Here are five pieces of advice that I have for women succeeding in the careers of their choice, no matter who has gone before them.
Speak the Language of Business: Imagine learning to play softball. You learned to throw, catch, and run. But you never learned how to keep score. How good of player would you be? Not very good. The same is true in any pursuit and in business the score is kept in financial terms. Every aspiring leader should learn how to read and interpret financial statements. They should understand how their work impacts not only expenses, but revenue and ultimate enterprise value. They should lead with that in conversations with leadership as at some level of the organization you will no longer be reporting to a creative or technical professional, as perhaps you were early in your career. You will report to a businessperson and will need to speak their language. The more you speak it, the more you will be ready for larger influence.
Mine for Gold: You open your eyes to a dim light. You feel around your surroundings which are cold and hard to the touch. Once your eyes adjust however, you realize that you are in a mineshaft. A glint on the wall tells you that you are in a gold mine. You have the tools you need, if you choose to use them to mine for gold. A lot of professionals don’t realize that they are in a goldmine. That their employer, their colleagues, their college classmates, and even their neighbors or fellow parishioners can open doors for them and help their learn and grow. LEARFIELD is a leader in media, data, and technology in college sports and between my 2500 colleagues and our network of connections, there is probably no one in the sports landscape more than a few degrees of connection away. Not that getting to them would be easy in all cases, but the gold is there. You are the same. Even if your personal network doesn’t inherently a lot of potential for your chosen career path, you have access to reporters, industry influencers, and academics. Thanks to social media, these friends-you-have-not-yet-met have never been easier to access, especially for those who know what they want and can offer mutual value.
Be (Your Best Version of) Yourself: As Oscar Wilde apparently said “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” I have seen of late this adage being used to describe selfish and disrespectful behavior or those who act as if the world revolves around them and everyone must change to accommodate their sensibilities. That is not what I am talking about. I think each of us should reflect deeply on who we are when we are at our best, how we want to contribute, and what we want to be known for and live into that future version of yourself. Academy Award winning actor, Matthew McConaughey, recently spoke at our company conference. He describes his hero as himself 10 years from now. I think we all have that hero and if we can pull them into focus, it helps us prioritize and make good choices today. He joked that his “tomorrow me” would appreciate if “today me” programmed the coffee machine. What else might your “tomorrow you” appreciate? Staying out of debt, maintaining a relationship, getting an education, and the like all require delayed gratification. It may require managing the expectations of your “today friends and family” to what your “future self” needs and wants. Billie Eilish’s title song on her new album speaks to this. The chorus explains how she has changed her mind about a relationship because “I’m in love with my future. Can’t wait to meet her.” I am sure that if you get your future in focus, you will feel the same.
Learn to Write: Take a business writing class. Write often. Have others critique your work. Read books and articles that in your field that give you a sense for the vocabulary and culture of your industry. Practice, practice, practice. Writing is the single-most important thing a leader should be able to do to think deeply and communicate clearly.
Marry Wisely: I know this sounds like retro advice, but I can tell you without a doubt that the most successful leaders of any gender or persuasion that I have had the pleasure to work with closely or admire from afar had spouses or partners who made sacrifices, took on disproportionate responsibilities at home, and allowed for a degree of career flexibility that made upward mobility possible. In short, they had a home community that provided them security and practical support. I am not the only one who has spoken about this. My husband, Tony, has been instrumental to my success in countless ways. I am not alone in this. Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the late Supreme Court Justice talked of the support she got (and gave) to her tax attorney husband. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, spoke of the power of having a resourceful spouse. Indra Nooyi, former PepsiCo CEO who serves on Amazon’s board, has spoken to it when she said that balancing work and family is a “constant juggling act” and it’s often “the people around us — like our life partners — who make this juggling possible.”
This article is an excerpt of an article originally in Authority Magazine written by Ming Zhao.