Marissa Mayer became a household name in July of 2012 when she took over as the first female CEO at Yahoo; prior to that she spent 13 years rising through the ranks of the company. Mayer made waves when she was selected as CEO, essentially becoming what many considered the most powerful woman in business. At 35, Mayer was not only female, but also quite young compared to many of her CEO counterparts, but the company felt that in order to truly compete in the changing technological landscape that they most change the course from just “another old white guy.”
Yahoo has had its share of scuffles and losses over the past decade including losing market share to competitors like Google, pressure from outside investors, and trying to keep pace with the changing technology field. Mayer saw that Yahoo was losing top talent to competitors and decided to implement many cultural changes and make life better for her employees. In the past two years Mayer has implemented free food, smart phones, and better pay for her core talent in order to keep them happy and in place at Yahoo. (Carlson, 2015)
On top of these perks Mayer has helped to increase autonomy among her workers. She feels she hired these people for a reason, so she may as well stay out of their way and let them do their jobs. Eagly found that “women leaders tend to use participative/democratic styles” which definitely shows in Mayer’s approach to leadership. Mayer looks to her team to each bring their special talents to the table in order to lift the company collectively, this has helped Yahoo remain profitable. In the past few years Yahoo has gone of a buying spree of other companies and Mayer has done so with what many refer to as acqui-hires where she will leave the core group of these companies in tact in order to allow them to continue flourishing. This also plays into the democratic practices that Eagly found.
So what if Mayer had been at another company? Would she have been able to climb the ranks? Mayer was only the 20th employee at Yahoo when she started working there in 1999. She worked with the company and grew through its ranks as the company saw success. Had Mayer climbed into a position with an already established company she may have never had the opportunity to lead. As stated in our lesson it is often believed by some management that women are not cut out for leadership, and therefore they are put of different career paths that do not lead to the top, a practice known as the glass ceiling. As the past few years have shown, it was the tools and the traits that Mayer brought to the table that allowed Yahoo to diversify its portfolio of companies, and stay alive in the modern technological world.
Marissa Mayer has brought a different mindset and vision to the table at Yahoo. Her presence has shown that women are more than capable of running a large corporation and have the ability to open the corporate door to many new ways of operating. As the modern business world continues to evolve more companies should look to women, different ethnicities, and even younger executives for leadership. The landscape is changing and in order to stay ahead of the curve, companies must get away from the old ways of thinking and operating in order to keep their company competitive. Yahoo has found this perspective in Mayer, and hopefully with her continued success women will begin to be taken seriously as leaders.
Sources:
Carlson, Nicholas. Business Insider. Feb 25, 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/marissa-mayer-is-paying-people-mind-boggling-salaries-to-stay-at-yahoo-2015-2.
Eagly, A., Makhijani, M., & Klonsky, B. (1992). Gender and the evaluation of leaders: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 125-145.
Module 13: Leadership and Diversity. PSYCH485, Section 01: Leadership in Work.
I had no idea that Yahoo had a woman CEO until I read your post. Her story is inspiring and hopeful for other women in the way that she could dedicate herself to a company and rise to the top at the age of only 35. Her leadership style seems to reflect the path-goal theory, as she tries to implement change to make life easier for her employees so they can be happier and work more efficiently. Her use of low-directive style allows the followers to flourish on their own, and thus respect her for not micromanaging their every move. It is also admirable that she allows each employee to utilize their own talents and ideas to benefit the company. Her combination of leadership styles seems to be working for the company, and perhaps Mayer can set an example that will encourage others to the idea of promoting women to positions of higher leadership.
I enjoyed reading your post and also considered covering Marissa Mayer after reading this week’s lesson. She is the perfect example of a young successful woman who worked her way through the ranks of a huge company. She is a cutting-edge, dynamic leader who is utilizing some of the newest approaches to leadership.
I think the question you posed is very valid, had she started out at a well established company, would she have hit the glass ceiling? I have to say that I believe she would have. The fact she had an opportunity to work for a newer company from the ground up is what most likely allowed her to showcase her abilities and rise to the top.