Welcome to our news roundup where we gather the news that impacted us the most around working women and working moms…
In historical news this week, Black Enterprise reports Vice-President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made history as the first women to lead the House and Senate during the Presidential address;
Let it be the Weekend is our news roundup featuring career, business and lifestyle news for working women and moms. If you would like to propose some news or topics we can cover, please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com
This week, we salute icon Cicely Tyson’s journey and path as we celebrate her life;
If you read the title of this post while vigorously nodding your head, then you may already have dealt with what it means to be a sensitive person in the world, and more specifically at work. You may have been labeled as “too nice”, “introverted”, or even as a “pushover”. You may have had to deal with your emotions running haywire when faced with challenging situations such as confrontational relationships, less-than-stellar performance reviews, or toxic office environments. While your generosity, dedication and attention to detail may have earned you the sympathy of some of your colleagues, you may have been at the end of some serious pet peeves from others.
Dr. Elaine Aron, a clinical and research psychologist and expert on high-sensitivity since 1990, has authored five books on the topic, among which one of my favorites, The Highly Sensitive Person. In her books, she defines high sensitivity’s characteristics as a more elaborate depth of processing, easy overstimulation, emotional responsiveness, acute awareness of stimulations, and empathy. Her research, among others, associates these characteristics with the personality trait known as Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). Individuals born with the SPS trait have been proven to be more likely to be bullied at work and suffer from psychological injury. Often, these injuries are inflicted by managers and colleagues with low Emotional Quotient (EQ), and poor self-esteem and interpersonal skills.
In a world, and a workplace at large, that tends to favor those who speak the loudest and the most, often mistaking free speech with assertiveness or smarts, sensitivity can easily be mistaken for weakness. As a sensitive person, I’ve experienced this multiple times, and have had to learn to reframe my own sensitivity from an undesirable attribute to what it really is: a strong, unique, competitive advantage. Here’s why and how your high sensitivity can actually work for your benefit at work:
With the rise in technology, leaders like you, with empathy, intuition and creativity are needed more than ever!
In one of my fields of expertise, which is accounting, tasks of all sorts are being taken over by bots and computers. Similarly, the traditional role of many professions is rapidly evolving towards almost complete automation. The good news is that the more professional tasks are automated, the more need there is for those qualities and attributes that machines do not possess, such as intuition, creativity, and empathy. These qualities are the trademarks of sensitive people, which makes them incredibly gifted and attuned leaders.
As a sensitive person, you are already equipped for exceptional leadership, which is now in high need and even higher demand in our modern career landscape. Have confidence in your leadership abilities and do not be afraid to display the qualities that make you YOU!
You have incredible communication skills: use them!
One of the biggest misconceptions around sensitive individuals is that they are poor communicators. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the hallmarks of high sensitivity is the ability to “read people”. It’s not just about perceiving others’ actions and reactions, but rather catching on to their intrinsic feelings, emotions and motivations. This in turn allows sensitive individuals to tailor their communication style, content and delivery to their specific audience.
This means you can actually understand and address the needs of your team members, superiors, and management. If you’re an entrepreneur, you are in a perfect position to identify and attune to your ideal audience and market. Now how is that for a superpower?
Harness your unique attention to detail!
As a sensitive person, getting easily over-stimulated also lets me pick up on the tiniest of details. While this can create perfectionist tendencies, which can be harmful, the upside is that I can also pick up on what may have been overlooked. I also notice this trait in most of the sensitive people I know.
In fast-paced professional environments where change is the new normal, this attention to detail is an invaluable asset! Don’t hesitate to use it and let your voice be heard about it as well!
You are so creative you can solve pretty much any problem!
Repeat after me: I’m an idea magnet! Great ideas just come to you, because you’re so in tune with your inner world and experience amazing clarity breakthroughs. As a sensitive person, your intuition is the gateway to the most innovative solutions and experiments that exist.
Don’t be afraid to share your incredible creativity with the world and be noticed for it! You also may want to consider downloading a note-taking app like Evernote, or just carrying a notebook around just in case the next million-dollar idea hits you! Just sayin’…
Now do you see how what you may have been told from an early age on, was more of a weakness and a disability, can actually propel your career and life forward! When I finally realized what a super power sensitivity really is, when harnessed and used in a productive way, I began truly and authentically thriving in my work and life. However, since sensitive people get easily stimulated, even by subtleties in their environments, the key is to learn to manage your emotions and be as prepared as possible. For me, understanding what triggers me and training myself to either confront it or avoid it, as needed, makes a world of difference. Similarly, preparing for new circumstances, learning to be more flexible, and anticipating changes helps me give my best without the stress of overstimulation.
Are you a sensitive person? How can you start using these tips to reframe your sensitivity as a superpower instead of a burden?
Whether you’re just starting out in your career, or you already have significant experience, you probably are periodically thinking about what it would take for you to upgrade your career. It may be getting a promotion, transitioning to a different department or team, or even switching careers. In most extreme cases, it may even be about taking a leap of faith into entrepreneurship.
The point is, even if you’re comfortable coasting through the ups and downs of your career or business, you may also want to take your career to the next level. However, you may think, like I did, that it would take something drastic to do so. What I have found out through mine and many other working women’s experience, is that upgrading your career is not as complex or lengthy of a process as we may think. As a matter of fact, you have much more power and ability to steer your work towards what you truly desire as you accomplish your purpose than you think.
Here are 4 simple ways you can get started with today to upgrade your career:
Start with mindset
A large, if not the largest part of improving your career for the better, lies with our minds. In most cases, it’s primarily about the story we tell ourselves about ourselves and the work we do. It may be the result of deeply ingrained conceptions from childhood about our abilities or personality; or the outcome of failed experiences in the workplace.
I was always told as a child that I was shy and could not express myself in public. Over the years, I became convinced that I would never be able to speak publicly. This greatly impacted my success at work initially, as I would be insecure expressing my thoughts, opinions, or even standing up for myself in the workplace. Today, I teach and speak to audiences all over and am no longer afraid of telling my story. This could not have happened had I not been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do some much-needed mindset work.
What is your current mindset about your career? Do you tell yourself a positive, uplifting message about your career that allows you to thrive? Or do you get bogged down by limitations that tank your performance?
Invest in learning
Learning is the one single most important skill that will keep you successful and fulfilled throughout your career. Remember that your career is a living, breathing thing that changes not just with organizations and industries you’re part of. It also evolves with you and the rest of society. Constantly learning and educating yourself not only keeps you current and competent; but it also enriches you in general.
There are many ways to invest in learning, and these aren’t just limited to taking courses or going back to school. You can also learn from your environment, develop skills that you may be lacking, such as public speaking for instance. You may also learn through mentors, peers, allies and those around you.
What is it that you could invest in learning about to upgrade your career? Are there skills that could take your work to the next level that you could acquire?
Be more authentic
We don’t often talk about authenticity when it comes to taking your career to the next level. However, it’s a critical component of your success at work. You don’t just bring your credentials, degrees and other qualifications to the table of your career. You also bring in the sum of your life experiences, your personality, your mindset, and general outlook on life and work. These play an integral part in your career development.
While we all tend to keep our “professional masks” on, there are also ways in which we can manage to be more authentic. Sharing a part of who we are, showing up as our authentic selves, daring to tell the truth of your convictions, are steps in the right direction. For me, it was daring to disagree, walking away from toxic work situations, and yes, even wearing my hair natural.
Which areas of your work and life do you need to be more authentic in? What can you do today to show up as you are at work?
Make peace with failure
A great career is also one that includes failures. Not everything you will do or try will work. As a matter of fact, much of your work may end up in failures. Yet, there is so much power in learning from our mistakes, finding better ways to address our shortcomings and improving processes and systems in general.
Failure is a powerful tool. When used correctly, not to increase fear and intimidation, but instead to foster growth and innovation, it can radically change the narrative of our careers.
Have you been resisting failure? What have you kept yourself from trying out of fear of failing? What failures have you buried down deep and not addressed so you could learn and improve from them?
It takes a village. Not just to raise a child, but to live our best lives as women. It’s challenging to be truly successful alone, if possible at all. As much opposition that there seems to be among women, in and outside of the workplace, the truth is, we need each other to be fully flourishing and successful, whatever our definition of success is. As working women, we do need a tribe of supportive women to surround and accompany us on our personal and professional journeys.
As the proverbial independent woman, I was taught that you can accomplish success alone. However, the more I was around other powerful and strong women in their own right, the more I realized that our impact is not diminished but rather multiplied when we’re in the right tribe of women.
Yet, it can be challenging to find the right tribe for us, especially considering the barriers and obstacles imposed on women in and outside of work. From the “Queen Bee” syndrome, which mandates that only one woman can hold the power in a given organization, to the many false stereotypes and preconceptions about women being unable to collaborate and work together, there are indeed many challenges. This is not about being part of a clique or exclusive group of women reminiscent of high school. Rather, it’s about building an empowering circle whose main goal is to help the women in it maximize their potential and fulfill their God-given purpose.
Through my discussions with my women friends and many working women around me, and by experiencing myself the power of being part of a tribe of supportive women, I learnt about what it takes to build it for ourselves. If like me, you’re always looking to build or strengthen a tribe of supportive women around you, these pointers may help:
Work on yourself first
Any relationship you may have starts with you! Before even thinking of entering or building a tribe, you must first consider working on yourself. You can’t pour out of an empty cup, neither can you be a full part of any relationship unless you are full yourself! When I say full, I mean filled with your own authenticity, purpose and worth. This is not to say that you must be perfect, no one is. However, you must work on yourself to clean up any mental or spiritual clutter that may affect your relationships with other women, and be accepting of yourself so you in turn can accept others.
One recurring message I heard throughout my youth is that you cannot trust other women. As a result, I grew more distrustful of my peers, which created a block in my relationships with other women for a long time. It took self-exploration and self-work to understand these mental patterns, and eradicate them from my mind. It also took working on my self-esteem and self-worth in order to accept myself as I am, so I in turn could be more accepting of others.
Look for leadership characteristics
Building or strengthening a tribe of strong and powerful women requires certain leadership characteristics in all parties involved. You cannot build strong relationships based on weak character. This is the reason why relationships and friendships are so crucial, as they mirror who we are and help us develop into the people we need to be in order to have healthy and fruitful interactions.
This is also why it’s so important to look for leadership characteristics in your fellow tribe sisters. The goal here is to empower each other, so we must all do the work on ourselves. Unfortunately, we also all have seasons during which we may not be a right fit for each other, and it’s ok.
Be open-minded
Very often, we miss out on wonderful connections and relationships because we’re not open-minded enough. A tribe of supportive women is made out of all different women with different tastes, likes, dislikes and abilities. The more open-minded we are, the more we can build fruitful and positive relationships that help us empower and strengthen each other.
The most positive relationships are most often those in which opposites are connected and help strengthen each other through their differences. Be open-minded enough to get to know women who do not look like you, do not move or think like you. You may find out that there is such a wealth of perspectives, knowledge and wisdom to be found around us.
Don’t be afraid to walk away from relationships that don’t fit
Building a tribe of supportive women also means knowing when to walk away from interactions that are simply not the right fit for us. This is not to condemn anyone, or cast a judgment upon anyone. The reality is we all need to work on different areas of our lives. As we go through different seasons, we must also realize that some relationships and connections, and by extension some tribes, are just for us. We must also muster the courage to walk away from these and seek the tribes that are truly for us.
There’s always some level of guilt associated with walking away from certain relationships. However, it doesn’t have to be a conflicting situation. Rather, it can simply be a peaceful understanding that it may be better to explore other relationships for the time being.
Support, not competition!
The point here is to foster a supportive, not a competitive community. Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned as women to compete against each other, as we were made to believe that there is only room for one of us at a time. This is one of the greatest fallacies of time, which seeks to pin women against each other, and thus diminish our influence and impact.
Instead, seek to build a tribe that is focused on supporting each woman reach their potential and accomplish their purpose.
Honesty is key
Honesty is crucial when it comes to building such a tribe. Often, in attempts to protect others or ourselves, we shy away from being our most transparent selves. A solid tribe of women who support each other is one where honesty is the rule and not the exception. Dare to speak up and confront your fellow sisters when necessary, and establish a foundation of trust.
While certain conversations can be hard to be had, it’s important to get past the initial discomfort to address potential or existing issues. It’s also one of the best ways to get to know your fellow sisters and learn to face challenging situations together.
Honor yourself
Last but not least, always honor yourself. Being part of a tribe of women doesn’t mean denying oneself. On the contrary, it’s an act of self-love and communal love that says: “I value myself enough to surround myself with strong, supportive women whom I support and who support me in achieving my God-given purpose.”
Now your turn: How have you built your own tribe of supportive women?
