Every time I interview a 40-something woman for 40:20 Vision I ask them what three “gifts” would they give a 20-something if they were a “Forty-Godmother”. Today I am adapting three “wishes” from the advice shared by a woman / CEO / investor / advisor in one my 7×7 mentoring salons. I love what she had to say.
1. Learn how to brag.
Oh, my God, that’s a dirty word. Just say, “Look at what a great client I brought in.” Thinking about it as a brag gives you a way to stop undervaluing what you are contributing. It’s not taking something away from anyone else…it is adding you into the equation. You’ve all done something amazing. Just own it.
2. Take control of the conversation.
In media training it’s part of the messaging triangle but you can use it for any negotiation. It’s basically redirecting the things that you don’t want to answer because they’re going to put you down a rabbit hole. Politicians are brilliant at this. Answer the question firmly and then pull the question back to your points. It’s a great tool. You can Google it.
“With redirection, your spokesperson answers a question, but not necessarily the question asked by the reporter.” – how to prepare for interviews
3. Elevate your vision
If you all say to yourself, “I don’t know what industry or what company, what place but someday I’m going to be a CEO,” So if you have that attitude, you already are on your way to being a CEO. But what does that mean? That really means you need to be a salesperson. You need to know enough about tech. You need to know enough about finance. Having any smaller career goal is okay but if you’re ambitious, shoot for the top. Say, “I’m going to be a CEO. I’m going to be my own version of Marissa Mayer. I’m going to do it. I’m going to keep building it. I’m going to keep learning this and that. Add it up and someday you’ll be in that position.”