Why Every Woman Needs Personal Leadership Skills
When I tell potential clients I help women develop leadership skills, I sometimes hear “I don’t care about being a leader; I just want to be recognized for what I do and get paid my worth." When I follow this up by asking “So do you feel recognized for what you do?” and “Are you happy with what you make?” most often the answer is no.
The truth is that even though it’s 2020, women are still undervalued and underpaid. This is a universally common circumstance that spans all age ranges. The most common concern I hear from high-achieving women is the lack of confidence in their ability to command top pay and recognition for their work.
Why is this? While there is ample lip service paid to equitable pay and fairness in hiring, why aren’t we further ahead? Is it just that the odds are against us and we must wait for societal changes to get our fair share? The sobering news is that we’ve been waiting and waiting like the good little girls we’ve been taught to be, and it’s not happening.
I believe it’s time to stop waiting.
That’s why it’s time to permit ourselves to know our worth and demand to be treated accordingly. That’s personal leadership, and we owe it to ourselves to develop this skill to thrive at work and in life.
The first step in achieving this is to define what personal leadership is. How does it differ from traditional leadership models, and what are the benefits of developing these skills? Where do we even begin?
Most of us are familiar with the phrase “You’re not the boss of me.” We say this cheekily as ten-year-olds to our friends, so sure of what we don’t want and ready to take on the world with total ownership of our bodies, minds, and spirits. Then somewhere along the way, we get lost. We speak up just enough to get by. Just enough to get the job, but not the promotion, enough to get the relationship, but not the true equality we crave at home, a good enough but ultimately unsatisfying life. We forget that ultimately that little girl had it right all along. No one is the boss of you. YOU are the boss of your life.
I see personal leadership as the ability to choose the path of your life and career and move confidently in the direction of your dreams. It’s about setting (and sticking to) personal boundaries regarding the treatment you accept from others. Speaking up when you’d rather just go along, and not being afraid to own and showcase your strengths. Personal leadership is not about exploiting others or being a bitch (a word used to control our behavior for far too long); it’s about knowing and owning your worth. And yes, it is a skill that can be learned.
If you're tired of waiting and ready to claim a wildly successful life you love, connect with me and let's start a conversation.