Take Up Space

Many women hamster-wheel their way to career success.

They work really hard, go above and beyond every day, they finish their super long to do lists. 

This is how they have been raised: more so than boys, girls get daily tasks to do at home, which they should finish diligently and quietly. They definitely should not get in the way of other people. They must put aside their own needs in favour of other people’s needs. They cannot draw attention to what they have done or achieved.

They cannot take up space. 

These societal expectations to quietly get on with it and not focus on ourselves, are further reinforced by our hormonal make-up. Large quantities of oestrogen make us give all of our attention to those in need of our support: our babies, first and foremost. Without this extra oestrogen, it may become really attractive to put our babies on Ebay after a couple of weeks of sleepless nights… 

I might be exaggerating here a little bit, yet I believe most women recognise the patterns described above.

We must focus on others. 

We cannot take up space. 

And whilst doing a lot for others, is great to sustain communities, they don’t help us get promoted. In fact, I’d argue that this attitude of get-the-job-done-quietly-and-perfectly, actively work against moving up in business. 

Because we promote leaders, not mere executors. 

We admire and advance people who speak up, not people who do their jobs quietly. 

We want big and bold from our leaders, not mere execution of tedious daily tasks.  

So if you recognise your own approach to work as quiet hamster-wheeling and if you do want to move up in your career, you are going to need to change your ways. 

(Short intermezzo: is it correct that we need to adjust to the boys’ world? No. Do I like it? Absolutely not. But let’s be pragmatic here, friends, and get to a position of leadership so that we can affect the world around us in a bigger way, okay?)

Here is my advice to you: 

Dream big and bold. 

Execute. 

Then share that success far and wide. 

In short: Take. Up. Space. 

If you need help with that, as always: drop me a line.