The making of a successful woman executive in business or government isn't a unique thing. What makes such women noticeable is that they've learned to master a career game that's been dominated by men for decades. Since the 1980s, such women have been earning more master's degrees in business, rising to higher positions, and becoming more and more visible to the general public and news media, some through great careers, others because they crashed and burned. Their stories in many cases are no different from their male counterparts' except for gender, and in many cases that one fact has made the challenges they faced much harder and these executives much stronger.

Several studies have shown that, for whatever reason, there are not as many women assuming leadership roles in the workforce. There are many possible explanations for this gap between men and women in positions of authority, but nothing is conclusive. What is sure is that women must employ a different strategy than men to get ahead, because for good or ill we are looked upon differently in the workplace. Here are a few tips:

1. Don't be afraid to self-promote.

What are some ways you can be a better leader?

This is a question many business owners and managers should take time to ask themselves. You may have heard that some individuals are “born leaders,” but most good leaders are molded by education and experience. If you desire to move your business forward, there are some practices you need to implement in your professional life.

Lead by example and show up to work on time

You can expect others to be on time to work, but if you consistently come in late, don’t be too surprised if your employees begin to follow in your footsteps.

Everyone dreams of their kids becoming the great leaders of the future.  Whether that is President of the United States or CEO of a corporation, seeing your child grow up to become important and successful in their career is something every parent wants.

Raising tomorrow's leaders means instilling certain skills in your children.  Here are the skills every future leader needs, and how you as a parent can help them achieve them.

Today is day three in the blog tour for my new book titled UNFEAR: Facing Change In An Era Of Uncertainty.  Yesterday, A Successful Woman hosted the first installment of what will be a four day blast at this site, with an article I titled, Stop your whining! Three steps to being complaint free.  Today, I hope you enjoy the second of four articles that will post here, Smart Ways to Prepare for Crisis.

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Smart Ways to Prepare for Crisis

What’s the difference between a challenge and a crisis? A crisis is a threat to the immediate survival of the organization, or to the immediate health and well-being of people associated with it.

During a crisis, we may need some fear to remain vigilant. That fear is informative. We gain when we are alert and prepared, and fear can be a way to remain vigilant. But we need not be overcome by fear of the future as long as we acknowledge the real. As long as it isn’t the kind of fear that locks us down into fight, flight, or freeze without the ability to make conscious choices, it’s good information. The key is to stay alert, be prepared, and be informed by our fear rather than controlled by it.

Here’s a short list of some crisis situations that might at some point affect you and your organization:

• Workplace violence   • Product recall  • Criminal investigation  • Hostile takeover

• Terrorist attack  • A class-action lawsuit  • Internet hacking  • Insider trading

• Death of key executives  • Economic collapse

Smart organizations don’t let crises put them into fight, flight, or freeze. They have a plan, and they are prepared to act on that plan.

TRY THIS

Identify Issues for Scenario Planning

This particular exercise is designed to make your dialog valuable as you address different arenas that impact your business. It is adapted from Peter Schwartz, who wrote in artful detail about scenario planning in the highly recommended book The Art of the Long View. This is one that requires a facilitator who is not on your team, and who has experience with strategic planning.

STEP ONE: Identify What’s Keeping You Awake at Night

Take a few minutes to jot down some of the critical decisions facing your company or organization. Review and discuss; choose one or two ideas to serve as the focal issue for your scenarios.

STEP TWO: Environmental Scan

Take a look at the macro: What world changes are impacting your business? Hang up separate flip charts for each topic area and take a full hour to write up a scan of the following areas:

1. ENVIRONMENT
2. SOCIAL NORMS/CULTURE
3. POLITICS
4. TECHNOLOGY
5. ECONOMY
6. RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
7. COMPETITION

STEP THREE: Do a Gallery Walk

Have each person in your group review what is on the flip charts. Discuss trends you see.

STEP FOUR: Rank Issues by Importance and Uncertainty

Rank the top issues you see, using the categories of importance and uncertainty. You are looking for the issues that are the most important, and the most uncertain. These two headlines will give you great insights into what you need to address in scenario planning. There may only be one driving force that seems both critical and uncertain—or there may be two or three. Choosing more than three for discussion gets cumbersome.

STEP FIVE: Create Scenarios/Create Your Plan

Once you have your top issues by importance and uncertainty, you can create one, two, or even three scenarios to work through as a group. The scenario might be very simple; if you were  working at an airline, it might be an airplane crash scenario. The plan would address the top issues posed by that scenario.

STEP SIX: Scenario Plan Must-Haves

Make sure your plan addresses the what, who, how, when, and what that will happen based on your issue. If we are using the airline example, the plan needs to include what each department does to address the issue—from PR/communications (and what the executives would be expected to say), to training and development and HR (how did the flight attendants respond, how do customer service reps handle inquiries, what do they do to contact loved ones?), to technology, to engineering and maintenance. Each area of the business must be prepared to either avoid or handle these scenarios.

Remember, these exercises take time, and you may need multiple days to address these issues.