I believe the fault lies with our brain. It consists of over 180 billion neurons, each processing information through 15,000 synapses per second. So as to be efficient and save energy, the brain “cheats” and creates shortcuts for processing information. Imagination, and consequently innovation, requires for the brain to break from past experiences, and to experience new visual stimuli as well as be forced to think in a different way. Neural cheating, also called Predictive Coding is what leads us to make quick assumptions about others, and is the basis of stereotyping. This is where I believe the crux to overcoming barriers to gender stereotyping in business lies.

From a scientific perspective, the brain structures of men and women are different in a number of ways. Women, in general, tend to have mental preferences that utilise the right brain, and men the left. As a result, we see some of the typical “masculine” behaviours and values around hierarchy, rationality, logic which pre-dominate the world of business with typical “feminine” values of flat structures, community support and inter-personal management lagging behind.

Crucially, experiments in innovation undertaken both by MIT and London Business School, have identified that teams with equal representation of both genders are more likely to create innovative solutions for specific business issues, reflecting the importance (and complimentarity) of this heterogeneity.

Research in the University of Columbia has taken this one step further. Individuals who were able to positively re-affirm their multi-culturality (an African American in the US, or a woman in a male-dominated Engineering environment), and had higher levels of “identity integration” (they are comfortable in integrating their multiple social identities), displayed higher levels of creativity when problems require that they draw on their different realms of knowledge.

This is where tapping into our mental flexibility is important in overcoming gender stereotyping for the benefit for greater innovation and ultimately business performance. We need to encourage neurogenesis, the creation of new synaptic connections through experience. So, if you want your organisation to leverage the best of your people for enhanced productivity and sales generation, whilst at the same time address the diversity agenda, consider:

Your Organisation’s Mental Map

What is the overriding mental structure of the organisation? Like people, the way we do things is dictated by our wiring. So, an organisation or department is likely to have its own “mental map”. We work with Whole Brain Technology^TM because it is a validated and highly reliable tool for organisational development. Is your culture, and thus the expected over-arching behaviour, focused on metrics and numbers – are sales, closing quarters, revenue and profit margins the key drivers in your business? Do you see some “blind-spots” in the way the business is run such as in the failure of recognising and appreciating differences? Perhaps even dealing with employee feelings/concerns and engagement are low on the priority list because they are not perceived to contribute to the bottom line? This focus is typical of an organisation driven by the rational, logical and highly analytical A-quadrant, the part of the brain that finds meaning in situations upon sequential analysis of rational facts.

Are there differences in Mental Preferences?
Are there group average mental preferences that may differ to the norm of the organisation? Over 1million men and women that have used the Whole Brain Technology tool, women, on average, have a greater preference for the lower-right quadrant, the parts of the limbic brain that encompass Expressive and Emotional processing. Men, on the other hand, veer towards the model above, focusing on rationality and logic. So, in a number of organisations that we have worked in, we have seen this dichotomy between the genders. This is why Women’s Networks or Affinity Groups exist – they represent the spaces for this expressiveness and inter-personal rapport-building to take place.

What are the implications of these differences?
If you were in a foreign country, say in China, and were from the UK, you would no doubt pick up how behaviourally different Chinese were to you and the values that guide them. It is the same for women in a very male-dominated organisation. Whilst women’s networks provide a channel for this cross-cultural education for women to learn how the mental preferences, and thus, behaviours play out in a male-dominant organisation (through skills building seminars), this is very much still one-way….

There are always exceptions to the rule….

Whilst the mental preferences highlighted above are based on the law of averages, there are, as always, exceptions to the rule. How is your business tapping into those exceptions? Just because you are a woman does not immediately imply that you have the average mental preferences mentioned above; and vice -versa; we have worked with men whose strongest preference where the primarily right brained, with a strong sense of intuition.

Celebrate Individuality

We have created our Individual Leadership model precisely to enable the appreciation individual mental preferences and differences in the way values and beliefs manifest themselves. From an individual and organisational perspective, it is critical to set up processes and ways to remind ourselves when we are letting our brain cheat, and confirming stereotypes.

I believe our focus needs to lie on offering experiences within business to break stereotypes, particularly to “educate” BOTH genders. However, it is uncomfortable to have to remind ourselves that we have blind spots and that we need to find ways to overcome them. The power of neurogenesis, creating new mental paths for our brain to process information in areas that are not our individual or organisational strength is not easy. It requires commitment from the business as well as tolerance for doing things in a way that has not been done before.

The model and details of my approach will be the subject of a future blog.

If you are a Diversity Manager, consider why the business is supporting Gender Diversity at all? Is it because the business wants to “keep women happy”? Do you hear, especially in times like these, that Diversity is not business-critical and so your budgets are non-existent? Or is gender diversity supported by a very solid business case on how it can impact the business’ bottom line because it enhances innovation?

Most companies, we find, have not reached that level. Diversity Management is not seen as business critical. I would, however, argue the contrary. Whether it is women or a minority group or other, affinity groups or networks can act as a catalyst for innovation. Want to know how to do that?

Embed the Network and build connections with business functions

Don’t leave the women’s network sidelined as a knitting circle. Cross-fertilise thinking with the rest of the organisation, such as sales, to look into business opportunities (e.g. new products), that women in a particular segment could find appealing or useful. Or, if you already have a product that you want to see how well it will fare with the fairer sex, why not ask the women in your organisation to give you input on how to best tweak it to suit their needs?

Invest in Out-of-the-Box Thinking

Affinity groups are also a great source of internal innovation. Adding on to the point above, bring together groups within the network to solve particular business problems. As a minority, (women, different races/cultures) thinking creatively to survive and prosper is critical. Let your organisation tap into the creative source of innovation. To do that, it is important to tap into individual identities and bring those to the table. We do this in what we call the CREATE process.

Embrace and Build On Difference

Whether it is because of different attire or different accents, affinity groups will be, by nature, different. These differences will infiltrate every grain of the business and may even, due to new perspectives, result in varying levels of conflict. Managing that conflict and allowing the different voices to be heard, appreciated and embraced is not easy. It is easier to have the “not-invented-here” response. All too often we hear “we have never done this before, so it will not work for us”. Fighting those instinctual responses is not easy.

Push the envelope: Live out of your Comfort Zone

In order to adapt to differences, do something different yourself. Read poetry or attend the ballet if you are the analytical type. Or if you are highly creative, sit down and do your personal accounts. Whilst you will not necessarily find these activities pleasing, they will open your mind (quite literally, as new neural connections will be built in your brain) to new experiences and acceptance to new influences. I wish I could say there is a magic formula for this to happen overnight… but there isn’t….

Diversity Managers are at the fore-front of change: they have to change the status quo. Making the case and building in small, but consistent activities to demonstrate the power of Diversity of Thought will enable to business move beyond Diversity Management to Industry Leadership.

However, we would argue that this is the time for companies to look at disrupting the market, identifying ways to win market share when the competition may be doing its share of navel-gazing.

B-net has recently published a few excellent stories for inspiration on how to Unleash your Inner Intrapreneur. When setting off on this path to change, there are a number of key ingredients:

Imagine this were your business, you were setting up from scratch. So you need to have a clear idea of:

• The customers you are servicing
• Why they would buy your product and not your competition’s
• What the business model is and revenue streams
• What is the investment to achieve the desired revenues required

Whilst you are doing this, it is critical to unleash your personal PR plan:

• Build a network of sponsors: do not be afraid to ask for advice before asking for resources
• Build a team of enthusiastic volunteers

All entrepreneurs, me included, have gone down the “world domination” route, seeing our product or service everywhere, knowing our offering is the next best thing since sliced bread. What happens, though, when you express too much, too soon? What happened the last time someone said to you “You have to go see this film!” It did not live up to your expectations? Correct?

Influence with humility

We invite you to consider asking important sponsors for their advice rather than go in with the sales pitch. Let them buy into the process by becoming your advisors or mentors. Seek their experience to guide you, particularly through the political minefield of the organisation.

Keep going and learn, fast

Be prepared to be rebuffed, as not everyone will see your vision in the way you see it. You will always face the “not invented here” or “this is not the way we do things” argumentation. If someone did not embrace your vision, consider why. Rather than reject them, ask yourself what you could have done differently, or said differently, to have won them over.

Be creative, consider alternatives

It is not easy to express the importance of being flexible, being creative about your path. I know from very painful experience that when your mind is set on something, it is hard to consider other alternatives to your plan. I urge you to take them on board.

In my case of entrepreneurial folly, I needed, wanted, desired a retail outlet in London’s most expensive area, Mayfair. A retail space that was a reflection of my brand and offered a controlled, multi-sensory experience. In my mind, there were definite ways to meet the cash-flow required to sustain that investment. However, I learnt the hard way that projections are but numbers. They are not reality. I now wished I had had someone to reign me in and advise me of alternatives. Perhaps there were those critics around me, but perhaps I chose not to listen. When I had to declare the business voluntarily insolvent and practically lost everything I owned, I realised where my shortfalls were.

So, for budding intrapreneurs, innovating in the corporate world is challenging, as you do not have free reign. But you do have those around you who can help you by modifying, revisiting and reviewing your plans, as well as building your network of supporters and sponsors. Take it from a risk-taker: it is better to move cautiously than too quickly. In the first instance you have time to assess your developments; in the latter, you are over the edge quickly and then it is too late to turn around.

Being the first woman on the sales-force was a daunting yet pleasantly challenging task. It would have been easy to worry and focus on the obvious differences I had from my colleagues, yet I chose to just get down to hard graft and prove that I could be as good as any of them, and still be a woman.

My strategy worked. I was embraced by the team, who recognised that the: 8:30 am – 3:00 am work-day was hard even for the hardiest of sales-men; yet I performed it without a squeak. I was diligent and focused, soaking in every second of mentoring I could from my colleagues. Each one had a specialty, and I would observe and try to assimilate the best of each.

The reason I recall this really professionally tough but wonderful, learning-wise, period is because I was able to appreciate the hard work involved in brand-building from the grass-roots. Whilst I had earned a distinction in my MSc in International Marketing, ivory-tower strategy setting, I learnt, was folly. A great example which I will never forget was a 50-page questionnaire that we were expected to take our customers through to find out their views on various areas relating to the products and to the brands. As anyone has ever entered a restaurant when preparing for service may appreciate, the hospitality trade is highly stressful with little time to spare for managing their own business, let alone their suppliers’. When I was not-so-kindly told to F… Off (some in the trade are not mindful of manners either), I was shocked. However, the irony is, I could not blame the customer. I would have said / done the same thing.

Interestingly, when I prepared a full report for senior management on my experiences on the on-trade and strategies for optimising the sales-force and streamline brand-building with really innovative ideas generated from the grass-roots, the report was deemed by some as a series of anecdotes and nothing more.

I was once again shocked and horrified – this time very negatively, by the culture of the organisation. Instead of trying to understand why these strategies were considered important, they were waved off as “fluff”. It is no wonder that this organisation does not exist any more, falling prey to acquisition by a bigger player and divesting brands and non-profitable business units.

Throughout my career, I have always remembered this experience and when someone came to me with an idea or a new way of doing this, I would always listen. Why?

• Innovation in business stems from individuals being given the freedom to take the liberty of suggestion. Google knows this all too well.

• Listening is the greatest part of communication; if the other feels they are genuinely heard, then they feel that their contribution to the business or cause is positive – they feel that they are bringing something to the table

• Leadership is about enabling others bloom – if that senior management had allowed me to implement with passion something that I knew would make the difference to building brands, they would have been able to bask in the glory of success. Unfortunately, most often the “not from here” syndrome takes over (as in my case), belittling others’ hard work and ignoring it all together is common. Who has the last say, however? Your employee – you have invested significant sums to train them, and they can just walk (as I did, I consequently took my learning and left the organisation altogether).

• One small change, can lead to great market shifts. Entrepreneurs know that being nimble and tweaking their product or service allows them to tap into markets that they may not have considered before.

• Bottoms-up market innovation: As with my experience, traditional companies have a top-to-bottom approach to innovation and management. In theory, senior management have the most experience and so have more authority to set the vision. However, I would argue that a bottom-up approach is more effective: the grass-roots employees have a direct line to customers, hear the complaints, see the response to marketing and sales activities. This needs to be mixed in with the in-depth experience from senior management to make innovation cocktail a reality.

Finally, you may have noticed a lot about this article relates to “feelings” – feeling heard, appreciated, making a difference; engaging employees to be passionate and real advocates for what they do and where they work… Ironically, this is all about a feelings-based-business. So while we may talk about productivity in metrics, what makes the quotient rise are not numbers; it is the behaviours, the stories of the business, the subtle signals of encouragement that make the difference.

So, how will you create your innovation cocktail in your business?