By Jena E. Abernathy
(Adapted from The Inequality Equalizer)
A recent study by McKinsey & Company of sixty large organizations, including Aon, Baxter, Coca-Cola, General Motors, and United Parcel Service, showed that women make up about 56 percent of entry-level employees in those leading companies. According to the study, “Nearly 140,000 women have already made it to midlevel management at these companies—about one-third of the women professionals in these organizations. But only about 7,000 have become vice presidents, senior vice presidents, or members of the C-suite.” The study also notes that, “only 14 percent of women serve on executive committees, and only 3 percent serve as CEOs.”[1]
For many of us, those numbers come as no surprise. A quick look at corner offices in companies around the world will show that they’re still occupied mostly by men. This despite the fact that, when asked to respond to the statement “If anything were possible, I would choose to advance to C-level management” in that same McKinsey study, 36 percent of women agreed or completely agreed (compared to 18 percent of men).[2]
When we talk about success in business, it starts with one simple thing: You have to want it. It’s clear that plenty of women do, indeed, want to make it to the top of the corporate ladder. Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want. But it’s also true that we can’t get what we want if we don’t know what we want. So, if you want to make it into the C Suite, you have to want it. Really want it. And you have to know what “it” means to you.
Whether “it” is a seat in the C Suite, on a board of directors, or leading a team of professionals in some other capacity, you have to want it, claim it, and own it. You can’t be a little bit CEO or a little bit COO. No one ever just wished her way into a boardroom or the C Suite or even into mid-level management. No one ever kept her career goals to herself and then magically found herself on the highest rung of the corporate ladder wondering how in the world she got there.
Let’s note right off the bat that wanting it is not a gender factor. It has nothing to do with being a woman or being a man in the workplace. It’s about having a fire in the belly. It’s about knowing what you want—and not being afraid to admit it, not just to yourself, but out loud and to everyone who will listen.
That’s not always easy. It can be difficult to focus five or ten or twenty years into the future when you’re trying to make a good impression at the job you have right now. When it comes to your career, though, the long view has to be on your ultimate goal. If you want to make it to the C Suite, you have to make that your goal. It can’t just be a dream that you wish for, like, “Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if someday I could be CEO?”
Save your dreams for sleeping. Instead, get real about setting career goals. Set tangible goals with deadlines. Envision your ideal career track. Picture exactly what it looks like. Think about where you are now, where you want to be next, and how you’re going to get to where you want to go. Ask yourself what position you want to retire from, and then form a plan of attack for getting there.
Keep in mind that, as you climb the corporate ladder, you’ll need to move up or out every three to five years during the course of your career. That might mean you have to move from one organization to another in order to get the salary you want. It might mean you have to relocate in order to keep moving up. It might mean you have to leapfrog over colleagues in order to get the title you want.
While you’re putting your career plan together, job title is crucial, but it’s not the only thing to consider. Also important is to get cross-departmental experience. Identify and volunteer for task forces so you not only can meet people from other departments but also so you can learn about what’s going on throughout the organization. Get yourself to corporate headquarters so you can see and be seen. Build your sphere of influence as you develop connections with people in your organization. Learn as much as you can, not only about your own organization but also about the competition and your industry.
If you want it, you have to plan for it. You have to set goals. You have to create a plan of attack to reach those goals. You have to want to reach those goals, and then you have to claim them.
Professionals who make it to the C Suite know what they want. They’re not afraid of what they want. They are fearless in their goal setting. And you should be, too.
If you want to reach your goals, look for opportunities where you can make an impact and where you can be visible. Set goals that might seem outlandish at first blush but upon further reflection are totally achievable. Goals can be audacious, but they also have to be specific.
Being fearless in your goal setting also means you have to be fearless in doing whatever it takes to achieve those goals. Don’t be afraid to move around, especially if you’re not meeting your three- and five-year goals with your current organization. Go to a smaller company if you find your timeline off base. If you feel like you’re getting off track at the big company you work for, move to a smaller place where you can get that next title. If your organization or your boss is holding you back, it’s time to move on. If your boss won’t let you move up, it’s time to move on. If you are in an environment where your boss is a jerk, it’s definitely time to move on. Keep your eyes on the prize and claim the job you know should be yours.
It can be easy to believe that if you do your job, execute the company’s vision, and meet all your performance measures, your boss will clearly see what a great employee you are and then happily bestow upon you the well-deserved promotion he knows you covet. This can be especially true for women. We’re taught not to make waves. We’re told that being assertive isn’t ladylike. We’re told that it’s not polite to brag or boast.
But the truth is that if you want to claim what you want, you’ll likely have to make some waves, be assertive, and toot your own horn. No one is going to hand you that great next job just because you’re such a fabulous employee. You have to go get it.
No matter how you articulate your goals, you can’t be afraid to declare what you want, and you can’t be embarrassed about going after those goals with gusto. If you want to make it to the C Suite, you need to make your career your own. Only you can claim the job—and the life—you really want.
How do you go about claiming the job you want? By being prepared for every opportunity. By keeping track of your accomplishments. By being able to show, objectively and with solid data, that you consistently deliver value to the bottom line. By keeping score of your successes and failures. By learning from your experiences. And by owning all of that.
High-value employees own their successes and their failures. You, too, have to own your work. If you want to make it to the C Suite, you have to take full responsibility for your individual performance, throughout your entire career. Of course, it’s a lot easier to own your successes than your failures. Taking responsibility for poor outcomes can be difficult. But it’s important to learn that you have to be able to accept failure as part of life and not treat it as a personal weakness.
Instead of dwelling on failure, it’s important to take responsibility, learn from it, and move on. Find a way to apply those lessons learned to the next initiative. Same goes, of course, for successes—but here it’s important not to assume that what worked with one project or one team or one department will necessarily work with the next. Take responsibility for outcomes, learn from them, and apply them to future efforts. It’s all about how you look at it.
No matter what happens, you have to own your own career. Don’t attribute your failures to someone else. Don’t let anyone else take credit for your successes. And don’t assume that anyone else is keeping track of your accomplishments.
Successful careers don’t happen by chance. Wishing, hoping, dreaming—none of those will ever be a strategy for career success. Instead, if you want to succeed, you have to strategize your career. You have to want it, claim it, and own it. You have to identify your goals, go after them, and make them yours. Throughout your career, you will meet people who will help you and people who will thwart you. But none of them will make—or break—your career for you. Only you can make your career what you want it to be. And that happens by strategizing, not by chance. Know what you want out of your career, claim your goals with gusto, and make your career your own.
About Jena E Abernathy
Jena E. Abernathy is managing partner/chair of board services with a leading executive search firm. She has past experience as an HR executive with McKesson General Medical, Fisher Scientific International, and Premier Inc. Abernathy is the author of The Inequality Equalizer, a book on career and leadership development published in June 2016.