In 2019, I became very intentional about rising in my career, and most especially knowing how I could achieve that, successfully. I got my hands on How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith and I think that was what I needed. Sally and Marshall did a fantastic job at identifying challenges impeding women’s advancement in their various careers.
If you read my Newsletter for last month, August, you can attest that this book played a pivotal role in opening up my mind to other opportunities, which was simultaneously instrumental to my move to take up my current role. It also took a lot out of me to write that down, because just like with other women, as the book identified (Reluctance to claim your achievement), I struggled to highlight that aspect, as the creepy thought of incompetence or falsehood of achievement, was lurking as if to say, ‘what do you think you have achieved?’
I think that as highlighted in the book, it is essential to regularly remind yourself to break habits that are holding you back in your career. It maybe necessary to list some of the points elucidated in the book, and place them somewhere you can unavoidably view on a daily basis, as a reminder to shake off those prowling habits. For good measure, out of the twelve listed, I will mention four of which most apply to me;
- Putting your job before your career;
- The perfection trap;
- Minimising;
- Ruminating;
To round off, my favourite part of the book emphasises that while your job is important and your commitment to it should be unwavering, in the scheme of things, your loyalty should be unflinching towards building your career and not just maintaining a job. You may lose your job due to various circumstances, but the career one has built is what guarantees your future.
Happy reading WIG.ng
