Richemont marked International Women’s Day by drawing attention to its She Becomes programme, a leadership development initiative focusing on empowering women to reach their full potential in senior roles and equipping them with the tools, skills, coaching and community to be fulfilled and successful.
The luxury group says it aligns with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, which refers to achieving gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls, with particular attention on ensuring that women have full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
She Becomes began in October last year, with 30 women from across the world working for the likes of Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc and Vacheron Constantin joining the 18 week programme.
Richemont says that the She Becomes leadership development programs has a particular emphasis on personal growth and self-discovery.
“Participants were encouraged to reflect on their values, strengths, and weaknesses and to explore what drives and motivates them,” the company describes. “Through this process, they gained a deeper understanding of themselves and how to align their personal and professional goals.”
Participants ended their time in the programme at a closing ceremony held in Geneva in February designed to reinforce the importance of networking, communities and trustful relationships.
“At Richemont we recognise the value of investing in employees’ professional development, therefore programmes such as She Becomes will continue to play a vital role in creating more diverse and inclusive leadership teams,” the group pledges.
Speaking only for myself, as a self-directed lady entrepreneur for over 40 years, (3 companies of my own plus an airline), I have discovered that many women can make highly effective “managers”, but at the same time, like men, there are very few genuine “leaders”.
Leadership requires a high degree of vision, dedication, desire to work in every area, many times without compensation or recognition, and constantly weigh risk versus reward, the big picture in terms of product, service development, finance, etc. In my view, a “course” for women is an excellent idea to build a competent managerial class essential to larger enterprises. What most managers need to build solid customer relationships is their ability and authority to make decisions affecting clients on their own without worrying about upper-level management interference. I have found that if a man or woman is provided sufficient decision making authority to resolve prescient challenges as they occur they will quickly learn those skills and traits that can better equip them for C-level management and entrepreneurship.