28 Oct Inspiring Women
Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on October 28, 2014
I have been inspired by many successful women throughout my life –entrepreneurs, executives, managers, CEOs, and board members, all outstanding professionals in their field. They are women who have obtained varying degrees of national or worldwide recognition for their contributions. Though I do not know them all personally, they all share the same traits, attitudes, and behaviors, which I have observed and studied at length. Here I share some of them with you:
- They clearly know what they want to achieve in their lives and make great efforts to do so. Their goals and objectives are ambitious, sometimes surprisingly ambitious. They are bold when it is time to make decisions and take calculated risks. They dare to challenge cultural or social rules, customs, and paradigms to reach their goals.
- They are strong negotiators, especially when matters pertain to their career development. They do not easily yield or are intimidated when confronted with people with a threatening demeanor, especially when asking for more responsibility or fighting for their rights. They are feminine and warm, as well as firm when they have to say no. They are never timid nor do they fear being stereotyped as inflexible when they must set boundaries assertively.
- Ethics and propriety are their banners and they fight for their values, even though this may earn them less popularity among those with an elastic morality.
- They know how to use humor.
- They never play the victim. Instead, they are fighters who courageously take charge of situations, people, or family –though sometimes they can be overprotective o excessively committed, for which they pay a high personal cost.
- They are never invisible, but rather make certain they are noticed. They have a presence that emanates from self-assurance, personality, and confidence.
- They take care of their image and appearance. They know they must invest in elegant and modern attire, especially in settings where men wear a coat and tie.
- They are very lucid and strategic in understanding the politics of circles they move in. They have excellent networks of contacts that are connected to their career focus.
- They actively participate in guilds and associations, seeking leadership roles when appropriate.
- They maintain friendships with people from various periods of their lives, without neglecting them regardless of the success each of them may have reached.
- They have mentors with different perspectives and they value their relationships with them.
- They keep themselves up-to-date and competitive by reading, taking courses, attending conferences and congresses, and developing their potential to international levels, no matter their age.
- They do not fall into the trap of feeling guilty for not spending more time with their family or for neglecting their career if they do. They know where they have to be according to the circumstances and the moment. Sometimes they do make mistakes, but do not punish themselves for their errors.
- They know how to choose the organizations where they work, and do not waste away in places where there is little flexibility, diversity is not valued, or they are not valued. They know how to resign with class.
- The women I describe here dare to be who they want to be, always dreaming big. That is why I admire them so much!
