8 Key Strategies for Women Number 2 – Role Models

This is the second in my mini series following on from the work of Joanna Walvoort (see Eight Key Strategies for Women’s Advancement)

Four strategies stood out as being of particular significance in helping women advance their careers in Walvoort’s survey: networking, role models, confidence and knowledge of strengths. I looked at women’s networking in a previous post; today role models come under the spotlight!

What is a Role Model?

At my 50th birthday party my beautiful, sassy, intelligent and independent daughter stood up and called me her role model. Pride oozed from every pore. So, I am a role model! And you probably are too!

This is the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary:

A person who serves as an example of the values, attitudes, and behaviors associated with a role. For example, a father is a role model for his sons. Role models can also be persons who distinguish themselves in such a way that others admire and want to emulate them. For example, a woman who becomes a successful brain surgeon or airline pilot can be described as a role model for other women.

You’d better get looking for those succesful female brain surgeons and airline pilots! Presumably inadvertently, this definition also encapsulates the idea that women have to do everything better than men – the guy can be a role model to his son by being a good father; the women has to reach the (literally) dizzy heights of airline pilot or brain surgeon! Oh my!

A role model is someone who is doing what we’d like to do, or has skills and attributes we’d like to have, someone we can look up to. We don’t even have to know them as long as there is enough information in the public domain for us to know about them. Role models are important as we grow up, giving us an anchor amidst the uncertainty of burgeoning adulthood. (I’m not going to get sidetracked into a rant about unsuitable female role models here…) But role models for women are important as we move on in our careers too.

Choosing a Role Model

In the realm of work, having a figure who has many of the traits you aspire to can be motivating and encouraging. If there is no one in your workplace with whom you identify you are literally ploughing your own furrow or blazing a trail, or any other metaphor you can think of!

Which can be a problem for women moving into senior roles as there are too few women in senior roles… Seeing a woman on the board sends out a very powerful message to other women. Yay, someone has done it, it can be done! But this scarcity presents other problems too. Some early successful women could only get to these positions by adopting male behaviour traits; they had to be more like the men than the men were. That’s not my idea of a successful role model for women.

You may have to look outside of your industry for a good role model, or at least outside of your organisation. Think broadly. You may read about successful women, (incidentally, that is one of the reasons I have my Inspirational Women section on the site; I have a broad cross section of careers and backgrounds so you’re bound to find someone who inspires you!). Or perhaps social media will help. I have found Linkedin to be a brilliant resource for professional women, especially if you join groups with relevence to you.

Can a Man be a Role Model for a Woman?

Yes, of course! My first manager was someone whom I strove to emulate when I began managing staff; I loved his calm and approachable style and he was not macho at all. I suspect I even stroked my beard on occasion! (For purposes of clarity, he had a beard, I didn’t. But I have nothing against women with beards, fine by me.)

You need to be clear about what you are looking for in a role model. And there are men in the public eye whom I much admire who may have some of these traits. But as I began to develop in my management career I wanted to see women in the power stream.  I didn’t want to manage like a man. I wanted to be true to myself.

Questions for Finding A Role Model

Try answering the following questions:

• How may senior women are there in my organisation? How many women above middle or second tier management.
• How senior are they? In the top three? At the top of the organisation?
• If not my organisation, which organisations in a similar field have senior women?
• What are the qualities I admire in a senior manager/chief executive/ successful entrepreneur, etc?

• How can I find out more these women? Through social media perhaps? Do I need to network more?
• How can I turn those qualities into practical achievable steps for my career plan?
• What difference would having a female role model make to me? (Walvoort’s research revealed women at an early stag eof their career felt they would greatly benefit from female role models).
• What are my aspirations in this company? This profession?
• What are the areas I need to develop within myself?
• Who are my current female role models? Don’t limit yourself to business; one of my favourite women is Dolly Parton!

Role models can be a significant factor in helping you advance your career. In future posts I’ll be covering the remaining two – confidence and knowledge of strengths. Meantime, please let me know who has most inspired you to greatness!

Courses for Women

If you are seriously considering investing in your career you may be interested to know I have two courses for women running this autumn. Do take a look; one may be just right for you! RenewYou is in Bristol and Speak Up! is in beautiful Bath. Call me if you’d like to discuss how appropriate they might be for you! 01761 438749. Always happy to talk to women.

Career Tips for Women # 16

Three Minutes Count!

Julia Goodman runs a consultancy helping women perform well at interview. Using the research from Professor Mehrabian (which I’ve written about before, click here) on the impact of the non verbal messages we give, she films all her clients giving mock interviews.  This has given her a wealth of material to draw on for research.

Keep Focussed

Ms Goodman reviewed over 1000 of these role play tapes and discovered an interesting fact. The first three minutes really count, when you make your initial impression and set the tone for the interview. No real surprises there as we all know the power of first impressions.

However, she also discovered that many interviewees lost focus in the closing stages of interview but those that maintained focus right to the end, gave more successful interviews (at least in the role play interviews). The final three minutes were as important as the first. It makes sense, people remember the first time they meet you, and the last!

Relief

So next time you have an interview, don’t let your relief at getting to the end show too much! Remain focussed and alert and don’t begin to relax until you have left the building!

If you have any interview tips or stories to share, please use the comments box and tell us!

Career Tips for Women # 15

Just occasionally when I’m coaching within a corporate contract,* I come across women unhappy with their career progress but seemingly unwilling to do anything about it. They are waiting for some mythical ‘them‘ to notice how good they are and offer them training, development and a better job!

If you are not progressing as you wish in your job the responsibility rests with you to do something about it. No one cares about it as much as you do, and no one will put as much genuine effort and investment in positive change as you.

Take Advantage

Step one, take a look around your organisation and see what it can offer you. Not everthing is advertised or well known to all staff. For example, if you can’t get funding from an employer to take more professional qualifications, perhaps you can negotiate study leave, or encourage the learning & development department to order the books you need. Ask Personnel/Human Resources what is actually on offer to help staff progress.

Step two, talk to your manager and make sure she/he knows of your aspirations. Ask to be considered for any projects which will help, volunteer to go to meetings representing your area, join professional associations which will help increase both your knowledge and profile, and network appropriately.

Step three, if there isn’t any training or courses being offered which will help you, find out who is offering this training and send the details to your training section or manager. Do the leg work for them; instead of complaining about lack of training you need be positive and proactive.

Take Control

And finally, if what your employer has to offer is not enough, do it yourself. I have met some amazing women through my courses who have funded their own qualification, or worked for free, or attended night school, or saved enough to do a full time course. I know about them because they are always the enthusiastic ones who stay around after the course has finished, extracting every last bit of value from their experience. They are the ones who invest time and effort in themselves and don’t expect anyone else to do it for them!

* ie The women I’m coaching are funded by their workplace. By definition, women who are investing in coaching themselves are the ones taking responsibility for their own development.

PS If you’re not sure what a great job is for you, but know you don’t like what you’re doing now, I have the perfect answer for you! Click here!

Career Tips for Women # 14

Take a Risk!

Where do you stand on risk taking? Teetering right on the brink or way back out of sight?

Getting the recognition you deserve in your career means taking a few risks now and again. In my experience women are often diffident about risk taking, particularly when it comes to giving their own opinions if they are contrary to others. Some of this can be put down to all that we know about how men and women communicate and differing styles, but it doesn’t have to stay like that!

What’s Your Risk Attitude?

Take a few moments to think about your attitude to risk. When you are stepping outside of your comfort levels at work how do you feel? All fired up and excited, if  a little scared? Or sweaty palmed, sleepless nights and sick to your stomach?

You’ll probably have areas where risk taking is easier than others. Like anything, the more you practise the easier it gets. Start with something relatively easy like offering an opinion that isn’t the same as the norm (assuming it is your opinion – you need to be genuine.)

Steps

Try following these steps:

• Remember that success often comes from failure. We learn from our mistakes only if we critique ourselves honestly. Take out your previous ‘failures’ for a fresh look and list what you would do differently in the light of your subsequent experiences.
• Calculate the risk. It doesn’t have to black and white, pass or fail. Give yourself a little room for manoeuvre. 70% successful can be enough.
• Is the end result of the risk you want to take in line with your company’s mission/vision/business or are you stretching the boundaries too far? If it’s not easy for colleagues and managers to see the benefit your chances of success are very limited.
• Don’t forget the basics. There are all sorts of fancy equations you can do to assess the risk but sometimes just a simple pros and cons list works well.

How do you manage risk?

Career Tips for Women # 12

When did you last go to a networking event connected with your work? If you can’t remember, read on!

Sometimes it really feels like too much of a stretch to get out to events, particularly if you have caring responsibilities.

And having the confidence to network is a common issue when I’m coaching, even with very senior women.

Be selective.

Decide which ones give you most exposure, are likely to connect you with people you find stimulating, will add to your knowledge, or will advance your career. Plan these into your diary.

Although it’s reassuring to attend with a colleague, the temptation to stand comfortably chatting with them may be too much to resist. If you do go with someone else, agree in advance that you will split up and only touch base again at the end. Otherwise you might as well pop into the nearest coffee shop!

But don’t stop going, just be selective. Putting yourself out there is an important part of getting ahead in your field. And you just never know what might happen. I was at a networking event recently thinking I was wasting my time when a director of a film company approached me to discuss a programme idea. That chance meeting has been really helpful to us both!

Women and Careers Tip 10

If you are prone to sit quite meekly in meetings with hands in your lap, or well back from the table, you may be putting yourself at a distinct disadvantage. As Lois P Frankel says in ‘Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office’, normal table manners don’t apply in business situations. You CAN put your elbows on the table!

She suggests the following:

• Look really involved in the conversation by leaning forward slightly with your forearms on the table, hands lightly together. You are also in a good position to gesture that you want to speak as well.
• The head of the table need not be reserved for the eldest and most senior male in the family. Try sitting there once in a while, don’t assume you must take a less significant seat.
• If you can, sit next to the most powerful and influential person in the room (without looking too needy and sycophantic obviously!). Sometimes the power stardust rubs off, and certainly people will tend to look in your general direction, which again gives you opportunities to contribute more.