2010 Is The Year Of Getting What You Want At Work - proposed national child care reforms

2010 - Is The Year Of Getting What You Want At Work
Are You Your Own Worst Enemy For Realising Your Career Potential?

While many mums decide that their career progression is no longer a priority or that they just don't want to juggle a full time, high-powered career, other women who do want their careers to continue upwards post babies find that a lack of confidence in their ability or their suitability for senior roles means they are their own worst enemy when it comes to realising their career potential. They are in dire need a confidence boost!

Jen Dalitz, business consultant, mum and founder of sphinxx says there are of course many other factors that come into play, some of which are unique to women, but put simply: "Many women, particularly those returning to work after having children, often just don't believe in themselves enough", says Dalitz.

This month, sphinxx starts a new series of events, the sphinxx Ascend Development Days, sponsored by Westpac, which aims to significantly boost the confidence levels of businesswomen and help them get to the level they aspire to. The program is a series of four events throughout the year, the first round of which will be held in February in Adelaide (10th February) Sydney (12th), Brisbane (17th) and Melbourne (23rd) and is called Reinvent Yourself.

In a recent survey - sphinxx survey of working women - 27% of respondents said they had turned down an offer of a promotion due to a lack of confidence in their ability, while a further 14% had turned down a promotion due to a perceived lack of competence to perform the role.

Jen Dalitz believes if a woman's confidence isn't at its best, nor will her perception be of herself, her skills and her ability to take on a new role.

"In the various leadership and executive roles I held in finance and consulting before I started sphinxx I was always amazed at the difference between men and women when it comes to self promotion", says Dalitz. It becomes much more obvious when you are managing teams in the hundreds, and this is when I really noticed the difference".

Every week Dalitz says she would have male members of her team dropping by her desk, sending emails or booking coffee meetings to make sure she knew they were ready for their next promotion or to let her know they needed time off for study or travel or family commitments. Although she had just as many women on her teams, she never heard from them on these points, unless they'd managed to secure another job altogether or they'd decided the work-family-life balancing act was so out of kilter that their only option was to resign.

"If someone comes to you and offers you a promotion, says Dalitz, they've already determined you have the skills and competence to do the job. Even if you don't have confidence in yourself, someone else does! So why not take the job, and the payrise, and live happily ever after?"

Research by Catalyst shows that women won't apply for a job unless they have 90 per cent of the required competencies, whereas men will apply with fewer than 50 per cent of the competencies. Women on Boards research also shows that 35 per cent of women lack the confidence to apply for a board position.

Only two per cent of CEOs and Chairs are women; only eight per cent of directors are women and only 10 per cent of senior executives are women (ref 2008 EOWA Census of Women in Leadership). Yet women are graduating in equal or greater proportion to men across most industries. So it's also not only about competence or the existence of discrimination or a glass ceiling, but often more about women's confidence to go to the top and their need to acquire practical skills and tips to help them get there and manage that job with their family and other commitments.

"We can't necessarily change a business's culture or the attitude of some employers towards female employees, says Dalitz. What we can do is to increase the confidence of women and give them the tools to enable them to go out there and get what they want".

For more information and to register for Ascend in either Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney in February, visit the events page or visit www.sphinxx.com.au.