Personal Development
Women and Success
A Few Facts
Fact 1:
Successful leaders have certain common behaviors. They exhibit these attributes:
- Intuition
- Social skills
- Direction
- Honesty
- Competence
- Inspiration
- Vision
- Credibility
(according to the International Association of Performance Improvement)
Fact 2:
Successful women leaders have display certain behaviors:
- Integrate their personal and professional lives
- Practice compassion with a caring ethic and the values of inclusion and connection
- See leadership as cyclical, accomplished through relationships and networks not dictate
- View power as infinite - expanding when shared through collaboration and participation
- Are ongoing learners and view leaders as learners
They do these things:
Hire competent, trustworthy people -- not putting priority on loyalty and seniority
Voice the vision of the organization, empowering others to lead and succeed
Adopt non-hierarchical methods of leadership
See communication and conflict resolution as key to organizational success
Fact 3:
Modern workplace environments set certain requirements. They demand leaders who can:
- Embrace and lead during times of change
- Communicate more effectively
- Coach others
- Improve human relations through empowerment
- Lead with ethics and integrity
- Lead during conflict
And also require these capabilities:
- Plan strategically
- Solve problems
- Manage transitions
Fact 4:
A key element to success is resilience. Resilience is exhibited through a combination of
- strength and wisdom
- coping skills and
- the ability to adjust to change and manage misfortune.
Resilience is one of the unique success behaviors of powerful women. Resilience is exhibited through a combination of strength and wisdom and the ability to adjust to change and manage misfortune.
A resilient leader incorporates creative rituals into her daily routine for the protection and safety provided by continuity and consistency. Continuity and consistency provide a sense of protection and safety for a comfortable grounding. Everyday rituals provide and maintain balance by providing the mechanism for preparing, experiencing, and reintegrating daily learning.
Fact 5:
Women respond differently to workplace stress. Recent research suggests that women respond to stress in a different way from the fight-or-flight response of men. Instead women tend-and- befriend - tending to their families and selves, seeking the comfort and support of a circle of friends.
So it seems that the ideal way to adopt new behaviors and to internalize them in the highly stressful environment of law practice, women should retreat with other women to study success and experiment with new approaches. What better way to learn and grow than with a wonderful group of active and creative women from diverse legal backgrounds sharing dreams, goals, and struggles, and supporting each other in all we are doing personally and professionally.
In our highly-stressed profession, women lawyers juggle a variety of recognized and often overlooked roles-as parents, partners, teachers, community activists, business managers, health care providers, to name a few. Most of us find it difficult to take personal time. We carry many responsibilities and are not sure how (or if) we want to let any of them go. We also know the deep need to renew our own selves and to refill our inner sources of nourishment and creativity-the need to find a healthy balance.
