How to Get Women Leaders to Lead More

Continue to Women might be holding themselves back from going up the ladder, and that is a serious problem- not just for them, for their companies as well.  Some experts believe female professionals are their own worst enemies- in expecting to hit the glass ceiling they are more often than not- willing to make do with what they have.

A study by talent management system Saba Software suggests survey, conducted by Harris Poll, arrived at a statistic that 60 percent of male employees expect their companies to play an active role in their individual career options, versus 49 percent of female employees, which tallies with other studies’ findings that women hesitate to demand positive action towards their ambitions, says Emily He, chief marketing officer of Saba Software to Business news Daily.

However, the qualities inherent to women could be capitalized upon to a large extent by them as well as their companies, for personal and overall growth respectively. The study reinforced the fact that women look to fulfill intrinsic motivations about their work, rather than blindly settling for doing as prescribed for mere financial fulfillment like men.

"In contrast to men, who tend to be career-centric and want to maximize their financial return from work, women view work more holistically, as a component of their overall life plan," He told Business News Daily. "Therefore, they're more likely to approach their careers in a self-reflective way and value factors such as meaning, purpose, connection with co-workers and work-life integration."

Women and the glass ceiling

Picture By: The Guardian

This explains why female employees would be different leaders. "In many ways, women have advantages to be strong leaders, especially for the younger-generation workforce," He said. "Their natural tendencies to be good listeners, provide constant feedback, nurture employees, share knowledge with others and build collaborative relationships make women better equipped to lead and cultivate millennials."

Saba's survey found that only 60 percent of women said they feel that they are leaders based on their participation in the business.

So how to harness this natural flair? He's best advice to female professionals is to bring their full selves to the workplace, and to not hold back from discussing their career aspirations with their supervisors, especially women who eventually plan to take a break from the workforce to raise a family.

"I've seen too many women compromise their career ambitions too early in anticipation of better work-life balance once they start a family," she said. "Unfortunately, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more you compromise early on, the less likely you are to get to a great job that captures your strength, imagination and passion, and the more likely you are to give up on pursuing your career once you have your own family. If you give all you have, you're going to end up with great career options that you are excited about."

Original Source:  Business news Daily

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