From the course: Become a Courageous Female Leader

Breaking through the barriers to the C-suite

From the course: Become a Courageous Female Leader

Breaking through the barriers to the C-suite

- Several years ago I was leading the research inside a global corporation to study the journey for women in their career, and really to identify the barriers, the derailers, the things that are both internal, but also those external barriers, those that are worked up in the system inside the typical organizations. And so I was doing this with an eye to the next generation. If we don't break through and get more women into the C-suite, into the top of every organization, at the seat of the table, how's that going to affect the interest of the next generation, of both women and men, to want to join these organizations? And so I entered this project pretty naive because I imagined once you got into the C-suite, the boardroom, that everything would be glamorous and life would be really ideal. But what I learned is that a lot of those women were literally just surviving. They weren't thriving because they were still, on a day-to-day basis, trying to overcome a lot of bias stereotypes and those derailers. But the good is I also got to interview women trailblazers that are making positive progress, that were breaking through, and they had these unbelievable stories that I believe are really relatable and applicable to you, whatever your level, whatever your industry or role. So that's why I wrote "Dig Your Heels In" because I wanted to share more of those stories with you, but in a really practical way so you could say, okay, what could work for me? What big bold move could I make? For me, this became so personal. Interviewing all these women, it not only inspired me as a working women, but it connected back to the sacrifices my mom made and to make sure that women of all the generations to come could continue to open up whatever door they wanted. And now, as a mother of two little girls, I demand that the future be different for them. So I challenge you to find your why. What is deeply personal to you, when you find the opportunity to lead, that you can connect back to what your trying to change? Often times, you can connect the dots to something from your childhood or something that's truly personal to you, and this change that you want to lead in the workplace, how should the day-to-day experiences be different? What is something that's really frustrated you that you believe has been standing in your way from getting everything you deserve, and from advancing and reaching your full potential? So that's the opportunity, it's really to identify what's frustrating you and make it personal because there's going to be long days, there's going to be challenges, and what's going to help you walk through that door each and every day and make a difference is how big that why is to you. Throughout this course I'm going to be sharing stories of trailblazing women that will inspire you to take your frustration and use it as fuel to break through those barriers and ultimately open up the door for yourself and so many others to come.

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