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Women's Empowerment Tools
By Susan E West
If you've ever felt undervalued in the workplace as a woman,
you shouldn't. Women are becoming more and more prominent in
work environments and even have special skills that can help
them succeed even in a male-dominated career. Recognizing the
natural self empowering tools for women, that women already
possess, can be very powerful.
Women have natural talents, but may feel as though those
talents are not relevant to a place of business. This is
incorrect. It is true that women, just like men, still need to
master practical and technical business skills in order to
succeed, but when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder,
they have unique skills that organizations value. By simply
tapping into these skills, women can empower themselves to
obtain anything and everything they want.
Let's start with communication – a skill that is vital to
success. Women are natural communicators. Have you ever noticed
how a mother "just knows" how important it is to talk and
interact with her children, using appropriate language and
phrase-structure that a child can understand. This same skill,
slightly adjusted, works perfectly in a business environment.
For instance, a woman who is managing other people must know how
to communicate with each person individually in a manner that
each person can understand.
Helen Fisher, author, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of
Women and How They Are Changing the World, refers to this as a
flair for language. Fisher describes the increasing need for the
ability to communicate with written and spoken words. To quote
her, "At talking, women have the edge." Fisher describes how the
female gender, even at very young ages "excel at... verbal
fluency - rapidly finding appropriate words, phrases or
sentences." Fisher writes "Women are, on average, more
articulate at saying what they say." Women embracing this
knowledge and trusting their natural language talent in
communication will find their confidence building.
In terms of teaching or coaching, women also have an advantage.
The nurturing characteristics that come more easily to women
make it possible for women to help children learn and develop.
The right combination of encouragement, discipline, freedom and
boundaries will lead to a child whose confidence and abilities
are very mature and continue to exceed that of other children.
When this type of situation is applied to the business world, a
woman can do the same thing for employees.
Once again Helen Fisher's research as presented in The First
Sex states, "Women are, on average, more interested in
cooperation, harmony, and connections - a network of support."
She further writes, "Women characteristically believe everyone
can succeed in business; they take a win-win attitude in the
office world."
Many women are also skilled at multi-tasking or multi-focusing.
Juggling people, reports, deadlines and all the necessary
resources become critical to the success of the teams' results.
Helen Fisher references that human's evolution, even back to
ancestral times, show a woman had to rear helpless and
long-dependent babies under highly dangerous conditions
demonstrating the need for multitasking even then. I lover her
description: "In order to rear helpless infants, ancestral
mothers needed to do a lot of things at the same time. Watch for
snakes. Listen for thunder. Taste for poison. Rock the sleepy.
Distract the cranky. Instruct the curious. Soothe the fearful.
Inspire the tardy. Feed the hungry. Mothers had to do countless
daily chores while they stoked the fire, cooked the food and
talked to friends."
Of course, not all women have mothering skills and not all
women are the same, but all women have the ability to identify
the skills they possess and use them for personal and
professional empowerment. Women can be just as effective at
business leadership as men. If figuring out what makes you a
successful woman interests you, why not make a list of all your
personal attributes - those natural talents and empower yourself
to soar to new heights of success.
About the Author: Packed full of perceptive and practical
information for managers, business owners, and MBA students;
visit us today at http://www.TheLeadershipResource.com for
instant free access to amazing business resources, articles and
checklists. Learn about your leadership style, potential and
ability; then share it with your colleagues and employees. Or
contact QuadWest Associates at 800-809-2721. Susan West has held
many executive leadership positions during her 26 years of
business experience. She shares her knowledge and lessons
learned through a variety of programs offered by QuadWest
Associates, LLC including coaching, leadership workshops,
tele-seminars and consulting.
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