As you make your mark in the work environment, there are many matters that as a woman you will likely navigate. Women have come a long way, but let’s face it – there’s still more work to do. Working in a company or owning your own business, really just living in society, you will still be exposed to many biases and challenges that will impact your experience. Here are some strategies for thriving in any workplace environment.a
Display your Confidence
Let others see the passion you have for your work and the life you are creating. Know your worth and don’t let others’ opinions driven by their own biases affect the way you value your self-worth. Trust what you have accomplished and the work that you have put in to get where you are in your professional life.
Strive for excellence ALWAYS
Work ethic – it’s something that defines you and if you don’t possess a strong work ethic, it immediately erodes your quality. It allows you to be impeccable with your word – delivering on promises and commitments and being accountable to the results. Doing the work will breed excellence…if you strive for excellence, success is imminent. However, if you are chasing excellence without the work or accountability, you will fall short.
Show Humility
We are all human, which means we all make mistakes. Share your mistakes, let other people learn from them. It is not something to be embarrassed about when you have a misstep or make an error. Mistakes are learning experiences for you and the people around you. Pointing out mistakes is healthy for all if we look at them as opportunities to grow and not feel ashamed or embarrassed, and not judge others. Give yourself permission to know that you are going to make mistakes, it’s all how you react and recover from them.
Be inclusive
People sometimes roll their eyes because of all the talk about inclusivity. They categorize its merit and mistakenly follow misdirected narratives about this topic. Being inclusive is not a new topic…it’s the golden rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated. But it also requires us to step outside our comfort zone – to cross over to understand someone else’s experience so that we can adapt our words and actions to include and welcome all. Today, this is a necessary skill in business. Despite what you might have heard from some of the non-believers, don’t make the mistake to jump on the bandwagon of outdated and unkind actions that will erode your trust and credibility.
Create boundaries and remain professional
Inside and outside of the office. One of the most difficult things to do is to gain respect from others. In a minute you can lose hard-earned respect with a slip in judgement. This is one of the hardest things that I have seen young businesspeople struggle with – creating boundaries at work. These days it is even more important when so much can be lost because of boundaries that get blurred – relationships that cross the line, consuming one to many drinks that leads to unfiltered behavior, getting too relaxed in the way you conduct yourself…all these factors can lead to loss of respect and credibility. It’s important to remember that there is a difference when you are at work or in a business setting than when you are with friends or family (if you work with friends or family, it’s even trickier.) It is also very easy to slip into when others are not holding those boundaries. Don’t make that mistake. Stay in the lines, maintain boundaries so that you don’t erode what you have worked towards.
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