1. Women CEO’s in Family Business:
Challenges
&
Differentiating Styles
A Survey Report
By Dale Carnegie Training® India

2. Relevance
 80% of businesses all over the world are family owned
 From traditional small businesses to a third of Fortune 500
companies
 65% of top 500 BSE listed companies are family controlled,*
about 70% of all BSE listed companies are family controlled
 54% market capitalization on BSE (2007-08)
contributed by the above family controlled companies

3. . . . Relevance
A vital force but . . .
 Less than a third survive the transition from the first
generation to the second
 Of these, about half do not survive the transition to the
third generation
Can a greater role for women in family businesses turn the
survival statistics???

4. Significance
 No structured and published research done on
Owner-Promoter Women CEOs till date
 This is the first survey, globally, giving an insight
into leadership aspects of women CEOs of family
businesses

5. Survey Objectives
 Demographics
 Entry in the family business
 Initial challenges in the business
 Gender related challenges
 Growth corridor
 Mentoring and grooming
 Leadership styles
 Advantages of being a woman leader
 Disadvantages of being a woman leader
 Critical skills for success as a CEO

6. Research Span
 Number of respondents: 26
 Average age: 40 years
 Geographic span: Pan India
 Status: Board level / CEO position

7. Personal Demographics
 Designation  12% Chairperson level; 84% JMD/ED/VC/Dir /ED /Non-ED /
Whole Time Dir; 4% Other
 Age  68% 25-45 years; 28% 46-55 years, 4% 65 years and above
 Education  32% G; 52% PG/MBA; 12% Splzn (Ph.D./MBBS), 4% OPM
from USA
 Marital status  68% married/with children; 28% single/with children, 4% Other
 Prior experience  40% 1 - 3 yrs; 32% 4 - 9 yrs; 28% 10+ yrs

8. Business Characteristics
 Age of Business: 76% companies were more than 20 years old
 Industry Verticals: Construction, Consulting, Engineering,
FMCG, Infrastructure, IT, Logistics, Manufacturing.
 Business Turnover: 32% < Rs. 100 Cr; 28% Rs. 100-500 Cr;
40% > Rs. 500 Cr
 Company Type: 48% public limited; 52% privately held

9. Reasons for Joining Family
Business
 48% - Felt it was a better career choice
 40% - By chance
 36% - Planned succession
 28% - Because of business need

10. Initial Challenges Faced
 72% - needed to juggle family and business demands
 88% - received support from family for household
responsibilities
 28% - had to put extra efforts to prove competence to
family members
 8% - entry into the business created conflict among
management/employees

11. Gender - related Challenges
Agreed
 52% disagreed having faced any gender bias at work
 28% felt they faced gender bias from external business community
 44% felt their performance was assessed more critically by all stakeholders
 60% agreed they face more leadership challenges than the male counterparts
 28% said they had to put extra effort to prove competence to other family members
 36% said that their remuneration was not at par with the male counterparts
 24% said that they have been given concessions/flexibility for work hours/travel / leave
 20% said that being a woman have been given less critical responsibilities
 20% said that their performance evaluation criteria different than other male family
members

12. Growth Corridor
 24% joined at entry level, 20% at middle / supervisory level and
44% senior / managerial level and 12 % at top level
 15% took less than 1 year to reach the top, while 39% took 2 to 4
years, 11% took 4 to 7 years and 35% took more than 7 years
 52% agreed that their rise to the top was easier than in
professionally-managed companies
 60% agreed that their hierarchical progress was faster than other
colleagues
 44% agreed that one needs to have at least 10 years of experience to
get accepted as leader

13. Mentoring / Grooming
 68% received specific grooming for their roles
 68% had been coached for leadership responsibilities
 Methods of Mentoring:
 35% - Mentoring by a family member
 12% - Early informal induction (16 to 17 years age) like office visits,
etc.
 23% - On-the-job learning, experiential learning
 12% - Observation of other business leaders
 12% - One-to-one Mentoring by external consultant/Board members

14. Decision-making / Authority &
Attitude
 Only 32% were final decision makers; 68% shared decision
making authority
 68% had authority at all levels, 24% had only at strategic
level, and 8% had only at operational level
 76% said they share accountability with other family members
 84% said they are they are known to take tough / unpopular
decisions
 92% agreed that they will do whatever it takes to achieve the
end results

15. Leadership Style
 84% felt their strength was in Planning, Organizing and Execution
 70% felt they were also strong in providing Strategic Direction for their
business
 52% agreed that they were cautious and slow in taking business risks
 Only 32% felt that they commanded more respect and trust being a woman
 100% felt that they are amenable and friendly as a leader
 52% felt that they are cautious and slow in taking business risk

16. Advantages of being a
Woman Owner-Promoter CEO
Agreed
 Decision making authority  80%
 Shared accountability  76%
 Greater risk taking capability  68%
 Flexibility of time  64%
 Faster career progression  52%

17. Disadvantages of being a
Woman Owner-Promoter CEO
Agreed
 Tough balancing business and family interests  60%
 Restricted personal growth  20%
 Lower acceptance of authority by male
family members  24%

18. Critical Skills for a Successful
CEO
 Knowledge of external environment, trends, functional knowledge
and competence
 Vision, foresight and planning, ability to see a bigger picture
 Building strategic direction and clarity of purpose, leadership skills
 Ability to articulate, communicate and inspire, people skills
 Thinking out of the box, innovative thinking, taking risks
 Dedication, Perseverance, Ambition, Drive, Passion, Hard Work
 Emotional control, Empathy, cool head
 Ability to execute, implement
 Risk taking ability

19. CONTACT US
Address:
1, Construction House 5, Walchand
Hirachand Marg, Ballard Estate Mumbai -
400 001 India.
Telephone: +91 67818113

20. Thank you
Copyright
Dale Carnegie Training® India
Walchand PeopleFirst Limited