Negosentro.com | While things are vastly improving for female entrepreneurs and women in the position of leadership, in general, Things are still not as they could or should be. The first thing you need to understand is the fact that equal treatment is your right and not a privilege. Second, just because it is rightfully yours it doesn’t mean that you’ll actually receive it. And since, knowing what an obstacle is might just be the first step in overcoming it, here are several challenges that a lot of female leaders in 2019 see as a problem.
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Being seen as a figure of authority
The first challenge that any female leader encounters in the business world is being seen as a figure of authority. While fraternizing with employees is a bad idea even for male leaders, the possibility of a nasty rumor and its impact can have a much worse effect for a female boss. Therefore, make sure to keep all your business relationships impersonal. This way, you’ll also avoid any talks of bias and manage to run a workplace that’s seen as more egalitarian. Also, there are other ways for yourself to become a figure of authority, ranging from leading by an example all the way to earning this image with your accomplishments.
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Achieving financial independence
This one is a bit harder to explain, however, it may suffice to say that in order to have true independence, you need to find yourself in a scenario where you can afford to just walk away. This involves building up your resume and exploring your other employment options while you’re at the peak of your career. Other than this, it involves making significant savings or investing in assets that generate passive profit. Either way, achieving financial independence may seem like the end goal but it’s not so for the most ambitious ones. For them, it’s the empowerment that comes from true financial independence that matters the most.
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Work-life balance
Motherhood may seem particularly challenging even to the most successful of female leaders. The preparation stage is particularly difficult due to the fact that you might not know what comes next. This is why it’s so important that you find something to occupy yourself with in order not to overthink and invent new obstacles every day. One of the things you can do is prepare your home for the baby’s arrival or look for cute baby clothes collections. There are so many successful business moms out there and there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to pull it off, as well.
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Running a home-based enterprise
Another thing you need to understand is the fact that there’s a fortune to be made in the business world and, as an entrepreneur, you need to embrace this idea as soon as possible. Managing a team in a virtual environment is a challenge of its own, however, a lot of businesswomen find it to be a much more leveled field when it comes to the issue of gender bias. This means that you start on a place that’s a lot closer to a level field. Still, some elements of society still tend to look down on online entrepreneurs. Fortunately, this is taking a turn for the better in the last couple of years.
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Sexual harassment
One of the things that a lot of people in the business world like to sweep under the rug is the issue of sexual harassment. The biggest problem here lies in the lack of awareness of what sexual harassment actually is. Sure, the majority of male coworkers and even subordinates are aware of the fact that coming on directly isn’t something that they should do. Still, there’s a lot of different types of behavior that are not as obviously wrong but can make women in the workplace feel uncomfortable. Naturally, women are not immune to causing workplace sexual harassment either; something that’s all too easy to forget.
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Making a difference
Keep in mind that when working on your success, you’re not just fighting in your own war. You’re honoring the memory of all those women who had to go through hell and high water to create circumstances under which you even stand a chance. Therefore, you need to see yourself as their spiritual successor and try to make the business world into a better place for all the women who will come after you. Sure, this is a lot of responsibility but it’s what being a leader is all about.
In war and the business world it doesn’t matter who is right, what matters is who is left. Therefore, you need to find a way to build your success with the wind blowing in your face the same as you would with it blowing in your back. Sure, it’s more challenging this way but keep in mind that this means that the result will only be more satisfying once you manage to reach your goal. So, start making your success as soon as possible and be patient. Anything that is worth your while takes time. After all, success in the business world was never supposed to come easy.
