8 Simple Truths You Need to Hear About
Women in Business – NOW
The number of women leaders in British boardrooms is at its highest ever level, there’s a growing number of women entrepreneurs in the market place, and though we have long known that our empathic, collaborative and emotionally intelligent approach has a harmonizing impact, it seems these strengths are finally being valued in today’s dramatically shifting business climate, which is bringing out the best and worst in all of us.
It’s against this backdrop, spring 2012 that we at School for Heroines, have undertaken our first in-depth survey of the perspectives of women in UK business today.
Here’s an insight in to what you told us, in this excerpt from the full report:
- You love what you do. That’s what you told us when we asked you what was good about being a woman in business.
Whether you run your own show, or work as a senior manager or director, you extol the virtues of being your own boss, having the flexibility to organise your life the way you want, or just feeling that you’re in a position to make a difference. - Not only that, but it seems that most (77%) have a very clear picture of where you’re heading, and you have well-defined and focused goals about what you want from your work and your life.
- And what is that exactly? ‘To make a difference’ is what 84% say. You aren’t happy to sit back, or just go through the motions: you want to know that what you’re doing is worthwhile, as well as giving you a real buzz.
- Despite being a survey of women in business, for many, work is far from being the be-all and end-all. Indeed, when asked to rank what you consider the most important factors in your life, family sits overwhelmingly at the top of the leader board, ranked first by 63%, with health a distant second (10%) and relationships (8%) in third.
As for friends, typically perceived as playing a vital role for many women, they rank even lower, at tenth out of ten.
And work?
Well, just 3% ranked it first.
And this was a Women in Business survey!
Despite an impression that many businesswomen seem to be ‘living the dream’, or at least moving towards it, life behind the scenes suggests a more troubled picture.
So what’s going on? Despite this low ranking, 72% answered ‘yes’ to ‘do you love your job?’ – which suggests that something’s not right here. An inconvenient truth? Because there’s a gap that doesn’t add up.
To us, this reveals two things:
- It’s time, not for change but for innovation: to let go of old habits, conflicts, ways of thinking and behaving, opening up instead, to make way for fresh confidence and focus on what’s possible, because,
- There’s still enormous potential waiting to be realised from women in the business world, when they find a way to integrate their lives and go to work as their ‘whole-self.’
- Because despite your ‘go-getting’ approach to life, beneath a veneer of confidence, achievement and control, it seems you’re finding things tough and that something isn’t quite right.
- You say you know what you want, and that you have a clear plan for getting it, but just a little digging reveals a whole mixed bag of emotions, experiences and frustrations – it seems that, at a deeper level, you feel conflicted, dissatisfied, and sometimes plain scared. One respondent revealed:
‘I am frustrated by my failure to achieve that others find possible. My urgent desire to make the business a success seems to be strangling my ability to be objective and sustain a consistent effort’
Does this resonate? Are you being held back?
Question: What’s your truth? Your comments are welcome at the bottom of the page.
Access the full report and an invitation to finally break free from what’s been holding you back, by filling in the form below.
Much love, no judgement,
Karen Footman