11 Steps to take to claim your seat at Table of Organisational Greatness

Written by Caryn Walsh, Business Consultant, International Leadership and team Development Specialist, Facilitator, Executive coach

There is little that women cannot do. We cook, clean, play taxi driver, wash, help others, plan for the family, look after our parents, neighbours and other people’s children, yet in business we often falter.

Why is that? Why do we earn 16.7% less than our male counterparts, even though we do the same job and perform in the same way (maybe even better?). Globally women hold less than 22% of seats in national parliaments and only ten women have served as heads of state and 15 as heads of government as of 2015.

Whilst this question can be answered in the context of history, there are various studies that indicate that women are not confident or self-believing in business enough and over time to get what they really want.

Mind-Set Change

If you believe you won’t succeed in business, you won’t. If you have a mindset that there is no point applying for your dream job because you ‘will never get it,’ you have no change of doing so. A mindset change is required for women in business to think about what it is they want, design a plan to get there and then follow that path to achieve the successful career of which you dream. It’s time to get serious!

Female Inventors

Women over the history of time have achieved some amazing things. We are all capable of great things, and many have already invented personal and professional items and tools that today we take for granted.

First Car Heater – Margaret Wilcox (1893)
The Fire Escape – Anna Connelly (1887)
The Dishwasher – Josephine Cochrane (1887)
The Life Raft – Maria Beasely (1882)
Architect of solar power – Dr Maria Telkes (1947)
The modern electric fridge – Florence Parpart (1900)
The first computer programmer – Ada Lovelace (daughter of Lord Byron)
The first closed circuit television security – Marie Brown (1969)
Bullet proof vests – Dr Stephanie Kwolek

Australian Women in Small Business – A force with which to be reckoned

Often, tired of being undervalued in the workplace and struggling to ‘catch up’ in their careers after having returned from maternity leave, many women have become entrepreneurs, using their determination, courage and intelligence to create, and run, highly successful businesses from home.

According to http://www.womensnetwork.com.au/index.cfm

Women are at the heart of the small business economy with 668,670 women now running and operating businesses across Australia
Half of all female small business owners with children are solo mumpreneurs and 81% of them work from home
According to recent ABS data, there are now more women than men running businesses in the 33-45-year-old age bracket
Women own almost half of all home-based businesses and one-third of businesses operating from other locations
Women setting up business from home is the fastest growing sector of the Australian economy
Women make or influence 80% of all purchasing decisions
Women owned businesses have less external debt, are more profitable (and earlier) than those owned by men

Claiming your Seat

There are many Organisations (Westpac and Telstra, for example) that are helping women carve productive careers within their ranks and addressing the gender inequity problem in the workplace.

Whilst these strategies need to be applauded, we have a long way to go. And it starts with us, women.

Get clear about where you want to go in your career. Design your plan
Identify the steps you need to take to get to the top of your game – it is study, travel, mentoring etc?
Execute your plan and regularly assess how you are travelling against your goals
Be flexible, but never sacrifice your dreams or your goals
Don’t allow yourself to be treated as ‘second best.’ You go for top slot or not at all
Never allow anybody in business to compromise your integrity
You are a woman who is determined and capable, so be assertive in naming your price and taking a stand
Have a strong dose of faith and self-belief
Be resilient at all times. Your career may go through peaks and troughs, but overall stand tall and continue to bounce forward every time you experience a set back
Love your life. Don’t take yourself too seriously
Step up to the Table of Organisational Greatness. You deserve a seat around it so go and get it!

Caryn Walsh is at the helm of Pure Magic International Business Solutions. They develop leaders, people and teams in Organisations in Australia and internationally. Pure Magic trains and coach’s leaders and builds teams to become high performing. They run leadership programs, workshops and leadership Retreats and offer a range of leadership training and team building training programs and conference speaking.