5 Authentic Ways for Women to Lead Impactful Careers

Why Women?

From a career coach’s perspective, my clients that struggle the most with the concept of defining personal achievement are women. It’s not because these ladies aren’t competent, savvy professionals. This phenomenon can be attributed to cultural brainwashing. Quite simply put: we women aren’t necessarily taught to excel in the business world! There are many ways for women to lead impactful careers without losing their identity.

It’s only recently that our society is embracing the idea of powerful women. For some, that mental picture is cringe-worthy. If so: shame on you. Not every professionally successful woman is a bossy-britches or power-hungry. Women, just like men, have their own set of strengths and challenges.

Women do have the advantage in that we naturally possess many of leadership characteristics to become successful in the business world, such as emotional intelligence, situational awareness and diplomacy skills.

It’s when we forget that we must embrace these characteristics that we get into trouble.

Stop Apologizing

Women typically have a tendency to apologize for … everything. I was blessed to have intelligent, confident women as role models in my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Coming from a long line of tough pioneering women, I knew in my heart that having grit and big dreams were ok for girls too! I didn’t apologize for it, I never thought that I was breaking any unwritten rules by focusing on education first – and ultimately on my profession.

I didn’t understand how lucky I was until many years later.

It is a real struggle for many professional women who have families or other responsibilities to allow themselves NOT to be superwomen. The guilty feelings that take root when these professional ladies must allow their partners to take the kids to baseball practice or pick them up after school can be heart-wrenching. The thing is: it’s not just a woman’s responsibility to care for our children. It is incredibly important for our partner’s development to share in parental responsibility as well!

It’s OK to be a driven professional woman and lead an impactful career. It’s OK not to focus on family life right out of college or high school. It’s OK to push back when someone asks you “So, when are you having babies?” It’s also OK to allow people to help you!

You can go fast alone, but you can go FAR if you have a team. – John Maxwell

Allow your family, friends and other supporters to be your success team and don’t apologize for being who you are or for your dreams.

Understand your Impact

Most women struggle to acknowledge their positive impact. Regardless if one is a stay-at-home mom or a business executive: clearly defining one’s impact can be especially tough for women. This is one of the contributing factors to the inequality of pay. Women typically struggle more than men to clearly communicate their accomplishments!

To quote Rick Gillis, career evangelist and author of Promote!:

“Your work does not speak for itself. You do!”

We are taught not to brag and to cultivate a demure disposition. None of these qualities are inherently bad, but they don’t help anyone promote themselves or their value in the professional world. It’s critical for professional growth that we understand our own value proposition. If you cannot articulate what positive impact you make on organizations, no one else will either.

There is a distinct difference between ‘bragging’ and clearly communicating the facts of how we have enabled positive growth, improvements and progress in our organizations. I recommend everyone develop a list of accomplishments and impact stories that detail what you have done for the organizations you have worked for. Maintain a habit of continually adding to the list as your career progresses.

These impact stories come in handy when you want that promotion or ask for a raise! Even the most astute managers may not fully understand your impact.

It’s your responsibility to communicate your value and demonstrate your impact as a professional.

It’s not your manager’s job, Human Resources or the purpose of peer reviews. You are accountable for YOU.

Confidence Doesn’t Equal Conceit

Being confident in who you are is one of the key traits of an achiever. This is a trait very few individuals have, male or female. We often struggle to genuinely understand who we are in order to grow personally and professionally. We get lost in thinking that we aren’t good enough, appreciated, our age is too old or too young, self-doubt and ugly cycles of negative self-talk.

None of that is who we ARE and it can be debilitating. I was stuck in that ugly cycle for many years as a young person suffering from high-school verbal bullying. I thought I was stupid. I thought I wasn’t good enough.

Our schools don’t teach the fine art of self-awareness or how important personal development is for your future. I was a lucky soul that woke up eventually as young professional to realize that life DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY … and I did something about it. I learned that being an achiever was: never accepting status quo and believing in myself. I learned not to back away from the fear of failure and embraced the fact that mistakes, setbacks, and second chances are what gets you to your goals.

Achievers have confidence. But women that exhibit confidence have a challenge to overcome: we buck the status quo. Cultural norms have long encouraged women to lack self-confidence. Know this: confidence doesn’t equal conceit. The most confident people are able to exude kindness, forgiveness, and humility.

Only those that are truly strong can be genuinely kind without reservation or expectation.

For a woman to exhibit confidence makes most men wary and other women feel inadequate. Why? Because of cultural brainwashing, fear, and jealousy. It critical for those that have confidence (not to be confused with ego) to also demonstrate kindness and humility in equal measures. This is true for both men and women.

Embrace Your Natural Emotional Intelligence

I was at a coffee house one day and overheard a professionally dressed mature lady speaking to her friend. “Oh, no,” she said: “I will never admit that I made a mistake to my team – that shows weakness!” It took all my self-restraint NOT to lean over and tell her that her biggest weakness was thinking that making mistakes was the issue.

Emotional intelligence is a term that is perhaps a bit overused and certainly misunderstood by many. Empathy is easier to understand but doesn’t sound as fancy. Women are, by nature, more empathetic. The ability to understand concepts and situations from another person’s perspective is invaluable for solid Leadership.

Many ambitious women forget to embrace their natural ability to empathize on the way up the ladder. These same women typically fall into the trap that they must ‘act like men’ in order to make it big. By attempting to emulate what they think male leadership will respect: these women usually overcompensate to the detriment of their careers and ultimately their private lives.

Embrace your natural empathy as a woman if you want to truly succeed in Leadership! Achievement in leadership for all individuals is hinged on the ability to be professionally kind, understanding and confidently humble. Leadership is all about supporting others to their success and knowing your strengths (and your weaknesses). Any other demonstrated selfish behavior is simply poor management, not leadership.

Tap into your natural gifts as a leader!

Be Professionally Yourself

As a professional woman, I encourage all ladies to be professionally yourself. You do not need to emulate another’s behavior to get ahead, stifle your natural leadership abilities, try to be superwoman or apologize for wanting a successful career and dreaming big. Most importantly: understand your true value, unique skill set and what your strengths are.

By leveraging your strengths, developing your situational awareness, being intentional and focusing on your goals you will be the achiever you long to be!

Erin Urban LSSBB, CPDC is a certified professional development coach and culture change expert with over 8 years in mentoring and coaching successful professional transformations. With an extensive background in leading individual, cultural and organizational change initiatives: her mission is to lift others up to defy their limits and exceed their goals.

Contact Erin for coaching or speaking opportunities: www.uppsolutions.net