Transition Management for Women

“I now understand what a woman can feel alone facing a Comex or Codir composed only of men!” reflection of Alban Azzopardi, Director of Grant Alexander Executive Interim, the only man in front of an assembly of women on November 14…

A very relevant reflection, since this meeting of women, led by MARIE PAILLARD as part of our Expert Breakfasts, in partnership with Marie Louise Bigot, President of DFCG Au Féminin Ile de France, the National Association of Female Chief Financial Officers and Controllers (DFCG), aimed to discuss Transition Management for women.

Situation, perspectives, positioning, expectations… Marie Paillard had the pleasure of hosting about thirty women transition managers at the Grant Alexander offices to share their experiences and reflections on the market for Transition Management for women.

CEOs, CFOs (many from the DFCG), HR Directors, and Communication Directors, half of them had already experienced transition management. All had extensive management experience and its sometimes delicate practice in particularly male-dominated environments.

So, in transition or in permanent positions, are things radically different?

Not really, if we look at the numbers: women represent 23% of transition managers and 17% in company Comex (INSEE 2018). Slight advantage for Transition Management 😉. At the time of the Gender Equality Barometer, which encourages companies to further feminize executive positions, and with the strong growth of Transition Management, the convergence could not escape us. Especially considering the number of women with impressive executive careers, who have largely proven themselves, but whose relationship with work is “altered” by parenthood, which invites them to think differently about work/family balance. Their legitimacy is just as strong as men’s. Is that obvious? Yes, but it is better said.

Feminizing Transition Management further is not an end in itself. But it is a development axis for an even richer talent pool, while demand continues to grow.

In 4 years, the market has increased by 117% (FNMT figure).

By offering this Expert Breakfast to women Transition Managers, Marie Paillard wanted to free speech and feed minds with cross experiences. Strengthen legitimacy. Create permission. Perhaps, why not, trigger initiatives.

From the discussions, it appeared that as women in high-level positions, they often felt alone, had to double their skills to be taken seriously, were judged too spontaneous and not political enough. Many, stepping out of their comfort zone, suffered from impostor syndrome. Observations that are not limited to Transition Management but are even more pronounced in temporary situations, often related to transformation, reorganization, or urgency. Fortunately, these women recognize valuable assets to meet the challenge: empathy, courage, instinct, adaptability, and self-control. And they note that a successful Transition Management assignment is an opportunity to demonstrate their strong capacity for rapid integration.

Participants also emphasized the search for meaning in the missions assigned to them. They indeed need to feel useful, to make a concrete contribution to the company, and to feel mutual commitment throughout the assignment. They also appreciate having the freedom to move to another project once the result is achieved. And they insist on the importance of intermission periods to continue training in order to stay aligned with a constantly changing market.

Meaning, freedom, progression… Is this not the credo of millennials? Certainly! This new relationship to work of the new generations would thus be the same as that of Generation X once they reached their forties and beyond.

It is highly likely that this will gradually extend to generations as they age and progress in their careers.

Reinventing work—isn’t this a fantastic project to which Transition Management contributes?!

In conclusion, it is clear that the market for female Transition Management has a bright future ahead. The emergence of new demands for transitional skills in more traditionally female functions (communication, digital, data…), combined with the evolution of employers’ mindsets regarding remote work and the explosion of project-based work, will only contribute to it!

The Expert Breakfasts continue. Next, we will discuss Transition Management in Africa. To be continued…

Grant Alexander Executive Interim supports its clients in their development and helps them take a step forward by deploying, often urgently, strong and agile teams in situations of managerial urgency, crisis, rapid growth, or change.

Marie Paillard – Consultant in Transition Management
📩 marie.paillard@grantalexander.com – 📞 07.61.37.05.84