The Corporate Ladder: What blocks success Learning objective: Increase professional and leadership confidence and competence We all expect to be judged on our merits at work and to be recognized for our accomplishments, our unique talents, insights, and efforts. But does that actually happen? Recent research shows women fill just a small percentage of executive-level jobs and corporate board seats. Experts believe that a major cause is the lack of confidence. “Confidence is a learned skill....what you have to be willing to do is dare to put yourself out there. You’ve got to dare to take some risks.” Learn from the experts about what risks to take and how taking them can lead to a successful rise up the corporate ladder. At the end of this seminar, participants will be able to: a. Recognize the barriers that prevent them from becoming successful b. Examine the benefits of developing a mentorship role for support c. Learn techniques for gaining confidence d. Explore strategies for overcoming the barriers that block their rise in the corporate world

1. October 23–25, 2014
THE CORPORATE LADDER:
WHAT BLOCKS SUCCESS
Denise Evans, Vice President Market Development,
© 2014 IBM Corporation
IBM Corporation

2. October 23–25, 2014
ADVANCING WOMEN AT IBM
© 2014 IBM Corporation
RESEARCH STUDY
Insights from IBM Women Executives

3. Advancing Women at IBM Research Study Overview
© 2014 IBM Corporation
• IBM Objectives
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– Study women executives’career paths to better understand how IBM can
accelerate the careers of our future generation of women leaders.
– Share the insights from IBM executive women about their journeys with our future
women leaders.
• Methodology
– Surveys:
• 639 IBM women executives from 30 countries shared their insights through surveys
• Survey provided questions for followup interviews with 450 IBM executive women
– Interviews:
• High-potential non-executive women conducted the interviews, giving them an opportunity
to hear first hand the executive’s career journey and expand their professional network.
• Interview Questions Topics included
– Work/Life Integration,
– Building Professional Eminence, and
– Building a High Performance Culture
• 270+ pages of comments analyzed by Workforce Analytics team
• Findings grouped into three main themes:
– Be Visible,
– Plan your career, and
– Integrate work and life.

4. © 2014 IBM Corporation
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Be visible
• Seek out highly visible stretch and growth roles
– Look for roles that provide an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to work through
complex and business-critical tasks to your peers, leaders and decision-makers
across the company.
• Network
– Build an extensive network of supporters acquainted with your work
– A network can be created every day from those you interact with on the phone,
through e-mail, social media, etc.
• Create a “career advisory team”
– The women in the study consistently cited the importance of creating a team of people
around you that know your skills, talents and career aspirations.
• Build your eminence
– Taking stock of your own personal eminence internally and externally will help you
understand how well known you are in your field.
• Help other women with advancement
– Helping IBMers to achieve their highest potential is an expectation for every IBM
executive and is an important way for you to demonstrate leadership.

5. © 2014 IBM Corporation
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Plan your career
• Create a career plan
– Find what you’re passionate about, develop a game plan and execute that plan with
confidence.
• Stretch your skills
– To grow your career and increase your eminence or brand within IBM, you are going to
have to step outside your comfort zone and stretch your skills.
• Expand your cultural reach
– In a global marketplace, it’s imperative that you build your cultural intelligence and
expand your cultural reach. One of the top three attributes which leaders of tomorrow will
need to succeed is a global mindset.
• Build and engage regularly with your “career advisory team”
– Can consist of mentors, advocates/sponsors, coaches, managers, former managers, et
al…a team of supporters who know your skills, talents and career aspirations.
– Continue to have proactive career discussions with your managers and your career
advisory team --- ask for honest feedback on your work, performance, skills and potential

6. © 2014 IBM Corporation
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Integrate Work and Life
• Minimize/eliminate guilt
– Make a decision and stand behind it. As one executive put it, “Don’t spend your time
feeling guilty afterwards because you may be putting unnecessary pressure on
yourself.”
• Delegate
– Concentrating on the most important activities and hand off those activities that can
be competently managed by others.
• Create a support network
– You’ll need a strong support network for your personal life to meet the challenges of integrating
work and life. Ask help of those around you – friends, family, and neighbors.
• Understand the resources and programs available to you
– IBM offers many programs to assist with work/life integration.
• Seek out role models
– Sometimes realizing that you are not alone in a struggle for work/life integration is a
great comfort.

7. © 2014 IBM Corporation
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Read the study paper
• Download the paper:
www.ibm.com/employment/us/diverse/downloads/adv
ancing_women_at_IBM_study_external_final.pdf
• Read the blog posting:
asmarterplanet.com/blog/2013/08/how-to-build-a-leadership-
pipeline-for-women-in-the-workplace.html
• Create your own discussion in
your company about the study
findings
• For more information on the paper
and study, please contact Kim
Stephens kimstephens@us.ibm.com or
Heather Howell hrhowell@us.ibm.com