How Women Can Succeed in Leadership By Believing in Ourselves

The World Economic Forum is one of my favorite times of the year. In many ways, I see it as the “New Year” for organizational commitments, partnerships and new ways of thinking. It sets the agenda for professional priorities for the next 12 months and serves as an opportunity to form and build new partnerships and ways to approach evolving challenges of our global communities.

One area that I am personally interested in following are discussions around the changing landscape of women in leadership – from how they overcome challenges to get to leadership positions, to how they are perceived as equals once they get there.

Tomorrow I will be attending a discussion hosted by Kantar and the Women Leaders Global Forum where they will discuss the latest Reykjavik Index for Leadership, which measures the extent to which women and men are viewed equally in terms of suitability for positions of leadership across all sectors of the economy in the G7 nations. The report assigns a score for each country (as well as job sectors), that is developed based on exploring the question: “For each of the following sectors or industries, do you think men or women are better suited to leadership positions?”.

Below is a graph which shows the index differences between men and women:

The Index runs from 0 to 100; a score of 100 means that across society, there is complete agreement that men and women are equally suited to leadership in all sectors. While I think there is a huge opportunity to improve these scores, especially among men, who still have a long way to go when it comes to thinking women are equally qualified as men for leadership positions, what shocked me the most is how low the scores are among how women perceive women as leaders.

As a female leader, I tend to naturally think that women are supportive of themselves and each other to be leaders in their field. But what’s clear from the results of this index, is that we still have a surprisingly long way to go when it comes to women thinking women are equally qualified as men to be leaders. As women, we need to be aware of the challenges we face, and although it may not be fair, we need to work a little differently to overcome them. Below I have outlined my thoughts for women striving to become leaders, and how they can map their path to success:

• Think of yourself as a personal brand at work: My advice to anyone who wants to rise in their career is to think about what they want their “personal brand” to be- and then build, own and represent that brand. For many women, this means starting with defining who they are and what they want professionally.  Women tend to wear many hats in life, and often think about what they need to get done each day, versus how they can own their professional self-brand.
• Set clear goals and raise your hand for opportunities: To truly own your brand, this means setting clear goals, raising your hand for challenging opportunities, using strong language that define your point of view. Brands don’t apologize for who they are, and neither should women (or anyone for that matter) who want to be successful and stand out amongst the competition.
• Ask for what you want; don’t ask for permission along the way: A lot of getting where you want and what you want is not asking for permission for it or apologizing for who you are and what you believe in. For example, while there are many factors that go into equal pay (and companies need to work to ensure equally qualified people are paid equally regardless of gender), women need to be proactive speak up and ask for raises. Men are four times more likely than women to ask for a raise—and when women do ask, they typically request 30% less than men do, according to Carnegie Mellon University economics professor Linda Babcock. A lot of being successful in life is exuding confidence. If you believe in yourself, others will too.
•  Don’t Talk Yourself Down: In ‘The Language of Female Leadership,’ Dr. Judith Baxter reported that women are four times more likely to use ‘Out-of-Power’ language, including engaging in ‘double-voice discourse.’ This means we assume someone will respond negatively to what we have to say and so we qualify our opinion to mitigate the risk. (i.e., “correct me if I’m wrong…” or “I know I’m not the ultimate expert on this…”) By using this kind of language more frequently, women can not only limit themselves as being perceived as experts, but also open the door for others to come in as the authority on a topic and sabotage their opportunities as leaders.
• Find a support network of female leaders: One of the most interesting findings I took away from the 2018 Reykjavik Index for Leadership was how low the index was for women across all counties who thought women are equally suited for leadership positions. If we don’t believe in ourselves as women, then how will we move ourselves forward as leaders? We are all stronger together as partners than we are alone. Businesses and professional organizations have recognized this and seek partnerships and collaborations where it makes sense to strengthen their core capabilities. Women need to think this way too – find mentors in areas where you want to grow, or female leaders who are role models who can serve as advisors for your leadership career path.

While I am glad to see we are taking interest in attitudes and perceptions around female leaders as part of the movement for change, it is clear we have much further to go when it comes to gender perceptions around qualifications of what it takes to be a leader. I am hopeful that the discussions at Davos will bring us closer to those changes as leaders and organizations equalize women’s seats at the leadership table.

Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn, one of the largest global independent public relations agencies, speaks frequently about female leadership, workplace culture and social issues. She attends the Fortune Most Powerful Women conference annually and her written work has appeared in publications such as Fortune, Forbes and CEO Magazine.  She is known for her work positioning companies and CEOs as changemakers in an era of disruption. Bloomgarden is the author of Trust: The Secret Weapon of Effective Business Leaders.