5 Ways Diverse Women Can Amplify Their Voices
Queens why hard work isn’t enough?
Hard work alone is never enough to take you all the way to the top!
Some of us have worked for companies for years and have never got a look in when it comes to progression
UK author, Kate Lister Tweeted:
“How old were you when you realised your original plan of being really nice, working really hard, & taking on much more than you should in the hope you would be automatically rewarded for this without asking, was totally shit?”
The reality is if you are struggling to climb the ladder and really want to get ahead, you need to be doing more than just your job!
Mastering the art of communication can be far more valuable than playing office politics in helping to get a promotion, than hard work alone EVER will.
It seems far easier to fade into the background and avoid drawing attention to ourselves.
Hence, diverse women are often more negatively impacted or overlooked for promotions and pay rises, because they are less likely to draw attention to themselves.
Even within a war, even within being under siege, we still have this racism and inequality. I have personally felt sickened by the double standards of world leaders, media & border police to those of Non- European decent trying to leave Ukraine this week.
We really have to change how we look at humanity!
5 Ways Diverse Women can amplify their voices
You must start to recognise and celebrate your leadership qualities without waiting for something as infrequent as a performance review to get noticed.
Pushing yourself forward or showing your teams strengths before anyone else will notice shows you are that go-getter they need to level up the organisation.
Here are 5 ways to draw attention to your endeavours and get noticed, as the confident competent leader you already are;
1. Speak up in meetings. This is your biggest opportunity to be heard—meetings are meant for discussion and speaking up. Don’t just sit in the back and say nothing. If you struggle speaking up put yourself on the agenda or start by asking questions.
2. Join a cross organisational group. Nearly every company has a variety of groups. Most of the women I work with support a race or gender group with cross organisational collaboration. This is a great way to get on the radar of the leaders you want to influence or get to work closely with people who you would not usually have access to. If you are not in a leadership role yet, it is also an opportunity to showcase your leadership qualities.
3. Participate in internal collaboration platforms. Speak up online. Treat it like you internal LinkedIn or Twitter. Start conversations, join the dialogue, and make your presence known across the company, as a thought leader in your sphere of influence or even by saying something controversial.
4. Offer solutions. It’s easy to point out what’s wrong—the challenge is creating and offering positive solutions. Look for problems within your team or company and come up with solutions.
5. Disrupt your inner dialogue. Many women stay silent in rooms because they don’t believe in themselves or lack confidence about what they bring to the table. Don’t allow your inner critic to keep you silent. Work on your inner dialogue to increase your confidence and keep celebrating your achievements.