At Women on Their Way, one the first things we talk about is career aspirations. I never tire from hearing women tell me about their big dream. Once you’ve identified your big dream, the next step is to create a strategy to get there. Given the career headwinds unique to women, you can only achieve your big dream if you sustain momentum.
Business research conducted by Brenda F. Wensil and Winifred Ernst shed light on the qualities that allow some women to achieve their leadership aspirations when others stall out. In a summary of their results published in a Harvard Business Review article, they identified three traits in particular:
- An agile mindset—demonstrating flexible thinking, including to quickly assess situations and determine a path forward
They also note that all the interviewees described moments in their careers when they needed to pivot—synthesizing the qualities above to find an innovative, lateral, or indirect path to the top when the direct approach stalled out. When passed over for promotions or denied opportunities to gain the knowledge they needed to advance, some left their industries to gain experience and demonstrate their capability elsewhere, returning once they had the necessary package to achieve their primary goals.
This study reinforces the importance of seizing every opportunity to gain the knowledge you need in order to achieve your big dream. Knowledge is power. Be intentional about identifying what you need to learn—whether it’s a new product, a new automation tool, competitive information, or a new market—and how you will learn it. You want people to recognize that even if you don’t currently have mastery of a topic, you’re a lifelong learner and will pick it up quickly.
As a coach, I encourage Navigators to ensure the conditions to maximize learning. For example, we start by asking: What do you love to do? When you love to do something, you’re more likely to put forth effort in learning.
Next, I ask: Where are the learning opportunities that have strategic exposure? We could all learn about an infinite number of subjects, but we need to ruthlessly prioritize what will advance our development.
Then, we investigate: What learning is connected to your job now, and what is connected to your big dream? Shorter-term steps to aid success in your current role should still be building toward the longer-term dream.
Using the questions above, identify what you enjoy and what has an impact; then prioritize the opportunities that are both high-impact and within the scope of what you love to do.
In combination with this strategic learning, the HBR study emphasizes the importance of pivoting and agility. An agile mindset is the ability to shift and move as conditions and characteristics change in your organization or your life. Some of us, based on our natural wiring, have an easier or harder time with flexibility. However, knowing what an agile mindset looks like and why it’s important, anyone can start taking small steps and building momentum as each one leads to the next. We use the metaphor of building bridges to the future:
- Identify the bridges you need to build.
- Ask yourself how an agile mindset could get you there faster.
People have difficulty focusing on the next step when they can’t see the whole path. It’s natural to want to have the solution all figured out before you start, but that approach isn’t practical. The world changes too quickly, and new conditions and opportunities will arise as you go. Some people struggle with perfectionism, feeling if they can’t do something perfectly, they don’t want to try.
Another obstacle is feeling a lack of control, when conditions happen to you rather than as a result of your work—such as repeated reorgs, changes in leadership, or changes in role. Those conditions can feel enervating over time, which is why it’s important to stay centered or to recenter, including by reconnecting to your big dream and your personal development plan to get there. With that plan in mind, you can ask, How does this reorg affect my direction? Then, you can assess your next best move, based on what’s going on in the environment.
Wensil and Ernst’s study also highlights the importance of having “epic clarity on your personal brand,” indicating that 83 percent of the women interviewed “said that clarity of purpose and brand management were crucial in regaining their momentum.” Brand management includes having an objective and accurate understanding of your reputation, information we help Navigators attain through the 360-degree feedback process.
In my book, Reclaiming The Fire in Your Belly, I address how you can reframe and start to create different results in your life. It will help you name your own limiting mindsets and offer tools to reconnect with power and possibility. By naming what you’ve been feeling in your gut and your heart that you weren’t previously able to name, you can address it and, in the process, become empowered.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS
Accelerate your professional growth and executive presence with the WOTW Navigator program. This journey is designed to help women cultivate the vision and capabilities needed to succeed within their organizations.
Participants will gain access to:
- Custom development plan based on the McGuckin Method of Professional Development, including behavioral assessments, aspirations, and more
- Monthly 90-minute virtual learning sessions delivered by WOTW CEO, Audrey McGuckin, along with facilitated peer learning conversation, a proven impactful learning method
- Five customized 1:1 executive coaching sessions, aligned to the women leader’s PDP and the virtual learning sessions
- One ticket to the Women’s Leadership Summit, a 1-day in person leadership event with the extended WOTW Community
- Exclusive access to research, thought leadership and practical development tools.
Connect with us now and take your career to the next level!
