Women in leadership experty Dr Carole Elliott

Attendees at the ‘Heels That Do The Deals’ event at this year’s Hull Business Week will have the chance to hear a leading academic in the field of women in leadership talk about the common behaviours and strategies shared by many female leaders.

Dr Carole Elliott of the University of Hull Business School and her co-researcher Dr Valerie Stead of Lancaster University Management School have interviewed high-profile women from all walks of life to discover whether women adopt different leadership approaches to men.

At the Business Week event on Monday 6 June Dr Elliott will share some of the insights gained from interviewees including former House of Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd, Paralympic champion Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and entrepreneur Dawn Gibbins.

Dr Elliott said: “It’s widely assumed that women and men differ in the way they approach leadership and that the skills and behaviours they use to achieve success differ too.

“Our research broadly confirmed this assumption and women who aspire to success can learn to develop and apply the common behaviours and strategies we’ve identified. Our research will also be of interest to people who specifically want to nurture and develop female talent within their organisations.”

Other speakers at the free, KC-hosted event are actress and communications expert Victoria Pritchard and rally driver Becky Kirvan.

In a session titled ‘Make Every Week Business Week’, Holby City and Bad Girls star Victoria Pritchard will show attendees how to improve business interactions by bringing passion and energy to presentations, pitches and networking events.

Meanwhile, local girl and British Rally Championship driver Becky Kirvan will share the story behind her success in a sport where men are usually in the driving seat in her session ‘Mud, Motors and Mascara’.

KC Business Marketing Manager Katie Pugh, one of the event organisers, said: “This free event is the perfect way to kick-off Business Week – the speakers we’ve lined up are entertaining and informative so we’re sure attendees will leave energised and with plenty to think about.

“It’s also a great networking opportunity – we’ve already had more than a hundred people registering to attend. Most are women, which is probably not surprising from the title of the event, but it’s worth pointing out that men are welcome too!”

The event is being held at Hull Truck Theatre from 10am on Monday 6 June. To register call 01482 602507 or go to www.kc.co.uk/heelsthatdodeals