3 Ways to Improve Your Visibility at Work

How to Connect with Women and Build Your Network

In my 20’s I headed into my first legal career, and practically needed boxing gloves to beat my way up the corporate ladder. And because at that time there were very few women in senior positions at law firms, the people I most often competed with were other women.

Fortunately, change is happening. We still have much more to learn about equity and what exactly that looks like in the workplace, but research continues to prove that gender and cultural diversity improves a company’s bottom line. That means more workplaces are motivated to diversify their workforce than ever before.

But while women are no longer having to compete with each other the way we once did, there’s still plenty of residue left over from that time. Combine that with an ABC Bachelor-infused cable culture that reinforces the idea that women are catty and unsupportive of each other, and it’s not a surprise many of us don’t have tight circles of women at work.

But we have a choice. We can continue to tear each other down and reinforce outdated myths, or we can prove the hell outta how wrong they are.

Here’s how to do that.

1. Be the loudest cheerleader

When I started at CNN as a legal analyst, I was introduced to five other highly competitive lawyers. All incredible at what they did, but the vibe was clearly about who could out-consult the other. Previous experience taught me that unless I changed my own strategy, I’d get sucked into the race and end up miserable.

So what did I do? I became a cheerleader for all my colleagues. If I had a resource I knew could help one of the members on my team, I shared it. After one of them came off the air, I’d applaud them for nailing the segment. It didn’t take a lot of time, but it made a huge difference. Within a few weeks, team energy changed and we were all cheering for each other. Even today, we still check in.

If you’re thinking right now that this will never work with your team, try it anyway. Best case scenario, work becomes enjoyable. Worst case you come across as selfless and big-hearted and maybe that’s not so worst case after all.

2. Build a Network

In the ideal workspace, management would build the kind of culture that fosters trust and team-building. It would make sense for them to do so, since research finds that a supportive and positive culture for women, especially in male-dominated work environments, means less conflict and more social support.

But supportive culture or not, it’s important you cultivate bonds with other women in the workplace. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, high-ranking women were more likely to be promoted if they had a close circle of women connections than those without them.

Why is that important? Because an inner circle like this provides gender-relevant trust and information, particularly in a male-dominated field. Women who network together have more opportunities to share potential job openings and advocate for each other as references.

3. Share what you know

Besides feeling supported in your own women-centered network, it’s 100% essential that we support the women coming up behind us. One powerful way to do that is through sponsorship.

Unlike a mentorship, in which a woman offers advice and guidance to another woman, a sponsor takes an active role in the success of her protégé. Sponsors help expand diversity in the workplace not only with guidance and training, but by ensuring their protégés have access to professional experiences and connections that will help to further their careers.

Because we still live in the shadow of gender suppression, I know it can be hard to let go of that fierce sense of rivalry. But when women band together and support each other, strong leadership skills emerge and companies benefit. And when you help one woman succeed, you help all women everywhere.

Now it’s my turn to offer my support to you. I’ve released a coaching session for Women in Work and I want you to have it. Just drop your email address here, and please share with any woman you think could benefit. Together we can change the way work gets done.