Big goals and bold choices

In your experience, how demanding are senior roles for women in corporate careers / entrepreneurship?

The nature of women is such that they are extremely self-demanding and set high expectations for themselves. Consider the myriad roles a woman fulfills - a woman gives birth, a woman fills the world with beauty, a woman has the ability to provide care and motivate men. A woman is a source of love, kindness, compassion.
The level of demands women place on themselves is so high that this fact affects the steady trend of growth in the number of women in leadership positions.
We can talk about gender stereotypes, but market dynamics has already mitigated the impact of such biases, and two indicators in business management come to the fore Efficiency and Effectiveness.

Can female leaders cope with key performance indicators? Absolutely.

The myth that female managers hinder business processes eroded thanks to significant research conducted by American doctors Margaret Henning and Anne Jardin which sheds light on the psychology of businesswomen.
Some important points are:
The truth is, women can be great leaders - just like men.

1
Female leaders possess subtle social intelligence; they know how to sense the nuances of relationships, including the attitude towards herself. She knows how to evaluate and predict people’s behavior.

2
They demonstrate practical thinking. If men are inclined to make long-term plans, women prefer a tangible result, “here and now.”

3
Female leaders skillfully control their own and others’ mistakes; they tend to articulate their thoughts and express ideas more clearly than men, women maintain clear boundaries between business and personal interactions.

4
Businesswomen, in contrast to man, possess a unique advantage when finishing what they started - women know when to stop. Men usually pursue their goal relentlessly, each interruption hurt their pride. By constantly putting their mind to work, men quickly run out of steam. Women have a slightly different tactic: if things don’t go well and women face challenges, they pause, gradually accumulating strength and allowing themselves to regroup and strategize more effectively. The ability to adapt and be flexible in achieving results is one of the key aspects in the leadership process.

5
Another hallmark of efficiency lies in understanding of numerical data, facts and situational assessment. Businesswomen with a well-developed intuition have their own signature methods. This contrasts with the male tendency to rely on a single source of information, a habit that has led many men astray and burned out.
In my experience working with clients on women's business management, I advocate for unity rather than gender-based segregation within teams.

The efforts that women put into PROVING their effectiveness and worth sometimes play a cruel trick. A woman can prove her “I am”, and it can detract her from important business processes and indicators. Therefore, the less we segregate employees by gender, the better business performance we will achieve.

Where do limiting beliefs come from?

«Our beliefs and ideas are often a trap that limits our capabilities».
— Albert Einstein
Limiting beliefs are formed solely on faith, on the meaningful words of parents, on verbal expressions that were unconditionally accepted. For example, parents who in childhood constantly said “You are not able to complete tasks” are transformed into a negative attitude - “I will not be able / I can’t” or “You must do exactly what you were told, the rest is still beyond your capabilities” in adulthood goes into - “I can’t do it”.

These are limiting beliefs that prevent people from achieving success and realizing full potential.
How limiting beliefs work against you and prevent you from getting the results?
Example:
– I was offered my dream job. Everything was as I wanted. Career growth, salary increase, excellent KPI, the team is a rare professional and friendly at the same time.
– Did you agree?
– No, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to handle the new responsibilities.
– But you have good qualifications and your current employer does not underestimate you. There was a chance to prove yourself.
“I understand, but here everything is stable, everything is familiar, clear responsibilities that I can definitely cope with. I need to be able to be content with what I have”.
This is one example of passive manifestation of limiting beliefs. This client is obviously sure that she will not cope and that stability, which may not suit her is much better than a completely justified risk and uncertainty. In the future, this behavior creates a feeling of dissatisfaction with life and roots a negative perception of oneself and one’s capabilities. It becomes even more difficult to change things. Visible excuses can be the phrases:
“I’m no worse off than others,” “Now I’ll be patient, and everything will work out”.
In any case the limiting belief withstood resistance and remained unchanged.

There are three sources of the limiting beliefs:

The first one is significant adults who surround us when we grow and develop
The second is lived experience (relationships with people, life events)
The third is our temperament
It is important to recognise that negative attitudes are formed not only in childhood but throughout life.

The most common limiting beliefs related to work and development:

Nobody needs my experience and values in their work. What’s the point of showing yourself if all the business processes are already established?
Expressing your talent, being bright, being smart, being a leader is too excessive. It may lead to isolation
You can’t climb the career ladder because everything is based on relationships and nepotism
There are so many young and much more successful people than me
Taking initiative at work can lead to negative consequences, so it is better to carry out tasks in a familiar manner
At my age taking risks and looking for something new no longer seems sensible but rather futile
The bottom line of the negative beliefs is this: every person has two key ideas about her/himself.
The bottom line of negative beliefs is to distinguish between two key concepts/ ideas: a FIXED MINDSET (“ I won’t be able to organize my own business”) and a GROWTH MINDSET “ Yes, now I can’t understand where I should develop and how to prove myself. I need to pause and explore all avenues. And I can develop mastery”).

While a fixed mindset reinforces our limitations, a growth mindset gives us a chance and faith in ourselves.
Research has proven that a growth mindset drives progress. Students who promised themselves and committed to trying harder were curious about challenges and grew over time. We can outgrow and overcome our limiting beliefs if we reframe them and stop seeing them as extremes.

Как ваша работа может помочь им преодолеть эти трудности?

STEP 1. To identify the problem that is interfering with the client, I need to determine which group the limiting belief belongs to. According to Robert Dilts' classification, limiting beliefs can be divided into 3 broad categories based on the feelings they make person feels:

1
Hopelessness
“What I want is impossible to get.” That is, we do not believe that we can get what we want. It seems unrealistic and unattainable to us; it is useless to try.

2
Helplessness
“The goal is achievable, but I am not capable enough to achieve it.” That is, our goals seem achievable and realistic to us, but we consider ourselves not strong/talented/capable/brave/smart (etc.) enough to get what we want.

3
Undeserving
“I want real things and I can get them, but I don’t deserve them.” That is, our goals are achievable, we have the resources to achieve them, but we feel that we are unworthy
STEP 2. The elaboration of beliefs affects the value structures of the individual, so at the second stage it is important to construct your own value system, “look at the world with your own eyes.” At this stage, it is necessary to accurately determine the person’s values, his priorities, and be sure to find and discuss personal success stories. I always say that if we know what failure and disappointment are, then we have a different experience, where “I WAS SATISFIED WITH MYSELF.” Such stories are difficult to remember, but everyone has them and they are priceless for working on changes
Step 3. In past success stories we find a counterpoint to negative beliefs about ourselves. If a person has difficulty realizing and accepting his abilities, in the “success story” we will definitely find evidence of the abilities and talent that were demonstrated. Next, we will simulate situations that are expected in the near future and concern the client and distribute in it all the client’s actions that he can perform efficiently with a minimum level of doubt and anxiety.

At this stage, the client develops Confidence in his capabilities. Trusting yourself is the key to solving the question: “How to overcome limiting beliefs?”

Please advise on the steps that women can take to continuously improve their mental health / overall wellbeing, while remaining professionally successful?

"The person who cannot devote 2/3 of his time to himself is a slave".
— Nietzsche
Morning. If in the morning you feel anxious, sometimes irritated by upcoming matters that need to be resolved, you should reconsider your priorities in a work context. Need to do a reconfiguration.

Apparently, your personal values ​​do not correspond to your work tasks and priorities.
Don't have enough time for yourself and your children?

Stop writing your plans.
Start PLANNING your TIME.

1
Define and write
Things that need to be done first
What can you not do?
Plans that need to be completed without hesitation
What can you delegate?
Four points will help you move from internal chaos to clear actions.

2
The second way to help yourself distribute your own time is to keep a list every day for two weeks: two questions - two answers
“STOP DOING” - One action that I will stop doing today because it interferes with my time management
“START DOING” - One action that I will immediately start doing because it helps me manage my planning and feel calm

3
Check yourself and your actions once a week using 5 criteria
(Mine / Not mine)
During the week, what gave you strength and energy?
What aroused your interest?
What actions did you perform at the limit of your abilities and talent?
What things inspired you?
What important meaning are you conveying? (it is always worth remembering that People are created for People)
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