It is often said that as a woman in business, you will need to be better than male colleagues before you stand a chance to get into the top posts. Our vision of a power woman is one who will have the strength to break through all glass ceilings, and reach the top. By the top we mean the boardroom, so lets look at the traits that we think that a power woman will need to develop in order to reach the heady heights of a boardroom job.
Be On Time Always
A lack of promptness may be tolerated in a man, but the power woman will see herself as much better than that. She will study her time management, make sure that when she sits down to work that she will look at each task just once, and take it through to fruition before moving on. The clever part about doing that will also be to achieve that level of efficiency of use of her time. Yes, and do it without spending longer than anticipated and being late to meetings, and other important events.
Show Enjoyment
Enjoy the “power woman” role. Taking simple enjoyment of your role, whether male or female is very empowering. It gives confidence to those around you, that your motivation is credible. A boss who seems relaxed in her role, and happy within her skin, will provide the impression that she is capable, and in command.
People are more inclined to relax in the assumption that the hand on the tiller, to give this a nautical flavor, is there because they want to be. Why would they want to be doing the job? Because they enjoy it. That's simple!
The power woman is also usually highly motivated by the single-minded intent to get to the top, but she should not let that show too often, or those around her will feel threatened. To be seen to enjoy your daily presence in the company will massively help in this.
For these reasons the true power woman should be playful, and joyous at times and let the enjoyment of being able to mold a business to your own command, show. After all, power women by virtue of their need to be better than their male colleagues, are very seldom less than highly effective in their roles. That being the case, there should be plenty of good news generated by their successful management for them to celebrate.
Keep Those Bridges Intact!
On the climb upward within any organisation the power woman will meet colleagues with whom she will not be able to get on. This is a fact of life which the successful woman must be adept at managing.
The best policy is always not to burn bridges as you rise in the promotion game. Always be humble enough to entertain the possibility that colleagues with whom you are unable to build a rapport, have talents which have so far bee hidden from you. Steer away from being overtly hostile to these people, as you may need them as allies, or at least not enemies at some future date.
Avoid Delusions of Godliness!
The power woman who is achieving success should guard against the pitfall of allowing themselves to become convinced that they are cleverer than all those colleagues around them. Nobody will ever be able to get everything right all the time, and yet over a prolonged period in top jobs, it is hard not to start to believe that the power woman is all-seeing and all-powerful. Power does corrupt, so the power woman always holds firm to the belief that there will always be someone smarter and better in making judgements than her.
Neither the Power Woman Nor Any Other Being is Irreplaceable in Business
Alongside maintaining a healthy believe in their own fallibility, the greatest power women will always hold on to the belief that the are replaceable. Other workers around a powerful person may be sycophantic in their admiration and praise. But, the best power woman must root their beliefs in common sense and see through the excessive praise of their subservient staff.
Colleagues may offer praise and regularly say, “What would we do without you [the power woman]”, but the truly successful power woman will root themselves in reality. They will not only appear to shrug all such suggestions off, but also take care to mean it within their hearts.
Maintain a “Hinterland” Both in Leisure Time and While Working
The power woman will not be one-dimensional in the activities and interests while at work, and when off-duty. She may have but one true goal in mind, but the way to get there fastest is seldom by the most direct route.
She will be seen to participate in some company activities in which she has her own ideas, despite the fact that their may be no mileage in taking that interest toward progressing her career. Doing such things is in fact an act of enlightened self-interest, so the power woman is always conscientious in how she approaches those sorts of tasks.
Such women are astute enough to see the benefits in the rise in respect, coming from colleagues.
Work Smart Not Hard
It easy to say this, but much harder to achieve smart working. We have already mentioned smart working from the point of view of effective time management. However, working smart has many other aspects.
An important skill which the power woman will need to master is the ability to delegate their responsibilities to responsible trustworthy colleagues.
How Does the Power Woman Pick-up All These Great Skills?
Most power women will be very adept at formerly, or informally, finding a suitable mentor, or quite possibly multiple mentors across the range of business skills. The information which an experienced mentor can hand down to a less experienced apprentice should never be underestimated.
Power Women Should Also Act as Mentors
The Power Woman will act herself as a Mentor to some of her staff. The power woman will appreciate the need to pass down knowledge between individuals, and not necessarily rely on formal training, university qualifications, etc.
To Seek Out and Tackle Any Personal Weaknesses
The wise “power woman” will take care to look out for, and understand weak areas in their personality, and the way they are working.
Don't Hide Away Be Bold
Despite the fact that all the many tasks of the successful woman will take up a lot of their time, the need to maintain a high profile during company board meetings etc., is a pressing one.
The successful business woman cannot afford the luxury of being unknown. She will self promote herself highly effectively, thus making herself a known quantity to her bosses and fellow workers locally, and maybe even well-known local personality.
Rounding Up the Discussion
For a power woman, a good reputation is essential. She shall appreciate that a good reputation is worth going the extra mile to preserve, especially when things go wrong. Preserving a justifiable good reputation is critical to her success and that of the company. This holds true whenever, you the “power woman” perform you job.
True personal development is possible, while progressing and for many people comes from inside themselves, through interaction with others as described in .
