I always advise my female executive clients to be competent, more so than your male counterparts. Have integrity, as a leader, in any organization, those you lead will count integrity as their first and greatest expectation of their leaders. Be fair, being fair means the rules apply to everyone equally. Be consistent, when one takes on the responsibilities of a leader, gone are the days of expressing sheer joy at work and the next day showing over the top anger. Be for those you lead; your team will produce miracles for you if they know you care about them.
Now I add two more pieces of advice—Be Brave and Be Bold.
Lately, it seems women are more than challenged. Some could make an argument women are under attack. Be brave—know your values, live your values and stand for something! Be bold—when you're right, hold your ground. When you are wrong, admit it, learn from it and move on. If an apology is necessary, apologize. Be sincere, don't dwell on it; ask yourself "what did I learn from this?" Never miss an opportunity to learn something new. And by the way, we all know when an apology is necessary. Apologies are not a sign of weakness. Rather, it speaks to your quality as a person of honor and integrity.
Ladies, and those gentlemen out there who read this section, go forward and BE BRAVE AND BE BOLD.
|