Back yourself and success will follow
Women can sharpen their skills and increase employment opportunities with regular mentoring, networking and some good oldfashioned confidence in their own abilities, says Michelle Murphy.
...you are the only person responsible for determining your own career direction so you need to be proactive because it certainly won’t be handed to you
Aiming for that senior position, be it from supervisor to manager or manager to director level, requires skills, perseverance and sometimes a sprinkling of luck. Over the years the ‘glass ceiling’ has been mooted as one of the reasons many women just cannot reach the top roles, breaking through that last pane.
But the climate is changing and women are now presenting themselves in a new light — ready, willing and very able to take on the next career step on that ladder they have been steadily climbing.
However, I have seen high-achieving women who are not ready when the opportunity presents itself.
Sometimes it’s as simple as not being prepared for the interview itself on the day, so it is imperative that all women invest in themselves (for a change) in order to smash that ceiling.
One of the first steps I would suggest is to create a career portfolio. You need to be ready for any twists and turns along your road to career success, so a plan is imperative. Build in a level of flexibility to allow for any changes along the way — the plan may need to incorporate any life changes but you still stick to your core plan moving forward.
A plan can reinforce your confidence as it can help you to keep track of accomplishments and key achievements so you have them close to hand for reference at interview.
Once you know your personal target, set the goals — you are the only person responsible for determining your own career direction so you need to be proactive because it certainly won’t be handed to you.
It is then important to hone your communication skills — men and women communicate and relate interpersonally in very different ways. It is not to say that one way is better than the other, however, it may be that some attributes are better suited to particular styles of management and leadership — such as having the ability to build relationships as many workforces are moving to more team-based structures, and teams need effective managers and even more effective leaders.
In my opinion, networking is extremely beneficial to those who are building their careers – all-women networks are a great way to learn from other women’s experiences and such groups such as The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) and others are easy to join.
In some organisations, women are organising networks within the company itself to leverage from experience and talent in-house. You are aligning yourself with the right people within your organisation and the sector overall – they become your strategic allies ready so you can leverage off them when required.
Finding a valuable mentor can be that piece of the puzzle that you are missing if you are already on the road to career success – a mentor is that one person who could guide you to nurture your career further.
What is different about a mentor from the average network contact is this person is committed to helping you succeed and should have the clout and connections ideally within your field. An effective mentor is someone who will give you constructive feedback when you really need it.
It is important to become an ‘expert’ in your field and promote yourself as the ‘go-to person’ in one or a number of relevant areas related to your field both within your company but also outside of the organisation. This may be seen as self-promotion, however, it is essential to ensure you are noticed for all the right reasons and you really cannot depend on others to do this for you.
You can only become visible in this area by raising your professional image so offer to write those articles, serve on the committees that are needed to oversee a project, go forward for recognition awards and offer to speak at those events that others shy away from.
You need to let the top drivers within the organisation know that you are working towards a higher-level position, even ask them what they feel are the extra skills you need to develop – they may even assist you to set the goals and objectives, or even measure your performance so you are ready when the time is right to make that move.
You need to build your reputation as the kind of person who has the competence, leadership abilities, communication skills and overall knowledge to take on a top-level role when one presents itself either inside or outside your organisation.
Always be interview ready as you never know when that opportunity may be just around the corner; but be aware the interview format today is changing and the focus is now moving away from the very obvious questions around your strengths and weaknesses to very focused competency-based scrutiny.
Depending on the level of the role, then you really need to be ready for the questions that will be relevant to this.
You need to really know where the role is pitched, so, if looking at mid-level management roles, the role may be more focused on people management, communication skills, time management, etc.
However, if you are progressing to a Director level then the gear will switch up to focus on the strategic elements of the role —how it relates to the business goals, what the bigger picture is moving forward and how you can contribute to the business.
You need to be confident to cite examples where you have invested in your own skills to earn you a spot at the top table. There is a stark difference between business managers and business leaders — remember as the Directors/Executives make the ultimate decisions around business investments, the management team are on the ground making it happen — very different skill sets are required.
In a leadership role today you are expected not only to support critical business strategies but also offer you own contribution and insights to support these decisions — you have to be always ‘accountable’.