Managing a Public Image: Rob Thomas

Robin J. Ely; Ingrid  Vargas

Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2004 (Revised April 2006)

Managing a Public Image: Rob Thomas

by Robin J. Ely and Ingrid Vargas

Abstract

Rob Thomas describes some of the challenges he has faced as a white, middle-aged man who is managing director of a mid-size consulting firm where he is committed to increasing staff gender and racial diversity. Unwilling to risk the disapproval of any constituency, Thomas was initially paralyzed by his desire to appear as a fair and infallible leader. When a capable but undistinguished female consultant comes up for partner, Thomas decides to take a stand, but his efforts to get her promoted fail. In the end, Thomas questions whether he has been an effective leader in support of a cause about which he cares deeply. Thomas reflects on his image concerns, questioning whether they have undermined his ability to exercise leadership effectively.

Keywords: Leadership; Age; Race; Identity; Failure; Gender; Consulting Industry;

Format: Print

4 pages

Educators Purchase

Citation:

Ely, Robin J., and Ingrid Vargas. "Managing a Public Image: Rob Thomas." Harvard Business School Case 405-054, December 2004. (Revised April 2006.)

Any list of top CEOs reveals a stunning lack of diversity. Among the leaders of Fortune 500 companies, for example, just 32 are women, three are African-American, and not one is an African-American woman. What’s going on? The authors studied the careers of the roughly 2,300 alumni of African descent who have graduated from Harvard Business School since its founding, focusing on the 67 African-American women who have attained top positions in corporations or professional services firms. These women thrived, they found, because of three characteristics that are key to resilience: emotional intelligence, authenticity, and agility. The women were adept at reading interpersonal dynamics and managing their own reactions; crafting their identities; and transforming obstacles into opportunities. Beyond personal strengths, the authors say, another factor was critical: nurturing relationships with mentors who recognized the women’s talent and made it their business to support them. The insights gleaned are important not just for African-Americans and women; they’re essential for any manager who recognizes that an organization’s diversity is its strength.

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2016

Explaining the Persistence of Gender Inequality: The Work-Family Narrative as a Social Defense against the 24/7 Work Culture

Irene Padavic, Robin J. Ely and Erin M. Reid

It is widely accepted that the conflict women experience between family obligations and professional jobs’ long hours lies at the heart of their stalled advancement. Yet research suggests that this “work-family narrative” is partial at best: men, too, experience work-family conflict and nevertheless advance; moreover, mitigating the conflict through flexible work policies has done little to improve women’s advancement prospects and often hurts them. Drawing on an in-depth case study of a professional service firm, we offer two connected explanations for the work-family narrative’s persistence. We first present data suggesting that this belief has become a “hegemonic narrative”—a pervasive, status-quo-preserving story that is uncontested, even in the face of countervailing evidence. We then take a systems psychodynamic perspective to show how organizations use this narrative and attendant policies and practices as an unconscious “social defense” to help employees fend off anxieties raised by a 24/7 work culture. Due to the social defense, two beliefs remain unchallenged—the necessity of long work hours and the inescapability of women’s stalled advancement. The result is that women’s thin representation at senior levels remains in place.

Keywords: 24/7 work culture; hegemonic narrative; social defense; work-family conflict; systems psychodynamic theory; Equality and Inequality; Organizations; Gender;

Citation:

Padavic, Irene, Robin J. Ely, and Erin M. Reid. "Explaining the Persistence of Gender Inequality: The Work-Family Narrative as a Social Defense against the 24/7 Work Culture." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-038, October 2016. View Details

Cite View Details Read Now

Faculty & Research

Managing a Public Image: Rob Thomas

Abstract

Citation:

About the Author

More from the Author