Do You Feel Like a Fish Out of Water at Work?

And do you sometimes feel like you’re swimming against the current?

There are still many male dominated industries and companies where women feel this way, and rightly so. You look to the C-Suite for a female role model and there are only men. You want to move up and advance your career, but you see nothing but men at the top. What are your chances to reach your career goal?

In fact, research shows us that while companies recruit men and women equally for management positions, 80% of men move up to senior executive positions, while only 20% of women do. We get stuck on the way up or perhaps we opt out due to years of frustration.

What does it take to swim to the top?  You need a strategic and intentional focus.

Here is my best advice for swimming to the top without getting wiped out:

1. Set an intention for your career.
2. Understand your value proposition.
3. Learn the internal politics; who makes the decisions and who influences the decisions.
4. Create your personal power network (people who can help you reach your career goal) and be consistently visible to this network.
5. Communicate your value proposition to your network so they understand how your value benefits them and the company.
6. Use assertive communication and speak up in meetings, state your opinion clearly.
7. Balance your assertiveness with a more nurturing and supportive leadership style. Know when to use each approach. Using just one will work against you as others will see you as too weak or too bitchy.
8. Identify your own sabotaging behavior and work with a coach or mentor to overcome your personal barriers to success.
9. Develop your executive presence (your body language, your wardrobe, your presentation skills).
10. Acknowledge and communicate your accomplishments.

If you read this and you’re still sinking, please email me bonnie@womenssuccesscoaching.com for a 30 minute complimentary strategy session. I would love to throw you a career life preserver!