Public Service Announcement for Women

Things women don't need to apologize for:

• Asking for what they want and need
• Stating an opinion
• Asking for clarification
• Disagreeing with others
• Saying no
• Their success

You would think all of these would be a given. But sadly, we don't all wake up thinking "I'm great, I bet everyone wants to hear what I have to say today". KPMG did a study on women's leadership and they sadly found most women feel confident asking for help and more training than for opportunities. 

 This is partly due to the way in which we were socialized. Unfortunately, we were taught that suppressing our individuality, our ideas and our abilities would make us fit in, be liked and be perceived as "nice".

It's hard to now flip the script and say, well, being nice is not going to get you ahead. And I'm not talking about suddenly encouraging everyone to be a bitch. I'm talking about cultivating a set of characteristics that men were raised to embody and have now become second nature, while we're trying to unlearn "nice" behaviours and develop leadership capabilities like not being afraid to take a stand, challenge someone, and advocate for yourself.

So if we all agree that we need to take a seat at the table, and step into our discomfort, we need to move beyond the idea that our current behaviour is the only thing that defines us. 

 The reality is, we need support. We need supportive leadership, we need supportive managers and we need training - not necessarily for job skills, but for leadership behaviours, such as influence, management, effective communication, and confidence.