Brisbane - look out! Women in Finance are stepping up, speaking out and taking charge

I love it when event organisers do things differently - after all smart 'n savvy works really well when engaging with potential audiences prior to an event and driving a better event experience. The Women in Finance crew (with Claire Farquhar) in Queensland, always on the look out for new ways to help their members, interviewed me before their May 11th event. For those interested in some of the back story as to why I set up The Ambition Revolution program for women with career and leadership aspirations, and The Talent Revolution program for corporate groups, here it is. 

Claire: What was the catalyst for your stepping out from the executive life and spreading your Ambition Revolution message?  

Amanda: My own career has come up through the ranks of the association and peak body sector where we used to offer thought leadership opportunities to members to help them stand out.

One of the things I noticed, was that women tended to require a different style of encouragement in order to embrace these sorts of leadership opportunities.

I’d call for papers and 10 males would respond and only one female. I’d call for Award nominations and the women would put forward their junior staff (which was really great), but didn't see it as a worthwhile activity nominating themselves. 

It was fascinating and not a little disheartening and yet the women looked like they were doing great work – but not as comfortable navigating this newer terrain of self promotion and self advocacy as a pathway to career success and leadership. Excellent at advocating on behalf of others, but uncomfortable doing it for themselves.

In response I developed a program called The Ambition Revolution - one on one mentoring for professional women to assist them with confidence, to remain strategic and stay visible amongst decision makers. For those already leading, the program then assists them to future proof their future portfolio career options. Alternatively, I deliver tailored Talent Revolution programs for organisations who are trying to increase the numbers of women in leadership, but struggling to do so.

Claire: If you could thank yourself for the actions over the last 2 years what would those actions be? 

Amanda: Every time I do something outside my comfort zone I can hand on heart say that it delivers huge bang for it’s buck. When I initially started speaking I was incredibly nervous. In fact, when my coach first said to me that I'd need to speak in public I shot him down in flames with a barrage of rejection.

"No way!"

"Not my gig!"

"Talk to the hand!”  

However I soon realised that I could help far more women when I got out of my own way and learned to become friends with the stage.

Why is this important? When I notice that I’m leaning out of something, delaying despite knowing it’s good for me or procrastinating – I now know that this is the very thing that needs moving up the prioritisation list because it’s likely to be the exact thing that helps me both energetically and strategically to move the dial on my own business goals. 

Remember the three growth mindset provisos? 

1. You need to be prepared to fail, 
2. You need to learn to be comfortable with the inevitable discomfort that comes with doing new things, and 
3. You need to get on and do the work. 

I like to add one more and that's "Hope is not a strategy". You need a plan to ensure you get out of your own way and comfort zone as much as possible.

Claire: How do you think the role of business mentor has evolved in perception and purpose over the years? 

Amanda: Leadership coach, business mentor, executive coach, life coach – a label is just a label. However it’s the label that works for the individual customer that really counts. You, as the coachee/mentee, need to be really specific about what it is you need. 

• Do you want to be held steady and strategic? 
• Do you need help with a particular area of expertise? 
• Do you want your business to become more profitable? 
• Do you want to build your personal and professional profile?  
• How do you best work? 

You will find someone right for you. 

Recommendation #1: “Any coach is better than no coach – even a less than ideal coach”. Because even with a less than ideal coach you are one step closer to finding the right match for your needs right now. And your results will range from “shift happens” to transformational change and anywhere in between. 

Recommendation #2: "Don’t delay, book in with a coach today." It might take you six months to build up the confidence with a plan and laying the foundation to effectively negotiate your next raise or promotion on your own. But with a coach, you could have had the same result five months sooner. 

Claire: Does humour play a large part in your approach to work and personal life?  

Amanda: HUGE. I’m a big believer in laughing at life - the irony of expertise, quirks of personality and the hilarity of human nature. I’m not sure if you know, but I also teach yoga …. and in my classes you are guaranteed to suffer bouts of random laughter and giggling. 

Life is frequently unfair, uncertain and uncontrollable. Laughter helps immensely. Plus it’s good for your soul.

Claire: What is the most common "unspoken" unconscious bias you encounter in your work and how do you approach it? 

Amanda: In a recent study from the advertising industry we learned that 77% of men and 55% of women believe that a man is the best choice to lead a high-stakes project? (Sheryl Sandberg, referring to The Unstereotyped Mindset report produced by Unilever on the power of advertising on stereotypes in 2017)

Over the years I’ve suffered my share of sexism and bias – no more than most, and certainly less than some. The thing I find most annoying is that many men and some women dismiss “feminine voice” because women don’t sound like their stereotyped notion of what a successful business leader sounds like – you know, deeper voice, masculine sporting metaphors, with a focus on competition, growth and winning. 

Women as well as men are so ingrained to “see” men as natural born leaders, that we find it hard to get past the socialisation. 

As someone who has worked with many committees and a few Boards, sometimes I simply knew that my ideas would be dismissed unless I tried others options. So I learned to ask male committee members to volunteer these same ideas in order to get a better result. And while it might not always feel fair, right and could be seen as perpetuating the cycle, in some situations effective and done, is far better than perfect and not done. 

If you don’t have a seat at the table, bring your own chair! Because it’s far easier to change things from inside than outside.

Thanks Claire for the opportunity to address your Brisbane Women in Finance group. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

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Bookings for Brisbane

For those interested in attending the lunch, here are the details! Non-members most welcome. 

• Thursday 11 May, 2017 12:00pm - 2:00pm
• The Capitol, Little Tokyo Two , Level 2, 155 Queen Street, Brisbane

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• Amanda helps women win raises, promotions and bigger/better opportunities
• She also helps businesses create capable, confident and empowered female leaders. Check out her corporate Women in Leadership Talent Revolution program
• Or why not invite her to speak at or emcee your next women's networking function? Direct message in the first instance.

Vive la révolution! #ambitionrevolution #LookOutCSuiteHereSheComes #feminineambition 

#success #career #visibility #standout #leadership #executivewomen #careerfutureproofing