Boris Groysberg, an Assistant Professor in the Organizational Behavior unit at the Harvard Business School, wrote "How Star Women Build Portable Skills" published February 1, 2008 in the Harvard Business Review.

Prof. Groysberg found that star women "thrived in new work environments" because they built "portable skills," specifically:

1. women invested more in external relationships (breadth of networks) and
2. women conducted far more due diligence which helped them make good strategic decisions (depth of analysis).

Rather than focus on the "whys" behind women’s choices (many of which might perhaps be negative), Prof. Groysberg focused on the consequences of their choices which actually were beneficial for the women. Star women increased their performance and "maintained their shine" which translated into added value to both the receiving company and to the outstanding women, themselves. Presumably, the companies that lost the star women suffered the consequences of letting good talent escape their confines, and those firms probably will pay the price in both performance and value declines.

In separate research published in 2005, "What Differences Make a Difference: The Promise and Reality of Diverse Teams in Organizations," Elizabeth Mannix (Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University) and Margaret A. Neale (Stanford Graduate School of Business) struggled to reconcile two different views of diversity: one pessimistic and the other optimistic. Is the glass half empty or is it half full?

Profs. Mannix and Neale looked at alternative definitions and categories of "diversity" in an effort to determine when, where and how "differences" might have positive impacts on organizational performance. They concluded that heterogeneous groups have a greater tendency to enhance group performance because they expand "information processing" which is exactly comparable to Professor Groysberg’s finding that women benefit from tapping larger external linkages or networks.

Diversity matters not by uniting similar attributes or fostering common socialization together (i.e., building girls-only or guys-only groups), but rather by exposing organizational participants to the learning processes engendered by "different backgrounds, networks, information, and skills." It's not just the skirt, it's the world-view.

"This added information should improve group outcome even though it might create
coordination problems for the group." (Mannix.)

The first portable skill Prof. Groysberg cited was: bringing in more and better information from outside the group. Travel abroad heightens one’s appreciation of one’s culture, but also compels the traveler to test one’s personal experiences and capabilities within the larger world setting. Sometimes we struggle with language differences, but we benefit from the inter-human valuation process which results when others see we are at least attempting to understand and learn from their world.

The second portable skill he cited was: a willingness and ability to ask effective, deeper and more probing questions in order to get a better handle on possible risks and to challenge traditional assumptions or preconceived notions which may no longer be valid.

These skills are essential as groups evolve new strategies to deal, effectively and successfully, with the more complex challenges of today’s business operations. As we look at failed company after disastrously failed company today, we realize we are watching lemmings chase each other over a cliff, playing follow-the-leader into risky investments and unsubstantiated valuations.

Prof. Groysberg also mentions the need for more business case studies to help all of us (women and men) understand how successful women in business leadership today are making the choices that propel them forward -– the choices that make their stars shine.

Note there is no stated need to study all of the possible rationales that women or others have used in the past to keep their light hidden under the bushels. We do not need to hear more about what has kept other women down.

We need more cases investigating how successful women perform and achieve positions of leadership in business today. What choices do stellar women make at each stage in their successful careers?

Here is an interesting test:

How many readers actually went to the Harvard Business Case web site and downloaded his paper? You can purchase a copy for $6.50: Article #R0802D.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1225/R0802D

Mannix and Neale’s research can be found at the American Psychological Society: Vol. 6, No. 2 (October 2005). APS:
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/pspi6_2.pdf

It’s not enough simply to read the abbreviated interview: women need to read the original research, too. Sometimes the best, long-term strategy is to take the road less traveled. Depth as well as breadth.