The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Well-Educated Women
Posted on Wed, Jun 17, 2009 @ 11:12 AM
A guest post by Lindsay Meyer (originally posted May 26, 2009 on "Life with Lindsay"):
For full disclosure, I've never read Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" (though people have definitely recommended it to me). However, as I've been reflecting recently on what makes me tick, and what makes people (particularly well-educated women) flourish or flounder, I've decided to take a stab at delineating (my observations of) the seven habits of today's best and brightest females. Each of the seven "habits" are based on my interactions with others and some degree of personal experience as a student or young professional.
Highly effective well-educated women...
1. want it all. Much has been written about the difficulty in simultaneously having a rockstar career and a perfect family. But the truly visionary women I've met have never stopped trying to achieve both. They might not know the path to being CFO and mother of four, but they're willing to keep experimenting in hopes that one day they will have struck work/life balance.
Highly effective well-educated women...
2. are willing to admit that they can't actually have it all. The same women that want everything (and work beyond their means to attain it) are also willing to admit that the "perfect, happy life" is probably not possible. So while wanting it all is commendable, so is a healthy understanding that there are limitations. Smart women have already accepted this. It doesn't diminish their drive, but it gives them a perspective on the struggle to "have it all" that enriches their repeat attempts to elevate themselves and their families to the next level.
Highly effective well-educated women...
3. are builders. Whether it's professional relationships, model investment portfolios, innovative school fundraising campaigns, or church potlucks, these women busy themselves with projects that have discrete outcomes. By building things, they gain recognition for individual or community contribution, and they receive the satisfaction of making things happen. High-impact leadership is levered on the ability to accomplish things. While motivating others and encouraging collaboration are important parts of leadership, women who can build things - from start to finish - are a valuable asset. And very often, being a "builder" means giving more than taking. And this notion doesn't intimidate highly effective women. In fact, they're used to it.
Highly effective well-educated women...
4. are master managers of emotion. Because emotion can cloud the judgment of even the most pragmatic "Plain Jane"-types, highly effective women are capable of recognizing when it's time for a time out. On the contrary, ther know that the ability to channel certain emotions into action can be extremely powerful. The most emotionally intelligent women are completely sensitized to which situations and scenarios warrant which response.
Highly effective well-educated women...
5. are impeccably organized. This is probably the most contentious of "habits" as some people just aren't born with an aptitude for organization. Yet for the women who are in the upper echelons of "effective," being a BlackBerry ninja isn't just a life skill. It's an art form, and it's done with precision. After all, "having it all" requires substantial understanding of multiple competing demands. Clutter and haphazard planning simply don't fit into the picture. Plus, having an organized life makes it much easier to respond to the inevitable variation that life brings.
Highly effective well-educated women...
6. know how to recharge. To perform at peak, successful women know when it's time to get out of the office (or the house). They recognize the value in getting away or taking the occasional "mental health" day. In addition to knowing "when" to recharge, they know "how" to recharge... which reflects their astute self-awareness and ability to defend themselves from burnout.
Highly effective well-educated women...
7. are confident. Because, let's face it, without a healthy dose of "I can do it" it's tough to survive, let alone thrive, in today's world.
About Lindsay Meyer
Lindsay Meyer was born in South Korea, raised in Minneapolis, and went to college at the University of Notre Dame. She moved to the Bay Area for a job at a biotech company in Palo Alto which was recently acquired. Visit her website at www.lindsaymeyer.com.