BEE

From time to time when I take a "back seat" and perform a self-appraisal, I describe myself as a BEE*

...ever busy, ever buzzing.

(I searched for pictures and liked this the best.)

Can you...

...lean in confidently and comfortably?

I recently bought this book more out of curiousity than interest...I'm looking forward to reading it over summer. 

It's interesting how dots get connected. I was just thinking about my last post: "The essence of dress-sense is ABC:  http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-essence.html

Taking the book's title literally, it occurred to me that: When you are properly, not sparsely, dressed, you can "lean in" during meetings/conversations and your brains, not your body, will be on display...to your benefit.

Now I'm curious to see if the book has anything to say about dress-sense...hmmm.

The essence...

of dress-sense is

The Power of Attitude - Eagle Story

The nest of young eagles hung on every word as the Master Eagle described his exploits. This was an important day for the eaglets. They were preparing for their first solo flight from the nest. It was the confidence builder many of them needed to fulfill their destiny.

Nine nuggets (3)

The last set of the 9 nuggets are:

Make your own career

If a position you want doesn't exist, create it. Similarly, if you don't have the mentors and sponsors helping you get to the next opportunity, get there yourself.

Carolyn Buck Luce, 59, learned this firsthand when she joined Ernst & Young as a partner in the corporate finance and restructuring group in 1991.

"The common theme is being willing to take a risk and understand the strategic direction of the company," she advises.

Leave to get ahead

Sometimes you can fast track your career by walking out the door. This can be scary and also risky but if you pray about it you will know when God says “Go forward!”

"It's definitely stepping outside the box, but there's something about paving your own way," she said.

Focussing on 4 of these rules that resonated for her, Lisa Quast said: "The key in leaving to get ahead is to always refer back to rule number one; that no matter where you work, you must do excellent work that produces outstanding results."*

Dress well and play golf

The old adage "dress for success" still holds true. "Men of a certain caliber have bespoke suits. Women tend not to be as conscious that dress is part of their professional brand," says Rand Kaspi of LawScope Coaching. You don't need a bespoke suit, but you do need to avoid walking around in flats and khakis with a sweater set. In Lisa Quast's words: "What you wear creates an image or perception of the type of person you are, so choosing the right attire and acting the part is critical. As the old saying goes, “perception is reality” and women wanting to reach executive-level positions need to think about and consciously determine the type of image they want to project at work by choosing appropriate clothing, hair style, and make-up."* Obviously this dressing thing  which I have talked about before,** is fundamental and a key to success – need I say anymore.

Once you dress the part, act the part with both clients and superiors. ...you'll need to delve into hobbies you may not have considered. While I don’t have any plans of learning how to play golf (yet) I understand where this is going.

If all this talk of hobbies is making you think of the one sport through which deals are made, you are correct: You need to learn how to play golf. You don't have to be good, but you have to be competent enough to be invited for quality bonding time. Like I said, at this time, I don't have any plans to learn how to golf - considering that I'm working on learning how to rollerblade for quality bonding time with my children, the point for me is, there must be more about your life than just work. We need to be more social within our own boundaries.

I'd like to wrap this up with Lisa Quast's words: "No matter what the other rules are, never forget the number one rule that must be followed to get ahead is to do excellent work that produces outstanding results." We should work hard - "the only place where "work" comes before "success" is in the dictionary."***

Source:

*Nine Rules Women Must Follow to Get Ahead by Julie Steinberg: http://online.wsj.com/article/SBB0001424052702304723304577365812402273808.html?mod=wsj_share_in_bot

References:
*http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2012/06/11/rules-for-women-to-climb-the-career-ladder/

**http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.ca/2012/03/essence-of-dress-sense.html
http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.ca/2012/03/dress-sense.html
http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.com/2012/09/next-size-please.html:

***Vince Lombardi

Nine nuggets (2)

Here are 3 more of the 9 nuggets...

Know what you want and go for it
Being clear about your goals is paramount.  
Knowing what I want can seem overwhelming so, one of the easiest ways of dealing with this is knowing and weeding out what I do not want. It then clears my landscape and options.

Women who get to the top understand that (sic – I believe she meant “what”) no one else can do for them. You need to make things happen for you rather than watch things happen to you. In her article based on this article, Lisa Quast, the former executive vice president and general manager at a $12 billion global corporation and a certified executive coach working specifically with women and their careers, said: "Take the time to clearly define your career aspirations and then conduct research to find out the skills and experience necessary to succeed in those positions. Once you have this information you can create a career strategic plan. Having a career plan in place will ensure you achieve your aspirations efficiently and effectively – just like using a roadmap helps you reach a destination."*

As women, we know quite a bit about maps - especially the key part they play in (family) road trips.


In my opinion, in addition to having a map - even if it is a mind map - it is also helpful to make the most of any detours you have as you head to your destination.

Promote yourself legitimately

You can be doing great work, but if no one knows about it, you might as well be invisible.

A former Goldmanite, Jacki Zehner, 47, was both the first woman trader to be made partner and the youngest woman to be made partner at the firm at age 32 in 1996. Zehner routinely volunteered for assignments that gained her visibility at the top. For example, she put up her hand whenever the firm needed someone to make a speech to incoming analysts or recruit at college campuses, she said. In volunteering for assignments, seek out those that will strengthen or expand your skill set or knowledge base or even just stretch you in new areas and enjoy doing the assignment(s). Once again, Lisa Quast puts it this way: "Volunteer to take on projects that will show your strengths and allow you to gain the necessary experience to move to the next level."*

Network with your peers

Many women make the mistake of seeking sponsorship from only the people above them. Some of the people you work with are going to be in charge and could help you rise in the ranks.

"It's connections with people your own age that will help you get promotions," said Amy Siskind, a former head of distressed debt trading at Morgan Stanley and the co-founder of The New Agenda, an organization dedicated to advancing women into leadership roles. Siskind, 46, was the first woman managing director at Wasserstein Perella because a friend she had worked with in her mid-20s had landed there and pushed for her hire. Networking works**...so work with it.

Source:
Nine Rules Women Must Follow to Get Ahead by Julie Steinberg: http://online.wsj.com/article/SBB0001424052702304723304577365812402273808.html?mod=wsj_share_in_bot 

References:
Rules For Women To Climb The Career Ladder by Lisa Quant:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2012/06/11/rules-for-women-to-climb-the-career-ladder/
**http://empowered-women-excel.blogspot.com/2012/08/networking-works.html

Nine nuggets (1)

A few months ago someone sent me an interesting article* - I’m sharing an excerpt from it hence the reason why I refer to these as the “Nine Nuggets.” I’ll split them into 3 postings but when you can, I encourage you to take time to read the whole article.

As usual, comments (on the article) are within it in green font and italics mine.

It is no secret that many companies have set targets for increasing the number of women in top/leadership positions in various industries. In fact, I suspect that is what gave rise to the saying that: “The best man for the job is a woman.” Although it may be true in some instances, it does not give women a “hall pass” or licence to reap where they have not sown. Even the Bible warns us in Gal atians 6:7 not to deceive/fool ourselves because we will reap what we have sown...likewise you will not reap what you have not sown.  

According to Julie's article: Despite their talent, education and hard work, many women simply aren't chosen for roles that lead to greater success later. "Women often don't have the "intangible skills" needed to gain the attention of higher-ups at the company," says Elena Rand Kaspi, a former consultant to law firm White & Case and the president of LawScope Coaching, an executive career coaching company.

Getting "chosen," then, is an art that many women need to learn. FINS (FINS.com is a targeted career resource and employment website that is part of The Wall Street Journal) spoke with women executives and leadership coaches to determine the best ways you can position yourself for the next great position. Julie goes on to “talk about the rules women need to follow to help them earn more management roles in the workplace...”

Work hard

Doing excellent work is a baseline. If you don't produce outstanding results, you won't attract the notice of bigwigs at the firm who can propel your career forward. Hard work also entails knowing which skills you need to develop to get to where you want to be.

"Many people want to jump levels and get to the top by their gut feel, but what you don't know can really create a minefield for you," says Karen Peetz, vice chairman at BNY Mellon and one of three women on the executive committee.

According to Erin Duffy, 34, a former vice president at Merrill Lynch and the author of "Bond Girl," a novel that chronicles one woman's sales career on Wall Street:  "If you're not doing well, even if you're hanging out every night with the managing directors, they're not going to promote you. It's very democratic in that way." 

Do work no one else wants to do

Stepping up when no one else is will is a great way to get noticed. In 2001, Donna Milrod was a recently-minted managing director at Deutsche Bank when she offered to take on a project no one else wanted.

Succeeding in the assignment gained her exposure to the board and to senior management.

Cultivate the people in charge

Figuring out who has the most powerful voice in the room is the first key to your success. The second is devising strategies to attract their interest in your career.

Mentors are important for giving you guidance on your career. Sponsors are more critical because they're the ones banging on the table to bring you on for a new job or assignment.

Accordingly, you must treat them differently. Rosalie Mandel, a principal at accounting firm Rothstein Kass, recommends telling your mentor the good, the bad and the ugly and telling your sponsor only the good.

"The sponsor has heavy political capital and can place you into your next slot," she said. "The mentor needs to know everything about you so they can help you grow and guide you." For me, choosing a mentor is a spiritual activity - Joshua succeeeded because he was groomed by Moses, the young prophet died untimely because he followed the advice of the old prophet. So in choosing a mentor, I pray about it first  - sure don't want my hard work to go down the drain. You also need to pray about your sponsor - most times, you do not choose that person but your prayers can influence who is assigned to you - and the person assigned to you has some influence you don't have. So it is very important that your sponsor is truly on your side - not scoring own points.

These are the first 3 of the nine nuggets... I decided to start sharing them on "April Fools' Day" as a reminder that we should not fool ourselves rather focus on taking wise steps ...

Source:

*Nine Rules Women Must Follow to Get Ahead by Julie Steinberg: http://online.wsj.com/article/SBB0001424052702304723304577365812402273808.html?mod=wsj_share_in_bot