There should be more women leaders! Recently, Fortune published 50 Most Powerful Women in Business listing CEOs or senior executives of mostly Fortune 1,000 companies. Why is there only fifty (50)? In the mid 80′s roughly 45% of college graduates were women and now it is approaching 60%. More women are going to graduate and professional schools too. We have been here before!
During 1900-1930, men and women were equally represented in college! The difference was that most women were becoming teachers, nurses and other women dominated professions. Opportunities for women at the time for leadership was in these roles. Women’s roles were different! More women married earlier and stayed home with children. Economics were different or was it? Attitudes about women working were different too! Opportunities for women were very different!
Today, women marry later and thanks to a 50% divorce rate remain on their own. Women need to work and attitudes are changing. Are there more opportunities for women now? More opportunities mean more choices. More choices mean women can go up the corporate ladder, run their own business or be a stay at home mom. Women can do it all or find their own career path. Although more women are graduating college, there still only fifty (50) women in senior executive positions in the Fortune 1,000 companies. Men or women can benefit from following these steps to the executive suite.
If you are a woman who wants to go up the corporate ladder, you need to follow eight (8) steps to reach your goal:
- Plan, Plan and Plan – Plan your nest step and the one after that and the one after that. You need to acquire the skills, knowledge and experience for the next promotion, but it does not stop there. You have to constantly think about what you need to get to the final goal.
- Distinguish yourself – Look for opportunities to stand out. You can show your leadership skills and demonstrate your knowledge. My daughter early in her career was part of a weekly meeting reporting for her department to senior executives. She is now one step from being a senior executive.
- Act like the CEO – Some people refer to it as “what would Steve Jobs do?” What would the CEO do? How would they act, dress or say? Start now!
- Unique set of skills – What makes you unique? Use every opportunity to demonstrate success with your unique skills.
- Do your best – When I worked for a Fortune 100 company, I brought my A game. I had to in order to compete because everyone was as good or better than me.
- Work backwards – Think about the outcome or goal and work backwards. What skills or experience do you want to add to your resume to make you more attractive for the job you eventually want.
- Community involvement – The CEO job is not a 9-5 job! If you were a CEO, you would hang out with other CEOs. Why wait, start now by volunteering or networking in areas that interests you.
- Become famous – Not in the normal sense but as a rising star internally with your peers, bosses and externally in your industry.
- Work harder and become lucky – Develop a reputation of being a hard worker who does everything excellently.
Final Thoughts
Not everyone wants to be a CEO or a senior executive! If you are a women who wants to be in charge of a department, division or company, you have to plan to reach your goal. Talent, skills or experience is not enough. How do you stand out in a crowded field of men and women who want these management roles. It is not enough to simply work hard, you have to work harder, smarter and better than anyone else.
Women have more opportunities and choices, but fewer women are willing to sacrifice their personal goals or family responsibilities for professional aspirations. Quality of life choices sometimes trump professional choices. There should be more women leaders , but it does not have to be traditional corporate CEO . More women are running their own small business online or traditional brick and mortar businesses. Men or women would benefit from following my steps to leadership. Success traits are not gender specific! More women leaders may change future choices too!
Photo by: GDS Infographics
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I think they key is to always put your career first if you want to end up high in the corporate leadership track. There was a discussion on the two guys and your money podcast about how women generally put family first and that ends up hurting their corporate career path.
I do not know if you have to put it first, but you need to juggle it with other priorities. I see a lot of women teachers who balance it well and even take on administrative roles such as principal and higher. Other professions can be much more demanding and tougher to juggle.
Wow! You could apply these to nearly any great pursuit, but this is a biggie.
I’ve felt a change in the air, haven’t you? Around me there are far more women in positions of power. I feel like any man who doesn’t recognize this could be in for some surprises the next 10 years.
They are your competition and possibly your boss. The 8 steps to reach the goal applies to men and women. I also expect to see more women in power positions in the next ten years.
This post really sums it up. I love the fact that you mention networking. It’s a relationship building process…a process that women know how to do but sometimes don’t use it toward their advantage.
You post is very timely for me. I’m currently putting together a women’s financial empowerment conference in June 2013 (Atlanta) title “Sex & Money: Why Women Are Better At It Than Men.” Negotiation, psychology of money, living life with a purpose with celebrity speaker, and other professional women speakers to discuss on these topics.
You are right…success traits are not gender specific.
There are still some barriers for women, but that should not stop them. Both of my parents had businesses at times when women’s roles were very different. My mother never let her gender stop her from anything. My wife and I raised our children (boy & girl) to be successful. Our expectations were high for both. They are now successful adults.
I definitely agree with those tips, and that’s definitely how I approached my career when I first entered the work force after university. Never stop working hard and learning new skills, and making sure people know who you are and what you do, very important things.
Thanks. Early in my daughter’s career she had the opportunity to present at a weekly meeting that senior executives attended. That early visibility has helped her career.
I just had a conversation at dinner the other night about this — a few of my friends work for an organization that is fairly sexist, and one of them was talking about the “new chick” at work. I argued that using the term was an indication that he wanted to sleep with her rather than report to her, and then I mentioned that if women had to be chicks, then men had to be an animal too — I suggested asses. Meanwhile, want me to come to your house for dinner?
As a male I experienced sexism when I did some consulting work for a non profit. It was 99% female! Whenever there is an overwhelming majority, there is always inequity.
Great advice for women and men as well. Sadly, although there are more opportunities, women still have to work harder to break into mostly men’s clubs. That’s why the women who do make it into leadership positions are extremely capable and successful.
I realize there is still a glass ceiling, but I think there will always be one. Men and women need to look for environments where they can demonstrate their skills and rewarded for their performance.
I agree with the glass ceiling sentiment. I worked in finance for years, and it is one of the worst industries for promoting men over women, even if the women are more qualified, put in more hours, etc. Eventually, I left banking, but I never stopped thinking that women can be very wonderful and effective CEOs.
Banking and other old institutions need to change, but won’t willingly. You have to find an organization where you are appreciated and have a chance for success.
Great tips! I definitely agree with you that in order to reach the executive suite, you need to set a goal. In the corporate world, skills and experience are not enough – you have to work hard & stand out from your peers to get noticed. It sucks that a woman has to be famous to be a leader :/
I don’t mean literally famous, but known amongst her peers and managers. As you go up the ladder, it is not enough for just your boss to know you and your skills. It helps that you interact with other executives and have their respect.
Women can have it all… just not all at once. (Unless you have a stay at home partner)
It is a personal choice for men or women.
You are right about having to work harder, smarter, and better. If a woman is dominant and in charge, she is seen as bitchy. If she shows some emotion, she is probably PMSing. Stereotypes are there for sure. You have to be able to balance them all and ignore the haters. If you have a child, there is the “mommy guilt” that men don’t seem to have. I think women are great at finding alternative solutions and multitasking, so I have no doubt that as the traditional sense of what works in business evolves, you will see more women in leadership positions. We may just have to start the workday at 5 AM so we can get our kids to soccer after school.
Soft skills and personality are very important as you go up the corporate ladder. Some bosses will ignore certain traits, but leadership is leadership. Steve Jobs was a very difficult boss, but he achieved amazing results.
This is a dicey subject. It is certainly not an issue of competence. I think perhaps one of the things that struck me about your teaching points was that you wrote “act like the CEO.” That’s really big. Sometimes we don’t realize how much our actions affect others’ perception about us.
I remember reading a very long (50+ years) time ago that you should act like the person you want to be. For example, if you act like the CEO, you will become the CEO. Successful people are always thinking about their next step. It is very much like a chess game.
I think the motherhood issue is still a big reason why so many women don’t climb as high on that corporate ladder. I mean, look at Marissa Meyer. She has made huge headlines for taking over Yahoo!, and for basically giving up her maternity leave – she’s essentially proving to women that you can’t have it all. Not sure I like that message.
I view it more of a personal choice, one I do not share. I do not think men or women can have it all, but you can have a balance of life and work.
I would love to think that We are powerful but “Its still a Men’s world” after all. Women hate to face it , especially with the Leadership figure, the whole world is still trying to figure that out. But being women is something we should all be proud of, WE CAN DO WHAT MOST MEN CAN, BUT THEY CANNOT WHAT WE CAN.
I grew up with a mother who never knew about these things and did the impossible. She did not work in corporate America, instead she started a business during the height of The Great Depression. My father had started a business years before. In those times, it was highly unusual for a woman to start a business or not stay home with children.
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