How many times have I sat across from a new client and thought, “She needs to change her mind about success!”. This happens so often that I’ve come to expect it, but I wish that wasn’t true. I wish women understood that much of the conventional advice about career success is all wrong for them (it’s mostly written by men for other men!), and that moving beyond it will open new doors they never saw coming, especially at the Executive level.
First of all, examine the story of your career. When you tell it to others, does it sound something like, “I was offered an internship at [some company] out of college, then my manager went on maternity leave and the company asked me to fill in, then they gave me the job full-time, then a recruiter from [another company] called me, then they gave me an offer and I’ve been here for fifteen years.”
Is this what you really believe? This story is told in a passive voice. It sounds like your career is a series of things that happened to you, instead of a progression of choices that you actively and intentionally made. It makes it seem like you haven’t been in control of anything! The listener might think that you are simply a lucky person, instead of a skilled, strategic and valuable one.
Here’s something I’ve learned from working with my clients: if you’re still talking like this about your career, you haven't yet made up your mind to be successful.
Because career success, especially if you want to reach the Executive level, requires powerful belief in yourself as a hero who can actively overcome any obstacles that are put in your path.
If you don’t have this mindset yet, you can’t form a viable strategy for career success.
Look, I get it. You may be afraid that success will turn you into an ego monster, or a ragged, stressed-out mess. You may believe that success will turn everyone against you. Maybe you don’t think you have what it takes (2016 called, it wants its impostor syndrome back!). Or maybe you believe, deep down, that you’re just not worthy of the success that you crave.
Do I need to tell you that these beliefs can have serious consequences on your career? For example, if you think that success turns people into ego-monsters, you probably think you can let your work “speak for itself” in meetings, performance reviews, and job interviews. You might even let someone else take credit for your work, believing that it’s better to “be a team player” than get the credit you deserve. Or you might avoid big presentations, because you don’t want to mess up and feel bad about yourself.
The list goes on and on. But would it shock you to learn that most of my Executive clients, including those at a Senior level, have been through all that? They came out the other side and changed their minds about success. They decided that they were going to go for it. Not sometime in the future, when everything might feel a bit safer, but right now.
Now is when we start crafting your success strategy, which includes mindset focus, communication strategies, and Executive presence training. This process is transformative and mind-blowing and it can change everything. I’ve taken hundreds of clients at Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Merrill Lynch, and tons of other companies through it. The best part is when they share with me how they keep growing to fit their expanding definition of success.
If you could see my face right now you’d see that I’m grinning ear-to-ear, because I know how powerful this transformation can be for women. I want this for you!! The question is, do you want it for yourself?
Then change your mind and email me right now! If you are a mid-career Executive woman who wants to advance your career, let’s schedule a brief intro call so we can get to know each other. Looking forward to connecting!