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