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WITI WOMEN
Making Lemonade: Preparing for and Sustaining Executive Positions
Have you ever seen a politician or religious figure not use his prime time as an opportunity to further his cause? Why not use your prime time to market yourself? Executive women who sustain their positions for 5 years or more have learned the value of marketing themselves. Marketing goes beyond handing out fancy business cards and occasionally attending a function or two. It's about building lasting memories of your qualifications and building your name both inside and outside of your organization. It is necessary for others to recognize you as an expert in whatever you do. Some women are successful in accomplishing this by speaking at conferences, writing papers for publication, volunteering for projects that have high visibility, or by making themselves available to help others. A phenomenological study of female executives in IT companies in the Washington, DC area (Page, 2004) determined that marketing yourself within and outside of a company contributes to a woman's ability to sustain executive level positions. One of many participants of that study explained how she used her previous role as a business developer in a company to market herself. She represented her company well, bringing in clients and closing deals. She also took the opportunity to speak at conferences, which helped develop her name within the industry as well as within the company. She is now the President of an IT company in the DC area. Another participant in that study explained how she elevated her status within her company to VP. She volunteered to participate in a lot of corporate-wide activities, such as strategic planning. She also demonstrated return on investment, worked well with other executives, and fought hard to remain on the agenda of important meetings and highly visible events. If marketing yourself means volunteering, mentoring, or pursuing high-visibility projects, are you automatically putting yourself in a position to be taken advantage of by others? Perhaps, but that can be a price worth paying. You have to decide if your efforts are about tit-for-tat and getting paid for everything you do. If so, you may be too focused on short-term goals to see the bigger picture of your future possibilities. Don't limit your potential earnings with selfish thoughts. Maintain focus on your goal to put yourself out there with the best.
What about the risk of failure? Failure can be forgiven. It is better to be remembered as someone who volunteered to help rather than someone who was afraid to try. Most successful executive women in IT are very aware of their skill set. If you feel you are lacking some necessary skills, volunteering to work on projects or with nonprofit organizations is a great way to build those skills. Remember that you don't always have to be in the lead; sometimes you have to stoop to conquer. Taking the time and opportunity to learn necessary skills may prove beneficial for future endeavors.
What is your point of view? Please post your thoughts on the discussion board.
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Research indicates that women are underrepresented at the executive levels of information technology (IT) organizations, holding only 5.1% of those positions. Is this a negative or a positive for women who have already obtained executive status or for those who are pursuing it? Some executive women believe that being a minority in the executive ranks of the IT industry has only helped them stand out among their male peers. They have acknowledged the reality of the current situation and have found a great opportunity to turn a negative into a positive. These women use their underrepresented status as a competitive advantage for themselves. They enjoy being in the minority with regard to gender, as they tend to stand out more at meetings and are more likely to be remembered.