“Building Power as a Female Executive”

I recently had the privilege of speaking at the 9th Annual Virginia Women’s Business Conference where I met amazing women leaders and entrepreneurs. I spoke about building power as a female executive, a topic dear to my heart. 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I believe in the power of women.

I believe that women have a unique perspective for leadership, and I truly believe women can shape the future of the workplace. 

And I believe that the biggest key to building power is to surround yourself with powerful people.

Women executives lead busy lives and deal with complicated business situations. Add to this, women often are in charge of family responsibilities. So, it is very easy to forego “discretionary” tasks like networking meetings. But it is a proven fact that the time you spend on this has a direct impact on your status and power.

I learned a long time ago that successful women, those who shape their own destiny and disrupt the workplace, understand the power of networking. They know that strategic networking creates what is known as a “virtuous cycle”, a chain of events that build on themselves. It goes like this:

• a powerful network increases your visibility; 
• visibility increases your power and status, 
• which in turn increases your ability to build and maintain the right relationships
• and with those relationship, get more done through them. 

I don’t remember who said it, but I agree with the sentiment: “even the Lone Ranger didn’t do it alone.”

And I have seen it time and again, women enhance their power when they build the right network and, for me, that means developing a “toolkit.” Let’s call it a Power Networking Leadership Toolkit. 

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