Women lead differently than men, but their leadership style makes them very effective and successful leaders. They need to own their success and take credit for what they do well. Sharon Hadary has many more strategies to make women successful leaders. She calls her first 20 years at IBM, a “world-class education in leadership.” Her second 20 years, she headed a non-profit research group that did primary research on women entrepreneurship and leadership, and showed through hard data that women were establishing, leading and growing vibrant businesses in all industries, including manufacturing, construction and distribution.
Now she is sharing what she has learned: writing for various publications, like The Wall Street Journal, and speaking on an international platform to help women know they have everything they need to become successful leaders and to take responsibility for their own success.
Define Success for Yourself.
Sharon co-authored, How Women Lead: The 8 Essential Strategies Successful Women Know, with successful entrepreneur, Laura Henderson. The goal of the book was to help women set high aspirations for themselves and to give them the tools they need to succeed. Based on solid research and interviews with 15 successful women, the authors stress the importance of belief in your leadership style and defining success for yourself. Too many women try to lead in a masculine style; whereas the data show that women’s style of team building and inclusion increases business profitability and makes the workplace the kind of place people want to work.
Women’s definition of success is often holistic including their personal life, family, community and business. They set goals in all of these areas and look at how they integrate. Sharon thinks the important word for the future is “integration,” not balance. Integration allows us to focus on what is most important at the time, while allowing others to take a back seat.
Build Your Case for Success
One of the women Sharon interviewed suggested women quantify their success when they apply for jobs or negotiate promotions. Men will outline what they did in their former position, stating the results in dollars and cents, then predict how they can use that to increase profitability, productivity and sales in the future position. This results-oriented approach wins that job or promotion over more vague process-oriented statements.
Listen and Learn More Facts about Women Leaders’ Success
Learn the results of an important study from MIT and hear more stories about why women leaders reached their goals in this insightful interview. Then check out Sharon’s website, listen to an audio excerpt of her book and more. Find out how to access your natural gifts and develop a strategy for your own success.