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How to Truly Prepare Young Women For Success

Because there is more than what makes a good leader than just "work hard" or some other short obvious quote

I’m tired of people packaging life lessons and success tips for our youth into a five second inspirational quote.
  • The inspirational quotes on Instagram
  • The beautiful photos on Pinterest
  • The happy happy joy joy “I discovered this mountaintop moment” on Facebook.
  • The t-shirt slogans that say “You can do it.”
Yes, we need motivation. I live for success tips.  But let’s dive in deeper.  Let’s tell them the truth of what it really takes.  And share our lesson openly.

It takes more than  “work hard”

 
Stop telling young girls that all they need to do is “roll up their sleeves and work hard!” We need to provide young girls with specifics about what working hard looks like.
 
I read a blog article recently, The 5 things the next generation of female executives need to know.  I was SOOO pumped.  The title was juicy.  It was written by a woman who is in a top leadership position.
 
I knew it had to offer some sparkling insight and some real world examples. Because to achieve a CEO role as a woman, I know that she had to do more than work hard to keep the haters at bay.
 
I got even more excited the author shared that several of her leadership team are women.  YEESSSS!  Finally a company who is leading the charge.
 
But it when downhill afterwards.  Here were the five tips that she shared:
 
  1. There is no substitute for hard work.
  2. Face your fears.
  3. Get outside what feels comfortable.
  4. Show up.
  5. Don’t shy away from the difficult, tough or impossible.
She didn’t share one story that gave specifics about how she did it.
 
Don’t get me wrong.  The one liners are helpful.  But you could share the same advice to any high school class
 
  • Go for it.
  • Make your dreams happen.
  • Roll up your sleeves and go get ’em.
This advice doesn’t necessarily mean that people would figure out what to do. There were no stories or examples where students could figure out how to duplicate the ideas for their story.

What’s the big problem?

It doesn’t impart any specific advice for girls.  Outside of a few t-shirt slogans or hashtags, it reads like just another inspiring speech.
 
We don’t need that.  Seriously.  It’s damaging.  Because there are many who are doing this. And they are still not able to rise through the ranks to senior leadership positions.
 
And I want our girls at a young age to know the truth.  To know more than just a “study hard” and “show up, it will work out” concept.
 
Let’s dive into the “mistakes” you made and lessons you learned from others.
 

What would have been great to share:

 

Mentoring

The importance of finding good role models and being a good mentor.  I’m pretty sure everyone on the list had a mentor and sponsor who coached them early in their career.
 

How to communicate in a male worldview environment

I don’t know if the author prefers to communicate with a female or male world view. But, I’m betting that she has had some tough conversations.  Share those stories.  What did you learn?  What would you do differently?
 

Your responsibility to the next generation

This was the most disappointing aspect.  The title focused on the next generation.  But there was little shared about the responsibility for the future.  Leadership comes with responsibility.  A heavy responsibility.  If you focus on me, me, me, you miss the importance of supporting future generations. What could you do to empower them and change the paradigm?
 
To be fair, the author does share more insights in other posts.     She talks about highlights in her company – signing the Equal Pay Act for women, quarterly meetings that focus on increasing the diversity and inclusion at her Fortune 500 company, and the importance of hard work.
 
But it often reads more like a PR piece. I’d argue that most girls knew these things already.  They want to know more specifics about how to do it.
 
Be clear: I’d rather live in a world where this type of article is not needed and where people are treated fairly and justly.
 
But we don’t live in that world.  Yet.  So I encourage you.  When you share tips, insights or are asked to speak about your story, tell your story.  Tell specifics through your story and include the highs and lows.
 
You don’t know who is listening and how they can really use those insights to make a change.

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