Women remain underrepresented in leadership positions across sport and beyond because organisations continue to be shaped by structural and behavioural barriers, leadership expert Richard Stephenson told participants at the opening session of Her Turn in Tallinn.
Stephenson, founding partner of Oslo-based TrueNorth Consulting, has worked with major international sports organisations, including the International Olympic Committee, UEFA and the European Olympic Committees, helping them identify and remove obstacles that prevent women from advancing into leadership roles.
Structural and behavioural barriers
However, according to Stephenson, the issue is not unique to sport. “There are structural barriers that work against women,” he said, pointing to promotion systems that are often based on subjective judgement rather than transparent criteria. Such processes tend to favour men and make it more difficult for women to progress into senior positions.
Alongside these structural challenges, women also face behavioural barriers in the workplace. Stephenson noted that women are more likely to be interrupted during meetings, have their ideas overlooked or receive less recognition for their contributions.
“These barriers prevent women from making it through the leadership pipeline, make the journey take longer and often lead to burnout,” he said.
We can’t afford to exclude 50% of society
Stephenson argued that improving gender balance in leadership is not simply a matter of fairness but a necessity. Referring to global challenges such as conflict, food insecurity and water shortages, he said societies need the contribution of all available talent to find sustainable solutions.
“These problems are so big they require the full force of 100% of society,” he said. “We can’t afford to exclude 50% of society from solving some of the world’s biggest issues.”
Management vs leadership
The leadership expert also challenged traditional perceptions of leadership, arguing that many organisations focus too heavily on management and too little on leading people.
While managers concentrate on planning, budgeting and controlling processes, leadership is about inspiring, motivating and developing others, he said. Too often, organisations produce leaders who are comfortable managing tasks but less comfortable supporting people.
For Stephenson, effective leadership can be summed up simply: the ability to inspire others to achieve higher levels of performance. That requires vision, communication skills, empathy and self-awareness, but above all it requires a shift in perspective.
“Your leadership is not about you,” he told the audience. “Your leadership is about other people.”
He encouraged current and future leaders to focus less on how they wish to be perceived and more on understanding what their teams need in order to succeed. “Be the leader that other people need you to be,” Stephenson said, “not the leader that you would like to be.”