Archive for 'Leadership'

The 6 Distinctions of Highly Successful Women

Over the past decade I have had the privilege of working with thousands of women all over the world in seminars, workshops and through coaching.  I noticed common themes coming though and in 2003 we ran our first survey called, Women Leaders Speak Out.

This level of exposure to highly successful women meant that we were able to identify certain competencies that successful women share, and it was through these observations that we were able to create benchmarks.

For the benchmarks we identified 5 common leadership themes as follows:

• Leading Performance
• Leading Change
• Leading People
• Building Relationships
• Developing Self

It is the latter category that I want to discuss in detail as it is the most under-developed skill and yet, in my view, the most critical.

The most successful women that I have coached have all been highly-skilled in each of the following areas of distinction.

Distinction 1:  The ability to remain open to feedback and learning

The pace of life has increased. Clients are under increasing pressure and we are all paddling away trying to keep up with work pressures and the demands of family life.

Because of this we are giving our own personal development less attention and this, in turn, impacts our effectiveness and becomes a crazy loop where we lurch from stress to exhaustion.

It is vital to take the time out to reflect. How many times have you had feedback where you have chosen to take offence rather than learn? Growth isn’t possible when you have a closed mind and there is nothing to learn in taking fixed positions. It is the most adaptable people who succeed and the only difference between the adaptable person and the stubborn person is the willingness to learn and remain inquisitive.

Here is a quick and helpful strategy for staying open to feedback and learning:

• Listen to what the person is saying
• Reflect on their motive (love, anger, jealousy, stress)
• Be honest with yourself… is there a nugget of truth? (look for the Gold)
• Apply the learning or dismiss if the person was talking from anger or jealousy and there is genuinely no truth in the feedback

Distinction 2:  The ability to ask why and what for

Whatever your goals are, at one time or another, you will hit the wall. In other words you will come across a major challenge that looks like a deal breaker.

What do you normally do when you hit a wall? Most of us simply give up and do something else instead. But what makes some people find a way over the wall, under the wall or around the wall? People who succeed generally do so because those people know why they are doing something.

Consider this:

Scenario 1: I am working in a large corporation and its OK because it pays my bills. It’s not my dream job but it’s better than most I guess. I work to live. My real life is outside of work.

Scenario 2: I have a dream to take a sabbatical and sail around the world and my partner shares this dream. We are currently on track to start making concrete plans in 2012. I love getting out of bed every morning and doing my absolute best at work because I know every day is taking me one step closer to my dream.

Which person do you believe will make the effort to get over the wall somehow? What is your mission? Why are you going to work every day? Why do you do what you do every day?

Take the time for critical thinking so that when you hit the challenges you know that you are making the extra effort to achieve a personal goal or for the love of family or friends.

Distinction 3:  The ability to see the future and remain on track

Only 5 % of women set goals. Why? The reasons are usually because we prefer to be in flow, to trust our intuition or we simply don’t think about doing it.

I have developed a system specifically for women called SAW (Strengths and Weaknesses analysis) What most people do in goal setting is look for what they can do and not what they can’t do. I turned this on its head because it didn’t work for me. For instance, I wanted to be a speaker but I was scared of speaking in public. If I hadn’t used my own system I would have discounted speaking as a career choice because I lacked the skills. However, armed with the knowledge that I had a skills-gap I was able to set a goal to get training which led to a career that has, so far, lasted a decade!

Meanwhile, write down some lofty goals or dreams, chunk them down into manageable pieces, and each chunk into tasks. Put the tasks in your planner and take small steps every day.

Distinction 4:  The ability to use right brain as well as left brain processes

We are all focused on left brain process and rightly so. Most our work is of an analytical and intellectual nature.

However, it always amazes me how little we use our creative and, some would argue, the most powerful part of our brains in our daily interactions and in our work. As Einstein said, “imagination is more important than knowledge”.

Your right brain will empower you to utilize the tools of mind-mapping and speed-reading. If you haven’t yet heard about or don’t yet use these skills then please do look up a good training provider and go and learn!

Successful people value their time and use it wisely. It doesn’t make sense to use lots of time to take notes and it certainly doesn’t make sense, in this day of information overload, to read the long way!

Distinction 5:  The ability to be flexible and adapt quickly to change

Distinction number one was about remaining ‘open to feedback and learning’ and I know that the only thing that stops people from learning and growing is fear. Fear will keep people in their comfort zones and stop them from adapting to change.

Those of us who are most resistant to change and least flexible are less likely to build mutually beneficial relationships, least likely to see the opportunity and least likely to take the opportunity when it is offered – and it is usually fear that keeps us in our place.

Earlier in this article I mentioned that I had attended a speakers’ training course. What I didn’t share is that I was so afraid of speaking that I couldn’t even say my name in front of a group of people. One of the things I believe in is ‘learn from the best’ and so I attended a professional speaker’s bootcamp in Colorado, USA. I went through a lot of embarrassment and a lot of fear in those 5 days but I knew ‘why’ (Distinction 2 ) and I had a timeline and a goal (Distinction 3 ). I had used right brain processes to create my vision and my goals (Distinction 4) and I was calming my nerves using inner resources (Distinction 6).

Distinction:  6 The ability to rely on inner resources to respond with precision

This might be the most critical distinction of all. So many people seem to be resorting to unproductive behavior because of stress. People tell me that they don’t have time for the gym or to use relaxation techniques. Then because their bodies are running on acid they crave junk food and alcohol to – supposedly – help them relax.

One of the most important things you can do for your success is, take care of yourself first. Make time for exercise, drink at least two litres of water every day, eat healthy food and find some way to relax. The more stress and tiredness you are experiencing, the more out of balance you are.

Sharpen the saw if you want to cut the tree down quickly. You know it makes sense!

Make one change at a time. Make this one change into a habit and then apply another. Repeat until your life is transformed and you have Developed into the Self you want to be!

 

 

Support or a special place in hell???

There’s a special place in hell for any woman who doesn’t help another woman.

Lady Val Corbett

There are certain debates that are guaranteed to take place on a continual basis. One such debate is the one around the need for more women on Boards and the requirement for quotas to ensure that this happens. Indeed I recently read an article in HR Magazine by David Wood, HR Magazine, 22^nd February 2012 that stated that, “Compulsory quotas for women in the boardroom are a key way forward, according to a poll of women’s business networks, carried out by leadership consultancy, White Water Group.”

Quotas
Whilst I’ve listened to all the arguments in support of quotas I must be honest and say that I remain sceptical of the idea. I’m not convinced that compulsory quotas are the answer as the numbers are often difficult to meet within the specified timeframe. This opens up the risk of having people who are not truly qualified for a role being placed in a position just to meet numbers. When such individuals fail to succeed, it gives people ammunition to say that the targeted group were wrong for the position in the first place. This is especially true when people placed in a position are not provided with adequate support.

Support more important
In my opinion, support is much more important than quotas and one of the most critical factors that will enable women to succeed at various levels within society – inclusive of at a Board level.

I believe in life – in this world that we live in, most especially in the present days – we could all do with a bit of support from people that have some insights and understanding of the journeys that we are on with the struggles that we may encounter along the way. Women can get support from spouses or partners, friends, colleagues and what have you – male or female alike. There is however something special that a woman can receive from other women who have been on, or are on, a similar journey to them. It may be a personal mentor or someone that is looked up to from afar. It could also be the different women we meet as we network, who all come with their own unique experiences and insights into the female psyche and the ability to navigate male-dominated environments. I pause here and say – this does not diminish the need for male support either – it is equally important.

Mixed messages
But, women have direct experiences and know what it feels like to be the only woman in the room, to wonder how to dress and behave in a predominantly male environment: “If I smile will I be accused of flirting?”; “What about my makeup?”; “Do they really respect my intellect?”. Ultimately, do you simply act as you normally would, or do you have to modify who you are to suit the environment?

Peer mentoring
It’s other women who know. Who are more likely to know what it’s like to juggle a career with bringing up children – married or single. They best understand the ‘need’ to go back to work after the birth of a child; challenged by the equally strong desire to stay at home, and the guilt that may accompany the ultimate decision to go back to work instead. It’s also women that are best positioned to understand the needs of a career girl who has decided against having a family or simply ended up not having one.

I could go on and on about the list of things that women need the support of other women for that men can only empathize with. I therefore always smile in bemusement when I come across literature from Lady Val Corbett of Hoxton Apprentice Professional Women’s Network with the motto, “There’s a special place in hell for any woman who doesn’t help another woman”.

Widen the network
It is my believe that women’s support of each other should not be confined to those within our local networks. We often have distance mentors in people that we admire and try to emulate, i.e. those women who have achieved a degree of success who we may never meet, but whose careers we follow; or speeches we listen to and/or books we read. At the same time there may be women in more distant places struggling to make their way up that we could support in some way, shape or form.

Woman2Woman
A clear example of this for me is the Woman2Woman initiative of The Akabusi Charitable Trust, which provides grants of £100 to widows in rural parts of Eastern Nigeria. A donation which may be a bit of a sacrifice for people like you and I at this point in time, but at the same time something that completely transforms the life of the women who receive them – enabling self-sufficiency for them.

Woman2Woman is just one example of a way in which we can support women from afar – there are many more.  Woman2Woman is, however one that I most definitely advocate for – after all, I must confess I’m a Trustee for the charity.

Overcoming double under dog status requires the right mindset

 

What do you do when you come from “nowhere “ and you don’t  exactly know where you should go and how you you get “there”?

People often ask me, “ What brought you to Brussels?”. What brought me here is long forgotten and irrelevant and what kept me and shaped me to become what I am today is far more relevant – the right mindset.

As student I headed in that direction with language skills and a degree in Literature, unprepared, but willing to learn and stayed on as a long term resident and “learner”. So, how could I figure out what to do and how to succeed? The growing pains of being the underdog (immigrant and female) have been the most beneficial, toughening influences in my professional journey so far. It taught me some of the most valuable lessons. Rise to the occasion!

The fun was in the learning
I needed to shape every step as I went along. There was no mega plan to follow. Every encounter, event and experience happened for a reason and prompted me towards the next step. I recognized beneficial experiences, looked out for the new skills I needed to gather and didn’t worry about what would lead me to a destination. The fun was in the learning.

I was living in a cosmopolitan city with an abundance of English speakers. My first job was as a language teacher where I progressed well and eventually became a project manager for an in-company training group at a reputable bank.  I learned the importance of network building in the business world and soon realized: No goal is impossible, you need to go ahead and believe in yourself.

Everything was new
When I entered the executive search business I knew instantly it was what I wanted to do. But for someone coming from Eastern Europe, everything in the West was new. I was not even familiar with Western consumer brand names  and spent hours in supermarkets memorizing names on shelves: food items, brands and the companies which manufactured them. I had to learn everything from scratch. This required focused learning methods and a great desire to “get it “ and get it fast, in a sector I knew to be highly competitive and network dependent.

I aimed to become one of the quickest information brokers in the business and started moving up the ladder, training others, shaping teams and learning to manage other professionals. I had to deal with the ambiguities for women in managerial/leadership positions and to toughen up along the way, while staying with, and preserving, my best talent –the sincere interest in people’s development.

My motto has served me well  “Do not even start, if you don’t want something badly”. You have to have the guts. There is nothing to lose, only gain. Throw yourself into your work at full speed with all your wits, energy, and creativity. There are no limits to what you can achieve if you give yourself to the fullest.

Vesselina Petrova is a Human Resources professional with extensive international business experience and expertise in executive resourcing, assessment, coaching and leadership development.

Mining Rocks! A career in a male dominated world!

Be your own Project Manager

The general perception about mining is that it is a male dominated extractive industry – a view that need not necessarily be taken as a negative. That said, it is an industry that I knew little about despite being born and brought up on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia.

This all changed for me when I was recruited in 2006 by Phelps Dodge Mining (now Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold) to work on a world class copper and cobalt greenfield mining project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

As a single woman fresh out of college, this was not how I imagined my life would pan out; I was uncertain about what to expect from my first international assignment and began to doubt whether it would be a positive move for my career. I eventually decided to take the risk largely thanks to positive encouragement from my supportive family.

It turned out it was the best decision that I ever made. Here’s why and a brief overview of  what I have learnt (and still learning) in the process:

Often times your biggest hurdle is the best opportunity for success

The DRC assignment opened doors that helped me to change my perspective about mining…male dominated or not. What matters is how one chooses to respond to circumstance. My approach? I considered myself just like ‘one of the guys’ and decided to get involved and learn as much as I could on the job. It was not easy but within that environment I learnt to adapt and find my level of creating value and making positive contributions to my employer. During this time I also studied and successfully completed an MBA and was proud to be part of a winning project team. I also learnt to speak a third language, met my fiancé and got married!

I am currently working on an assignment in Peru, South America – a great opportunity to be part of a green initiative; a cause that I am extremely passionate about. This social project involves construction of a water treatment facility to supply & distribute potable water to residents of the city of Arequipa.

It´s important to dream and have a clear vision for your life

I absolutely love projects! Their uniqueness and environment have had a huge impact on how I manage and live my life today. Projects have targets, schedules, budgets that must be maintained and hurdles that must be overcome in order to achieve the ultimate objective. It’s simple really, mastering the art of successfully completing tasks for each major milestone equates to project completion with all the rewards that come with it. The experiences, adventure and learning curves are invaluable.

We are all Project Managers of our individual lives whether we believe this or not and it is imperative that we develop a clear mission and purpose of what we want to accomplish if we are to emerge successful. We have however, to be true to what we believe in, bold enough to take calculated risks, focus and stay the course.

 

Semba Chimanse Collier  ACMA  MBA, is Accounting Manager based in Arequipa, Peru. Her career has taken her from Africa to Australia to South America.  Follow her on Twitter: @sembz and connect with her on LinkedIn

Women and leadership styles: 4Plus (or 3Plus + 2)

So 4 out of 5 of the Directors are female. Are we radically different compared to other companies? We face the same everyday challenges that any business has to deal with in terms of dealing with staff, clients, IT, marketing, management and all that other stuff that gets in the way of doing my job as a lawyer. So how is it different?

Leadership styles

I have been at B Legal 3 months now. Early days perhaps to judge the difference between male and female leadership (my last firm was male dominated) but because it’s only 3 months I still have that sense of clarity that you often only attain with the benefit of hindsight. I know that I am happier now because of the change in leadership styles. Here the managing director has focus and drive and wants to get the best out of her staff. As a team we assess strengths and weaknesses of the Company and also of individuals. We don’t ignore weaknesses but seek to improve or adapt. We want the Company to do well and know that that’s best achieved by getting the best out of our staff. I haven’t always had this experience at the more male dominated firms I’ve worked at.

Relationships

I’m a Divorce lawyer and I know I look at things a certain way which is probably why I always wanted to do this job since I was 16 and I why I still love my job 25 years later. Relationships fascinate me: Why are people attracted to each other? Why do relationships breakdown and why can the results can be so extreme?

Relationships in the workplace fascinate me too: Why do some teams work well together? What impact does the effect of gender and seniority have on working relationships?

The “family” business

Being a parent I also began to analyze family relationships and parental styles and the similarities between parental styles and leadership styles really struck me when I arrived at B Legal. In the past I’ve seen the negative styles of all “stick” and “no carrot” approach, inconsistency of message, unequal treatment, favoritism and inability to see the bigger picture. Now I can see the effects of a more positive and supportive approach such as improved levels of communication, the clear setting of expectations and boundaries, effective multi tasking, flexibility to balance family and work and the shared vision.

The future looks bright…

I’m not saying that only females could provide a positive working environment for other females as I don’t believe that’s true. Let’s just say though that business leaders going forward need to assess exactly what they need for their business and who will help them to achieve that. I haven’t seen any evidence yet to suggest that women don’t have the capabilities of achieving what any man can. So let’s get on and do it!

Alison Whistler is Director of Family Law at B Legal Limited Solicitors, Marlow; Buckinghamshire. She has over 15 years experience of dealing with Divorce and related Children and Financial issues. She is a trained Collaborative Lawyer and is Resolution Accredited. She is also a member of the Law Society;’s Family Panel.

Blog: http://blog.b-legal.co.uk/ LinkedIn: Alison’s Profile on LinkedIn  Follow me on Twitter @alison_whistler

Powerful women: Leading with compassion

The Golden Rule and Leadership

We’ve all heard the biblical commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Most of us concentrate on the love your neighbor part rather than loving yourself. I often speculate that this may be the problem underlying all the chaos in our world today. If you can’t love yourself – really love yourself, and acknowledge and accept all that you are – it is unlikely that you can really love other people either.

We as humans have a need to be cared for, and to care for others. We crave love and human companionship and, for the most part, we enjoy caring for others. My observation, however, is that our culture has trained us to rebuke ourselves for our shortcomings, and for not reaching the pinnacle of our perceived capability. This training has led to a nation full of highly stressed people who suffer from a confusion of self-hatred, anxiety, fear, feelings of failure, incompetence, vulnerability and a deep yearning for control.

Karen Armstrong

Karen Armstrong says in her book, “The Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life”, that “the Golden Rule requires self-knowledge; it asks that we use our own feelings as a guide to our behavior with others”. The irony of that is if we treat ourselves harshly, we are likely to treat others in the same manner. How can we, as powerful women, work to create this deep, inner knowing of who we are?  How can we help others as they seek to do the same?

Compassion is a deep acceptance of the wholeness of who we are, knowing that we are worthy, we are human, and we are capable of transforming the world as we know it.  This takes a huge amount of courage. In the words of the Dalai Lama, this act of “radical reorientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self” will allow you to give yourself compassion for being who you are, every day. You are then able to look outside your own world and reach your hand out to others in love, empathy and compassion.

Powerful combination

When we combine compassion with leadership, we step into the world in a powerful way. We lead and teach at the same time, helping those around us to feel worthy, to step into their humanity, and to ground themselves in who they are. They, in turn, lead others. This is the way back to the world we would like to see, where we care for others, and are cared for.

Georgia Feiste, President of Collaborative Transitions Coaching, Inc., located in Lincoln, NE, is a personal growth and leadership coach, writer, and workshop facilitator. She is also a Usui Reiki Master and EFT practitioner.  Her passion is success grounded in purpose and passion, standards of integrity and priorities in life. You can also find Georgia on her website, Collaborative Transitions, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Georgia may also be reached at (402) 304-1902 if you wish to schedule a 30 minute complementary consultation.

African American Woman Leaders: The Mammy Archetype

I possess a curiosity about African American women leaders partially because I claim to be one and partially because I want to understand the complexities and/or challenges in becoming one. My goal, while searching for a dissertation topic, was to uncover the traits that build African American leaders of South Carolina. I was hoping that I learned could translate what I learned to a greater understanding of African American women leaders in general. I was not very successful in identifying the traits, but I did learn a few things.

The first thing I learned is that that social identity, the way we identity ourselves as either individuals or groups influences our behaviors. Okay, what does that mean exactly?  It means that how we see ourselves at work determines our actions and those actions maybe in direct conflict to how we see ourselves at home. This conflict may create stress. It means that an African American woman leader may seem unwilling to obtain a leadership role out of fear of antagonizing and alienating her mate or others in her culture.

If the woman is the leader, what does that say about her husband or significant other? Or more importantly, why should it say anything about her partner? Because, it appears that socialization and stereotypes still run rampant and many believe that leadership traits are masculine and therefore women should not be leaders.

Some women attempt to bridge this gap by emulating the Mammy archetype role.

Culture, socialization, and stereotyping have an influential impact in the way women in leadership positions are treated.

What challenges have you faced that may have been based on culture or stereotyping? How did you overcome them? What advice would you give others?

Doretha Walker is an adjunct instructor at the Art Institute of Charleston, frequent guest columnist in the Post & Courier, marathoner, triathlete, PhD candidate, and writer of the blog We Can Fly. You can also visit her website and follow her on Twitter @dorethawalker.

Inspiring Vision, Values & Passion

Common questions

Two of the questions travel writers get asked most often are, ‘What is your favourite place in the world?’ and ‘Where do you want to go next?’  When we respond we probably reveal more about ourselves than we realise.  When I reply, ‘a tiny beach in Greece’ or ‘the Isle of Wight’ there is a huge amount of information behind those statements …

I recently carried out a series of interviews with 10 ‘leaders’ from all walks of life, trying to discover what were the qualities of Inspiring Leadership.  They included Julia Middleton, CEO & founder of Common Purpose, Sir Chris Bonington, mountaineer, Eric Robson, radio presenter and chair of the Wainwright Society, the Right Revd James Newcombe, Bishop of Carlisle and Catherine Connor, MD of Aspire Photography.  Three elements kept recurring:

• Having a clear VISION that is simple and easy for others to follow
• Knowing what VALUES are important and keeping to them
• Sharing the PASSION eloquently and often with all and sundry

So, how do these findings apply to travel?  Well, when I thought about the places I have loved to stay in or visit, the places I still want to go to, it seems they are driven by these things, and maybe they apply to you too.

VISION: before going anywhere, we’ve often (not always) heard/read or seen something about the place.  It has fired our imagination in some way, creating a Vision in our mind’s eye and we want to go and see the place because of it.  This then may trigger some planning, goal-setting and markers along the way i.e. travel agents, websites, guide books for flights, best hotels, sights to see, restaurants etc.

When I first visited Greece, I had originally read about it in a book on Mythology as a child, adored ‘My Family & Other Animals’ by Gerald Durrell, studied Greek Literature at school, seen the beauties of the country on TV and gone through many travel brochures with my boyfriend before choosing Corfu as our holiday destination – in the late 1970s!

VALUES: we may not think often about our values when going on holiday but they seem to permeate our choices anyway. Again, other factors come i.e. money, time, other people but even so …  Maybe we value peace and quiet over noise and bustle. Perhaps we want a luxurious hotel with lots of pampering rather than a basic pension with a great view.  We want the brochure or website to be accurate and share information honestly (do we get it?!). We may want companionship over solitude … all these can be described as things we value.

One major reason I preferred living in Greece to living in Hong Kong was that I valued the simple things in life i.e. sun, sea, good companionship over sophisticated night-life, financial focus, crowded streets and life lived loudly 24/7. And, yes, I know we can find both in either place, but that was my perception at the time and it determined a lot of my experiences in both places.

PASSION: thinking back to places we have loved to visit and those we haven’t, when we ask ourselves why, it may well link to the above but the chances are it will also be connected to our passion. For someone really keen on golf, cookery, horse riding, scuba diving then a holiday or trip based round that may well be just up their street. Here’s an extract from a website talking about the virtues of their Wine-tasting trip, “With our Wine Guide, you’ll get the most out of your visit to the cellars and wine regions, they will comment on wines and explain the terroir and history, normally with ‘insider’ stories and humour.” Who could fail to connect with their passion and if we are at all into wine it will resonate and that trip is one step closer.

I love history, travel and visiting ancient sites. I’m passionate about going to new places and, ever since reading that Mythology book as a child, have always wanted to visit Machu Picchu.  It may not be the next place I get to, but for sure I will visit one day – I can see it in my mind’s eye!

Zoë Dawes is a travel writer, sharing her travels in mind, body and spirit on her popular blog site The Quirky Traveller She is also a personal coach, specialising in Inspiring Leadership. Recently voted Britain’s Best Travel Blogger, she is passionate about inspiring others to write through her articles, talks and Quirky Traveller workshops. She lives in N.W. England and loves the Lake District.

Connect with her on Twitter Face Book and LinkedIn.

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