If you work in an organization, you tacitly agree to participate in a “Workplace Tournament” for advancement, according to (Olivia) Mandy O’Neill of Wharton and Charles O’Reilly of Stanford.
They contend that careers are a series of tournaments in which employees compete for promotion to higher organisational levels.

Participants in their study who had highest incomes four years after MBA graduation said they preferred “masculine” organizational culture.
This preference was stronger for high-earning women than for men.

Eight years after graduation, men’s salaries were significantly higher than women’s, suggested to be linked to women MBA graduates working fewer hours during this period.

The prevalence of implicit workplace “contests” was validated in O’Reilly’s study of executive pay with University of Edinburgh’s Brian G M Main and James Wade, of Emory University.

Women in organisational hierarchies dominated by men less frequently progressed to management roles even though they may earn more than women in other organisations, according to Phyllis Tharenou of Flinders University.

Employees with managerial aspirations and masculine preferences were more likely to advance in management roles, she found.
These effects were offset by “career encouragement” such as mentoring and structured career development programs.

With Denise Conroy of Queensland Technology University, Tharenou studied more than 600 female managers and 600 male managers across six organizational levels.
Women’s and men’s advancement was most closely correlated with workplace development opportunities and organizational structure.
Structural, policy and program changes can increase the number of women in top leadership roles, they found.

Women tend to excel in explicit workplace contests, such as in public sector jobs, yet women in other sectors can improve opportunities for advancement by:

• Recognizing that advancement is a tournament,
• Competing strategically,
• Communicating interest in advancement,
• Seeking employment in organizations with formal career advancement programs, mentoring, and development training,
• Seeking employment in organizations that support flexible work practices and use technology to enable employees to work “anytime, anywhere,”
• Gaining experience in “masculine” organizations,
• Identifying social support inside organizations,
• Seeking and cultivating advocates and sponsors.

  *How do you manage workplace “tournaments” for career advancement?

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©Kathryn Welds