Post by Jane K. Stimmler, contributing Women on Business writer.
It’s a new year with new opportunities. Maybe there are things you want to change about yourself, or perhaps you have a desire for change on a more global scale. Do you want to get ahead in your workplace? Change the culture of your organization? See more women rise to the top?
Whatever modification you want to make will require your effort, focus and passion. And, in order to effect change, you will need to eliminate any self-imposed barriers that are holding you back from realizing your potential as a leader.
Making change is not easy.
Margie Warrell, author of Find Your Courage: 12 Acts of Becoming Fearless in Work and Life, says that for women to make progress in the business world, they will need to “challenge both the perspectives they bring into the workplace and the actions they are willing to take to grow their leadership ability.” She goes on to discuss three important issues:
- Mindset: a fundamental shift into a leader mindset
- Capacity: intentionally cultivating habits that build resilience and grow leadership capacity
- Courage: a willingness to step into difficult conversations with greater candor and boldness
Indeed, these areas are frequently difficult for women because of our innate styles and conditioning. And, male-dominated corporate cultures have been ingrained for so long that women often find it difficult to continually battle workplaces they view as unyielding and unwelcoming. However, if women are to make their marks, they need to step out of their comfort zones and take the steps necessary to push ahead. We must be willing to make some tough calls and bold moves in order to achieve authority and power – because only as more women are in corporate leadership positions will real change come.
Do you see yourself as a leader? Are you willing to push for what you want and deserve? Are you resilient enough to overcome difficulties and defeats? Is it important to you to change the paradigm? If enough of us say “yes” and really mean it, 2012 will be a good year.
What do you think? Please share!
Image: flickr
Hilary Brooks
Hilary Brooks is President, CEO of A Virtual Edge, a full-service virtual assistant company, and Owner of freelance web design company Small Biz Web Whiz. Hilary and her team offer a wide variety of services to busy entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches, and bloggers, providing the office and creative support they need to succeed without all the hassles of hiring a traditional employee.
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These are some very important questions to ask ourselves. The start of the year is always a great time to reflect on what we really want to become, what we need to change, what difference we need to make. Thanks for the inspiration!