Helen Coonan has enjoyed a distinguished and diverse career that has spanned law, politics and business. The lawyer and barrister was elected to the federal senate as a Liberal member for New South Wales in 1996 and in 2001 she became the first female since Federation to take on the Treasury portfolio. She resigned from politics in 2011 and now holds a number of non-executive positions, including being a member of JP Morgan’s advisory council and Crown Limited.
On Friday Coonan spoke at an Executive Women Australia lunch in Sydney about female leadership and knowing when to take the next step. “The prevailing question is not whether you are ready for the C-suite but whether the C-suite is ready for you,” Coonan remarked. “The really encouraging thing is the fact that a lot of research now suggests that the kinds of skills women have are very desirable for the C-suites of the future.”
This is important in Coonan’s opinion because ultimately having a more diverse talent pool at the leadership level will effect structural change. This will mean men and women can embrace their own unique styles instead of forcing themselves into the prevailing model.
“I had to live my life as a man really. I don’t think I was consciously discriminated against but the bar was so overwhelmingly male and politics is pretty tough like that too,” she explains. “We have a male model of politics. Most of our structures are very male and very hierarchical. Woman are much much better at flatter structures. Once we internalise the fact woman can manage but might need a different structure, the better.”
To accommodate leaders of the future Coonan says organisations need to consciously consider setting more realistic parameters for people to flourish. Helping other women to flourish is a legacy Coonan wants to be known for.
“The enduring thing I’d really like to be known for is something of a pioneer in this area but also as someone who didn’t kick the ladder out,” she says. “You can talk about big reforms in terms of legislation, tax, media, Telstra but the most important thing is that I was there for a reason and that was to provide a pathway for others.”
As a 25 year old female lawyer Coonan had a steady stream of women coming to her for help. She said the waiting room at the small commercial firm where she worked was constantly filled with women and children, much to the chagrin of other clients – men in suits – sitting with folded arms.
“Women would come with their kids and they were fleeing horrible domestic violence situations. It was awful and they had no where to go,” she explained. “The senior partner came to me and said “The good news is we want you to become a partner but the women have to go. I said “Where? They have no where to go”.”
That night she went home quite distressed and spoke to her late husband, whom she described as “an early feminist if there ever was one”.
“He said just keep doing what you’re doing and start your own firm, which I did,” she said. “It was a risk but it worked.”
As a former Liberal politician openly committed to the success of other woman what does Coonan make of Cabinet?
“It’s disappointing quite frankly. When I was appointed to Cabinet I was only the 7th or 8th women in history of federation to be there so the truth is we have been very slow to accept women’s capacity to contribute at top level of government,” she said.
Coonan says Cabinet positions are fiercely competitive which is one of the many and varied “rat’s nest of reasons” why there is only a single female in cabinet now but she is certain it will change.
“I can tell you that there are some very talented people coming along and because there has been so much justifiable criticism I can think of at least three women who ought to be getting promotions when there is a reshuffle,” she says. “It’s a quantum leap from junior minister to being in Cabinet but women make very good cabinet ministers and we need to be working towards half of Cabinet being experienced and capable women.”
These are Coonan’s tips for advancing your career to the next level.
Tip 1. Set a strategy and a time frame to meet it. This will help you recognise when it’s time to move to Plan B. (You should always have a plan B). Keep up momentum and don’t be afraid to step sideways to go up.
Tip 2. It never hurts to be recognised for the right reasons. Put your hand up for a tough job. Don’t hold back waiting til you think you’re perfectly ready – you’ll never be perfect. When you have raw ingredients take opportunities and risks.
Tip 3. Find a mentor and a sponsor. Both can be invaluable. It never hurts to have someone who has your back.
Tip 4. Recognise and adapt to your life stage. Ask yourself what do you want to achieve at this point? If you had had triplets last week this might not be the time for a promotion. Be honest with yourself about what you want.
Step 5. Develop your emotional intelligence. Build trusted relationship and be aware of the effect you have on people. This will enable you to build important relationships in workplaces which never go astray.
Step 6. Network network network. Enough said.
Step 7. Don’t be disheartened by set backs. Learn from mistakes but don’t roll yourself in a ball when you get something wrong. Don’t be dissuaded. Failures are almost a rite of passage.
Step 8. Back yourself in. You have unique strengths and qualities. Make some of your own luck and ask yourself this: Why run when you can fly?