I’d like to apologize to all the wiser women in my past I didn’t listen to. Like pretty much every teenager and young professional, I felt like I knew as much as there was to know. I honestly didn’t think it was possible for there to be so much more knowledge that I didn’t possess. But I admit I did learn a lot more things about life, the universe and everything with each passing year, and thus, I became embarrassed of my previous Miss Know-it-all tendencies. Today, let’s give praise where praise is due, to those women who have years of expert experience under their belts and a whole lot of wisdom to share. If we’re lucky, maybe they’ll continue to share it with the rest of us!
WOMEN IN NUMBERS: $430,000
With age comes wisdom, sure, but age also solicits higher expectations. However, thanks to the continued wage gap, many women’s expectations are often shattered as they move up the career ladder; the higher they climb, the bigger the wage gap becomes. In fact, the accumulative wage gap is more than the cost of a house in even the strongest real-estate markets. Indeed, by the age of 65, the average career gal will have lost more than $430,000 during her working lifetime because of the wage gap. It’s about time women earn fair pay for equal work!
WOMAN TO WATCH: Carol Seymour, Author, Speaker and Founder of Signature Leaders
The wise warrior we’re featuring today is Carol Seymour, and, ladies, she’s got the expertise to help you navigate your career to success, despite that unrelenting wage gap. With decades of executive-level experience, Carol knows her way around business, particularly as a woman in a man’s corporate world. She’s the founder of Signature Leaders, a program designed to cultivate a steady pipeline of accomplished female executives into upper-executive levels.
The Signature Leaders Signature Program is an intensive workshop taught by successful C-suite execs and features actionable elements to give high-performing women the critical knowledge they need to climb that next rung on the career ladder. The program has helped more than 400 women from Fortune 1000 companies tap into success in truly impactful ways.
Carol shares a story of one particular workshop she led. She asked the attending women to think of a person that made an impression on them the previous week, then to reminisce about his or her body language, facial expressions, listening skills and so on. When the women compared notes, one feature stood out. The people with a certain kind of approachable, engaged body language were the ones that made the most impact. This is what Carol calls “practicing presence,” and it’s a powerful tool in communicating, as well as leaving a lasting impression when it’s most important. It comes down to finding mindful moments during a meeting or business conversation, and focusing on your intent instead of your to-do list.
Another feature of Carol’s Signature Leaders biz is the Signature Network, which keeps program attendees connected, something we all know is important when working to succeed, no matter the industry.
You don’t have to be a C-suite executive to benefit from Carol’s expertise. Her book, Wisdom Warriors, features stories about female leaders who have explored what’s beneath life’s lessons, worked through difficult situations and share their vulnerabilities and wisdom in an effort to help other women become remarkable—in work and in life.
As Carol notes, change can be difficult, but it often leads to growth and renewal—and sometimes, even a path toward leadership and great success. That’s spoken like a true wisdom warrior!
QUITE THE QUOTE
I leave you today with one of my favorite quotes from Wells Fargo exec Anna Sanchez. She said:
“When you show up, you go up. But when you go up, take another woman with you.”
This is Melinda Garvey signing off until next time. Remember, ladies, empowered women empower other women. Share On the Dot so more women can have a voice. Thanks for getting ready with us.
To learn more about our conversation, check us out at OnTheDotWoman.com and talk to us @OnTheDotWoman on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear your voice.