Unfortunately, most women confuse “being assertive” with “being aggressive.” Assertive women express themselves without becoming defensive. Assertive women share their opinions without belittling those of others. Assertive women command respect.
Aggressive women, on the other hand, can be seen as defensive, bullying and disrespectful of others.
I think the difference is clear. Do you?
Karyl Brown
My Current Job/Company:
Director, Risk and Regulatory Administration at H. D. Smith in Springfield, Illinois
My Birthdate:
July 15th, 1965
My Work:
Regulatory compliance for a national pharmaceutical wholesaler. I develop process improvements, controls and collaborative customer solutions!
My Passion:
My Family and Ohio State Football
My Family:
My best friend and soul mate, Dave; daughters Kennedy [16] and Lyndsey [13]
My Hero:
My dear friend who has been living with stage 4 breast cancer since June 2004! She is such an ongoing inspiration.
My Escape:
Curling up with a blanket, a good book and a glass of wine! The beach is nice too:)
My Pet Peeve:
A lack of accountability and poor customer service
My Indulgence:
Naps
My Roots:
Blue Collar/humble
My Future:
Full of unknown opportunities
My Love:
Faith, family and friends
My Favorite Movie:
Top Gun
My Quote on Life:
Character is who you are when no one is watching!
My Accessory:
I love pearls
My Mentor/Coach:
I often rely on the advice from several friends who are wiser than I am!
My Advice to Young Women:
Be confident and accountable. Believe in yourself and your ideas. Never underestimate the power of girlfriends, so take time now to develop these friendships! Learn how to have non-electronic conversations and relationships (a.k.a., real face to face conversations!)
How I Balance it All:
My faith keeps me grounded.
Too many female executives think of themselves as “non creatives.” But creativity isn’t necessarily about painting or writing or the things we often associate with the word. It’s essentially about looking at things in a new way.
In fact, the definition of creativity is:
The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
Your rising stars need encouragement to think creatively. But they also need some explanation around what “thinking creatively” actually means. Because, most of the time, successful business leaders are already “thinking creatively” and don’t even realize it! You need to encourage more of that behavior.
In his post about creativity, Think Smart, Brian Tracy offers some ways to help leaders tap into their mojo and think differently about solutions to business problems, challenges and issues.
Check it out. And then get your team’s creative juices flowing!
Creativity and problem solving skills are two of the biggest competitive advantages any associate can bring to an organization. If you want to add value to your organization, think about how to solve problems before situations even become problems!
“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.”
-Epictetus
You know how some women just “seem” like executives? There is something about the way they carry themselves, speak and interact with others.
A recent survey by Sally Williamson and Associates showed that, of the nearly 400 executives and CEO’s surveyed, 89% felt that “presence” helped them get ahead.
The company defines Executive Presence as: “the confidence to express your ideas with conviction and the ability and desire to engage and influence others in the process.”
Business 2 Community explores the results of this survey in their article, What is Executive Presence?, and the surprising, as well as validating, things about the insights offered.
What do you think creates executive presence? Do you think it’s important?
Those women who “command” executive presence don’t actually “command” or “demand” anything in life. They walk, talk, and work gracefully, but with authority. That’s what makes them special!
Many successful women, no matter what level they are in the organization, wish they had better time management skills.
The demands of leadership are tough, and getting the most out of every minute requires a discipline that many people lack.
In his blog post, Develop Excellent Time Management Skills, Brian Tracy reminds us that time management, like anything, requires motivation. Seems pretty basic, right? But when you dig a little deeper, you’ll find what separates those with great time management skills and those who wish they had them.
Ask your leaders what specific motive they have for getting more out of every minute. The answer may be slightly different for everyone.
Some women want to spend more time with their family. Some women are focused on doing more in the workplace. Some women have hobbies and interests that require more time than they have.
Help your leaders pinpoint why they want more time and then help them keep that in mind as they work on developing the discipline it takes to be truly efficient with the amount of hours we have available to us every day.
Motivation is a powerful tool – use it!
As managers, one of the most common things we hear from our rising stars is, “I don’t have enough hours in the day!” Or, “I wish I had more time.” or, “Can you help me with my time management skills?”
Here’s one simple tip you can give any employee and especially those with the motivation and skills to rise to the top of your organization:
Start and end meetings on time.
When practiced consistently, this one thing makes all the difference. Tell your leaders to be tough on this topic and don’t let other people take advantage of their time.
In fact, we should all try this. Imagine what our work days would look like!
Hilary Corna
My Current Job/Company:
Author of One White Face, National Speaker, & Kaizen Leader; On a Nationwide High School & College Speaking Tour sponsored by Toyota Motor USA.
My Birthdate:
05.01.85
My Work:
I inspire courage and possibilities in students and young professionals to better prepare them for the global work environment.
My Passion:
Japan, Yoga, my family
My Family:
Renee (mom), Joey (twin brother), Emily (28), Adrienne (31), Johnny (33)
My Hero:
My mom.
My Escape:
Rawa Island, Malaysia
My Pet Peeve:
Having to repeat or redo something.
My Indulgence:
Sweets: Creme brulee and/or Tiramisu.
My Roots:
Family oriented; 5 acres; Outskirts of city
My Future:
City; In the hustle; Spreading love
My Love:
Having silly dialogue with International Students. The daily surprises of living abroad. The final few moments of yoga practice. Hugging my best friends. Walking my mom’s dogs with her.
My Movie:
Pretty Woman.
My Quote on Life:
“Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
My Accessory:
Titanium Skagen watch
My Advice to Young Women:
Respect your elders
How I Balance it All:
I say no, a lot.