It is no secret that more gets done when many are involved. With more women in the workforce today than ever, it is important to lift one another when we can because collaboration is key. If you’re a woman in the workplace, maybe you haven’t really experienced a lot of “women helping women.” There are a lot of stereotypes about women pulling each other down or being jealous. It seems that, a lot of time, women don’t have the best rep when it comes to ‘collaboration’.
Forbes published an article recently that highlights female-specific collaboration in the workplace:
“...women who make it their priority to form close female contacts are “more likely to land executive positions with greater authority and higher pay.”
You might not know that already, but Shelley Zalias, author of the Forbes article “Power Of The Pack: Women Who Support Women Are More Successful, sums things up perfectly when she wrote: “There is a special place in Heaven for women who support other women.”
She is right. We don’t have to let the outdated stereotypes of ‘catty women’ and ‘clawing your way to the top’ be the story of female leadership anymore. It’s never too late to change and begin actively working on developing long-lasting, incredible relationships with our fellow working women. By lifting one another to new and better heights, we can reverse this stigma of women being “catty” or even inhibiting to others within our field of profession.
Our professional success depends on it.
“...Research shows that women in particular benefit from collaboration over competition,” Salias states. This is something that our male counterparts simply do not have.
The article goes on to state that the goal is to nurture these bonds, gain more influence within your circle of female leaders, and listen to one another. So many great careers can be created from us simply sharing our own experiences. To be “one of the girls” should rank up there with being “one of the boys”; if not much, much higher.
Here’s our advice:
Be yourself and befriend the women around you.
Create #LeadingLadies relationships and use those relationships as a safe, supportive space to express your professional goals, bounce ideas off of one another, and support each other.
Embrace the power of making honest connections and networking.
Establish partnerships and build business opportunities together.
Be leaders together, adding others to your inner circle of expertise and productivity. One of our superpowers as female leaders is being able to raise up other women, bringing them to the table, and building off of shared experiences, relationships, and skills.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a whole host of female colleagues in your corner, helping you close the big deals? Imagine the joy of bringing a junior person on your team and helping her get ahead faster and fairer than you did. Like Zalias said, “There is a special place in Heaven for women who support other women.”
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Sinclair Johnson-Knight is a communications and social media intern with Leading Ladies, LLC. She is building her communications and marketing expertise and hopes to empower women to excel in leadership and health and wellness.