Here’s a bit of history about my situation.
I was surrounded by strong-willed, hardworking and purpose-driven women. It is through their leadership that the traditions, values and legacy of our family have been upheld. My grandmother was warm, resourceful, and amazing while my mother possessed natural leadership skills, drive, and ambition. My mom has always been a master of opportunity management.
My parents built a business from the ground up. My grandmother seamlessly kept us all in check while running the family households and at the same time supporting my grandpa in his real estate business. They have taught me that a woman’s instincts and emotional intelligence can be off the chart. They seamlessly manage crisis and change and are turnaround experts, sensing and neutralizing any signs of conflict well before it truly invades our path.
It is because of the women that have surrounded me in my childhood and the strong women that surround me today that we are well-organized, full of love, spiritually aligned, and well-balanced. We are by no means perfect, but we embrace traditions even as we adapt to changing times. These leadership skills were burned into my soul as a young child and are what drives me today. I want to make these women proud. I do that through a family-first mentality and a drive that is impossible to contain.
Let’s talk about ten traits of self-made women that are the true differentiators!
This conversation starts with grit and determination. In the beginning of any startup, there are countless hours, multiple hats, strategic planning, and sales that need to happen. We act, think, and innovate with a sense of urgency and understanding that gives us a competitive advantage. We are Opportunity. Women process differently than men do! We have our own terms and forge ahead with leadership goals. We have a determination that cannot be explained.
As you walk down this path, a self awareness of who you are and who you want to become starts to develop.
Within that self awareness, personal growth and experience happens while life changes. Vision starts to come together. Who will you become? What is the vision of your corporation or your division? What do you stand for? What goals are you trying to achieve? How are you going to achieve those results?
The answer is discovering what your focused critical activities are. How are you going to drive opportunity?
Time blocking in lead generation on a daily basis is essential for the sustainability of any corporation or division. Understanding the goals, the priorities, and the strategies to achieve the results are extremely important. What stays on your plate and what do you need to delegate? Understanding what your top 20% looks like is where the bulk of your time needs to be spent.
Resourceful teams that engage in passionate initiatives and have specific goals, priorities, and strategies are always the most successful!
As you are building your team and the tactical skill sets that need to surround your vision, keep the end in mind. Who needs to be on your team in order to initially drive stability and then take the corporation to the next level? How do you build buy-in? What does your ecosystem look like and how do your people feel about the initiatives?
Growth is a constant. Being comfortable is for sissies.
Proactive conversations turn into growth opportunities. Taking risk is uncomfortable for most people and10% of the population is visionary. Visionaries love risk! Everybody else is usually risk-averse. If you are a risk-taker, make sure to surround yourself with people that are somewhat risk-averse so you do not get in over your head! Sometimes people fail. The driving question is how quickly can you get up?
Mindset drives everything.
If you believe everything is attainable, then it is. If you would have asked me five years ago if I would be in the position I am in today, I would have laughed in your face. A lot can happen in a very short amount of time, especially if you have a sense of urgency!
The sense of urgency with a positive mindset drives forward momentum. Entrepreneurship is just a way of life for many women.
Self-made women are masters at seizing and recognizing opportunities, assessing risks, and taking opportunities. Women are resourceful, connect the dots of opportunity, and become experts in developing the relationships they need to get the job done. They know that to create and sustain momentum requires 100% focus on the goals.
Many female leaders find excitement and motivation by being extremely creative and resourceful when completing tasks and other duties and responsibilities (an “out of the box” mentality).
I have found that many women leaders enjoy inspiring others to achieve. They know what it’s like to be the underdog and work hard not to disappoint themselves and others. Women leaders in particular often have high standards and their attention to detail makes it difficult for others to cut corners or abuse any special privileges.
Women leaders with a nurturing nature are good listeners and excellent networkers/connecters.
They enjoy creating ecosystems and support a collaborative leadership style that melds the thinking and ideas of others; this is what multiplies the size of an opportunity and/or its speed in execution in order to create a larger sphere of influence and overall impact.
Women who don’t have to be right all the time make good consensus builders and will more likely enjoy participating in a team environment. The most successful women leaders are believers in team building, goals and values to assure that everyone is on the same page with like intentions. This secures a sense of continuity making it easier for everyone to have each other’s backs.
Kelly Hager is coming to Australia. To learn more or contact Kelly, simply email kelly@kellyhager.com
