How to become the superwoman of your chosen profession.

Photo courtesy of Jyn Meyer, http://jynmeyer.com/

Someone recently asked me how you can become the superwoman of your chosen profession?

As a superwoman in the making, or so I would like to think when I'm out there consulting in the business world, I thought I'd let them share in my powerful career strategies, as they seemed to be working for me.

Career Strategy 1: You are what you believe.
If you want to succeed, make sure what you believe matches the destination you are seeking. In my experience, a woman has to work harder and smarter to make the same inroads as a man in the work place, so get over it and start focusing your attention on the prize! Like an actor on a stage, you have to own your space. If you believe the character you are portraying, others will too. The more passionate you are about your goals, the more others will become the bridge to you reaching them.

Career Strategy 2: Plan ahead.
Like anything in life, if you plan, you are more likely to reach your target.

Dr Stephen Covey, in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People states, "Begin with the end in Mind"

Kind of like getting into your car and taking out the road map and working out the quickest route to your destination. It may mean putting the idea of children on hold or going back to college to learn new skills. If you take the time to plan, at least you will be able to see how achievable your dream is. Then once you have your plan in place, it is time to get started and to keep track of how you are going, through regular reviews.

Career Strategy 3: Place yourself in the company of those who will help you succeed.
It was no accident that Richard Branson, from the Virgin empire, became rich. He became the master of networking and association. If you read his biography, he proves how effective name-dropping and association with successful people can be in promoting yourself and your products. If you aspire to be a leader, then get amongst the leaders. If you aspire to be a brilliant scientist, then give yourself the best opportunity by aligning yourself with people who are on the cutting edge. Join a professional group or association. Then use all your charm to let people know you are in the market and adopt a 50:50 giving mentality.

Career Strategy 4: Work smarter not harder
Gifted with so much when it comes to being resourceful and creative, women are able to bring all of their mothering instincts to the workplace. Adopt professional standards when it comes to customer service, but temper them with your woman's intuition. If there are changes that you see could or should be made to streamline processes, let the appropriate person know and offer to implement them. A positive contributor to a team is always in hot demand.

Career Strategy 5: Watch Your Words
An unwise woman squanders opportunities by saying inappropriate things. If you can bridle your tongue, when you do speak your words will have weight.

Career Strategy 6: Always Follow Through
Deliver on what you promise. If you earn a reputation for getting it done, chances are your door will be the first knocked on when an opportunity arises.

Career Strategy 7: Keep Your Life in Balance
You may want to be a superwoman but you are not super human! Unlike a Barbie doll that has a lifetime guarantee, women can wear out, so it is important to establish some boundaries in your life and decide what they are going to be ahead of things. This is doubly important if you are working and raising a family as children can really suffer when their mothers are more devoted to their careers. As a child who grew up with a full-time working mother, I can honestly say that time was the one thing she was never able to give me and it has marked my life.

I firmly believe you can accomplish things you never thought were possible once
you put your mind to it.

There may be some obstacles to overcome along the way, unfortunately, that is life. How boring would it be if you never had to overcome anything? You'd never grow because it is adversity that makes us strong. Think about an exercise program. What builds your muscles? Resistance. Life builds are resilience and our muscles if we don't give up because we think it's all too hard. Dust off your superwoman outfit, because if you implement my suggestions, you are now dressed and ready for action.

Is there such a thing as a perfect woman?

What does the perfect woman look like?

The media will give you one set of rules, your partner or parents another, but what does the perfect woman look like? What are her values, her morals, her goals, her achievements?

I think that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that none of us match up to the messages we are receiving from voices outside of our own heads, so why try?

Why not do something radical and be your own woman and own the woman you are, completely?

What does that mean? It means doing a little exploring to see what is within you, to better understand yourself. It means doing a little exploring to see what the opportunities there are that surround you every day. And finally, it means taking full responsibility for every area of your life. I mean, do you really have to look like Marilyn Monroe, have the political clout of Hillary Clinton and the empire building nous of Oprah to be acceptable?

In Proverbs 31 of the bible, there is a section that praises the virtuous woman and extols her virtues. It's worth a read, as it is a challenge on all fronts. Firstly, let me say it ends by saying, "Many women have done wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all!" (Message Bible) This kind of lets us all of the hook a bit because it is saying that this woman was not your average woman. She excelled at everything! Are we required to marry up to her standards on all fronts? I don't believe so.

But what it does give us is some key areas that we can exam against our own lives and see if these are areas we would like to improve or develop. Such things as, focus on family, exercise, wealth building activities, diet, being productive with our hands, the level of idleness or level of activity in our lives, our ability to build trust in our relationships, our generosity, our servanthood, our standing in the community, our level of organisation, our attitude to life and work, our homemaking and other skills, our words, and finally, our ability to supervise and influence others.

I believe that every woman has the potential to be perfect - perfectly her. If you are being perfectly you, owning all that you are, making the most of all that you can be, that is all that life can really ask of you.

You may not realise it, but you can be quite influential without even knowing it. To give you an example, when I was in Year 11 at school, the uniform was pants (blue or black slacks, no jeans) and a white shirt. Previously, many years prior, there used to be a box pleat tunic, with a blazer, tights, white shirt and tie. I decided that unlike everyone else, who was happy being comfortable and practical, I was going to revert to the old school uniform, which was really impractical and not really all that comfortable. Don't ask me why, I just thought it would be fun. So I went to the local Op Shop and purchased all the bits I needed. I took a deep breath on Monday morning, donned the uniform and went to school. Some people looked at me with their mouths opened and eyebrows raised, but within a month the majority of the upper school was wearing the old box pleat uniforms. This showed me that it doesn't take much to be a person of influence if you are willing to stand out in a crowd!

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the question, "Is there such a thing as a perfect woman?" And ask yourself the question, "If not, what's holding me back from enjoying who I am?" and "What could I be doing to make my mark in the world, if I had the confidence to accept all of me?"

Post your thoughts.