Carolyn Buck Luce

Carolyn Buck Luce joins Freeman Michaels and Sandi Stuart on Cutting Edge Consciousness, a radio show based in Southern California, to discuss the role of women leaders in business today. There are some wonderful reflections from Sandi and Carolyn, who both, for many years, held executive level positions in industries dominated by men. These reflections on the past with a focus on the future create a powerful backdrop to view the rising role of women in leadership.

By Carolyn Buck-Luce and Julia Taylor Kennedy

What is the greatest impediment preventing Americans from getting good health care? Surprisingly, it’s not the cost of care. Instead, according to new research from the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI), the fundamental issue is the health care industry’s failure to develop a nuanced understanding of, and commitment to, women as consumers and decision makers. For the full report, see the Harvard Business Review (Free registration required).

“At a time when the industry is suffering from only 50 percent prescription adherence rates among patients and the general population is getting less healthy, we find female CMOs can be healthcare companies’ best allies to achieve better health outcomes for themselves and others,” says Carolyn Buck Luce, executive in residence at Center for Talent Innovation. “The sponsoring companies of this report recognize the power of the female CMO purse and have committed to uncovering the solutions to better serve this market segment.”

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2012 WOTY Carolyn Buck Luce and a panel of experts are set to discuss the impact of the SHEconomy on healthcare at this year’s HBA Annual Conference.

By now, you’ve likely heard of the SHEconomy — the phenomenon of women earning, owning, controlling and influencing trillions of dollars in the global economy. The phenomenon means that across industries and around the world, women are making more and more of the decisions about what purchases to make, about how to spend and invest their money, and about which people and organizations they want to give that money to…CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW

Two weeks ago I attended WPP Stream Health in Orlando, the “unconference” hosted by Grey Healthcare and ended in San Francisco at TEDMED 2014. The theme of both gatherings was unleashing imagination and collaboration to redesign our approach to building a healthier world.

I had a particular mission. As the Executive-in-Residence at the Center for Talent Innovation, I am leading a research project sponsored by leading bio-pharma, health solutions and managed care companies on “The Power of the Purse: The Implications of the SHEconomy on the Business and Talent Models in Healthcare.” Although it has been known for a while that women are estimated to make 85 percent of the health care decisions for their families and are the majority of patients, pharmacists, regulators, nurses and HC workers in the largest and fastest growing segment of most economies, these facts have not yet translated into broad ranging innovation in HC discoveries or delivery — much to the detriment of health outcomes for individuals, families, and society. Not to mention the health of the bottom line of companies.

After four decades in the public and private sector, all in male-dominated industries—the Foreign Service, Investment Banking and Consulting—I think it’s time for a new approach to women’s leadership training. Instead of focusing on how to help women “catch up” and “level the playing field”, let’s help them embody the new leadership competencies and behaviors that all leaders will need in the new economy.

Don’t get me wrong. Today’s current training for women professionals striving for success in a male-dominant culture focuses on constructive, necessary skills and behaviors like negotiating, finding mentors and sponsors, building executive presence, networking, and self-promotion. This approach goes hand in hand with a parallel focus by companies to tackle their talent management systems and processes in order to re-engineer unconscious bias out of decisions around hiring, promotion and work assignments. However, after hundreds of millions of dollars, pounds, and euros of leadership training, we are not moving women fast enough through the talent pipeline to senior leadership and board positions.

By Carolyn Buck Luce

(cross posted on Huffington Post)

Last week, I had the honor of being the MC for the event at the United Nations to celebrate International Women’s Day. Presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the UN Office for Partnerships, “Turning Inspiration into Action: Next Steps for the Private Sector to Empower Women Globally” convened a cross-section of social empowerment heavy hitters, including Chelsea Clinton, Ambassador Melanie Verveer, and representatives from some of America’s biggest companies who make it their business to help women succeed.

Why should the private sector care? And why the UN? Today we are facing a new Emerging Market that will dwarf the size of both the population and GDPs of China and India. What is the Emerging Market that will redefine society and the world? Women. And there is a powerful business case for developing sustainable women’s economic empowerment programs, not just in the United States but also around the world.

Carolyn Buck Luce is currently the Executive-in-Residence at the Center for Talent Innovation. Last week, Luce posted a potent piece,"The Power of the Purse: Catching the Wave of the Next Emerging Market"on Inc. magazine’s online forum.

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Carolyn Buck Luce spoke at the Annual Meeting of the SFO chapter of the HBA on October 24th, 2013 at the HQ of Onyx Pharmaceuticals. She shared her vision for the future of the HC industry and the new competencies that leaders will need to drive the transformation that is upon us.

Download the slide deck HERE