Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2010
Abstract
When tough issues, defined as those issues that remain uncomfortably unspoken, are “championed” in the executive suite, who does it and with what results? More than 400 senior corporate executives ─ roughly half of them women ─ were surveyed to shed light on this phenomenon – where one person in a group is prepared to break the silence on a compelling –albeit uncomfortable – issue to engage their peers who would prefer to avoid both them and the issue. Our work builds on – but is distinguished from – limited and narrowly scoped previous studies on championing. We studied the effects of six key dimensions of propensity to champion and four championing tactics. Results suggest women are more likely than men to champion tough issues and to use strikingly different tactics when doing so. Payoffs from championing for both genders included a strengthened senior management team, better management decisions and heightened status for the champion under certain conditions.
Keywords
women executives, tough issues, champion(ing), positive deviance, senior management teams, women, team outcomes and status within the team
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Recommended Citation
McInerney-Lacombe, Nancy E., "The Payoffs Of Championing 'Tough Issues' in the Executive Suite; Why Corporations Need to Nurture Quixotic Champions" (2010). Student Scholarship. 472.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/472