We’ve all heard it before:
“We’re building smarter, more emotionally intelligent leaders.”
It’s the mantra of modern HR.
It’s a noble mission. After all, organizations who ignore bringing the best out of their people recognize they’re leaving millions of dollars on the table – by way of lost productivity, high turnover, and most certainly leadership vacuums.
But when organizations suggest they’re investing in their people, what do they really mean? When they claim they support women empowerment, what does that support entail?
We, at Saij Elle, have witnessed a pattern with companies, especially as it relates to women:
They hire for IQ (Intelligence Quotient) – knowledge and skills to perform well related to the specific position.
They invest in the EQ (Emotional Quotient) – training leaders to communicate, collaborate and build resilient teams.
And if they feel there’s a gap, they sponsor females into leadership development programs that are often geared to soft skills such as developing authenticity, and building confidence – – something that’s rarely required of male employees.
But there’s a third quotient that’s almost always missing.
It’s the FQ (Financial Quotient) – the knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to financial matters.
Why FQ Is the Missing Link For Female Leaders
For too long, women have been sent a message that if they put their head down and work hard, that if they nail their KPIs, they are invaluable to their company. They’ve been sold on the idea that if they’re more collaborative and communicate well, they’d be seen in a more favourable light. The fact is women have been found to outperform men on most emotional and social intelligence competencies.
According to research conducted by Jack Zenger & Joseph Folkman, women scored 53.2 in building relationships (vs. 49.9 for men) and 52.6 in collaboration and teamwork (vs. 50.2 for men) – Harvard Business Review
So when it comes time for a promotion, and they are passed up, they are naturally disappointed.
However, the skills that gets them noticed in boardrooms and executive meetings is not just what they do, it’s demonstrating how they think. It’s their ability to show whether they understand what drives business performance and profitability. The same research that assessed leadership qualities found that men outscored women in developing strategic perspective (51.4 vs 50.1) and professional expertise (51.1 vs. 50.1) – in other words, the hard skills.
I remember having a conversation with a very successful CEO. He explained how when he brought his executive team together, he evaluated the standout stars from the “just okay” ones, especially as he was thinking about his succession plan. The “just okay” ones were siloed thinkers. They were great at their job but could only contribute to conversations as it pertained to their job. The standout stars, however had breadth in business and financial acumen and could speak to various topics – whether it was risk management, sales, technology or human resources issues. They did thought strategically and could connect numbers to the broader corporate goals.
FQ is often misunderstood. When most people hear us speak about financial literacy, they immediately think about mastering personal financial skills such as budgeting and investing in stock markets. Those skills are important and translate to better business outcomes, however having the Financial Quotient is the ability to understand and apply financial principles to decision-making, resource management, and strategic growth – both personally and professionally.
When women understand how their decisions impact profitability and how that money flows through the entire business, they lead differently and powerfully. That difference is what gets them noticed and promoted.
At Saij Elle, we’re committed to helping women build financial fluency skills so they thrive at home and at work through Strictly Money Collective, our membership community sponsored by leading North American corporations.
Also Read Here: Join Our Strictly Money Membership
As part of the curriculum, female leaders get access to our holistic personal financial program. They are investing skills which include understand evaluating stocks, economic cycles, diversification and risk management strategies; how to improve cash flow, and leveraging productive debt. As valuable as these concepts are in improving their personal finances, every single one of these skills are transferable to a corporate environment.
We understand if they’re not comfortable speaking about and learning how to manage their own money, they won’t be capable in a professional environment either.
Here’s what happens when you integrate FQ training into your female leadership development program:
- Managers think like entrepreneurs. They understand how to make ROI decisions, scale projects efficiently, and align strategies with corporate financial goals.
- Their teams can quickly identify waste, negotiate better, and uncover cost-saving opportunities that directly affect the bottom line.
- They can financially articulate their value-add to C-suite, and seen as a leader.
- Their financial stress drops and productivity improves – concerns that currently costs companies an estimated $300 billion annually.
It’s Time to Redefine Leadership Development for Women
To make an impact in a much more complicated business and corporate environment, the status quo no longer works. A modern female leadership development program needs to develop all three dimensions of leadership, and that means no longer ignoring the FQ.
EQ mastery isn’t enough. IQ can be developed in time by being in a role and through stretch projects that drive capabilities that go beyond technical skills. But FQ is what can catapult a woman from being a great soldier to a respected leader.
It’s time to disrupt how we think about developing our future female leaders.
And it starts with raising the FQ.