Ladies, a Job Well Done Isn’t Enough

What We Know

Most women are aware that even in today’s “progressive” world, the presence of females in upper management is rather scarce compared to males. Study after study proves that having more women in these key leadership roles makes companies more productive and successful. Some have even concluded that women are better leaders than men. This naturally leaves many asking “Why not?” Why aren’t there more female leaders in leadership roles? Why do women hold only 4.6% of the CEO positions in Fortune 1000 companies?

These questions are asked time and time again, with good reason, and they are answered time and time again. No matter how many studies are done or how many articles we read, change appears to be slow-moving. Perhaps that’s because women aren’t asking the right question. Instead of focusing on the “Why not?” why don’t we focus on the “Why?” If we consider that 46 out of 1000 CEOs is far better than 0 out of 1000 CEOs, we can shift our focus to “How?” For these 46 women, the obstacles are clear, but the solutions are not.

Knowing Your Strengths

If you ask a woman what she is good at outside of work, she can probably tell you without batting an eye. From an early age, females are constantly searching for what makes them unique and stand out from the pack. For some reason, though, this changes when they step into their careers. Young women just starting out seem to have a lack of confidence about the value they bring to the team. This, more than most things, is detrimental to a successful career in leadership. Women are notorious for not selling themselves; they are more focused on doing the job well than getting a “Job well done” from their peers and superiors. While this method may be moving the team, department, and company in the right direction, it certainly isn’t doing the same for women.

Those 46 women did not get to where they are by being shy about their contributions.

They got there by knowing their strengths. This is an easy concept to understand, but a difficult one to put into practice. It’s hard to see what makes us great when it’s just part of who we are. There are several ways to figure out what your strengths are:

• Ask the people who know you best – this could be a family member, a friend, or a co-worker; the people who see you in your element everyday often have the best insight into who you are.
• Assess the kinds of projects and tasks you are constantly asked to do. Chances are, if the boss keeps handing you projects that are in disarray for you to fix, you’re probably really good at that.
• Think about the things you do outside of work. Most people spend time doing things they enjoy because there is something in those activities that play to their strengths. If you enjoy rock climbing not only for the physical challenge, but the mental challenge of planning every move to get to the top, you probably execute this strategic vision at work.
• Take an assessment, like Gallup’s StrengthsFinder. Tools like this are used every day in innumerable capacities to help people realize their full potential.

Leveraging the Power of Your Voice

Awareness of your strengths will immediately allow you to know your voice. Most people would be surprised at the number of women that remain quiet during meetings because they don’t leverage their voice as a member of the group. Having a voice is more than just speaking up; it’s having the attention and respect of everyone in the room. If you don’t see yourself as valuable, you can’t expect anyone else to. Knowing what skills and expertise you bring to the team will allow you to create a space inside of it where you have authority. Don’t confuse authority with autonomy, though. Unlike an autonomous ‘one woman show’, having authority in a space means that you are seen as knowledgeable, trustworthy, and reliable.

Knowing your strengths and leveraging your voice will result in having more influence and opportunities for leadership in your area of expertise. Once women can master this across the board, we won’t even have the “Why not?” question on our radars.

Lexy Thompson has been coaching since 2007 and has had the honor of coaching hundreds of wonderful people on their journey to discover who they are. She is a certified Stand Out Coach, NLP Practitioner, Human Capital Strategist and Strategic Workforce Planner, and Dream Coach. She has facilitated Strengths conversations for corporate executive teams, non-profit organizations, government organizations, penal facilities, families and many special interest groups. The last 12 plus years of her career have been spent in the Human Capital and Talent Management space, working with people and organizations in transition.  In 2011, Lexy co-created Fokal Fusion, a People Strategy firm that assists organizations and leaders in optimizing talent and building support for the competitive advantage of human capital.