“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” — Sheryl Sandberg
Today, even though the corporate world has opened doors to women employees, majority are still not able to make it to the leadership roles or to the boardroom. They are still facing a lot of challenges and are struggling to fit in. However well-developed an organization might be, the gap between women participation and men participation is huge. Where gender inequality might be one of the issues, the other reason that stops women from achieving their goals is themselves. Their lack of self-confidence and assertiveness, inability to present themselves professionally and powerfully, and their consistent struggle to manage home and work keeps them away from climbing the ladder of success. Every woman is unique and capable of creating success, a little work on their outer appearance, a little work on their inner self-image and a lot of work on their verbal, vocal and non-verbal communication can change the entire path for their personal and professional success. ‘Women of Wisdom’ (WOW), is a well curated training program, specially designed for helping women achieve their success goals.
Who is the ‘WOW’ Personality?
A lot of women even today believe that technical skills are enough to become a leader. Well, your technical skills do get you hired, however, to find a place in the sun, you need to work on a lot of your softer skills.Simply because, as a leader you have to get the work done from other people and that ability requires a lot of self-work. I have come across many women who were great at their functional or technical skills but lacked soft skills and were fired only because of that. Therefore, your technical skills are important but your ability to manage your soft skills like; your dressing, grooming, hygiene, communication, behaviour, stress-time-conflict management, all are pivotal for your professional success. As a woman leader you must lead by example and inspire everyone around with your presence, conduct and tactful communication. You must know how to create a great presentation, but you must also know how to deliver the presentation with excellence. In simple words, “What you do” is important but “How you do it” is more important and this is exactly what separates Women(W) from Women of Wisdom(WOW). To become a WOW personality, you must learn to master your soft skillsalong with your technical skills.
Why is it important to be a WOW Personality?
- To turn your ambitions into reality
- To command respect and appreciation
- For inner strength and power
- For creating great relationships with colleagues
- To manage conflicts at workplace
- To create a good work-life balance
- To inculcate an attitude of possibilities and success
- To have a mindset of growth
The constant fear of not doing enough (at home or workplace) or not being enough (lack of self-love) stops you from stepping up in life. But, when you hone your soft skills, and transform yourself into someone with an attitude to succeed in life, the fear fades away.
For the organizations who help their women employees master the technical skills through regular trainings, should also help them learn the soft skills or life skills to develop a stronger women workforce that can generate better productivity and thus, generate higher revenues. A confident, conversant, clever, considerate,and capable woman force is the best asset any organisation can have.
How can you become a WOW Personality?
As they say, “Change begins with you”, the transformation from just an employee to aleader, begins with you. Here are a few tips that will help you on this journey of evolution.
- Let your appearance speak for you
The way you carry yourself plays an important role in making a lasting impression. There might be two times when all eyes are on you. One when you are dressed to impress and second when you are dressed to express. Remember; your clothes communicate. Your clothes are an expression of who you are and how you want to be perceived by others. As the ‘Women of Wisdom’, you must know what message you want to send out through your clothing, grooming, makeup, jewellery, shoes, bag, belt or even the watch. Wear what is ‘right for you and others’ in that situation and not what you ‘like for yourself’. Perceptions are stronger than truth;so, create good perceptions on others. When you choose the right outfit, pair it with appropriate and minimal accessories, keep your make up light and subtle and pick theright pair of formal shoes, your appearance will work for you beautifully.You will get positive attention, respect, and more opportunities. Afterall, you represent your organisation and they love people who look good, behave well, speak well, and perform well!
- Learn to be at your best behaviour
Whether it is your personal or professional life, your behaviour is going to be the deciding factor of your future. Learning to conduct yourself with good business etiquette (email, telephone, meeting room, restroom, dining), practicing good manners and consideration (please, thank you, sorry, excuse me), can open many doors of opportunities for you. Good self-care, managing personal or work related stress, using empathy and emotional intelligence in your interactions and learning to balance work and life can be great stepping stones for your professional success, so be that person who everyone likes to have around. Be someone who can create a safe, comfortable and a happy environment around by being at your best behaviour.
- Learn the art of communication
When it comes to choosing leaders, a well-spoken woman is easy to spot amongst the crowd. However, there is a difference in making your point ‘aggressively’ or ‘assertively’. Empathic listening and giving a constructive feedback are vital at the workplace. Remember, we communicate with other people who are filled with emotions and feelings, ask yourself; am I creating motivation and a good feeling in them by talking to them or am I leaving them hurt and demotivated. A WOW personality listens, understands, and then, tactfully responds. Good communication is essential to build strong relationships. Influencing, negotiation and persuasion are the three skills that are all outcomes of great interpersonal communication skills.
You can be a successful WOW personality by projecting a well-groomed and powerful image, maintaining a positive attitude,and developing professionalism. When you project the WOW PERSONALITY consistently, you uphold the values of the organization – Respect, Pride and Professionalism.
“Here is to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”
About the author
Samira Gupta is a Coach, Consultant, Speaker and Author, with over 22 years of experience in the corporate world and over 7 years in corporate training, executive presence coaching and image consulting. She aims to bring about a 360° transformation in her client's lives.
Contact details: +91 9958934766 / www.auraaimage.com / samira@auraaimage.com