The Smart Woman

ARE YOU GIVING AWAY YOUR POWER?

In yesterday's post, I talked about having a seat a the table and - still not using my voice.

When we decide to push aside our own feelings and opinions in favor of someone else’s, we’re essentially giving away our power.

This happens because we don’t want to “rock the boat” or bring attention.

But, in the workplace, it’s all too easy to become conditioned to go with the flow, even when our intuition tells you differently!

👉🏼So, instead of making decisions based on intuition, we conform.

And, in our eagerness to belong, we can get lulled into complacency.

➡️ Here are 3 tips to find your voice again:

1️⃣ Be willing to live your truth unapologetically. In other words DO YOU.

2️⃣ Agree to disagree. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself or to set boundaries.

3️⃣ Know what you stand for. When you have a unwavering connection to your personal truth, your voice becomes a source of strength.

When was the last time you assessed your inner circle? How do you choose the people you surround yourself with?

Let chat in the comments ⬇

With your success in mind...Darine

{Save this post} How to get yourself noticed – and have a good time while you're at it.

Promoting yourself can be an awkward thing to do, but it is essential to taking the next step into leadership.

These 5 tips will help you promote yourself in the right way.

1️⃣Keep all your social profiles up to date.

2️⃣Communicate your contribution.

Don’t expect or assume that people know what you are good at. In fact, Nobody knows what you have done until you tell them. 

3️⃣Introduce yourself with impact.

You should be able to introduce yourself in a way that makes people want to know more about you.

Exit the boring introduction with your job title.

You’re much more than that.

4️⃣Grow your professional reputation.

It’s important to be intentional when building your personal brand so you can leverage it to raise your professional profile.

5️⃣Be subtle and consistent.

When done wrong, self-promotion can leave a bitter taste in people's mouths.

Being overconfident is often disliked by their peers.

So you want to be strategic in the way you mention your accomplishments, without hogging your colleagues' attention or downplaying their work.

Save this post and use the self-promotion checklist to help you stay on track and promote yourself the right way.

With your success in mind...Darine

Ever wondered why it’s so hard to prove you’re ready as a leader?

As high-achievers we’re so focused on work and reaching perfection that we don’t see the progress and impact we have made.

Even when people will notice it, we say “I just did my job”.

By doing so, we completely ignore our gift.

And then, when it comes to position yourself as a leader and to promote yourself, you don’t feel comfortable.

You feel like an imposter because you stay focused on the idea that you haven’t done enough when in reality you’re not fully aware of all the great work you have been doing.

⚙️A great tool to use is a “Brag Sheet” which is basically a document where you write down all your professional and personal accomplishments.

It helps you realize all the great things you have done but beyond that, it’s a great reminder to look at when imposter syndrome kicks-in.

Indeed, it’s hard to be confident about the things you’re not fully aware of and then it’s even harder to position yourself as a leader when you’re not clear on how you use your gift to impact people.

Once you start seeing yourself for who you really are, you gain so much clarity on how you can make an impact - as a leader - then, positioning and promoting yourself become just common sense.

Does it resonate with you? Let’s chat in the comment ⬇️

Nearly all women get mansplained or talked over in meetings.

Meetings are a key to make yourself noticed. When you “hold your own” in a meeting, you show that you’re confident and proactive. And, this mark you out as a future leader.

So don’t let anyone stop you from using your voice.

Have you experienced mansplaining? Share your experience with us ⬇️

Part of the reason so many professional women don’t use their voice is because of the fear of being labelled as "bitchy" or "bossy."

However, it becomes an issue when trying to be liked at work holds you back from using your voice and making your ideas heard.

⬆️ Go over to my stories for three powerful ways to make your voice heard in a meeting.

➡️ Share it with the women in your community