 degree reviews of nearly 3,000 women revealed that, in general, they were seen as less visionary. What could explain this? Ibarra offers three possibilities:

1. Women may have a vision but they may be using a different process to develop their long-term strategy. Women may work with teams and collaborate to find direction and peers and managers may not value that collaborative process as much as they value someone who appears to come up with a vision independently.
2. Women may have a vision but may be hesitant to make audacious statements because they don't have the analysis to back them up or because they are more frequently challenged in business settings.
3. Women may not value visionary pronouncements. Some women are skeptical of visionary claims and may view them as little more than a sales job. Many women interviewed for the study said they believed that getting things done is what should matter in business.

Whatever the reason for this perceived lack of vision, Ibarra suggests that those women wanting to climb the career ladder not simply wait around for visionary inspiration. She tells ambitious ladies,

to get out and not think about how to set strategy in the safety of their own office, but how to start networking in a way that gives them a broader vision of the future… The way you envision the future is by being out there and trying to understand trends in the industry, in society and talking to people.

The Question: Have you run into this perception of female execs?