Be who you want to be

It can be tough for women, with many sectors still digging their heels in against gender equality. But things are getting better and it doesn’t matter who or what or why you are – it matters only how you inhabit the job and lead your team.

But don’t just take our word for it…

Being there

According to Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook: “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

Wise words indeed. Being male or female is irrelevant. What’s important is that you can provide effective mentorship and life lessons that stay long afterwards.

Daring to fail

“We need to accept we don’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes,” says Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor of Huffington Post. “Understand failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”

That’s true. Historically, women were made to feel incapable of taking on the top jobs. This led to a fear of failure that saw few applying for executive positions.

Today, however, women are embracing failure, learning from it and making themselves even more successful as leaders.

Offering Certainty

“People respond well to those who are sure of what they want,” says Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue.

Confidence does not come naturally to everyone but certainty can be learned and conveyed with practice.

It comes back to being bold and brave: if you get fully behind your positive vision for the business, others will stand with you.

Making Opportunities

Mrs C J Walker was the first female self-made millionaire in America so she knew a thing or two about being a successful businesswoman.

Her secret? “I had to make my own living and my own opportunities but I made it. Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”

If you’d like to emulate Mrs Walker, you must make your own opportunities. And the first place to start is at jobs24.com where you can find some of the greatest gender-neutral vacancies

Posted on November 22, 2018