Nicola: [00:00:00] hello and welcome to the female leaders on fire podcast. I’m your host Nicola Buckley. And I am the coach work with women at the most senior ranks of organizations to help them to find their fire again, to have more influence, more impact, and as a result, more income. And be a real force for good in organizations driving much needed change, but doing that without self-sacrificing, without burning out and without needing to be someone else.

So I’m super excited today. So I I’m talking about today. What are your steps to being promoted this year? So we’re going to be covering off four steps. So I’m going to start off with just sharing some stats. When I was researching for today, just outline what’s going on. And it’s still quite a shocking really separation between men and.

Going on, then I’m going to be covering why, why those stats might be there and what might be behind [00:01:00] it. And then I’m going to give you five steps to help you to really get that promotion. Um, this year being really purposeful, I’m really proactive about it rather than waiting for it to happen. So let’s just start off by sharing some statistics that I found when I was researching for today.

So first thing to say is this has been more impacted than ever. During the pandemic. So during the pandemic, men were three times. More likely to be promoted than women. And then if we build on that, a survey that was from McKinsey and lean in that surveyed 68,000 employees across 329 organizations, that’s a huge, obviously a huge bit of research.

They found that for every hundred men that were getting their first promotion, 72 women were promoted. And then for women of color, the numbers were lower. So 68 for Latinas and 58 for black women promoted into management. So this gender difference in this point, a [00:02:00] promotion into management. So away from being that expert away from being part of the team into actually running a team that obviously then leads into that start at the career ladder has been described as the broken rung or the missing first step into management.

So, this is really where the inequality begins and where at least to that even wider gap at the higher levels of management. So if women aren’t getting into the, not having as much opportunities to be promoted at that first step into management that flows through then to the more senior levels and. If women are struggling to get that step, it just really just destroys that confident about knowing that they can actually get to that next level of gain.

So that broken rung is really indicative of the challenge that we’re faced in to create that gender parity. And if we think about women going into organizations, they tend to be paid less. Initially the male counterparts, if there’s an, also this broken wrong that first step into management where. This is for every hundred men getting promoted.

[00:03:00] 72 women are promoted. There’s a big difference there. And then if we look through organizations, if we look at some of the gender pay gap reports from the larger organizations, which you see that as you move up the ladder, there’s less and less women. So what is actually going on with. Why are we saying just much more men being promoted than women, especially at that first level.

So I’ve got a number of reasons that I see from the work that I do with different organizations. And one of the first ones is really around unconscious bias, which is still alive and thrive in the workplace. So if we think about the fact that many leaders in organizations of middle-aged white men, And the upward level and that’s reflected in the stats as well, that they’re going to have to see something quite different when there’s a well qualified women and to be able to see past their own assumptions.

And as a middle-aged white man, you’re going to look even if you don’t realize that you’re going to naturally feel more comfortable and more happy, more kinship with [00:04:00] another middle-aged white man. So even if that woman has experienced, even if they have all the qualifications needed and everything. So I’m not saying that this is it’s a conscious thing.

It’s that subconscious bias, it’s that framework of the beliefs that are carrying and really that understanding and just it’s that just assumptions that are made and stereotypes that are created around actually I’m interviewing amount of interviewing a woman who do I feel will be more suited for the.

With that unconscious bias. It’s not intentional. It’s not purposeful, but it’s still very much alive and kicking in the workplace. So I see this day in, day out, I see this in feedback from my female clients. I see it in here in what they’ve, how they’ve been described or words that have been used to describe them.

And this isn’t something that’s going to go away overnight. This is something that’s going to take time to really shift and change. This is something that I work with organizations on quite. To really just take away the blame, take away the [00:05:00] judgment. And let’s just be really honest about the frameworks that you carry within you and the stereotypes that you might be seeing automatically based on that.

And this isn’t about men versus women, not at all. This is about how do we move this whole, how do we move this whole situation forward? And just that recognition I, as a, as a, a white female, I’m more likely to record. In a white female, that’s just my experience of life. So that unconscious bias still there, alive and kicking.

So that’s one of the reasons that we don’t, there’s not as much promotion for women versus. The second one then is around a lack of support, lack of support on company commitment from leaders at the very, very top to really focus on just creating that gender parity and just really making sure that any disparity between male and female to male promotions continues and actually doing the work to make sure that isn’t happening.

So. That lack of support and that lack of company commitment. [00:06:00] It really needs to change at the very top of organizations and it needs to change in a way that it’s at the very heart of the diversity and inclusion agendas. It needs to happen in a way that every person supports it. It needs to happen in a way that.

There’s a culture that allows for behavior that’s not appropriate to be called out. It needs to happen in a way where someone’s making assumptions or using languages out of day, that they’re actually given support to change that rather than being blamed in shame. So for example, there was a survey from McKinsey and.

Study that discovered that women are not granted really the same chances of men for support and guidance, especially at the very top. So stat that women are 24% less likely to be offered advice from a senior leader, the man, and this lack of support contributes to holding them back and really leads back to that idea.

And that concept that there’s this still the old boy network. So I started working with a client recently. An amazing, really [00:07:00] amazing lady. And she talks about the fact she was the wrong sex. She had the wrong background and she didn’t, uh, hunt and she didn’t fish and she didn’t shoot. So she didn’t fit in that organization.

And yet she’d been so focused and so driven for so long that she just battled against. And it’s perfectly natural to really just, if you, if you are in the majority, you don’t see and understand the story of the minority. You’re just not going to have that same lived experience. So it’s natural that men are going to support men more and assist each other and climb the corporate ladder because that’s just, that’s just being human.

That’s just the way our brain works is just to look for people that are so similar to you. And just really not perceiving wounds, work as equal with the same. So that can lead to women feeling unappreciated. I’m really not having that same level of visibility in organizations. So we talked about this unconscious bias.

We’ve talked about the lack of support and the could be that old boys network, but there’s also. It’s also down to the [00:08:00] women in organizations to really just that lack of self promotion. So self-promotion where you’re talking about the things that you’ve done, the things that you’ve achieved, and you’re really owning.

You’re really, really owning the impact that you’re making. Not only are you doing an incredible job, you’re selling people about it. You’re sharing it. You’re promoting it. And for a lot of women that feels really uncomfortable. It feels really icky. It feels it’s just not something that you’re naturally used to doing.

It’s more, you’re more used to getting your head down and getting the job done. And also if you’re not feeling appreciated, you’re not feeling respected if you might feel well, what’s the point in actually sharing anyway, so that lack of self promotion and that I’ve already recorded a podcast all about self version.

So I suggest that you go back and have a look at that. Number four. So for frees and why women aren’t getting promoted as much as men just women’s relationship to ambition. And this is a really, really huge one. So if you think about the words that are used to describe men, [00:09:00] versus the words that you use to describe women.

So a man might be assertive, a woman could be described as aggressive or bossy. Oh man could be described as driven and ambitious and women could be described as hard and. And just obsessed a man could be described as passionate about their work, whereas women could just be described as emotional. So there’s that difference in how women are described versus how men are described.

And as part of that, It’s seen as quite selfish, potentially for women to have that dry, to have that ambition, to want that career, especially if they’re a moment, it comes that added guilt, making those decisions, like what is the most important thing to me? Do I need to make a choice? Whereas men don’t need to make that choice.

And where does this come from? This goes back to really childhood beliefs. And I spent a lot of time work with clients on this and the view of kind of competition. So for men, competitive being competitive scene has already positive thing for women being really competitive is just, it’s not seen as attractive.

It’s not seen as something. [00:10:00] Women should be nice and seen and not heard. That was, that was a lot of the frameworks that I grew up with. Then the fifth and final reason why women might not be promoted as much, just a stereotype. So the cultural norms, if you think about, I know for me, I grew up in the late seventies.

So a lot the story so much in the Disney stories and the stories that I was read at night, it was all about the princess and the princess being beautiful, but needing to be rescued and she wasn’t capable on their own. And then the night would come in on a white charger. And also how do we compliment children’s.

So we still see it now compliment a little girl on how pretty Dell or the address we compliment boys on how strong now or what they’re doing or an activity. And these are the cultural norms. They’re the assumptions that are, make that actually over time. These need to break down to really just to empower women, just to know that actually can step outside of those stereotypes.

They can be assertive without being aggressive. They can be bossy. Because being bossy is simply being a good leader and just being stepping into [00:11:00] owning that energy of being a leader, just to break down those stereotypes and cultural norms, especially as the gender spectrum is ever evolving, we need to really help children to just be praised just for being themselves or to, for doing something brilliant and praise, not just for them.

The actual results for taking action. And to know that little girls who are bossy, they are the leaders of tomorrow. And just to help them to see that that’s, it’s not a negative, this is just you being yourself and to help them to do that. So the five reasons why. Potentially women aren’t being promoted.

So what can we do about it? What are the, what are the steps that you can take this year to really be proactive and purposeful about being promoted to get that promotion? So the first place I would start, so we’ve got five steps to run through. IE. The first place I would start is really encourage you to dream big.

So think about. If you were to have your dream job title, what would that job title be? [00:12:00] And then to make it bigger, a gang. So really open your horizons really allow yourself to dream and really dream big. Don’t just look at the next job and think that’s it for me. And don’t talk yourself out over it. Yeah.

But no buts and all the reasons you can’t before you even thought about it. So what would be your absolute dream job title? What would the organization be? What would the industry be and to think about where do you want to get. Don’t talk yourself out of it before you even started with the reasons that you can’t get there, but just allow yourself to dream.

And the reason this is so brilliant, it takes you past those self doubts. It takes you past that lack of self belief or lack of competence you might have right now. You’re just allowing yourself to, and your nervous system to get used to that bigger version, that bigger purpose. Big of vision, that big a dream, and it just it’s you getting used to it.

So it’s almost like you trying it on and seeing how it fits and it might feel strange. It might feel alien at the moment if you’re like, well, that’s not for me. And that’s [00:13:00] okay. But really, really urge you start off by thinking, where do I ultimately want to get to? So if I think about my pathway to promotion, where, what is the ultimate place I want to get to?

And don’t really just narrow yourself down by going into the app, but Nope. That’s number one, number two, it’s really all about thinking about what is your value proposition in your current company and outside of that? So how can you really add value? How can you support your senior management team? What is your leadership style and really thinking about it.

And Brian, how’d, you bring together the brilliant parts of you that might be being vulnerable and being empathetic, but also being incredible networker. How do you bring that together? We’re being assertive. We’re being connected. How’d you mold that into your leadership style and as part of this as well, really simple action.

To start that, to get that, I would be just to capture your feedback and capture when you’ve had great results by just having a folder that is like your feedback folder, your brag [00:14:00] folder, that you just put everything into, you can read. And also share with your boss or share with HR. These are the things that I’ve done.

This is the feedback that I’m getting, and you can really use that then, and to get clear on that value proposition and knowing where you really add value and knowing where you can really evolve and develop your own leadership style. Who do you look up to? How can you just take some of that, some of their leadership.

So I’ll bring it into your own. What sports, the ingredients for your leadership style. So that’s number two, number three, share your goals. You talk about your potential, talk about where you want to get to tell your boss that you want that job, you know, share your goals. The more that you can voice it, the more gang you’re trying it all, and you’re getting used to it.

And also you’re making those around you super clear on where you want to get to and what your ambitions. And it starts conversations is starts out awareness and it’s really, really powerful way for you to then own it. So share your goals, share your ideas, and really, really start to own it. [00:15:00] Talk about them.

The more we talk about things, the more we’re going to manifest them into our life. The more they’re going to show up in that. And talk about your potential and really, really start to own it. Number four is really think about your pathway to promotion. So if you’ve got that really brilliant job that you’re, you want to get to that level that you want to get to, it might be a board director.

It might be head of a different area, whatever that is. Think about what’s your pathway together. So think about where you want to get to. So your point B, where you are now, so your point a, what are your steps to get. What experience do you need? How can you broaden your experience? Ask HR and your support team around you.

Ask your boss, ask your peers, ask your friends around you that know you incredibly well. Make sure that you’re supported as well with mentors, with managing. With role models that you just really, really inspire you. So think about your pathway to promotion and be super clear. We’ve already set those goals and sharing [00:16:00] ideas, but this is really about what are the steps to get there.

Do I need experience in a different area? Would it help me to have a qualification? Do I need more experience. So think about your pathway promotion and start to think about what the steps and just ask yourself what is my next step to start with the next step. Always ones, one super simple next step. And then finally, it’s really around self promotion and raising your profile.

So making sure that you set aside regular time to focus on your development and really own your views. So you book them in. You set the agenda, you set the time and the place, and you really, really owning them and really being consistent with those course, your reviews and making sure that that honored by your manager and also within that raising your profile.

So really what have you done this year? What have you achieved? What have you delivered and that self promotion, so sharing of seeing those reviews, but also sharing outside of that. So the team meetings, all the newsletters are there, is there an internet site? [00:17:00] So if I think about a particular project that I worked on, um, I was given travel insurance when my, my very first job role, the nationwide and I was given travel insurance look at, and I was given no budget to market it.

And I was just given a challenge of out and what you can find for free. So over a couple of months, I went around the organization, went into deep, deep depths of the organization, and I ended up with a plan that became part of the market. Actually became part of the marketing plan for the entire division.

I ended up with a plan of a pig, ended up being 10 million opportunities for people to see a message about travel insurance. So that was on cash points that was on envelopes are sent out for statements that was on the bottom of statements. And it was just little reminders because I didn’t have that budget.

I found a different way of doing it. I share that cross team. I shared that cost division. And then that actually became part of the wider marketing plan. So. Let’s just recap that. So we know that men are three times more likely to be promoted [00:18:00] than women, especially during the pandemic. And for every hundred men promoted 72 women and those numbers drop again for women of color.

We’ve got that broken rung of the ladder to get to management that then feed through to the rest of the higher levels of organizations. So why is that? That unconscious bias, that lack of support and the boys’ network, lack of self promotion. Women’s relationship to ambition, not being comfortable with it and that cultural norms and stereotyping being the princess, women are pretty and let’s compliment the dress for little boys.

We’ve got to tell them less strong than that and comment on what they’re doing. So tips, change, start to change it. And your five steps to promotion. So. Big dream. What is that ultimate place you want to get to get clear on the value that you add, share your goals and ideas. Look at your pathway for promotion.

Make sure you’ve got the right supports in place. And then really focusing on that regular development time and owning your reviews. So that’s it for today. So if you want any help with this, [00:19:00] my clients get incredible results. I had one client who’s promoted twice, had six months and work with me. Another client was invited to join the board after six years of really hard.

And she’s not really out in that role. Absolutely loving it and getting great feedback. So this is something that I help clients with just by helping them to have more impact and more influence and something that I absolutely love working with on clients. So if you’re looking for some help, drop me a message nycla@nicholasschoolcode.com.

All my contact details in the show notes, and I will see you on the next podcast. Bye

I took about really resonates with you and you love what I have to say. And you have moments and flashes of inspiration from the podcast. I would invite you to get in touch, to find out how I can help you. So individually, that can be through my coaching focus program. For my VIP program, depending on how you like to learn and what will suit you, or I can help you in your organization to really help the women [00:20:00] that you work with across the organization at all different levels.

And at that very senior level to really feel empowered and to know that they can reach the very, the most senior levels in that organization and to give them the. In who they are and the clarity and what they want to be able to get there. And we do that through workshops, do that through leadership programs, and we can do that.

Free consulting work. If you are looking for out with any of that, drop me an email nycla@nicholasschoolco.com. The spelling is not the easiest. So all the details are in the show notes results I get for clients. Clients have been promoted twice in the six months we’ve worked together. They’d been invited to join the board.

They’ve gone from redundancy to being offered three dreams. They’ve gone from being pushed out of an organization to going into bigger organization and a bigger role with a bigger pay rise and just a quote from a client that I particular. I’ve gone from the pit of despair. When I started working with Nick to just being really fucking happy and she is an incredibly empowered leader.

Now, if you’re not quite ready for that, [00:21:00] you can download my overwhelmed on fire guide the details that are in the show notes, but that really helps you everyday to stay in your fire. So it helps you to clear your head, helps you to come back to what’s important to you, and it helps you to have that most impact and influence every single day.

It’s a little Quip sheet that you can just go through and take. So go and download that. Or you can subscribe to my newsletter, which comes out every Friday, which is a Roundup of the week. Really. So what’s going on in my world. What’s a blog for that week, a quick video, that’s going to help your particular subject.

And it’s all about helping female leaders to find their fire and also stats and, and any research from the industry as well. And things that I’m reading the. Um, recommendations that we’re making. So go and subscribe to that. And finally, for the podcast, if you haven’t done so already, I would love you to go and leave us a review and subscribe so that you never miss an episode.

And you’re always going to have the, when that release and doing that as well. Not only helps you, but it [00:22:00] also means that we’re going to reach more women and we’re going to be able to start that revolution to helping female leaders to keep that. I find that fire and keep it. So keep that passion, that purpose and excitement.

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