When William Shakespeare wrote these words in the 17th
century, I doubt he understood the impact they would have on future generations
– or perhaps he did. As one develops and aspires into a leadership role, she
must be mindful of first, the power of her words and second, to remain as true
to herself with the spoken word as possible.
In my study of successful African American women, one
commonality the women of my study shared was they were very conscious of the
impact they were making in the lives of others as well as themselves. They
fully understood that their success was based more on an internal rather than
external sense of success. In other words, they did not base their view of
their success solely on external attainments such as titles, salaries and
accolades. They also based it on how they felt about the work they were doing,
whether they had helped or harmed others in the process and whether, at the end
of the day, they felt that they had operated in their purpose. While external
attainments were only one indicator of success, it was the internal validation the
women experienced that enabled them to feel accomplished.
Being true to oneself not only includes an intrinsic sense
of accomplishment, but it also includes staying true to one’s own convictions,
not compromising one’s beliefs or values in the process of achieving one’s professional
goals and having the ability to express oneself as an individual in ways that
allow one to still progress in one’s career. It means voicing one’s opinion
without apology and being confident in expressing one’s position – even sometimes
in the face of opposition.
While executive presence is extremely important to develop
as one advances professionally, it is equally important to have an internal
sense of success as well as an understanding of who one is portraying herself
to be.
Have you asked yourself lately, outside of my professional role,”
how would I describe myself?” And also, outside of your professional role, “how
do I define success?” Two very key questions to ask as you develop in your
career.
Until next time...
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