susan colantuano: The career advice you probably didn't get
It turns out that these business women did not have the awareness of top business strategies, the same business strategies, I suppose, that business owners have, that of how to create company growth and financial potential. Men, however, were apprised of these issues because of the positions they were placed in or because of mentoring from other business people in the higher positions. So once the woman in Ms. Colantuano's example addressed some of these larger-picture issues, rather than just being content to be an "assertive, nice person", she was able to get ahead...and soar up in the company. (So this achiever was mentored by Colantuano herself...mentoring is big...sometimes there is no other way to learn other than by learning something from a mentor.)
It reminded me of those performance studies that revealed that little girls often perform better in school because they learn how to obey the rules better, but then down the road the men overtake them in success because they are more willing to take a risk and are not so "rule-bound".
One female president of a business university said that the one ingredient the university could not teach was "willingness to take a risk" and that is the very quality that separates the successful from the unsuccessful business entrepreneur.
So, women have a chance for self reflection here, whatever your goal is. Maybe your goal is not taking a ride on the corporate escalator, but the principle applies to any dream. Society feedback often leads women to believe that safe, sweet, swagger and skill can get her what she wants in life; these are admirable qualities, no doubt. But she also has to see herself as the CEO of her life and address the question of the dream: the larger picture of "where do I want to go in life....what personal growth goals do I want to accomplish...how will I accomplish them...what specific steps...how do I see myself as on the very top of my game...and how do I get the courage to take a risk and go for broke to attain those goals?" YIKES. Step back, here come the ladies!
Go Girls! Make your dreams as big as you can make them.