With rats, it’s understandable, but the fear of bridges might seem unusual, if not odd. Well, as you may have guessed, there was a story behind it. I fell off the bridge when I was about four-years-old. It happened in my grandpa’s garden where there was a river; it was very shallow (more like a stream) and my Dad ran quickly to save me from the water. But somehow, that fear stayed inside of me and for many years I had recurring nightmares about a slippery, broken bridge in front of me. Sometimes that scary feeling has returned to my real life – in my studies, career, or in personal decisions. Life has often felt like a fast river of uncertainties with no ready answers on how to cross it.

Just recently I found out that I wasn’t alone in this. Even the most courageous, smart, energetic, and gorgeous women I’ve met have different variations of this same fear, and probably it’s only natural. But it doesn’t mean it should stop you. 

This realization came to me at a women’s career club which I co-facilitated with my colleague Marie Snider. Who knew that monthly gatherings of like-minded professional women could be so life-changing? But they were. And not just for me. 

Kyiv participants of “Window to Success.”

We launched “Window to Success,” a professional career discussion circle for women at America House in Kyiv, Ukraine, in December 2018. The program was designed for us by Rania Habiby Anderson, a global speaker, prominent businesswoman, and the author of a truly inspirational book UNDETERRED: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies.

Rania conducted the research for her book by interviewing more than 250 professional women in developing and emerging economies around the world. She discovered that successful career and business woman share six habits. UNDETERRED is full of incredible stories of women, practical lessons, techniques, and recommendations. All of this made Rania’s book so relevant and timely in Ukraine. 

Rania visited Ukraine to speak twice, in 2017 and 2018. She became a fantastic partner, consultant, and a dear friend of the America House team. In collaboration with her and our Window on America centers, we launched our career clubs in Kyiv and in seven different cities of Ukraine, including Poltava, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky and Mykolaiv. 

Business breakfasts at Cherkasy (launched by Olena Lytvynova).

For six months, almost 100 professional women all over Ukraine read UNDETERRED and practiced the six habits of success. We met once a month and discussed our professional and personal challenges, hopes, goals, and aspirations. We shared our internal dreads, like our fear of failure, and even more daunting, our fear of success. 

That’s when I realized how similar we all were. Most of us were dealing with imposter syndrome, or guilt for being bad mothers (wives, daughters, friends or girlfriends), or a terrifying feeling that we can’t manage all the seemingly competing demands in our lives.  

Step-by-step we practiced the habits from the book and that is when the real changes occurred. 

Olena Lytvynova from Cherkasy (right) leading her business breakfast project.

Following Rania’s advice, blogger Olena Lytvynova (Cherkasy) decided to change the rules of the game. Being an expert in online businesses, she decided to go offline and launch a new project – business breakfasts for local professionals. The project became an immediate hit in Cherkasy with more than 20 professionals meeting and networking every month. 

Iryna Lytovchenko (Kyiv), who works for an IT company, found the courage to talk to her boss and finally received a well-deserved promotion. 

Young lawyer, Kateryna Shumeiko (Kyiv) always dreamt about opening her own law firm. By the end of our project she found two business partners to finally implement her dream. She also inspired and assisted her friends to launch their online business, which only proves Rania’s rule: real leaders are those who support others in their growth. 

Participants of the Ivano-Frankivsk club decided to combat their fear of public speaking in an unexpected yet effective way – they went to their local radio station and got interviewed about their “Window to Success” experience. 

Mykolaiv members attend local TV program.

The stories of Mykolaiv participants were also featured on local radio and TV. During her interview at UA: Ukrainian Radio, Alyona Kolodko mentioned that UNDETERRED, as well as meetings with like-minded women, had an invaluable impact on her life. She had always been unsure of her appearance, but through the program she found the confidence to pursue her dream and landed her first gig as a fashion model on a real catwalk.  

Some of us changed the ways we interact with our family or business clients; others undertook deep self-exploration. My co-facilitator Marie Snider shared with the group her personal definition of success: “Meaningful work, like teaching, and quality-time with my husband, family, and friends – these are the things that matter and make me successful.” 

Looking back at those past six months, I reflected on the changes, big and small, that happened to me. I broadened my network of contacts and revived important friendships that I had abandoned for years. I revived hobbies I had been passionate about, like studying Spanish and practicing creative writing. I have been promoted and will be taking over the day-to-day leadership of America House at my organization, IREX. This will undoubtedly open another new challenging and exciting chapter in my life. 

But somehow the most important change that occurred  in these last six months was the insight I had at one of our final meetings. I was listening to the stories of my fellow club members and suddenly realized: life really is a fast-fast river of uncertainties and there are no ready answers how to cross it. 

Sometimes the bridge in front of you will be broken and you will have to jump. Sometimes you will need to build a new one, or swim, or even wait for the flood to be over. 

There are no ready answers and recipes, but you will find yours, woman, because you are undeterred.

Members of Zhytomyr UNDETERRED book club.

The post 100 Women Building Bridges to Career Success appeared first on The Way Women Work.

Center: Kathrine Graham, CEO of The Washington Post. Photo: Mark Godfrey, The Image Works

I’m so glad I finally got to see the movie The Post starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. The movie dramatizes the The Washington Post newspaper’s 1971 decision to publish portions of a top-secret study called The Pentagon Papers. The Pentagon Papers were a U.S. Department of Defense study about the country’s political and military involvement in Vietnam, which revealed awful truths about government coverups during the war.

The historic and risky legal decision to publish excerpts of the papers, or not, rested with Katherine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post and America’s first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

My two biggest takeaways from the movie echoed what my business experiences have shown me: 1) The experiences and perspectives of women uniquely influence decision-making, and 2) Diverse teams make better decisions – decisions made jointly by women and men are better than those made by either gender acting alone.

The experiences and perspectives of women uniquely influence decision-making. Diverse teams make better decisions – decisions made jointly by women and men are better than those made by either gender acting alone.

In the movie, a short, fleeting scene made an indelible impression on me. Kathrine Graham (played by Meryl Streep) confronts her friend, Robert McNamara, who was the U.S. Secretary of Defense until 1968, and the person who commissioned The Pentagon Papers. She asks him how he could have let her send her son and so many other sons to war when he knew the real situation on the ground in Vietnam.

Graham ultimately makes the decision to publish and share the government coverup with the public despite her inexperience as a leader (but not to the extent the movie portrays). In doing so, she risked the shut down of The Washington Post during its IPO (initial public offering) and the possibility that she could be personally criminally charged for revealing classified government documents.

In the movie we see Graham go from self-doubt – unsure of herself as a leader and largely reliant on the direction of men who work for her and others who advise her – to being confident and decisive. She steps in to her power and leadership role when she lets her experiences, values, and the lives of thousands of Americans guide her.

Throughout the movie, Ben Bradlee, the hard-charging executive editor of The Washington Post (played by Tom Hanks) strongly advocates and pushes Graham and the Post’s attorneys to publish. While he stands for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects freedom of the press, he is also driven by fierce competition with the New York Times, the newspaper that first broke the story and published excerpts of The Pentagon Papers. In a conversation with his wife, Bradlee extols himself and the risks he is taking. Mrs. Bradlee listens supportively, but instead of affirming him, she makes him aware of the position Graham is in: how she is taking the far greater risk and putting everything in her life on the line. With this new understanding, Bradlee meets with Graham and empathetically acknowledges her potential sacrifice. His support and recognition of the burden of her leadership further emboldens her.

Graham’s ultimate decision is informed by her values, her life experiences, and support from Bradlee. Her decision had profound and far-reaching consequences both then and now. Her courage reminds me of the many women who are speaking up from their experiences about sexual harassment and also about what they see their governments and businesses doing or not doing.

Women’s perspectives are unique. When we have the courage to tap into them, speak up and act on them, and when our male colleagues hear us, we make better decisions together that have long-lasting implications for generations to come.

Women’s perspectives are unique. When we have the courage to tap into them, speak up and act on them, and when our male colleagues hear us, we make better decisions together that have long-lasting implications for generations to come.

How are you tapping courageously into your values and experiences to speak up and make decisions that make a difference?

The post Women in Business: Your Experience Strengthens Decision-Making appeared first on The Way Women Work.

In her research for UNDETERRED: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies, “lifelong learning” was a key skill that Rania Anderson observed in 250 successful women across 29 countries. These women were always in a learning posture, regardless of how advanced or experienced they were in their field. It meant that even if they were an expert, they pursued information as if they were a novice.

It’s counterintuitive, so I’ll say it again – even if they were an expert, they learned like a novice.

To continue to succeed you’ll need develop or sharpen your learning posture. If you look, you can learn something everywhere, and from anyone.

The seven best ways to learn are:

• EXPERIENCE! Find opportunities to collaborate with others. Work in areas you have not worked and in the most valued part of the business. Volunteer or work on projects that allow you to exercise and develop competence in areas less familiar to you.

• STRETCH! Take on challenging assignments that have risk associated with them. Start something new, fix something that is not working well, scale a function or area, and do something you have never done.

• ENGAGE! Learn from others: your boss, peers, people more junior than you, people you encounter and mentors. If you don’t have a mentor, you can still learn from others. You can learn from others without having a formal work relationship simply by observing people. Some successful women have found mentor-like advice by by reading someone’s books or following their work online. Even a single pointed conversation at a social or networking event can be a great learning opportunity.

• GET FEEDBACK! Your network can be your greatest informal teachers if you are willing to ask for and integrate feedback from them regularly. Even once you’ve developed in an area (in fact this is just as important when you are highly experienced as when you are a novice) ask for feedback from peers, collaborators, bosses, customers and anyone affected by your work. Make sure you ask for frank, direct feedback and keep asking until they give you something tangible. Don’t take a “you are doing great” comment at face value – acknowledge and thank the feedback giver and also dig deeper to get more specific input.

• READ! Ask or look for experts’ opinions online about the best books and resources in your new area of focus. Read about things that have nothing to do with your areas of expertise. Don’t limit yourself to textbooks or how-to manuals. Read about the experiences of successful people or those who have failed, study the history of the field, and find articles with case studies and real world examples

• RESEARCH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT INDUSTRY! It’s good to get out of your bubble and see what trends, language, structure, and ideas are being used in other industries. You never know what you might learn, or what might inspire you. You may learn something that will help you contribute in a whole new and innovative way.

• ATTEND TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES! Especially if you don’t have immediate connection to professionals working with the new skills you want to develop.Choose and attend conferences or training where you can both learn new content and network with a new field of people.

So remember, even if you are an expert, learn like a novice!

What are you learning? How do you learn? Who are you teaching? Tell us! We’d love to hear from you.

The post The 7 Best Ways To Learn appeared first on The Way Women Work.

DAY 1

Identify your greatest strength. Be very specific – what distinguishes you from other people with the same strength? Write it down. If you aren’t sure, talk to some people who know you best.

DAY 2

Set a goal for one specific thing you want to have happen in your career. Write it down; Display it in a place you can see it every day.

DAY 3

Identify the one thing that sets you apart, the thing that makes you unique from all the people who have similar jobs and skills as you do. Write it down.

DAY 4

Identify the one thing you most enjoy doing at work. Write it down.

DAY 5

Develop your 30-second *elevator pitch that describes and differentiates you. Practice it until you can say it proudly and smoothly.

*An elevator pitch is a quick sentence or two that shows the value of what you do and generates interest for others to want to learn more about you. It is not your job title and where you work. (Example: I help women like you accelerate their career and business success.) Here’s a link to the best article I’ve seen on the topic.

DAY 6

Don’t apologize for a single thing today!

Tip: Put a hair tie or bracelet on one of your wrists. If you catch yourself apologizing, switch the bracelet to your other wrist and simply start over. No apologies!

DAY 7

Promote yourself: Tell your manager or an influential person about one of your recent achievements or ideas. Do so verbally or in writing.

DAY 8

Set up a meeting with or call a more junior woman. Talk with her about her work, salary or future goals.

DAY 9

Identify the greatest obstacle you are facing. Write it down.

DAY 10

Come up with one way to reduce or remove your greatest obstacle. Write it down.

DAY 11

Reach out to a current or former mentor and thank them for one specific thing you’ve done as a result of their advice.

DAY 12

Delegate one task to someone else that you normally do at home or at work.

DAY 13

Pick a key skill that you need to excel in your career. Then, choose something you can do to develop that skill – buy a book, sign up for a webinar, find a coach, or register for a conference or training session.

DAY 14

Set up a meeting (in person or phone) with a competitor or a colleague with the intention of learning one new thing from them.

DAY 15

Update your resume or CV with the strengths and interests you identified at the start of #Work31 as well as your most recent work experience.

Remember to use numbers to quantify your success (examples: Led a team of 12 people; Grew revenue by 15% in one year), and begin each bullet with a strong action verb (created, managed, developed, established, etc).

DAY 16

Update your LinkedIn profile with one differentiator you possess. Make sure it reflects your strengths and unique capabilities. Look at other people’s LinkedIn profiles for examples, and model after the strongest ones.

DAY 17

Endorse someone on LinkedIn. One way to build a strong network of relationships is to support the people in it. Endorsing someone, promoting or amplifying their accomplishments is an easy way to do so.

DAY 18

Read the financial statements of the place where you work. Write down one insight.

DAY 19

Find a networking event to attend outside your comfort zone and RSVP. Commit yourself to meeting one new person when you go.

DAY 20

Follow up again with one person you previously reached out to but have not heard back from.

DAY 21

In-person, via email, a phone call, or a handwritten note, thank your boss for one specific thing you appreciate about them.

DAY 22

Today, finish one task imperfectly. Remember: perfect is the enemy of done.

DAY 23

Identify one new high-potential opportunity or idea for yourself, your career, or your business. Write it down.

DAY 24

Identify one person you really want to meet and reach out them. Offer to buy them lunch or a cup of coffee, and tell them specifically why you’d like to meet with them.

DAY 25

Take full credit at work for one recent accomplishment. Don’t minimize your contribution. 

DAY 26

Introduce two people that will be helpful to each other’s careers or business.

DAY 27

Identify one lesson you learned from a mistake or failure. Write it down.

DAY 28

Choose one thing to stop doing at work or at home. If you can free yourself up from one thing, you will create space for another more important and enjoyable activity in your life!

DAY 29

Take one action related to your salary: compare compensation with a male colleague, do some research, or talk to your boss.

DAY 30

Speak up, interrupt or interject in a meeting at work with a strategic insight or idea.

DAY 31

Volunteer or ask for a risky assignment, project or job. This will help increase your visibility at work and demonstrate the value you bring. 

The post 31 Days to Advance Your Career – Take the #Work31 Challenge appeared first on The Way Women Work.

It happened again…

As it always does when I speak to groups of women. But this month it happened three times: 

Women ask me how they can promote themselves and take credit for their accomplishments.

The first time this month, was when I was with an exceptional group of young university students and graduates from all over the world for the Women’s Ambassador Forum at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. The second two times I was with women at all stages of their careers at the InterAmerican Development Bank.

When I speak to groups of women, I always tell them how important it is to communicate and take credit for their achievements. After all, it’s one of the most important things women can do to positively impact their careers. Whenever I do, women ask me how they can do so without coming across as “bragging” or being too self-promoting. Here are my top three tips.

3 Ways to TAKE CREDIT WITHOUT BRAGGING:

1. When you run into an influential leader or a senior person at your company or in your field and they casually ask “Hi, how are you?” The answer is never “fine”, “good” or “great.”

The answer should be something like: “I am doing really well, I am working on X” or “I am excited about X” or “I am really pleased at the success we had with X.”  Your X should be tangible and expressed clearly in a few words. Use the opportunity to quickly communicate what you’re achieving, working on, or have accomplished.

2. Ask a friend, a colleague or even a client (if you have a great relationship and if appropriate) to share one of your recent accomplishments during a meeting or at an upcoming event. Be sure to reciprocate and do the same for them on other occasions.

3. When you are thanked for an achievement, never say “it was nothing.” Always thank the person acknowledging you. Briefly state a specific part of your role in achieving the result that you are most proud of. If there are others who also deserve credit, acknowledge them after you express appreciation for the recognition you’ve received.

One thing women can do to help each other advance and achieve our full potential is to start a practice of acknowledging and appreciating each others’ results. We can highlight each other’s skills and accomplishments to build our reputations internally and externally. Though it may feel uncomfortable at first, the potential payoff will be huge!

“One thing women can do to help each other advance and achieve our full potential is to start a practice of acknowledging and appreciating each others’ results.”

For more specific ways to communicate your achievements and accept credit check out pages 258-261 in Undeterred: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies.

The post 3 Ways to Take Credit appeared first on The Way Women Work.

“How do you balance work and life? What is it like to work in a male-dominated environment? What advice should I give my daughter?” 

These are the most common questions I hear when I speak to groups of women around the world and listen to other women leaders present.

But, when we listen to male leaders keynote, we don’t ask these type of questions. Men don’t ask these types of questions.

What I don’t hear asked often enough are these even more important types of questions: 

What specific skills factored in most heavily into your success? What specific work experiences did you have that leap-frogged you ahead of others? What technical knowledge sets you apart? What one skill do you think is most important to future success in this industry?”

HARNESSING a key opportunity

When we limit ourselves to the first set of questions and focus exclusively on what its like to be woman at work, we squander the opportunity to learn about the skills and experiences that matter most on the path to success.

Wouldn’t you rather uncover clues about the expertise you need to achieve your career and business goals? Expertise in areas like: technology, financial acumen, scaling, coding, manufacturing, strategy, innovation, data mining, etc. And, what about the critical importance of working in revenue generating parts of a business?

There is a huge mismatch between the skills people have and those required to perform many of the current job openings, and an even larger gap in the requirements for the jobs of the future.

Success will come to those of us who have the most highly demanded skills and experiences. There is no shortage of jobs, nor a finite number of new jobs to be created. The current limitation is people’s abilities.

IF YOU JUST DO ONE THING

With this reality in mind, I want to challenge you to do one thing:

Starting with your core strengths and abilities in mind, identify a new type of leading-edge expertise needed for success in your field.

Then, spend the next few months – or year, if that’s what it takes – to develop that expertise.

Write it all down: your ideas, your plan, the actions you need to take, and commit to developing your new expertise.

If you don’t know what that key differentiating expertise should be, ask a highly successful business woman or man who is still rising in their career or business.

Sneak peek: Starting March 1 we will post “One Thing” each day that you can do to invest in yourself and build your career. Keep an eye on our Twitter and the hashtag #Work31.

The post It’s Your Skills and Experiences That Really Matter appeared first on The Way Women Work.

The start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on life and how you are living it. The most content women I’ve met actively define how they want their work to fit into their lives.

For some of you, integrating work into life sounds like a luxury you cannot afford. But, let’s think about it for a minute… In 2015, weren’t you already balancing many different commitments and values at once?

It feels like everything needs attention and care: family work, friends, home, community and let’s not forget, you. While you likely can’t make those responsibilities go away, perhaps you can define them in a different way. Here’s how:

Photo credit: Society6

1. Don’t let any other woman’s lifestyle bully yours.

You and only you know what the best priorities and schedule are for you. There are countless ways to manage a work/life integration, and yours should be tailored to your needs and values. You are not in competition with any other women, so don’t compare yourself to what your friends and family members do, or don’t do.

You might even take a look at what the men around you are doing, or better yet, what they are not doing.  

2. Rank your priorities.

Talk this through with a trusted friend, mentor and/or your spouse. This is your first step towards customizing your life, and once you have the priorities ranked, you start to mold your schedule around them. Have your planning partner help you assess your needs by answering questions like:

• What are my most important goals and values for the year?
• How, when, and where do I work best?
• From my top two priorities, what events or commitments do I see as non-negotiable?
• How flexible can I be about my daily and weekly scheduling, while staying focused?

3. Ask your manager and family if you can make some adjustments.

Have the courage to present different ways of getting things done. These could be to your schedule or the tasks you do. You might be surprised what’s possible.

4. Start saying NO.

Now that you’re creating a schedule that works for you, start saying firm “no’s” to whatever is not a part of your priorities and the schedule you’ve created from that list. You’ve made strategic, thoughtful decisions about how you can optimize your time, so now, simplify. Say no to the things that don’t fit with your priorities and goals. There’s no need to need to provide a long explanation or rationale – a simple no will do.

When you’re finding it difficult to say no to something, turn to your weekly plan as a kind of third-party for the authority to stay on track. Decline by saying something like, “That does not fall in line with my current priorities,” or “I’m committed to focus on ______ instead right now.”

Work/life integration is challenging at any age, career stage or business. We’d love to hear how you’re customizing your professional and personal please email charlotte@thewaywomenwork.com with your tips, strategies or story. 

The post 4 Steps to Customize Your Life appeared first on The Way Women Work.

• 63% of respondents were interesting in a weekly career and business advice chat with Rania via a YouTube video,
• You prefer to consume the career and business advice you’re looking for via news articles, blog posts and email newsletters (even split).
• 60% of you are interested in hosting a book club for UNDETERRED

We first asked: What is your biggest need right now in regards to your career or business?

Here are some of the answers we received. We plan on addressing many of them in the coming months and giving you specific actions you can take:

• Motivation
• Networking with other professional women
• How to advance
• How to make more money
• Help prioritizing
• Work/life balance
• Development at an executive level
• Developing remote teams
• Career mapping, skills assessment, mentor network development
• How to secure global career opportunities
• Promoting yourself
• How to convert more proposals into clients
• Direction
• Expanding to a bigger market
• Expanding your skill set
• Finding the right job
• Fundraising knowledge
• Leadership
• How to refresh your business strategy
• Finding your purpose
• How to be a good manager

We also asked: What topics are you most interested in learning from Rania and The Way Women Work? Here were some of your replies:

• The gap women face in university education and workplace success
• How to succeed in a male dominant field
• Finance
• How to develop women in the workforce & promote diversity
• Women working for and with women leaders
• How women can nurture themselves and their gifts in a corporate setting
• How to maintain self value and self worth and sustain a career without burning out
• How to be who we are, and do what we love, as women, to ourselves family and friends whilst making a living
• Connecting with other women
• Negotiating for what I need
• Dealing with unconscious bias
• How can women work across boundaries
• Sage advice
• Success stories
• Management and how to increase financial IQ
• Practical tips on overcoming obstacles
• Case studies or examples on how other women are dealing with their challenges would be useful
• Balance
• HR
• Continual self-growth
• Learning about women in other countries and how they face similar challenges
• Team building
• Women entrepreneurship motivation
• How to make your partner a real partner
• Business set-up, complete package of business tips
• How to deal with challenges in the workplace especially when you experience adversity from senior men and women.

What about you? What are you looking for? What topics do you want to see us address? If you haven’t done so already please take a few minutes and fill out this short, anonymous survey.

Thanks for being a part of this global community of ambitious women. We look forward to serving you better and helping you grow!

To your success –

Erin & Rania

The post Survey Results: the Help You Want in Your Career or Business appeared first on The Way Women Work.

I can’t think of a better phrase to describe where I find myself today in work and life:

“This is not your father’s workplace.”

Now that I am a new mom to a six-month-old son, this phrase that Rania has said many times over the past year has helped me own what my unique workplace and work-life situation looks like.

HOW I MAKE IT WORK

I work from home, full-time. I have two part-time jobs, and I work with each of them in person each week. Now, with a baby, I’ve established a routine that works well for me, my family, and both jobs. We have a nanny come to our house a total of about 20-25 hours a week. During that time I have calls, focus on my work and maximize my time. The rest of the time when we don’t have nanny help, I spend with my son. I try to really focus on and enjoy him – we go on adventures, run errands or we play. When he’s napping, I often squeeze in a little more work.

Every night, my husband and I make dinner, which is usually a frozen meal; because we don’t make time to cook right now. This is one of the areas we are both fine letting go without any guilt so we can spend our time on the things that are important to us. Occasionally, we’ll have friends over around dinner for an hour or two, to get in some social time with those we love. After dinner, we spend time on our priorities – for me, its my work; for him, a comic he is creating. Most nights, I work until 11 pm or as late as 1 am.

MY ENCOURAGEMENT AND INSPIRATION

The biggest professional inspiration for me in this new season in my life has been some of the women I met in Brazil and Argentina in November 2013. Rania and I traveled there to interview both corporate women and entrepreneurs for her new book, UNDETERRED: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies.

This trip was almost a whole year before I was pregnant. And yet there were a few conversations that burned into my memory, and have helped me now:

1. We met the tiny, energetic Paula Arregui, Product VP of MercadoPago in Argentina, in a dark trendy bar. She described loving her work so much that she was answering email on her phone while giving birth in the hospital. She said it was her choice, and she loved to work – no apologies.
2. A highly successful entrepreneur, and a single mom, Argentinian Maria Luisa Fulgueira, told us over a fancy lunch at one of her favorite restaurants how when she mentors young women, she has them over to her house to meet her kids and show them they can also have a family, be a good mom, and be successful in their career. You don’t have to choose!
3. The first woman we met on the trip was Dora Szwarc Hamaoui, Director of Novos Negocios at Fibra Experts in Brazil. Over breakfast at our hotel she told us how she has a weekly standing lunch date in the middle of the week with her two young sons. Her work calendar is always blocked off for her time with them, and she never misses it. If someone asks her to meet during that time, she just says she is unavailable. She said she also always shares what she is doing at work with her boys, and they are proud of her.
4. A calm, confident presence, Flavia De Hora, managing director at Accenture in Brazil (the firm’s most senior woman in the country) said she found it important to “be a little bit selfish” as a key to her success. She knew she was a better wife, mom, and leader when she made time for the things that made her happy.
5. BONUS: This sassy, bold, honest and touching post by Croatian author and HR Manager Gordana Frgačić, The Real Truth About Having It All, is one of my favorite articles I’ve ever read on the work-life issue.

One big thing I took away from all of them was the importance of really being present where you are, and not falling trap to the guilt of ‘not enough,’ whether you are with your child or your work. If you’re with one, give it your whole focus. Then, give yourself permission to shift your whole focus to the other when it’s time. It creates a strength, peace, and confidence within, and it benefits everyone (what more could your work or your family ask for?). When I’m doing this, and doing my best, I feel proud, content, and like my life is successful.

CHALLENGING OLD WORKPLACE PERCEPTIONS

I won’t lie – there has been some subtle opposition from the older generation, expressing concern for un-traditional schedule and workload (“I’m worried you won’t be able to get it all done”), and projecting their experience on me (“I just remember how hard the first few years are with kids, my wife quit her job to stay home”). It’s been really frustrating, since I feel like I have proven myself and my hard work, time and time again. How do I combat this attitude?

1. I make a lot of effort to continually communicate in detail with my bosses. I check in and see how things are going, where we are, tell them where I’m at on my project list, and what I’m accomplishing.
2. I share my schedule, and then I don’t apologize for it. If I’m getting it all done, making all the calls, and I am available via email or phone even if I’m out with my son, then it shouldn’t matter what time of day I choose to work.
3. I try to never mention how tired or stressed I might be – it doesn’t help my case, so I keep it to myself. I just have to make it all work – no excuses, no complaints.
4. When the timing is right, I occasionally address issues head-on. In the case of the subtle opposition, I experienced, I brought it up – I said why I felt like that was false, and what I was doing in my life to make it work, how important my career is to me, and how, “This is not your father’s workplace.”

Most of these actions have also been learnt through the encouragement, expertise and mentorship of Rania (who also really encouraged me to write this piece), and follow several of the strategies listed in UNDETERRED for career success.

EARNING IT

While I’m extremely grateful for it all, and recognize how lucky I am for being able to set thing kind of schedule, I’ve also earned it. It wasn’t handed to me. I’ve worked hard (and still do) to be able to make my schedule work for me, my family and my work.

Some people have said, “Oh, I could never work from home, I would get distracted with things that need done around the house [or other comment here].” It’s not for everybody, that’s for sure. But for me, being home with this arrangement has only improved my focus and productivity. Because I only have short windows of time to get something done, whether it’s getting a bite to eat, a shower, catching up on email or social media, getting dressed, paying some bills, or getting work done, I quickly make decisions that make the most of my time. It’s part survival, part providing for my family, and part gratitude and effort to maintain this arrangement. It all comes down to consistently showing up, delivering value, meeting deadlines, working hard, communicating well, and giving it my best.

The hardest part of this schedule is pushing through the tiredness. Sleep is a long lost friend (whom I dearly miss!). But the truth is, as any new parent can attest, you’re just always tired – there’s no way around it, and there’s no catching up – so you just push through. And despite that ongoing challenge, this situation is really ideal for us at this time in our lives. It’s totally worth it. And I love having the best of both worlds, professionally and personally, as a mom, and as an ambitious woman.

For some more specific work-life strategies and examples, check out this awesome recent article: Forget Work- Life Balance: 4 Work-Life Integration Strategies Around the World.

Do yourself a favor and buy UNDETERRED! Like me, you will be bursting with ideas, inspiration, and encouragement to create the work-life you desire. This is OUR workplace!

“What is happening to you is normal and it’s happening to women all around the world no matter if they are CEOs or bank clerks, saleswomen, or housewives. Not a single one of us has a unique formula how to juggle and manage the work and private life. It is very individual, and it depends on dozens of factors which sometimes you can, and sometimes you can’t, influence. You just adapt the best possible way you can in order to make your life worth living. So the best advice I can give you is that you have to decide for yourself what does having it “all” mean to you? What makes you happy and satisfied with your life? – Gordana Frgačić, The Real Truth About Having it All 

The post This is Not Your Father’s Workplace appeared first on The Way Women Work.

These 26 women’s words are inspiring, challenging, and redefining success for working women in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

You can see why we’re declaring 2015 ‘The Year of the Undeterred Woman’! Join us by using the hashtag #undeterred, and keep an eye out for news about Rania’s new book to be released in the New Year, Undeterred: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies.

HOW TO GET AHEAD

“In today’s work world, we have to ask for what we want and need in order to have success.” – Ritika Bajaj, India

“I believe that we need to constantly set new, more complex goals.” – Margarita Avdeeva, Russia

“Whatever you do, you need to do it with patience and to accumulate experience to master a skill.”- Coral Zhang, China

“The most important thing is your reputation –  that will carry you further.” – Yoanna Gouchtchina, Russia

“Pass on your acquired knowledge. I am in that process of sharing, and I am excited to teach what I know.” – Yliana del Carmen García Vásquez, Peru

DEFINE YOUR OWN SUCCESS

“Career-only success is not success. Success means success within your self, with your family and in life, which includes your career.” – Nubia Correia, Brazil

“That is what is different from men and women: men look at career goals as a determinant, but women look at ‘How much fun will the role be? What can I learn?’ I see this a lot in my friends.” – Shalini Puchalapalli, India

“I took a few months off of work, traveled and did some soul-searching. And when I came back I realized I was going to start my own business. People were shocked, and said ‘How can you leave the corporate environment without anything?’ But, I had always had an idea to set up my own business but, it was never the right time. Last year was the right time.” – Leila Rezaiguia, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

“Love your choices.” – Payal Gandhi Hoon, India

“Contribute more than what you are expected! You make the job what it is-That’s what’s important if you want to lead and succeed.” But, she also feels strongly that women should remember, “You are more than your job profile.” – Qian Liu, China

“If you want something, be ready.” – Vania Neves, Brazil

“What am I capable of? What would I like to do? What am I good in?” – Sasha Olenina, Russia

“One of the greatest things, I remember [my mentor] helped me with was to clear my mind with social pressure, since I was haunted by one question: What is your passion?’” – Lucila Suarez Battan, Argentina

“I want to be one of the best at what I do. Once you have that authority, people will come to you for advice, clients will come to you! You don’t need to worry about getting paid. Once you are the expert in one field, the law of attraction comes into play – people will be drawn to you. Find your niche and become the expert!” – Liheng Bai, China

“[The core of my success] is being a little selfish…Women are so worried about what others think, what others say and what others need. I think what’s most important is for me to understand what makes me feel happy, what makes me feel ok and what I like to do every day.” – Flavia da Hora, Brazil

PUSH PAST OBSTACLES

“Mistakes, everybody will do. The greatest enemy is fear – fear of mistakes. One can survive if you can learn from your mistakes, but many people don’t allow themselves to make mistakes.” – Marta Harff, Argentina

“Women do not need to block their vision and think there is nothing left for them! They should always move forward.” – Alena Vladimirskaya, Russia

“Success lies on the far side of failure. To be successful you need to fail faster; double your rate of failure.”  – Hope Mwinzi, Kenya

“Your biggest obstacle is yourself. I overcame [one of my greatest obstacles of navigating workplace politics by] paying more attention to how senior leaders’ deal with critical issues and learnt from them.” Anna Liu, China

“Starting my own company was much, much harder than I thought it would be—and I did think it would be the hardest thing I had ever done. But making the decision to say ‘we failed’ and shut our company down was even harder. Even though we got so many things wrong, I am glad we tried. I am sad that we failed, but so proud…” – Unmana Datta, India

“My main message is ‘You are the only person who can convince yourself you can do it!’” – Maria Luisa, Argentina

I also learned that some mistakes are inevitable and that pushes us to be strong.  I used to fear mistakes and failure. But, now I accept my failures and learn from them.” – Ma. Christine Isabel Donato, Philippines

“To overcome [my] difficulties, first I had to adjust my state of mind, dare to keep trying, and dare to embrace the ‘failure’ state of mind.” – Angel Xue, China

BLEND YOUR WORK & LIFE

“Hiring a Virtual Assistant is a way of improving the quality of your life. You have to pay for it, but weigh the cost against the benefits you get. Your time is precious. Why not make the most of it?” – Namrataa Arora Singh, India

“Women should learn to balance their life and make work part of their lives – not as separate entities. Deal with what you can, let go what you cannot! (Tongue-in-cheek observation: unfolded clothes are not as important as a hot meal!)” – Patricea D Cruz, Malaysia

“Women are often afraid to say ‘no’ to opportunities at certain points in their career. You should not worry about missing opportunities. Sometimes you have to make decisions that allow you to be at peace with yourself. I believe that strongly.” – Haifa Dia Al-Attia, Jordan

The post Top Career Advice of 2014 from Women in Emerging Markets appeared first on The Way Women Work.