What Are These Successful Women Leaders Passing Along?

​I’ve been coaching women leaders for over two decades. Progress is being made, but we still have a long way to go. The good news is that we now have numbers to show that when more women are in top leadership positions, their organizations do better in almost every measurable area. 

One of my clients was recently invited to be on a panel of top-performing IT women leaders. I was in the audience and was impressed with how helpful their insights were along with how much fun they had. Here is a summary of the key messages they shared for women leaders who want to move up.

Goals
Set goals. Work for those goals. Be confident in knowing you can do whatever you want to do. Break the goal down and go for it.

The Leadership Pipeline
We need to help women get through the pipeline and into bigger roles. One of the biggest hurdles now is that for every 100 men who are promoted, only 79 women are promoted.

Perfection
Believe in yourself. Ask for help. Let yourself not be perfect. (There is no such thing as perfect so don’t try to get there!!) Admit you can’t do everything so let it go!
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​Power
Don’t be concerned about being likeable—aim to be respected, approachable and fun. If you aim to be likable, you’ll give up your power in exchange.

Be First
Put yourself first, your family second and your work third. Many women make the mistake of putting work first and yourself last. That is unsustainable. When you put yourself first, you have the energy to be your best for your family and your work. If you feel guilty, get over it. We all need the best of who you are.

Attitude
Make a commitment to have your “Best Day Every Day.” Attitude colors everything in your day. By starting your day with the commitment to have your best day, you make it possible. This step is amazingly good for your mental health and keeping stress in check.

Bias
Unconscious bias is real. Be willing to talk with those around you about it. However, pick the right time and the right people for the conversation.

Attributes for Success
The panel identified these tips for success:

• Have the skills to do the job: Show results.
• Be confident and resilient: Get back up and try again when things don’t go right.
• Don’t be your own worst enemy: Get a handle on your self-talk and make it positive.
• Be willing to be constantly learning: Developing and growing keeps you ahead of the game.
• Be passionate: Find what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
• Be authentic: Know yourself and what you want to do, then find a way to do it.
• Have a community around you: Surround yourself with those who have your best interest at heart—friends, colleagues, spouse.

​I hope you find these insights helpful. If you have women on your team, be sure to share these tips with them. It’s important to keep these things top of mind as we all work to get more women into higher-level roles.

Thank you to Lanna Neimeyer, Office of the CIO, Prime Therapeutics; Lisa Schlosser, CEO, MN High Tech Association; Kathryn Freytag, CIO, Donaldson Company;  Julie Flaschenriem, CIO,  Hennepin Healthcare; Debra Bauler, CIO, Cargill Protein and Salt; and moderator Saima Prabhu, GM, Quality Engineering, Magenic.

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