HBR Article January 16, 2023 - How Successful Women Sustain Career Momentum by Brenda F. Wensil  and Winifred Ernst   

After a few years engaged as a drug discovery scientist Jackie, realized she wanted to work on the strategy side of business. Unfortunately, every time she tried to make the shift, she was turned down. she kept hearing, ‘You’re just a chemist,’. The same thing happened when she applied for external roles that would expand her marketing or business experience. No one could see past her current expertise. She felt stuck and facing a problem that many women face in their careers: feeling like she had lost momentum. The authors being executive coaches for women leaders, wanted to understand why some women are able to sustain and maintain career momentum, despite the systemic, structural problems women face in the workplace.

They interviewed 37 women in senior leadership roles (senior director, vice president, senior vice president, C-suite roles) whose experiences spanned more than 75 corporations.  They asked these leaders to describe pivotal moments that helped them maintain career momentum. Analyzing these moments helped to understand the key traits that assisted them persevere when they felt stuck. Though the women they spoke with had varied backgrounds, interests, personalities, and careers, they employed at least two of the three following behaviors to sustain momentum during these pivotal moments.

Call it tenacity, sheer determination, or persistence. When they faced setbacks, these women told stories of tapping into their inner mettle that helped them situate short-term difficulties in the context of their higher goals, and how important it is to package yourself for the role you want by accepting roles that support your growth towards the desired role.

These women showed more than the capacity to learn, they were motivated to seek out opportunities that provided new experiences, challenges, and knowledge. These women demonstrated flexible thinking, an ability to quickly assess a situation and determine a path forward. When it came to their own careers, they reinvented themselves or transformed the projects they were working on. To have an agile mindset is about being versatile and open to new options and ways of getting to a goal. Most of the women interviewed, pivoted, moved sideways, gathered more experience, or moved to smaller companies at some point in their career in order to maintain momentum or to create it when they were stuck.

1. A focused drive 2. An incessant desire to learn 3. An agile mindset

Resetting Your Career Momentum Most of the women interviewed, pivoted, moved sideways, gathered more experience, or moved to smaller companies at some point in their career in order to maintain momentum or to create it when they were stuck.

Article on Forbes By: Aleksandra Mihajlovska published on the 15 of march 2021. Celebrating, Kamala Harris, the first female Vice President of the United States. Whilst we should celebrate this milestone, women working in male-dominated fields where the boys’ club is still somehow a thing, a workplace free of gender bias can seem like a dream.

It’s also true that in the past 40 years, we have seen a steady increase of women entering male-dominated STEM fields. By STEM we mean Science Technology, Engineering and Math. However, according to a Cornell University study, women in male-dominated careers face challenges such as:

·        Lack of support (both emotional and financial).

·        Feeling incompetent. (possibly due to Impostor syndrome)

·        Mistreatment.

·   Lack of a voice.

The article continues by giving a few tips on how part of these obstacles could be tackled. One of the recommendations is to “Focus on the positive.” Of course, there will be challenges as you try to master a male-dominated workplace. Is it fair? Absolutely not. But focusing on the positive can help put your challenges into perspective. Knowledge is power in a male-dominated field. Being an expert in the subject, listening to the opinion and advise of other colleagues whilst researching and updating yourself on any uncertainties will empower anyone,

Secondly finding a group of women who can support you. Whether you’re the only woman at your firm or one of a handful of women scattered throughout various departments, it is essential that you find a strong group of women who can support you. This group can help you strategize, meet your goals, learn to negotiate, and give you a safe space to vent your frustrations.

Thirdly Keep your eye on role models. Being a woman in a male-dominated field can be lonely. It can help to know you’re not alone, so find role models who know what you’re going through. These could be women in your life who are ahead of you on the path, or they could be famous women with wisdom to share through podcasts or blog articles.

Fourth seek out men who can be allies. Even in fields that are heavily male dominated, there are men who want to be allies to the women they meet. Be on the lookout for these men and don’t be afraid to ask them for mentorship and advice. Men who want to be allies in the workplace maybe identified by being on the lookout for specific traits.  For example:

·        Men who listen and amplify your opinions and thoughts during meetings.

·        Men speaking up when they see gender bias.

·        Men who go out of their way to praise your work in front of their colleagues.

·        Men who advocate for you.

Another article on femalefactor.global tackles how to succeed in a male-dominated profession. In my opinion, it aligns quite well with many other articles relating to this topic.

It starts by suggesting to: let your voice be heard & speak with confidence. Recognize the value of your opinion and believe that what you must share is worth listening to.

Stop trying to be a pleaser. It's nice to be nice, but always trying to please others won't get you anywhere. Instead of serving or promoting you, it belittles you and leaves an impression that you're unsure of yourself.

Know your worth and make sure you make it obvious for other people too. Take a class, read a book - do everything you can to distinguish yourself and grow professionally.

Learn how to handle conflict. Instead of engaging in conflict or avoiding it, learn to communicate forward by acknowledging the conflict and asking, "So how do we move past this?" Keep it professional. Don't email when you are angry and don't read emotion or tone into texts, emails, or directives. Once the conflict is over, shake hands, hold your head high, and get back to work.

Don't be afraid to ask for a raise or promotion. Make your expectations clear and state in simple terms why they should be met with authority.

Find a mentor.

According to Emotional Intelligence author, Daniel Goleman, empathy can be defined as (1) understanding the emotional makeup of people and (2) treating people according to their emotional reactions.

People tuned into their sense of empathy are better at building relationships, trust, and collaborating more effectively.

Henry Ford once said that if there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the ability to put oneself in another person’s place and to see things from his or her point of view –as well as from one’s own.

An empathetic leader has the ability to acknowledge that everyone sees the world through different perspectives without judgement. They are able to relate to openly communicate with their team and understand when they are struggling. In short, an empathetic leader is able to listen to their team, not fix ,solve or dictate; therefore, building up their team for success.

It is a common misconception that an empathetic female leader is just someone who is really nice. But being empathetic doesn’t mean being nice all of the time. It is more defined by understanding everyone’s feelings. We’re all human. We have fears and weaknesses, as well as opinions that deserve to be shared. And of course people have problems and worries, and those should be addressed, acknowledged, and treated with understanding. However, successful woman show their leadership qualities by understanding, without allowing sentimentality to disrupt production.

Forbes put together a panel of experts on this very topic. According to them, empathy leads to happy employees, and happy employees are PRODUCTIVE employees. Clearly having diversity in the workplace, especially strong female leaders who are empathetic, makes sense for businesses.

I believe we all experienced at work or maybe whilst watching a movie, mainly Male business executives say things like: “Let’s take the emotion out of this”; or “there is no place for emotion in business”; or “We need to make a rational decision”. The implication in the last example being that rationality operates in the absence of emotion.

These comments show an almost complete lack of understanding of what emotions are, their purpose, how they work and specifically the role they play in decision-making. Any neuroscientists may confirm that rationality actually requires emotion. You can’t have rationality unless emotions are involved. They are not two completely separate systems they are intimately intertwined. Thus it is impossible to remove emotion from decision making even if you wanted to. Business is neither rational nor emotional; it is both rational and emotional.

Emotions are just energy-in-motion. They are composite physiological signals made up of all the physiological data coming from all the different bodily systems – your heart, your lungs, your gut, your muscles, joints, liver kidney etc. Emotions are just data. If we can detect the data (i.e. feel the energy-in-motion), correctly label the data and most importantly change the data, then we have developed emotional intelligence, emotional literacy and emotional self-regulation all in one go. The development of such capabilities confers a massive competitive advantage simply because most people (and by people I’m afraid I mean mainly men) are unable to change how they feel on demand. Most leaders lack control of their emotions, rather their emotions control them. If you develop the ability to change how you feel then you get the control back – you have the emotion rather than the emotion having you!

One big advantage women offer the business world and management, in particular, is that they have different sets of life and work experiences than men do and thus different perspectives. Their skills are unique as well. This leads to different opinions, different preferences, and different strategies.

In many ways, women in society are seen as natural caregivers or nurturers. Beyond the ability to carry during the gestational period, give birth, and raise that child throughout its adolescence, research shows that women excel in a variety of skills that are necessary for the workplace. Skills and qualities like task management, communication, patience, and empathy are vital to succeed in a work environment, and women tend to excel in encouraging others to talk through problems, stay organized, remain patient, and be understanding.

By bringing more women into the workplace, there’s an opportunity to prioritize diversity and encourage male and female collaboration. In turn, this diversity allows decision-making to become more multidimensional and thus more comprehensive. Boards with at least one female member tend to take longer to green-light acquisitions than all-male boards. This is because women tend to be more risk-averse and strategic than men. While this tendency may lead to smaller and/or fewer acquisitions, it also allows for more careful and more informed decisions.

Women bring four critical skills to the workplace:

Communication

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, more teams have been forced to work remotely. Technology is fast replacing traditional face-to-face meetings which means effective communication is now more critical for organisations. Men and women listen differently. According to a hearing aids company, Starkey, the difference in men and women's grey and white matter in the brain, contributes to men’s efficiency with localised tasks while enabling women to excel at integrating and assimilating, a skill thought to aid language skills. This highlights the massive role women play in workplace communication.

Task management

We've all heard that guys cannot multitask, but recent research disproved this stereotype. However it is believed that women are more organised, which is valuable when tasks need to be allocated to large teams like those found in a hotel. When companies find themselves short-staffed, women can generally take on many roles at once and complete them successfully due to their ability to organise.

Patience

This can easily be attributed to science. Men have more testosterone, which makes them more aggressive, and women have more oestrogen, which makes them more patient. Patience is a necessary skill to have in the hospitality as well as in service and retail industries as it enables the individual to suppress frustration and be in a better position to deal with upset clients.

Empathy

There is ample research on women’s empathetic nature. Their ability to understand someone else’s feelings makes them better at establishing rapport. This is highly beneficial for any industry dealing with people who have different communication requirements. Empathy allows women to accommodate these differences, leading to fewer misunderstandings with clients and team members.

Irrespective of gender, age, race, or ethnicity Success is what we as humans all strive for. So, we must ask ourselves:  What is success? Success maybe perceived differently by everyone. For some, having a family is success, for others buying their own home or be debt free is success, one may argue that your goal setting determines your success. Career wise certain roles breath success and I am sure that we can all agree to this. Isn’t becoming the President of the European Commission like Ursula von der Leyen or the President of the European Parliament like our very own Maltese Roberta Metsola consider by all a successful carrier? Then again is becoming the first lady of the United States of America like Michelle Obama or Melania Trump a success? Without a doubt these women went through extensive training and learned oration skills, learned how to look at the cameras, dress and walk, they kept evolving their strategies including whom to support and which organisations and individuals to associate themselves with.  Big Sacrifices at par with the goal they had.

In a recent study I have read that the desire to earn more and be financially independent is one of the most driving factors for women to go and work. Owning a Car, a house, growing Bank balances, and Overseas holidays, are motivators, milestones to keep achieving financial growth throughout their careers.

Recently I have read an article published on June 2021 On Basiscsbybecca.com  which talks about the 10 Habits of Career-Driven Women

1. They are confident in their abilities

2. They have a strong work ethic

3. They know what they want and go after it:

4. They invest in themselves to grow their skillset

5. They don't make excuses for not doing things.

6. When they do something wrong, they own up to the mistake and learn from it.

7. They are persistent and resilient

8. They know what they want in life.

9. They clearly communicate their goals and expectations.

1.0 They take risks to grow professionally.

So here we are talking about vision setting a goal which is out of one’s comfort zone.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who served as the first elected female head of state in Africa, as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, said. “If your dreams do not scare you, they're not big enough,”

One of the biggest challenges women face, is the lack of business contacts. Women tend to build contacts around their children’s school and sports activities, whereas men are more likely to network with business contacts. There are exceptions, of course, but that’s how networks typically evolve, which can put women at a disadvantage when it comes to opportunities.

Another issue many employees have, is how to move up within leadership ranks as they age. Employees who have focused on achieving work-life balance when they had children at home may be ready to take on more responsibilities as children grow up. They may also have the wisdom and patience to be excellent leaders but may have missed out on vital opportunities by choosing family over work.

Men and women are equally capable of being great leaders, but whether via socialization or biology, they are likely to approach it in different ways. Women are more likely to network around family activities and approach problems in a collaborative way. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, but it’s clear that women tend to be more interested in listening to different opinions before deciding and more focused on teamwork, whereas men are often decisive and less collaborative.

Both decisiveness and a capacity for collaboration are valuable traits in any leader. Empathy is important too, and leaders of any gender can hone those traits if they don’t come naturally. It’s also crucial for a leader to have the confidence to speak up. Many women struggle with that, especially when they are just starting out in their careers.

IMPOSTOR SYNDROME

Case Study  June 03, 2020  Yasmin Visram

“When people ask why I left private practice I usually blame my husband. I explain that when we married, he was already a partner at the firm where I was an associate. It made sense that I would be the one to leave. We wanted a family, and I wanted a less demanding job. The truth is a bit more complicated. I left because I felt that I was not good enough to stay.

The term “impostor syndrome” was coined in the 1970s by two psychologists, Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Those who suffer from impostor syndrome have difficulty internalizing accomplishments, rationalizing success as simply a matter of luck. Despite external evidence or positive feedback, they perceive themselves as intellectual imposters.

Research suggests that most people will experience impostor syndrome at one point in their lives. It does not discriminate between males and females. Importantly however, women and minority groups suffer from it more often and with greater impact because the syndrome amplifies the effects of discrimination and unconscious bias. The feeling that you are not good enough is validated by subtle (or not so subtle) cues that you don’t belong in the first place.

The case study continues. Yasmin Visram states

“In my case, if I couldn’t see myself as a successful lawyer, the lack of diversity and “old boys’ network” did nothing to better that clouded view. To be fair, I had the opportunity to work with many accomplished women. They were all wonderful mentors, generous with their time and knowledge. Yet, in none of them could I see the “future me”.

Implicit biases about how a lawyer should look, sound, or act, to seem competent and confident, affect all of us. “It is often difficult for women, or people from historically marginalized groups, to overcome social biases held subconsciously by our clients, colleagues, and even ourselves.”