Lean In Archives

A client recently asked me what was the best career success advice for women that I could share with her.

She was a young woman in her mid-20s and just starting out. I have had 30 years out in the work world and she wanted my insight.

After some reflection, I realized that there are 5 pieces of career success advice that I would give any young women as she takes on the crazy world of career building.

#1 – Be self-aware.

The most important part of career success is to know who you are and what you want to do.

Many of us just fall into jobs. Our parents encourage us in one direction, our friends in another. Or perhaps we decide to take a job just because it pays well. Sometimes we take a job thinking that it will be temporary while we figure out what we really want to do.

And then we find ourselves stuck. Stuck in a job that we hate.

Let me tell you that if you don ‘ t have a job that you LOVE you will have a hard time achieving career success.

Take the time before you embark on your career search to examine what you want to be doing for the rest of your life by asking yourself a few questions:

What are your best skills and the ones you most enjoy doing?
What kinds of work interests you the most?
How important is making a lot of money?
Do you feel like you want to help change the world?
How important is work/life balance?

Once you have the answers to these questions you can start your job search with a clear vision of what kind of work you want. And getting the job of your dreams is an excellent beginning to achieving career success.

#2 – Be brave.

I know that this might seem weird in 2017 but many women in the workplace still have a hard time advocating for themselves.

Sheryl Sandberg writes in her book Lean In ‘ ˜that women keep themselves from advancing because they don ‘ t have the self-confidence and drive that men do. ‘

I am not sure that I completely agree with this statement but I know that some elements of it are true.

As women our tendency is to hang back and observe, to reflect before we speak and sometimes to not speak at all. Women are more cautious. Women don ‘ t apply for promotions unless they fit the profile perfectly and are less likely than men to ask for a well-deserved raise.

It is important that women in the workplace today don ‘ t hang back. It is important that women identify who they want to be in the workplace and what they want and go after it with a vengeance.

They must speak up and lead, even in the face of men who might try to push against them. They must believe, deep down, that they CAN do this job and that they will succeed.

#3 – Be honest.

It is important in all areas of life, but especially in the career world, to be honest. Honest with yourself and with others.

First of all, we must be honest with ourselves. Are we doing our best at work? Are we taking responsibility for getting our job done well and when things go awry are we accepting the blame for our errors? Are we honest with our feelings about our boss and our co-workers? Are we honest about how we feel our careers align with our morals and values? Are we clear that we are doing the right thing for ourselves and our families?

We must also be honest with our co-workers. So many women take on more than they can handle because they don ‘ t believe that anyone else can do it as well as they can. As a result, many women are overworked and overwhelmed.

It is important that we allow ourselves to delegate and share, when necessary, and if our co-workers can ‘ t do the work up to company standards then we must be honest with them and show them how to get things done correctly.

Career success is achieved when women know that they are doing the best job that they can do and that they are doing only their job, not the jobs of others. Being honest will prevent overwhelm and enable you to get the recognition that you deserve in the workplace and thereby achieve heightened career success.

#4 – Be forward thinking.

It is so easy to become focused on the day-to-day happenings at work that we stop looking forward to the big picture.

Yes, you have your job but your job is part of the larger workplace. How does your job fit in that workplace? What can you do to be more of an asset to that workplace? How could your job expand in the future to include more responsibility and contribution? Is there a future for you outside of this job? Do you have a plan to get there?

It is important that you always keep your head up at work and are forward thinking. Career success will be achieved when you have an idea and a goal and you have a clear plan to work towards it.

#5 – Be a woman.

Many women believe that in order to be considered equals to men in the workplace we need to act like men. Back in the 70s and 80s, when women were entering the workforce, they wore suits to work, so that they could appear more manly.

Suits are mostly a thing of the past these days but still women tend to try to act like men in the workplace in order to get ahead.

I believe that, rather then act like men, women need to use their skills as a woman to achieve career success.

Women are intuitive. Women can multi-task. Women are excellent communicators. Women are big picture planners. Women have the ability to connect with people on a personal level. Women know how to fly under the radar and get the job done.

So now you see. A woman possesses all of the skills that she needs to be more than successful in her career. She just needs to pull them out of her toolbox and use them. Every day.

Getting meaningful career success advice is vital for any woman entering the workforce.

Women like to get things done, quickly and efficiently, but in the workplace it is essential to look to more experienced women to help them make a plan and achieve success.

Women have all of the skills necessary to achieve that same career success as men they just have to be prepared to use them and use them well. And then, when they add their feminine superpowers to the mix, the sky is the limit.

Mitzi Bockmann

I am a NYC based Certified Life Coach and mental health advocate. My writing has been published on The Huffington Post, Prevention, Psych Central, Pop Sugar, MSN and The Good Man Project, among others. I work with all kinds of people to help them go from depressed and overwhelmed to confident and happy in their relationships and in their world.

I have spoken with many women how have said that they just aren ‘ t going to vote. I always respond, ‘ But you have to! ‘

According to exit polls, 53 percent of people who voted in the 2012 election were women. In most states, more women than men are registered to vote, and there is a much higher turnout rate for women at the polls.

These numbers mean power. And it’s time for women to wield that power.

#1 – To honor the women who came before:

The battle for a woman ‘ s right to vote started in the early 1800s with Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott, among others, working hard to establish women ‘ s equality with men.

For almost 100 years, women fought for that equality, part of which was the right to vote. They were humiliated and discriminated against, the subject of derision and sometimes violence for their efforts. They didn ‘ t give up. Even when imprisoned and forced to hunger strike, these women fought on.

It wasn ‘ t until 1920 that the US government passed the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. Even so, many states didn ‘ t ratify the amendment for years. Mississippi didn ‘ t do so until 1984, 60 years later and only 32 years ago.

32 years ago, women in Mississippi could not vote.

Don ‘ t take a right to vote for granted. It was hard fought for, and we women must proudly exercise our rights.

#2 – To honor the women we are now:

Much is being said these days about the persistent lack of equality for women worldwide. Women make less money on the dollar than men in the workplace. Ambitious women are labeled ‘ bitches. ‘ Women are discriminated against for getting pregnant or caring for children. Women are subjected to emotional and physical abuse by bosses and husbands.

It is time for this to end. And it will only end if we women take a stand.

In her book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg talks about how women are held back but also how we hold ourselves back. She makes the argument that women need to advocate more for themselves, to believe themselves equal to men, to not allow discrimination to hold them back from anything.

She says that it is up to us to change our stars. No one else will do it for us.

Voting is one way for us to do this, to ‘ Lean In.” We have the right to vote. We have the right to have a say in our nation’s politics. We have the right to use our voices, which we often only whisper with, to bring about real change.

#3 – Because every vote counts:

I know it doesn ‘ t seem that way. Presidents have been elected, although they didn ‘ t win the popular vote. But your vote matters, particularly in your home state.

Each state has a different number of electoral votes, which is based on the total of all of its representatives in Congress, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. A candidate needs 270 of those electoral votes to win the presidency.

In most states, for a candidate to win that state and its corresponding electoral votes, he or she must receive the majority of the popular vote. This is where your vote counts. Your vote will contribute towards a candidate winning or losing, a state which will determine the outcome of the presidential campaign.

If you don ‘ t cast your vote, your candidate could lose your state and, ultimately, the presidency.

#4 – Because important women ‘ s issues are now at stake:

More than ever, important women ‘ s issues are at stake, and the next president could have a huge hand in which direction those women ‘ s issues go.

At issue right now is:
*A woman ‘ s right to access Planned Parenthood
*Paid family leave
*Income equality
*Minimum wage increases
*Debt-free education

The outcome of these issues will greatly impact our lives and the lives of our daughters and granddaughters. We can ‘ t just sit back and think that ‘ everyone else ‘ will do this. We need to exercise our right to make a real difference by voting.

#5 – To set a good example for our children:

I remember in 1976; my mother took me with her to vote. It was the year that Jimmy Carter was running against Gerald Ford. This was not a campaign that had electrified the nation.

I remember driving to the voting booth and my mother telling me about my great-grandmother (and namesake), who fought for the right to vote, and how her lawyer husband fought alongside her (and got her out of jail when imprisoned). She impressed upon me the importance of voting out of respect for our grandmothers and those who fought alongside them.

I went into the voting booth with her and watched her cast her vote. And we got ‘ I VOTED ‘ stickers afterwards, which was huge.

Our children increasingly take a right to vote for granted and are disillusioned by modern politics. We need to teach them to demonstrate to them how important this fundamental American right is.

And how by doing so they can make a real difference.

Every American has the right to vote, which shouldn ‘ t be ignored, dismissed, or taken for granted. Without it our country would be a different place.

And we women have the power to change things in so many ways. Voting is one of them. So get out and vote this year.

Let’s change the world!

Have you let go of love and are struggling withthecurrent state of politics?
Let me help NOW, so you can get through it and move on!
Email me at [email protected], and let’s get started!