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As women, we are slowly and surely moving away from being demure and retiring when the intention is to grow in our workplaces and businesses. I read the story of Dominique Senequier, a five foot three inches formidable businesswoman. Long before it was fashionable to break the glass ceiling, Dominique was on the 100 most powerful women in the world in 2011, having been named president of a private equity firm in the 1990s.
At this time, the field she was in was not only male dominated, but women were not traditionally known to step into roles like the one she took up.
We are lucky to have the ‘affirmative action’ rallying cry as we navigate the workplace. But are we using our new found liberation in the way that strengthens our professional profiles?
Chronic people pleasing
We all want to be liked and to be talked about with the highest of praise, by everyone. But this is neither realistic nor healthy. Unconsciously, we find ourselves choosing the path of least resistance even when it compromises our being assertive or standing up for what we believe is right. While being firm and nice are not mutually exclusive, choosing the latter to avoid being assertive is wrong and hurts our professions. Choose your battles carefully and most of all, avoid creating unnecessary drama. Sometimes, being emotional is a good thing but most times, you can and should distance the feelings from the task at hand.
Embrace who you are
The best person to be at work or in business is the authentic person that you are. That is harder than it sounds. For a lot of people, finding their own style of how to ‘be’ comes from understanding what your values are, and some of these may be innately masculine while others may be feminine. While learning from leaders you admire is great and indeed should be done, developing your own style is the most ideal state as this comes from within.
Communication
Technology has made communication skills. People, especially in more technical roles, have been seen to send e-mail without salutations.
Learn the art of communicating with professionalism, every time, and with clarity. Practice expressing yourself in meetings and in groups to hone these and become adept at being well understood.
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