Expert Advice From Female Entrepreneurs Part 1
Expert Advice From Female Entrepreneurs Part 1 “Women on Top-How to Get There”
Today I’d like to share with you excerpts from a webinar hosted by Amanda Gome, founder and publisher of the business E-newsletter Smart Company (www.smartcompany.com.au) 
Yes, I know the title it is a bit risqué and a tad misleading (sorry guys), but bear with me.
The content is vital even if you are a woman executive with no intention of starting your own company and becoming an entrepreneur.
Amanda invited 3 highly successful women entrepreneurs Diana Gribble, Gillian Franklin and Kristina Karlsson who also hold board positions to speak frankly about their experiences climbing the corporate ladder, give their views on the obstacles that stand in the way of women in their careers and how successful men do it right to get to the top.
Here are the first 3 tips on the subject of Vision:
TIP 1:
FOCUS ON THE END GAME
When I talk to women in their 20s and 30s and say to them how do you visualize what you want to be doing as a person when you’re 45 or 50, a lot of them say, oh I haven’t considered that. But to me, that’s imperative and then you work back and say: in order to be running this division in a big company, or having my own business or being a
CEO in a company, these are the skills I need to pick up along the way. So I think for women to be promoted, they need to be much more focused on the end game and then work back and say I need to do this along the way in order for me to get there. Diana Gribble
TIP 2:
DEVELOP YOUR VISION
Successful males in businesses spend very little time on reflection. They are always thinking forward and over the hill whereas women will be more inclined to reflect on what’s happening at the moment. I think developing the vision means clearing a space in your head to fill it with that vision. The vision is how you and your business can be completely different in three, or four or five or even just one year’s time. You have to think about what are the extra things, what are the opportunities.
You have to be looking towards and over the horizon all the time and have fantastic peripheral vision as well. Diana Gribble
TIP 3:
LEARN TO SELL THE VISION
Harvard Business Review research recently found that while women outshone men on most leadership dimensions, women fell short in one key area: developing strategy, a vision and selling that vision to stakeholders. Interestingly, that was the most prized skill that men value when assessing aspiring leaders. Women focus too much at just being great at their job. But they must look upwards at not just being good at their job but on developing strategy, vision and selling that upwards, to their board, or their bosses. Amanda Gome
My 2 cents worth: I think women are very detailed focused and terrific at multi tasking and managing the day to day running of a project/team/organization.
The big picture vista can be so blue sky that it doesn’t even enter her sphere of consciousness.
How does a woman counter this aspect that can blindside her career and ambitions.
I suggest taking time out during the work day, as busy and hectic as it may be and MEDITATE. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again.
Meditation and quiet time to reflect and getting centered is the best thing a woman can do to get her focus back on track and be a timely reminder of why she is in the corporate world.
Women who are interested in advancing their career in business might consider looking into the St. Mary online MBA program.
More on this topic in the coming weeks.
