denotes premium content | Feb 7 2012 Feature
posted 22 Apr 2010 in Volume 2 Issue 3
So you’re managing a small property practice. It’s 75 per cent below budget. The economy’s gone bust.You’ve got no control over it. How are you responding?
Perhaps you’ve decided to bunker down and finally develop those precedents?
Maybe you’re staying below the radar, working on files that come your way, looking busy but managing a gnawing fear that’s replaced with alcohol, tears or anger as soon as you get home?
What are the blokes doing? My bet is they’re walking around, speaking loudly about the tiny matter they’ve just been briefed on and pretending that it’s going to result in a massive case any time soon. After all, people hear what you tell them and see what you show them. If they speak loudly and look confident, they’ll fool most people.
Being invisible when your male colleagues are full of bravado and bluster is a risky, self-defeating, albeit common, strategy.What’ll happen when the managing partner finally bites the bullet and decides the firm just can’t sustain the headcount? Who’s more likely to be viewed as expendable?
Now is not the time to play small. Now, more than ever, you must be seen, heard and noticed. Remember your aspirations, identify your talents and promote the value you add to your clients and your firm. Now is the time to step up to your leadership potential.
To do this, you’ll have to move beyond the insidious messages you’ve been brainwashed with that include:
- it’s unfeminine to be ambitious;
- it’s uncool to brag;
- you must fit in, rather than stand out;
- working hard is a sufficient career strategy.
This will require courage, focus and action driven by something more compelling than your self-doubts.
Women fail to achieve their leadership potential for two basic reasons:
- We’ve internalised the messages about who we are and what we can achieve given to us by our parents, teachers, colleagues and society at large;
- We don’t know how to navigate organisational hierarchies.
In turbulent times it’s critical we move beyond our self doubts and limiting self beliefs, create a new, bolder story about ourselves and what we’re capable of and proactively manage our profile and careers.
Let’s explore how to do this.
Step One: manage your mind
Research consistently demonstrates that when people are engaged in doing something meaningful they become more courageous, more productive and can achieve extraordinary results.
This means that instead of anxiously riding out the turbulence, looking busy, below the radar, it’s time to lift your head up, refocus on the bigger picture and do something that will make a difference.
To start, ask yourself:
- Why are you here? What are you committed to? What difference do you want to make as a lawyer or leader?
- What are your strengths and talents?
- What are the results you’ve achieved so far in your life and your career? What value do you currently add? What additional value could you add?
- Next, reflect on your responses.
- Determine if you have a meaningful goal;
- Consider whether you are contributing to something bigger than yourself;
- Establish whether your goals and talents are aligned with your values, passion and commitment to make a difference;
- Ask yourself whether anything needs to change.
Knowing you can make a difference by using your strengths and talents to achieve
LIFESTYLE
a meaningful goal can override the most destructive internalised fears you have about your ability or place in the world.
Achieving your potential is a matter of aligning your focus, interests and talents (FIT) in pursuit of a meaningful goal.
Step Two: be strategic
It’s not enough to achieve something meaningful.To achieve their leadership potential, women must ensure their contribution is recognised and valued.
Let’s review a few facts:
- Law firms are competitive and hierarchical;
- There are significantly more male partners than female partners;
- Men have access to better networks, more mentors and greater opportunities;
- Men have a communication style and rituals that are familiar to other men and more useful in organisational hierarchies;
- People with strong networks and good mentors enjoy more promotions, higher pay and greater career satisfaction;
- Men advance their careers by:
- Building networks
- Being visible (high profile assignments and self promotion)
- Delivering results
- Women attempt to advance their careers by:
- Working hard
- Developing skills
- Fitting in.
In short, women are at a disadvantage when it comes to managing organisational hierarchies.Working hard and achieving results is not enough to be noticed, recognised and valued.Women need to proactively and strategically cultivate their relationships, promote their achievements and manage their careers.
Guidelines to strategically managing your career
1. Self Promote
People hear what you tell them and see what you show them. Men are better at promoting how good they are and what they’ve achieved – sometimes despite the evidence. What you can do:
- Tell your supervisor about the things you’ve achieved in the last week;
- Remind your clients about the results you’ve delivered for them in the last year;
- Focus on the revenue you’ve generated
– not the gap in budget;
- Watch your language – be direct and authoritative;
- Don’t diminish your accomplishments;
- Speak up in meetings;
- Don’t wait to be invited – ask for opportunities and challenges;
- Tell your supervisor what your aspirations are and what training/ opportunities you need to achieve them;
- Frame things positively even if you don’t feel positive;
- Demonstrate confidence in your ability to manage challenges.
2. Build and use networks
Men have greater access to and are more conscious of building and nurturing networks.Women need to more consciously build and use their networks.
What you can do:
- Choose one or two high profile events and attend – even if you don’t feel like it;
- Have lunch with other women and share your experiences and perspectives;
- Introduce yourself to different people around the office and tell them what you do;
- Take business cards from everyone you meet and send a quick email acknowledging your meeting. Suggest a coffee with those you connected with;
- Don’t think you need to be friends with everyone you meet – a social acquaintance is fine.
3. Find a mentor
Men are more likely to have a mentor or champion who in the early stages of their career will provide them with advice, guidance and political insights and later will refer work and opportunities to them. Many senior women have mentors, but usually refer to them as a ‘friend’.
What you can do:
- Make a list of everyone you respect or could learn from;
- Select those that know you or have worked with you. Ring them.Ask if they have 20 minutes for a coffee because you’re reflecting on your career and think there is much you could learn from them. If they’re receptive and there’s a rapport, ask if they’d be willing to meet with you for 45 minutes a month in a mentoring capacity;
- Don’t waste their time. Prepare for each meeting. Provide updates on your progress and achievements and ask questions that will help you advance your career, position and profile;
4. Develop a career plan – and follow it
Men in the early stages of their career usually have a career plan. Later on they rely more on networks and mentors.
What you can do:
Develop a career plan that describes your three year career goal, the critical business experiences and skills to get there, networks you must be part of, mentors you could find, champions to support you;
- Put timeframes in place;
- Find a buddy or use your mentor to help you stay on track.
- Navigating turbulence is easy if you focus on managing what you can control and influence.
Stepping up, making a difference and taking charge of your career are all things you have control over. Don’t wait for the dark clouds to pass or to be invited. Do it now.
Deborah May is an executive coach, change agent and champion of women and leadership. For more about her work, visit www.deborahmay.com and www.advancingwomen.com.au
