We take a closer look

The idea of “role models” often comes up in conversations about women’s leadership.  Usually, to say that women don’t have enough of them, which stops them from being ambitious.

But what exactly is a “role model”? Most people think of a role model as an example, an inspiration, a pioneer forging a path and showing the way for others. Not necessarily an untouchable icon or even a gold standard.

Let’s take a closer look at the idea of role models and try to understand how they emerge, so we can create more of them.

A concept coined by Robert King Merton (him again!)

If the word “role model” were synonymous with “gold standard”, the EVE blog editorial team could probably assume that the sociologist of science Robert King Merton is a great example. We have often referred to his work, especially on the ideas of the Matthew effect/Matilda effect and the notion of serendipity. Well, it is again to this great representative of the Chicago school that we owe the expression “role model”, which he presented in a study on the socialization habits of medical students at Columbia University.

Forty years before neuroscience confirmed the existence and function of mirror neurons in learning by imitation, Merton laid the theoretical groundwork for a culture of companionship in the teaching of science and medicine. More than in formal lectures, it is through the example set by the professor-mentor that future doctors acquire not only the technical gestures of their practice but, above all, the stance and bearing that their roles as caregivers demand.

Merton demonstrates that this concept of transmission can be applied to all initiatory fields: from the rules of the street (which Merton also studies closely) to that of leadership in politics or business.

“Role models” are not always virtuous

And to issue an immediate warning that the position of “role model” in which an individual is placed—whether by the institution through a title or status, or by the community through the recognition it grants—does not guarantee that they will embody a “model” stance in the moral sense.

In other words, a role model doesn’t always set a good example. They might be a local ruffian, an uppity medical student or a bossy manager, setting the tone for malicious behavior, impacting the quality of relationships across the entire community and beyond, not just with the individuals they interact with directly.

Basically, “role models” have an impact on an entire ecosystem whose full extent they may not even realize. The way they act and behave is imitated and reproduced by others, giving them huge powers of influence.

The “role model” as a “cultural” leader

Because a “role model” creates—sometimes without even realizing it—a set of informal rules for living: the way they behave sends a message about the values that guide actions and relationships within the community, carrying the weight and influence of a “culture.” They impact mindsets and unconsciousness much more deeply than fixed rules can (laws, internal regulations, charters, official speeches, etc.).

So, three cases may arise:

1/ The “role model” posture is a clear break with the established collective law or regulations. For example, in a company that applies a working-hours charter, a manager might make it clear to their colleagues that they do not feel concerned, or even that they find this type of system inadequate and/or considers it to be a constraint on how the department is organized. They can, of course, insist that everyone has the right to leave the office at 6 p.m. and take any days off that are due, but the implicit message says, “Don’t expect to ever reach my level by doing it like that.” And that message gets absorbed, echoed, and reinforced by others, without the “role model” needing to intervene. For example, in an open-plan office, a teasing colleague might blurt out—without any prompt from the boss—the classic old joke, “Taking the afternoon off, are we?” to someone leaving at 6:30 p.m.

2/ The “role model” position is ambiguous. Returning to our example, the manager may share their own struggles with work-life balance while presenting an image—seemingly encouraging—of success, showing that is possible to have a family and still enjoy leisure time. They will be able to scrupulously respect the law (“remember to take your annual leave, it’s important to recharge your batteries”) and possibly show a certain vigilance when it comes to promotions so as not to penalize young parents. But that won’t stop them from systematically being the last to leave the office and/or sending their team endless emails on a Sunday afternoon. Mixed messages, anyone? The intention is stated, but permission is not given because what the model “shows” contradicts what they say. And everyone knows that the advice to “do as I say, not as I do”, never really works.

3/ The “role model” posture is aligned. Here, the manager, without necessarily revealing details about their private life or making any particular speech about work-life balance, shows the way spontaneously: they leave the office when personal constraints require it and their leadership is naturally balanced. They are not super-human. They are simply playing their role in a given situation. Likewise, they wouldn’t abandon ship in the midst of a storm, but they don’t grant any exceptional status to their position. They assume that their role as leader is an incarnation which requires a form of exemplarity: not perfection or infallibility, but consistency and integrity. 

Not an idol nor a superhero/heroine: an inspiring leader

But how can you admire a normal leader? In order to progress, don't we need to see some form of idealistic perfection?

Sure, if you want to grow, you need to aim high—maybe even all the way to the top. Still, you need to be able to see and connect with the person you aspire to emulate: a “role model” is not a god to be worshiped, not an icon to bow before, not an idol whose image exists only on glossy paper, not a marble statue to be showered with honors…

Like those examples, a “role model” certainly has the power to inspire, to incite enthusiasm, to channel energies, to lead individuals and groups towards something even greater than the sum of their parts.

But a “role model” is alive and embodied: it is a being made of flesh and bones. It is a human person who comes with their own “faults” too; a real person you watch, and with whom you can interact. In other words, one of the greatest qualities of a “role model” is to be approachable: open to others, open to contradiction, open to questioning.

Which also makes them a model of flexibility—provided, of course, they don’t get carried away by the heady thrill of the power their position gives them! Good ones remember that being a “role model” comes with great responsibility.

How do you become a “role model”? (Can you refuse to be one?) 

King Merton explains that the responsibility of being a role model is not necessarily something we choose to take on.

There are hundreds of examples of “reluctant heroes” for whom becoming the embodiment of “doing the right thing” may have been more of a burden—or even painful—than a source of satisfaction and reward. All the more reason not to place unrealistic expectations on a role model, and to remember that leadership is always situational: a leader does the right thing by acting and showing what is just or good in a given context, but it would be impossible to expect them to be flawlessly effective at all times.

Yet this recognition of the human (sometimes all too human) side of a “role model” does not absolve the leader of their fundamental responsibilities. Even more so if they have worked to attain that position—by “building a career,” for example—they are subject to a form of leadership ethics grounded primarily in an awareness of their impact. Taking on the “role” of a “role model” means committing to act within your environment, ideally in a positive way, with a view to upholding the sustainable development of people, relationships, and organizations.

Exception or examples? The multiplicity of female role models

That’s a lot to carry… Is it too much? It might be discouraging to some people—and perhaps especially some women—from doing what is necessary to position themselves as “role models”.

Yes, it is a responsibility, and in this respect, it is not necessarily easy to experience the adventure of guiding others by example. However, it only seems difficult, even insurmountable, to those who have not been given enough trust to take it on. And for those who have never been able to see themselves reflected in “role models of role models” when shaping the contours of their own ambition.

It’s a vicious circle for women in particular, for whom stories from history (only 3.2% of figures in French high school history textbooks* are women, and just 2% of streets in France** bear a woman’s name), as well as images of the present (only 20% of experts in the media*** and fewer than 6% of Nobel laureates**** are women), offer such a narrow range of inspirational figures that the idea persists that a female “role model” is an exception.

But the exception is a contradiction when it comes to setting an example, as historian Julie Desjardins explains through her concept of the “Madame Curie Complex”: an exception is a rarity, even a curiosity, a quirk in the rule, a deviation from the norm. The exception is Superwoman, the infallible divine, the superhuman to whom nothing can resist. And that’s not a model of inspiration, it’s a reason to feel intimidated.

It’s the complete opposite of what the vast majority of ambitious women want to project. So there is only one way to lighten the symbolic burden on those already in “role model” positions and to encourage others to aspire to the same: by making it possible for a large number of inspiring, singular, and diverse women to emerge and be visible.