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by Nancy F Clark (Follow me on Twitter)
Partnering with Forbes: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter

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 To Brag Or Not To Brag: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s not bragging if you can back it up.
—Muhammad Ali

Ali can get away with bragging but we women can’t. We must walk a fine line between informative self-promotion and outright bragging. Most of us have been raised on the little girl admonitions, “It’s not nice to brag!” and “Who does she think she is?”  As long as these sayings are still playing in your mental background, you’ll feel uncomfortable when you know you’re bragging. And when you’re uncomfortable, other people focus on your discomfort. You don’t want that! The secret I can tell you is how to promote yourself just short of bragging. And that’s something you probably do want.

You need to self-promote—even if you’re not interviewing for a job. As you meet people they’re going to form split-second impressions of you. If you’re a woman, that may tend toward the sister, wife, mother, girlfriend, low-level employee, or helper images. Remember this and craft something in the beginning of a conversation that sets them in the right direction. I’ll tell you 2 simple ways to craft it in the tips of the week.

Meanwhile, for the guys who tell me they read this blog, women are not impressed the same way men are. For instance, men are often impressed when another man mentions his car by brand. Or, as I saw, a man left his Ferrari keys on the table during an entire dinner. For women, this type of display is too blatant. We don’t feel we should do it; we won’t allow other women to easily do it; and we see through it when men do it. You know, maybe we should ease up. Or not. On the other hand, women, if you’re talking only to men, you can take it up a notch without worry. Mention the private jet business trip you took, even if it was ages ago, and watch the men’s heads swivel around. Same thing with the 6-figure and 7-figure contracts your company is involved with. It will earn you respect. Just don’t try it with women.

Here’s my Women in Business Tip of the Week. Actually, there’s two this week!

Tip 1:
Rather than saying, “I have …,” or “I can do …,” the secret is finding an item in the conversation that relates to your accomplishment. Then start with something like, “I learned X when I was faced with a problem at IBM. I had to…”  Talking about what you learned or experienced keeps you just short of bragging—right where you want to be.

Tip 2:
You know how comfortable you feel when you’re telling someone about a memorable vacation you took? I want you to take a piece of paper, right now, and jot down a list of items from your life or career that are memorable, including a few that are impressive. I want you to craft what Peggy Klaus calls a “bragalogue.”  Pretend you’re writing a screenplay that only includes the good parts. OK, throw in a couple missteps to show your humility (we still are expected to be somewhat humble) and to show your sense of humor. This is now Your Story—a story you enjoy talking about.

Now, get out there and tell Your Story!

Be sure to visit our site, http://www.womensmedia.com/ to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

Website, WomensMedia, by Simon and Pedersen, Communicating With Men at Work

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Working Women.

See our related article: How to Get Out of Your Own Way —5 Strategies for Thinking Outside the Box

Enjoy Some Risk-Taking—It’s Good For Business

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by Nancy F Clark (Follow me on Twitter)
Partnering with Forbes: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter

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 Risk taking: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong
than to agonize at length and be right too late.
—Marilyn Moats Kennedy

Much as I’d like to say the large-scale Hagberg survey shows all Good News for women in business, I can’t lie to you. I talked about the areas where women are doing well in my blog posting, Proof That Women Make Great Managers —Studies Show Areas Where Women Excel.

Where aren’t they doing well? Risk-taking. Some risk-taking can help a business tap new markets and surge ahead of the pack. Of course, sometimes there’s a good reason for avoiding risk. Risk aversion is an important talent if you’re herding children away from the edge of a cliff, for example. But business is a different story.

Are there women who take risks as well as the best of the men? Yep, and often you’ll find them at the head of companies. That tells you something.

The Hagberg study indicates that women—in a quest to be thorough—want all the data before making big decisions. This decision-making style, which may have helped a woman reach middle management, may discourage her from taking career-advancing, high-risk assignments. It may also discourage others from thinking of her as CEO material.

Taking risks and accepting the consequences is a required skill in corporate America’s top echelons. But hey, don’t despair. This is a skill that can be learned. Which brings me to my tip of the week.

Tip:  Nancy Clark’s 5 Steps of Risk-Taking

This tip is for you—unless you’re the type of woman who readily jumps on a motorcycle and has broken at least one arm and one leg doing something risky.

1.  Go with your gut.
Trust your instincts whenever you get the feeling that something could be a good business move.

2.  Give it the Pro & Con Test.
You know, draw a vertical line on a paper and quickly list the pluses and minuses to the move. Notice the word “quickly.” This is not a time for you to try for perfection. Tell yourself that no one is 100% right all the time and tell yourself that time is a valuable factor to consider in business.

3.  Move the bar up.
When you analyze your Pro & Con List, notice where you’d normally draw the line that causes you to say, “Nah, this is probably a No-Go.” What happens if you raise the bar 10%? 20%? If you’re normally a risk-averse person, better raise the bar 30%. All you need to do is decide what percentage is right for you.

4.  Gain buy-in from the right people.
Enlist the best people to work with you in implementing your idea.

5.  Handle the consequences professionally.
If you’re right, that’s a great business move. Handle your public relations and let others know of your success.

If you’re wrong, it’s not the end of the world. The end of the world would be if you did nothing. Formulate your statement along the lines of, “With hindsight being 20/20, I can now see that I overestimated sales to the X group.” or “I can see that the direction we should now head in is X.”

And start watching the guys! Yes, I said it. Watch when a guy lets a mistake slide off his back. At 5 pm it’s forgotten—and that’s a good model to follow!

Now get out there and learn to enjoy taking a few more risks!

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Working Women.

See our related article: How to Get Out of Your Own Way —5 Strategies for Thinking Outside the Box

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How To Make The Jump From Manager To Leader

by Nancy F. Clark (Follow her on Twitter)
See the latest on Forbes
Named one of Forbes: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter

 

 Leadership for Women [6:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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“The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.”

—Faye Wattleton

What do you think it takes to move from a manager to a leader in your field? Conventional wisdom lets us believe that working hard at our assigned tasks is what’s required, but there’s a difference between being a manager and being a leader. Take a look at the table by Ellig and Morin’s below. Which category better represents how you’re operating today?

Are you a manager or a leader?

Chances are most of you will see that you’re currently operating at the manager level. There’s nothing wrong with that . . . unless you thought you were aiming to be a leader. There are steps you can take to rise to this higher level. I’ll give you my three easy steps. Consider each step as adding a garment to your daily wardrobe that you’ll be wearing to work from now on.

Step 1:  Pin down your goals and values and communicate them to others. (My tip this week is related to this.)

Step 2:  Be a visionary with new ideas—don’t accept things as they’ve always been done. Inspire others with your ideas and enthusiasm. Encourage them to speak up with their ideas and the problems they see at work. Let others know you’ll hear them out and will consider their suggestions when you make decisions. But, when you make your decisions, you’ll proceed directly to Step 3 below.

Step 3:  Be bold and assume “the buck stops here” mantle, knowing full well that this means you may have a few dissenters. You should expect this and stop trying to make everyone happy!

Here’s my tip of the week.

Tip:

Many of you have told me you appreciate it when I give you a script to work with. Here’s one for you to use when talking with higher ups in your company.

I like working for this company and my goal is to reach the leadership level in X (marketing, etc.). I would appreciate it if you consider me for any new projects, teams, or studies that deal with this.

(Now if you want to carry this conversation to a higher plane—as a leader would—add the following.)

If you’re interested, I have an idea for a survey which would provide information to benefit the company. Would you like me to email it to you and then we could meet to discuss it?

You get the idea. If you want to be a leader, add these 3 pieces of advice to your working “wardrobe.”

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Working Women.

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Further Reading:

WomensMedia, by Rebecca Hourston, The 3 Most Self-Destructive Behaviors and How to Change Them

WomensMedia, by Natalie R. Manor, Leadership & Confidence
—Many Women Are Competent, but Lack Confidence

Today is Better than Yesterday – The Glass Ceiling is History

by Nancy F. Clark (Follow her on Twitter)
Named one of Forbes: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter

 

 Standard Podcast [0:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Finally, and dramatically, public perception has changed!

Five years ago, anyone could say, “ A woman or an African American man cannot be elected President,” and it would be assumed to be true. Now, even though Hillary Clinton did not win, we can picture either type of candidate having a viable chance in the future. Imagine the change: Race or gender no longer eliminates you from becoming President of the United States!

This perception is percolating down into our business world with the outstanding performance of a number of female CEO’s: Carol Bartz of Yahoo, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, Ellen Kullman of DuPont, Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods, Ursula Burns of Xerox, as well as Angela Braly of WellPoint one of our largest Fortune 500 companies.

The Rules are Changing

You no longer have to dress like a man or act like a man to reach upper management—the level that was forbidden by the glass ceiling. You can act in a style that’s comfortable to you as long as you show others they can have confidence in you. My Business Tip of the Week shows you how to do this.

The Glass Ceiling Effect

Some of you may be wondering, “How strong was that glass ceiling?” With nearly half the U.S. workforce female, it only allowed 15% of the upper management desks to be occupied by women. So, assuming as I do, that women and men are equally competent in their abilities, we would be seeing 50% of those desks occupied by women if the glass ceiling had not existed.

This glass ceiling effect took place over and over again at review time. There’s a little bit of subjective thinking in a review, in the manager’s mind, that pushes a competent worker over the threshold into a higher level position. It goes like this, “She’s doing a good job . . . but she doesn’t look like upper management material in our company.” Well, that’s true. She probably doesn’t appear as confident or as imposing. She probably talks about her business worries—men work harder to not expose any weakness. And she probably doesn’t look like the current upper managers, 85% of whom are men.

What Must You Do?

Individually, we have to remove gender bias—along with racial and ethnic bias—from our subjective promotion criteria. I need to emphasize here that it doesn’t matter if the reviewing manager is male or female. We’ve been comparing our employees to men at the top. So, it’s up to each of us to do our part to conduct unbiased reviews—making sure the glass ceiling stays in the past.

5 Steps for Moving Up

Here’s what you can do to speed your ascent into the realm of upper management.

1. Believe that the glass ceiling is obsolete and that it won’t affect you. You know, act as if there’s no sexism left in business. Remember that others who still hold that belief are hanging onto a passé dogma.

1. Make a point of showing you’re a decision maker. You can solicit input, but assume your role as the final decision maker on projects. You must overturn that erroneous stereotype that women are indecisive. Management studies show female managers are good at making decisions.

1. Force yourself to be more of a risk taker. Women are more risk averse than men, and sometimes miss business opportunities. So, up your risk taking by 15%, 20%, or whatever takes you slightly out of your 100% safety zone.

1. Speak up when others will notice—remember, you’re now a player. Act like one.

1. Get help at home—help with the cleaning, help with the children, help with your elders—don’t assume you have to do it all. You’ll still have moments when you feel overwhelmed with your “other life duties,” but try not to complain at work. Your superiors might decide you can’t take on higher assignments.

My Business Tip of the Week asks you to join me in prodding companies to do the right thing. Here it is.

Business Tip of the Week:

See to it that the statistics for your company are published. The Internet is a good place. The purpose of these stats is to highlight your company’s positive role in shattering the glass ceiling, such as:  “Five years ago, 11% of the top 2 tiers of our company were female. This year we’ve progressed to 15% and we’re looking forward to progressing next year as well.” A public record of this is an incentive to do even better next year. And I’m all for incentives, because they work!

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Working Women.

Now that the glass ceiling is history, make your move—with confidence.

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Working Women.

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Website, WomensMedia, by Hilary M. Lips, Women and Leadership: The Delicate Balancing Act See solutions that smooth the way for women leaders.

Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Stacey Hanke, Communication and Vocal Power —Using Your Voice to Convey Confidence or listen to it here.

Podcast (always about 5 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Gender Stereotypes Hold Women Back—Those Little Put-Downs Really Do Add Up!

Save Time And Boost Your Leadership Status

by Nancy F. Clark (Follow her on Twitter)
Named one of Forbes: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter

 

 Delegation and Time Management [4:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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In a previous post, Time Management & Procrastination, I mentioned that delegating tasks to others can save you time. I urged you to stop procrastinating and start giving them away. Now I’m going to say, “Take a few extra minutes—this is not procrastinating—to decide exactly which tasks would be the ones to give away.”

If you own the company and feel like making coffee, running the copier, and wiping smudges off windows, go ahead with the busywork. But if you work for others and you’re concerned that they may not view you as Leadership Material, drop these tasks as soon as you can.

The fact that you’re concerned about time management lets me know that you have more than enough to do at work. That’s good, because it means there’s probably something you can delegate.

Why don’t some people want to delegate?

1. It could be that they want to appear indispensable—you know, “Just try to replace me!”
2. It could be they think it’ll be too much trouble to explain to someone else how to do the job.
3. Or, it could be they don’t want to accept the responsibility of making sure this other person is performing the new task well and on schedule.

To all three above, I say if you want to be considered Leadership Material, get over it! Now, are you ready to delegate? Good, here’s the Business Tip of the Week.

Tip:

There are certain tasks that lower your perceived status in the eyes of others. Your self-improvement lesson this week starts with jotting down the tasks you do in a month’s time. Put an up arrow in front of the status-enhancing ones and a down arrow in front of the down-dragging ones.

Concentrate on the down arrows. Add a #1 to those that you can see others doing fairly soon. Ah, who can you dump these on? No, let’s not get negative here. It may be possible to mentor an underling. What if you combined a couple of your menial tasks with one that’s a level up for this person? You could coach her (or him) while making sure those tasks are handled properly as well. Bundle these jobs together and visit your boss with your proposal for that up and coming person you have in mind, you know, your Time Saver.

Now go out there and improve your status while saving time! What could be better? Oh, I know, improving your status, saving time, and increasing your pay! We’ll get to that part soon.

Visit our website, www.WomensMedia.com, for Expert Advice for Working Women.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

On our website, WomensMedia Expert Advice for Business Women you should read these excellent articles:

Women and Leadership: Delicate Balancing Act by Hilary Lips, Ph.D., Director of Center for Gender Studies at Radford University

The Y-E-S of Inspiration: Becoming An Inspiring Leader by Rebecca Hourston, MA, CPCC, Director of Programs at Aspire in London, Winner of “Leader in the Workplace 2010”

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here,

Leadership Traits: How Do You Measure Up?

by Sharon Michaels (Read about her here.)

 

 leadership Traits [5:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Whether you are building an online marketing team, own a storefront with employees, or organize a monthly professional networking group, your leadership skills can often mean the difference between success and failure.

What are the traits of a great leader?

Interestingly enough, in 1954 Raymond Cattell developed a Leadership Potential Equation. This equation was based on the common basic qualities of the top military leaders of World War II. In fact, this equation is still used today as a guide for defining the traits of effective leadership. Here are a few traits from Raymond Cattell’s Leadership Potential Equation:

1. Self-confidence – Self-assuredness, self-confidence and resiliency are common and important traits among top leaders. They trust their own judgment and instincts and do not necessarily need the approval of others to make well thought out decisions.

2. Healthy energy – A leader is well aware that good health is a prerequisite to good leadership. With leadership comes the need to take care of oneself in mind, body and spirit. Healthy energy begins in a healthy body.

3. Enthusiasm – People want to follow positive, energetic, upbeat, optimistic leaders. They want their leader to enthusiastically look for and focus on solutions to day-to-day challenges.

4. Knowledge – A powerful leader should know what she’s talking about. There’s nothing worse than a leader who doesn’t walk her talk. The most charismatic leaders lead by example.

5. Emotional stability – Good leaders handle stress, anger, frustration and disappointment in positive and empowering ways. Emotional maturity is a must for effective leadership.

6.  Empathy – Personal power and recognition must take a back seat to the well being of the team. Empathy builds trust. Without a leader who is trustworthy, there is no team.

7. Charisma – A charismatic leader can rally a team to be and achieve their best. A leader with charisma can paint a vision of the future that her team will want to build upon and aim toward.

8. Goal oriented – Leadership means knowing how to set group goals—goals that will motivate and excite the team to grow and thrive personally and professionally.

I doubt if anyone is born a great leader. It is how a person handles the circumstances they are given that often determines true leadership qualities. Looking through these traits, how do you rank yourself as a leader? Remember, you can learn to lead.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read these excellent articles:

7 Steps to the Best Leadership Style and

Leadership Skills: Boost Your Business Acumen! and

5 Things Leaders Must Do to Stop the Gossip Mill

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here, or SharonMichaels here.

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By Stacey Hanke (Read about her here.)

 

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“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  Carl W. Buechner

Have you ever attended a comedy club where the comedians had you laughing constantly? When the lights come on, you were wishing for more because you had a great time and the comedians made you feel good.

Have you ever participated in a meeting, conference call, presentation, or face-to-face conversation feeling the complete opposite? You feel like time isn’t moving. You can’t wait to walk away and you’re bored to tears. Because the speaker is ineffective, you don’t remember the key points or ideas and there is nothing to quote.

Being memorable and quotable requires you to:

• Grab and keep the attention of listeners.

• Be clear, concise and to the point.

• Communicate a message that meets your listener’s expectations.

• Manage the amount of information you share.

Whether you are delivering a presentation, facilitating a meeting of having a face-to-face conversation, you’re objective is to influence action. When you are memorable and quotable, your listeners will remember more of your message for a longer length of time.  As a result, you’ll have more impact and influence on them.

Most of us never get close to being memorable and quotable because we frustrate our listeners. We communicate too much information and our message imparts information overload. Our listeners become frustrated because they begin to feel overwhelmed, confused or exhausted. In most cases, their reaction is to stop listening. They may be nodding their heads, giving you the impression they’re listening, but in reality you have filled their cup to capacity and it is now overflowing.

To make sure your listeners remember and retain the information you are communicating, create your content following “The Rule of Three,” which states that the human mind remembers in groups of three. This explains why we remember our phone numbers and Social Security numbers. When you offer more than three key points, your listeners are busy trying to remember each key point; they walk away with none of them. Keeping your key points to three or less will also help you remember what you came to communicate.

Identify up to three key points that will support your objective, meet your listener’s expectations and influence them to take action. Your key points serve as a road map that provides direction. Key points establish the framework for the action you want your listeners to take as a result of your message.

Always state your most important key point first. I know this sounds obvious, yet how many times have you saved the best for last? If you begin to run out of time, you end up racing through your most important key point, throwing it at your listeners and hoping they will cling to the idea. Often they will miss it!

When you state your most important key point first, you don’t need to worry about running out of time and failing to communicate a critical piece to your message. It’s not a make or break if you don’t have time to communicate your least important key point. Remember, your listeners don’t know what your key points are until you share them.

Leave your listener wanting more. You’ll have more impact on your listeners when you follow the rule of three because they will be able to make a decision to take action. When they walk away feeling frustrated, they end up with nothing!

The more memorable your message becomes, the more quotable you will be. Apply the following elements to your message to make it easier for your listeners to quote you.

• Use stories and examples relating to the experiences of your listeners.

• Speak their language. What phrases or acronyms do they use that you can apply to your message?

• Invite your listeners to connect, engage and interact with you. Ask them questions, have them repeat key take-aways, or restate your key take-aways at least three times throughout your message.

Be sure to visit our site, WomensMedia to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

For quick updates for Business Women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here, or StaceyHanke here.

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On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Add Confidence and Credibility to Your Presentations

or you may enjoy this: 10 Tips From Gretchen Rubin on How to Be Happy at Work

It may help to listen to:

How To Get Motivated —5 Steps For Motivation
or read it here.

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For Business Women: Does your Posture Communicate Confidence?

By Stacey Hanke (Read about her here.)

(Listen to it here.)

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Do you walk into a room like you belong there? Does your posture communicate confidence—or uncertainty?

Last week I attended a conference and was observing individuals as they walked into the room. The individuals who caught my attention walked into the room as if they were saying, “I’d rather be having a root canal than entering this room.” Their posture conveyed a lack of confidence and credibility. Not only did they walk with hesitation, but their seated posture communicated uncertainty.

If only we could see what others see when we enter a room, sit in a meeting, or participate in a face-to-face conversation. If you want to be taken more seriously and have more impact and influence, a powerful place to begin is with your standing and seated posture.

The challenge with communication behavior is that there is no right or wrong. Throughout this year’s podcasts, I’ll give recommendations on what I’ve found are the most effective ways to communicate with impact and influence.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

On our website, WomensMedia you should read this: Table-Talking Your Way to Networking, or this: 8 Tips for Fearless Communication in the Workplace .

It may help to listen to Gender Communication with Authority And Care —A Business Woman Can Be Careful Without Losing Her Authority
or read it here.

For quick updates for business women you should follow NancyFClark on twitter here.

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How To Cancel A Limiting Gender Stereotype

(Listen to it here.)

Be sure to visit our site, http://www.womensmedia.com/ to get Expert Advice for Business Women.

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Starting out in rocket science and computer technology, I was often the only woman in the room.

That’s another way of saying, the stereotype others had of me didn’t fit with the group, I was well aware of these assumptions.

I’ll bet you’ve had the feeling—at one time or another—that people have stuck a stereotype or label on you that made you out to be less than you are.

You may have felt like an outsider to their groups.

In their minds they could be thinking:

• She’s not important,
• She’s not educated,
• She’s not capable,
• She’s not assertive,
• it could even be, “Oh, she’s a mother.” and further questions might end right there.

You can see how this limits the opportunities a person is willing to offer you. In my Business Tip of the Week, I discuss how you can prepare ahead to cancel these negative, incorrect, stereotypes.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

Or on our website, WomensMedia, you may want to read What Keeps Women from Reaching the Top?

For quick business updates you should follow me on twitter here.

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A Business Woman Can Be Careful Without Losing Her Authority

(Listen to it here.)

Be sure to visit our site, www.WomensMedia.com to get Expert Advice for Women in Business.

I’m sure every woman has noticed this here and there at work:  A smart woman deferring to a man who is not entirely correct—and she knows it—and he doesn’t—but he’s speaking with confidence and a loud voice. It always makes me wonder why she’s deferring to him by not speaking up.

My Women in Business Tip of the Week teaches you how to show authority with men, without ruffling any feathers.

Listen to today’s podcast here.

In another podcast, you may want to listen to How To Manage Your Project —Organize A Project With Five Easy Steps

Or on our website, WomensMedia, you may want to read 8 Tips for Fearless Communication in the Workplace