Effective leadership

Effective Leadership Depends On How Well You Carry Out These 5 Things

Jeff Boss

 Shutterstock

Everybody wants to have a positive impact. Everybody wants to matter and to belong. People also recognize a difference between effective leadership and, well, leadership wannabee’s who have no idea how to lead because they’re leaders by competence only, not by character. Effective leadership requires both. Subject matter expertise will only get you so far, and trust and integrity will only get you so far if you don’t have the capacity to learn or the skillset to execute.

Of the leaders I’m lucky enough to coach to become even better leaders, I can’t think of one who has said that having an impact as a leader isn’t important to them or to the people or teams they lead.

While effective leadership means different things to different people, there’s one thing that real leaders do that wannabee-leaders don’t: they grow their people. Here are five things effective leaders do better than the rest:

Explore what’s missing.

Strong leaders know how to not only connect the dots but discover which dots are missing from the get-go. Everybody is missing something—a lack of passion here, an unclear purpose there. However, a lack of purpose or passion doesn’t define you but rather guides you to find them.

Stuck in a job that bores you to tears? Good. Now you can find something that drives you so you can optimize your impact. Complacent in your role as a project manager? No problem. Pass the torch and grow those around you. You’ll be surprised at how rewarding it is.

What’s missing is oftentimes exactly what guides us. Perhaps it’s not the absence of purpose or passion that slows us down and hinders our progress, but the process by which we see.

Create “line of sight.”

 

Effective leadership helps people connect the dots. This is called creating a line of sight. A line of sight exists when employees see the connection between what they do and what they receive. To keep employees performing and teams thriving, people need to know three things that you, as the leader, are responsible for connecting:

• Clarity. People need to understand what you want out of them, why it’s important and how their performance will be rewarded—a reward based on their needs and interests, not yours.
• Feedback. Everybody wants to know two things: the effectiveness of their efforts in making progress and how that progress impacts the larger mission they serve.
• Influence authority. To what degree can people make decisions or have influence that impacts the outcome?

When you create line of sight, people have a clear pathway for people to follow void of roadblocks or obstacles (okay, not completely void but certainly reduced).

Pose a question.

Effective leadership challenges the status quo. Asking why is one way but more than anything, impactful leaders lead with curiosity because they know that questions reveal insight, they excavate hidden truths. Think of it this way: if it weren’t for questions, there would be no answers. Keep in mind that that the hard part isn't asking questions but asking the right questions in the right manner at the right time.

Show up 100%.

Leaders don’t have the luxury of showing up to work anything less than 100%. If they do, then people will assume it’s okay for them to do the same. If attitude is contagious then a leader’s attitude is…well…I can’t think of a word here but you can bet it would indicate something that spreads faster than “contagious.”

If you want to get the most out of your people, start by getting the most out of yourself. They'll see your efforts and do the same.

Lead by being.

Effective leadership has always been associated with leading by example—doing the deed, whatever that means. The thing is, there are plenty of phony leaders out there who “do” good things because they’re in the public spotlight but their inner rottenness gets revealed as soon as they leave the social stage. Politicians come to mind here.

The old adage of leadership by example is outdated because it’s too easy to fake doing the right thing. What matters is being right--not by winning arguments or telling other people how smart you are, but by living in a way that's consistent with your core values.

Of course, if you really want to know what effective leadership looks like, just ask the people being led.

Jeff Boss is a former 13-year Navy SEAL turned team coach and consultant who now applies what he learned about elite teams from the pinnacle of the Navy SEAL Teams to civilian companies. He's also the author of two books 1) Navigating Chaos: How To Find Certainty In Uncertain Situations and 2) Managing The Mental Game: How To Think More Effectively, Navigate Uncertainty, And Build Mental Fortitude, speaker at the Harry Walker Agency, and former 13-Navy SEAL. 

High-potential personality

The secrets of the ‘high-potential’ personality

Are there six traits that could really mark out your potential to achieve?

 

David Robson

 

Are you curious, conscientious and competitive? Do you also have the more mysterious qualities of “high adjustment”, “ambiguity acceptance” and “risk approach”? If so, congratulations! According to new psychological research, these six traits constitute a “high potential” personality that will take you far in life.

The truth, of course, is a little more nuanced. It turns out the same traits, in excess, may also impede your performance, and the real secret to success may be to know exactly where you fall on each spectrum, and how to make the most of your strengths and account for your weaknesses. But this new approach promises to be an important step forward in our bid to understand the complex ways our personality affects our working life.

Attempts to capture our workplace personality have, after all, suffered a chequered record in the past. One of the most popular tests used today is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which sorts people according to various thinking styles, such as “introversion/extroversion” and “thinking/feeling”.

As many as nine out of 10 US companies now use Myers-Briggs to screen employees. Unfortunately, many psychologists feel that the theory behind the different categories is outdated and fails to correlate with actual measures of performance. One study suggested that the MBTI is not great at predicting managerial success. Some critics even claim that it is pseudoscience.

“As a conversation starter, it’s a good tool, but if you are using it on a large scale to predict performance or to try and find high-performing candidates, it doesn’t work,” says Ian MacRae, a psychologist and co-author of the book High Potential.

Figuring that recent advances in psychological research could do better, MacRae and Adrian Furnham of University College London have now identified six traits that are consistently linked to workplace success, which they have now combined into the High Potential Trait Inventory (HPTI).  

 Nurturing your curiosity may help you to learn more easily, increase your overall job satisfaction and protect you from burnout (Credit: Getty Images)

MacRae points out that each trait may also have drawbacks at extremes, meaning there is an optimal value of each one. He also emphasises that the relative importance of each trait will be determined by the job you are doing, so the particular thresholds would need to be adapted depending on whether you are hoping to succeed in, say, a technical position. But the version of the test that I have seen was focused on leadership roles.

With this in mind, the six traits are:

Conscientiousness

Conscientious people commit themselves to plans and make sure they carry them out to the letter. They are good at overcoming their impulses and thinking about the wisdom of their decisions for the long-term. After IQ, conscientiousness is often considered one of the best predictors of life outcomes like educational success. At work, high conscientiousness is essential for good strategic planning, but in excess it may also mean that you are too rigid and inflexible.

Adjustment

Everyone faces anxieties, but people with high adjustment can cope with them more easily under pressure, without allowing it to negatively influence their behaviour and decision-making. People with low scores on this scale do appear to suffer from poor performance at work, but you can mitigate those effects with the right mindset. Various studies have shown that reframing a stressful situation as a potential source of growth – rather than a threat to their wellbeing – can help people to recover from negative situations more quickly and more productively.

Ambiguity acceptance

Are you the kind of person who would prefer tasks to be well-defined and predictable? Or do you relish the unknown? People with a high tolerance for ambiguity can incorporate many more viewpoints before coming to a decision, which means they are less dogmatic and more nuanced in their opinions.

“Low ambiguity tolerance can be considered a kind of dictatorial characteristic,” MacRae says. “They’ll try to distil complicated messages into one easy selling point, and that can be a typical trait of destructive leadership.”

Crucially, someone who can accept ambiguity will find it easier to react to changes – such as an evolving economic climate or the rise of a new technology – and to cope with complex, multifaceted problems. “We’re trying to identify the ability of leaders to listen to lots of different opinions, to take complex arguments and to make sense of them in a proactive way, instead of simplifying them,” MacRae adds. “And we have found that the more senior you are in a leadership position, the more important that becomes for decision-making.”

Low ambiguity acceptance will not always be a drawback. In certain fields – such as regulation – it can be better to take a more ordered approach that irons out all the wrinkles in the process. Knowing where you stand on this spectrum may prevent you from stretching too far from your comfort zone.

Curiosity

Compared to our other mental traits, curiosity has been somewhat neglected by psychologists. Yet recent research shows that an inherent interest in new ideas brings many advantages to the workplace: it may mean that you are more creative and flexible in the procedures you use, help you to learn more easily, increases your overall job satisfaction and protects you from burnout.

In excess, however, curiosity can also lead you to have a “butterfly mind” – flying from project to project without seeing them through.

Risk approach (or courage)

Would you shy away from a potentially unpleasant confrontation? Or do you steam ahead in the knowledge that the short-term discomfort will resolve the situation, bringing long-term benefits? Unsurprisingly, the capacity to deal with difficult situations is critical for management positions where you need to take action for the greater good, even when you are faced with opposition.

Competitiveness

There’s a fine line between striving for personal success and caving into unhealthy jealousy of others. At its best, competitiveness can be a powerful motivation that leads you to go the extra mile; at its worst, it can lead teams to break down.

Together, these six traits consolidate most of our understanding to date on the many different qualities that influence work performance, particularly for those setting their sights on leadership.

Equally interesting are the personality traits that MacRae and Furnham haven’t included, however. The extroversion-introversion scale, for instance, may determine how we deal with certain social situations, but it seems to make little difference in overall job performance. Agreeableness – our capacity to get along with other people – doesn’t appear to predict professional success.

To measure each trait in the HPTI, participants have to rate how strongly they agree or disagree with a series of statements, such as: “I get frustrated when I don’t know precisely what is expected of me at work” (aimed at discovering ambiguity acceptance) or “my personal targets exceed those of my organisation” (which measures conscientiousness).

MacRae has now validated HPTI in various sectors, tracking the performance of business leaders of multinational organisations over several years, for instance.

The research is still ongoing, but a paper published last year demonstrated that these traits can predict subjective and objective measures of success. In one analysis, the participants’ answers explained about 25% of the variation in income – which is a reasonably strong correlation (and comparable to the influence of intelligence, say) even if it does still leave many differences unexplained. In this study, competitiveness and ambiguity acceptance turned out to be the strongest predictors of take-home pay, while conscientiousness seemed to best predict the subjective measures of satisfaction.

The researchers have also examined the relation of these traits to IQ – another important predictor of workplace success – finding a small overlap between the two.

As part of a wider recruitment process, the HPTI could be used to screen high potential candidates, but MacRae says it can also aid personal development, so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses and the ways you may account for them. It could also be useful for constructing a balanced team that reflects the full spectrum of “high potential” traits, with a wealth of research showing that groups benefit from diverse thinking styles. Almost everyone will fall outside the optimum range for at least some of these traits, but this needn’t be a problem if we have colleagues who can rein us in.

But does anyone ever meet all the criteria? MacRae told me that he can think of a couple of individuals who fit the bill, including the CEO of a bank in Canada. “He was almost optimal in all of the traits,” MacRae says. “And I have to say, that was very intimidating.” Despite those feelings of awe, the benefits of this unique personality profile were apparent throughout the meeting. “Even if it can be a bit scary to work with that kind of person, you know exactly what to expect – they are someone you can trust, rely on and respect.”

David Robson is a freelance writer based in London, UK. He is d_a_robson on Twitter.

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Leadership in complex situations

Everyone Can be a Leader

By Jennifer Jones-Patulli

 

 Everyone can be a leader. From the boardroom to the backyard, leadership is in your reach. Regardless of whether or not you have a formal leadership role, you can take action and set conditions for those around you to be successful. Here is how: 1) recognize the leadership opportunities available to you each day, 2) use your ability to influence and take action, and 3) find the tools and tips needed to lead even when the situation is complex.

Opportunities to lead are everywhere

There are myriad of leadership opportunities in everyday life. For example, taking action in your community to improve neighborhoods by picking up litter, cleaning public parks, or organizing community watch programs. You can take action by helping a stranger cross the street, leading a local bicycle awareness ride, or encouraging a friend to try something new. In each of these opportunities to lead, your actions have the potential to change, improve, or inspire others to be the change they want to see.

There are also many opportunities to lead in the workplace. For example, even without a formal leadership role you may choose to go the extra mile to keep a project on track or rally others to get their tasks done. You might start a trend of smiles in the elevator, or organize guest speakers to join your team for lunch and learn sessions. Such actions have ripple effects that you may, or may not, ever see. Whatever the focus, opportunities to lead are everywhere.

Everyone has the potential to be a leader when they use their ability to influence and take action

In general, leaders tap into their influence because they see themselves as an active agent in the situation. Being an active agent means, you read a situation, decide what is important, and you take action. By virtue of taking action, you can influence others around you to do so too.

Central to the role of any leader is “taking action.” HSD offers three simple questions to help leaders do this: 1) What?, 2) So what?, 3) Now what?. This is the Adaptive Action cycle.

“Using Adaptive Action, leaders ask three questions. “What?” helps you name patterns of interaction and decision-making that shape success. “So what?” helps you make sense of those patterns. “Now what?” helps you inform action to influence yourself and your team toward greater fit, success, and sustainability.” (Adaptive Action)

Finding the tips and tools to helps leaders lead in complex situations

When I am coaching formal or informal leaders through conflict management or change initiatives, we often talk about an important nuance to using one’s influence and taking action. That is, how to take action when the situation is volatile, uncertain, complex, and/or ambiguous (VUCA). It is in these situations where we can all get stuck, and end up missing an opportunity to lead and influence.

In these complex situations the stakes are high and there is no room for error. If there is one tip I can’t stress enough, it is to use iterative Adaptive Action cycles to select your next wise actions. VUCA situations, like driving in heavy fog, require many careful advances. Advance slowly and actively with your “What?", “So what?,” and “Now what?” questions, being sure to take an action each time (no matter how small) to keep your influence in motion. With each action you will receive feedback. Pay attention to this feedback, it is essential information. Use this feedback in your next cycle of “What?,” “So what?,” and “Now what?” questions to gain new opportunities for insight and action.

To support Adaptive Action cycles, Human Systems Dynamics provides a wide variety of models and methods to help you leverage your influence. These models and methods can be layered with your Adaptive Action cycles. Check out some of the HSD Institute’s free webinars to see the many ways this is done. In short, rather than feeling stuck, formal and informal leaders can realize opportunities and take action when they have the right tools at hand.

Women's leadership

 

7 challenges women STILL face in higher ed  - and how to fix them

By Laura Ascione, Managing Editor, Content Services, @eSN_Laura

 

Low numbers of women in higher education present challenges the industry must solve.

 

 

 

While more than half of all college students are women, less than one-third of all full-time professors are women–and the troubling gaps in academia are proving difficult to close.

But the low representation of women in higher education isn’t indicative of their qualifications to be higher-ed leaders, according to Higher Ed Spotlight: Pipelines, Pathways, and Institutional Leadership: An Update on the Status of Women in Higher Education.

The pipeline myth, or the idea that there are too few women qualified to hold leadership positions, is exactly that–a myth. While there may be qualified women, are they holding higher-ed leadership positions at a stead rate?

The report offers an update on women in higher education and sheds some light on the positions and degrees they hold, salary gaps, and more.

1. New data indicate there are more than enough qualified women in higher education who can fill available leadership positions, and women are being prepared at a greater rate than men. Women have earned more than 50 percent of all doctoral degrees since 2006, more than 50 percent of all bachelor’s degrees since 1982, more than 50 percent of all master’s degrees since 1987, and more than 50 percent of all associate degrees since 1978.

2. But despite these encouraging statistics and despite women’s availability for higher-ed leadership positions, they do not hold associate professor or full professor positions at the same rate as men.

3. The higher the academic rank, the fewer women present. Women of color often outnumber men of color in lower-ranking faculty positions, but men of color hold full professor positions more often than women of color.

4. Perhaps one of the biggest indicators is the pay gap between men and women who hold the same faculty rank. During the 2015-2016 academic year, male faculty members made an average of $89,190, and female faculty members made an average of $73,782. Men are more likely than women to earn a higher salary and to hold a tenure track position.

5. The number of women presidents has increased since 1986, but as of 2016, women only hold 30 percent of presidencies across all higher-ed institutions. However, women presidents are more likely to have a PhD or EdD than their male peers.

6. Women presidents are more likely to have served as a chief academic officer, provost or other senior executive in academic affairs. Male presidents are more likely to come from outside higher ed or have had a different senior campus executive role than women presidents.

7. The percentage of women serving in a chief academic officer position has declined from 2008 to 2013 in public doctoral degree-granting institutions.

Benchmarking Women’s Leadership in the United States, a report published by the University of Denver’s Colorado Women’s College, suggests areas of future action to help close the leadership gap:

1. The governing board and the senior staff should annually review the institution’s commitment to diversity to evaluate how well it is working.

2. Identify, support, and advance women and women of color to become chief academic officers, provosts, and senior executives. These positions are stepping-stones to the presidency.

3. Look beyond sitting presidents in order to increase the pool of potential presidential selections. Because women are more likely to have followed a nontraditional career path, the best candidates may come from farther afield.

4. Review hiring and promotion policies to ensure they are fair and equitable and do not disproportionately encumber women. For example, if the majority of non-tenure track positions do not have equal standing in promotion, and women predominantly occupy these positions, then the university must critically evaluate its hiring process.

5. Evaluate the lack of tenure track hires and consider how promotion may be re-evaluated.

6. Insist that pools of candidates for faculty and senior leadership positions be diverse. Women cannot get hired if they are not in the pool of candidates.

7. Diversify search committees for presidential, senior leadership, and faculty positions. Often diversification on the committee helps ensure a search will be expanded to the broadest range of qualified candidates.

8. Make certain search committees have data on the status and benefits of women and women of color candidates.

9. If universities hire search firms, they should ensure the firms have a reputation for providing diverse pools of candidates.

10. Public institutions should pay particular attention to the declining number of women leaders. Among all the sectors, academia is the only one that has this trend. Typically, public organizations, entities, and offices have a better representation of women overall.

Liderança

Lideranças que possam transformar o Brasil

 Isaac Roitman

A humanidade está em retrocesso. Presenciamos um interminável circo de horrores – atentados, assassinatos, imigrações, guerras, crianças morrendo por desnutrição e outras mazelas do nosso discutível mundo civilizado.

No Brasil convivemos com uma escandalosa injustiça social e uma corrupção explícita onde até a vergonha foi jogada pelo ralo. Vivenciamos uma crise de valores morais e uma escassez de líderes dispostos a superar esse momento trágico.

É preciso destacar e exaltar a importância vital do surgimento de lideranças autênticas e genuínas para a construção de um novo tempo, que nos faça sair da senda da desgraça a que hoje nos submetemos.

Líderes fictícios

Nossos líderes, na sua maioria, não estão à altura para superarmos as crises que vivemos. Focados nos interesses pessoais ou de grupos, não titubeiam diante das repercussões inadequadas de suas ações. Uma pergunta então emerge: O poder corrompe?

O poder é, ou deveria ser, um instrumento para o bem comum. 

Assim as pessoas investidas no poder devem ser honestas e de caráter firme para não se deixarem corromper, nem promoverem a corrupção. A corrupção e a desonestidade não rondam apenas os escalões mais elevados do poder.

Na atual conjuntura brasileira o cidadão se vê desprotegido, violentado e lesado nos seus direitos, ameaçado por quem o deveria proteger. O mau exemplo das autoridades é corrosivo e induz à corrupção.

Na busca das lideranças

A liderança é um talento que precisa ser identificado e desenvolvido. Howard Gardner define talento “por um arranjo complexo de aptidões ou inteligências, habilidades instruídas e conhecimento, disposições de atitudes de motivações que predispõem um indivíduo a sucessos em uma ocupação, vocação, profissão, arte ou negócio”.

Segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde, cerca de 4% das crianças e jovens apresentam altas habilidades gerais ou específicas. No Brasil não é fácil a identificação de crianças e jovens com talento de liderança pois a educação brasileira é feita com um tratamento homogêneo dos estudantes, sem reconhecer a diversidade entre eles.

Em adição, as políticas para a identificação e desenvolvimento de talentos no Brasil são incipientes. Especialistas no campo da educação de talentos apontam que a identificação precoce do talento é importante.

De maneira geral as escolas não dispõem de recursos e não têm um corpo docente adequadamente preparado para prover os desafios acadêmicos, sociais e emocionais para proporcionar o desenvolvimento das lideranças.

Quatro dimensões são consideradas importantes para aferir o potencial de liderança: o autodesenvolvimento, a habilidade no relacionamento interpessoal, a visão sistêmica e senso crítico e a responsabilidade. Essas características se manifestam e podem ser percebidas nos primeiros anos de vida e devem ser desenvolvidas no ambiente escolar.

A tendência da aprendizagem ser baseada na discussão de temas e resolução de problemas pode ser considerada como um cenário adequado para o exercício do pensar e da crítica argumentativa. Uma correta visão de um mundo civilizado e o estímulo ao conhecimento geral seriam pré-requisitos para a formação de nossos futuros líderes.

Um ambiente de total liberdade de diálogo e de expressão de pensamentos é absolutamente fundamental para o estímulo na formação de lideranças. Romper com a falsa verdade de que alguém é o dono das verdades e diminuir a importância de seu próprio “eu” também deve fazer parte de um ambiente para a formação de novas lideranças que nos conduzam a um novo Brasil sem desigualdades sociais, em que todos os brasileiros e brasileiras possam realizar os seus sonhos.

Integrity and Leadership

Why integrity is the foundation of a peak performance leader

 

 

Chris McGoff

When you hear the word “integrity,” what comes to mind? Most people think integrity is a moral issue. Integrity is not a moral matter. It is not about right and wrong. "Having integrity" is about honoring your word as your life. When a person of integrity gives their word or makes a commitment, they follow through, with no exceptions. When integrity is present, it is one of the most powerful characteristics in any person or organization; however, when absent, one of the most damaging.

Each spring, I speak to a graduating high school class in the Washington, D.C. area. As part of this address, I like to pose this exact question. I ask them to stand in a circle, look at the other members of the circle, and assess each person’s integrity. The room goes silent and, more often than not, tears start to flow as students realize how often they have failed to "be their word"’ and the impact their actions have had on their relationships.

Next I ask for volunteers to share how they think others view them with respect to their integrity. Without exception, those who share are hard on themselves citing specific examples of when they failed to ‘be their word’ or caused a breach of integrity. I always have a deep sense of privilege to be part of these experiences. I go on to explain why integrity is so important to their futures – all we really have in life is our word. And honoring our word, or not, powerfully shapes our reputation and so much more.

Living in integrity and being your word is essential for occurring as trustworthy to others. People are willing to trust those who occur as trustworthy. When we trust people, we are willing to speak honestly with them, which promotes interconnectedness, intimacy, and synchronicity. This leads to a feeling of oneness and unity. People do not trust others who are not true to their word, resulting in guarded communications and relationships.

As I close my address, I like to shift the focus to the future and my hope for their future. We all agree that we cannot redo high school (and, believe me, none of them want to) to repair our breaches of integrity. But we can choose to honor our word as out life as we enter into our next phase, either in college or work environments. I encourage these students to know that as they progress professionally they will be afforded many opportunities to lead.

So, why does this matter to you and your organization? Because your integrity is constantly being assessed by your peers, your subordinates, your boss, or your board. Giving your word and following through on the big things and the small things are equally important. Integrity is the foundation of a peak performance leader.

Start now. Write down the seven to 12 people most critical to the future of your business. Consider customers, suppliers, and internal staff when making the list. Now imagine they are all circled around you accessing your integrity. What would they say? Don’t be discouraged if the results are less than perfect. But do not be satisfied until they are. Here is a simple recipe to follow:

1. Choose to be a person of integrity in all matters.
2. Inventory every existing commitment you have made and fulfill them all.
3. Distinguish clearly when you are about to ‘give your word’ to do something or be somewhere. Remember there are no big or small commitments.
4. Ask yourself ‘can I really do this and do I want to?’ Ask yourself ‘If I say yes to this will it put any of my existing commitments in jeopardy?’ Remember in this context you are being asked to put your life on the line.
5. Say "no" or renegotiate if there is uncertainty. Only say "yes" when you mean it. If you say" yes," do it.

By being true to your word, you create the possibility of being a peak performance leader. Take time to imagine what would happen if everyone around you at work chose to live in integrity with each other. Gone are the endless status meetings. Project management becomes much simpler. "Fudge factors" disappear. Deadlines are met. Your organization becomes sound, unimpaired, complete and undivided. You become a peak performance culture.

Chris McGoff is the founder of The Clearing, Inc., where he guides organizations to tackle their most complex and high-stake problems. Using his book, "The PRIMES: How Any Group Can Solve Any Problem" (Wiley; 2012), McGoff gives leaders clarity to see the resources they already have available.

Women in Leadership

Women in leadership: 3 strategies for getting ahead

Joel Garfinkle

 

 

 

 

 

 Credit: Pixabay

You are good at what you do. You’re competent, your team thinks highly of you, and your boss gave you a great performance review last quarter.

Still, even with nearly everyone around you agreeing you’ve got what it takes, you can’t just rest on your laurels or wait until someone notices that you deserve recognition.

Everyone -- men and women -- must put themselves to work when it comes to getting ahead. Many women find this to be more difficult; it can be daunting to assertively ask for more, and studies show that women are less likely to even try. An expensive mistake.

Lack of self-advocacy during salary negotiations costs the average working woman nearly $500,000 in lost wages by age 60. Still, other research indicates that being overly aggressive can be just as damaging for women.

So what works best for those who want to get the bigger projects, get a raise, or get that promotion?

Not all strategies pay off equally, and what works for men doesn’t always work for women. Studies show that the following tactics are the top picks for women looking to advance:

Make your work known. Nothing is as important to career advancement as self-advocating. Yet women are often reluctant to take the steps necessary to make sure everyone knows how good they really are.

Here’s a tip: Men are uncomfortable with self-promotion, too, and they also worry that co-workers and bosses won’t like them for being too assertive or too boastful. The difference? Men are less likely to let uneasiness stop them. When you feel that discomfort, try the following, rather than giving up or staying silent:

 

Credit: Joel Garfinkle

Network inside and outside your organization. it may seem like a big step to join a professional group or even presumptuous to insert yourself in a certain “league,” but persevere. It can be key to join and stay connected with a professional network that can help you advance and may even tip you off to upcoming opportunities.

Inside your company, find a mentor, male or female, who can help you navigate the internal politics, advocate for you higher up and coach you on your career development. Don’t be afraid to reach -- studies suggest women don’t aim as high in the corporate chain as their male counterparts when seeking mentorship, and as such don’t reap as much reward.

Actively plan your career. First, as your own best advocate, it’s wise to have a solid plan for having your work recognized. Whether you plan to build on your career internally by climbing the ranks or you prefer to keep your eyes open for an external posting, (or you hedge your bets by doing both), it really does pay to have an action plan.

Rarely does coasting reap the same rewards.

Statistically, the best avenue may be career advancement within the company where you’ve proven your worth, but in the rapidly changing business landscape, many companies are actively seeking female talent anywhere and everywhere, so it pays to keep abreast of opportunities outside your organization.

If you’ve achieved career advancement, what did you do? Did you get that promotion? What strategies worked for you?

Joel Garfinkle is the author of “Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level.”  As an executive coach, he recently worked with a newly promoted leader helping her manage the new responsibilities, lead her team and manage high-level priorities.