Ten More Ideas For Women Rising In The Ranks.

By Karen and Erica

For many it is time to get back to the office after a too-long hiatus. The women of our cohort have learned many things that would benefit the women following in our footsteps. Here are ten suggestions.

1. Speak Up. Sometimes. We hear all the time that women do not speak up enough. That may be true, but a lot of men speak up too much. We say, speak when you have something to say, and when you do, hold your ground. But don’t speak just for the sake of speaking. 

2. Listen. Always. Listen when others are speaking, and listen with your whole mind, and your eyes, as well as your ears. Women are good at understanding nuances that are not in the words or on the surface. 

3. Ask Questions. There are no dumb questions except questions about things that don’t matter. Yes, you may demonstrate that you don’t know as much as the speaker, but your question means you want to learn, and you think the speaker can teach you. Real flattery will get you everywhere.

4. Keep Studying. Learn as much as you can about any topic that is important to your job. That might mean reading books or watching videos or attending lectures. Who needs more work? You do if it will pay off.

5. Focus on your strengths. There are probably things you don’t do well, and you probably should try to do them better. But there are surely things you do very well. Those are the things you should hone until you are the best. As for the things you might never do better than others, try to find a teammate who performs those tasks as well as you perform at your strongest.

6. Be Positive. You are much more likely to succeed if you think you will succeed. And others are much more likely to let you succeed if they think you think you will anyway. That doesn’t mean being a Pollyanna. Sometimes you will be faced with really hard problems. And sometimes you will fail. But if your attitude is positive, you are more likely to come up with something that works.

7. You Will Make Mistakes. Don’t Let Them Faze You. We love this quote from someone famous—maybe Mark Twain: Good judgment is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgment. Exactly right. You will never learn anything unless you do something, and when you do something sometimes you will do it wrong. Don’t make the same mistake again. and use what you have learned to move forward.

8. You Will Benefit If Everyone On Your Team Is Smart. You want to be part of the A team. The A team has the best members. Don’t worry that you won’t be able to keep up. That’s the dreaded imposter syndrome at work. You will never lose by reaching for the best.

9. Practice Being A Leader. The higher you go, the more you will be expected to come up with the plan and lead your team to victory. Practice quietly to yourself before you are actually on the point. Try to see in your mind’s eye where your team needs to go to succeed. When facts change, try to fit them into the plan. If your plan was well thought out, you will be able to adapt it. And if you practice, mentally, your plan will be well thought out.

10. A Leader Builds Consensus. You want to be a leader. But what does that mean? It means consulting all your team members about how to solve a problem, convincing them that, with their help, you have come up with a strategy, organizing them to complete the task, and always conveying confidence that the team is capable of achieving the goal. That doesn't mean telling them you are better and smarter than they are. It means convincing them that together, as a team, you can win.

Go forth and succeed!