Ewuraba - Professional African Women with Class and Style

Everywhere around us women are rising to leadership and making their mark.  Success is about preparation, taking your chances and deciding to do more than average. To rise higher, have greater influence and visibility we must GO BEYOND the ordinary.
Here are suggestions on how to do so.

• Go with your strengths. The things we do well give us strength, empower us and provide the fuel and energy to strive for greater things.  Identify your strengths and step out with them and regularly build on them.
• Own your career. Very often we expect our manager, boss, the organization we work for to shape our career. Fact is no one should be more committed to your future than yourself. Accept that the rise or fall of your professional future lies with you and act accordingly.
• Build the necessary skill sets. As you move to higher levels of accountability and leadership, the breadth and depth of skills and competencies need to rise. Increasing your skills enable you to stretch beyond your comfort zone and to produce better results.
• Excel at what you do. Shunning mediocrity is a commitment you need to make. Embracing good enough will only stagnate your progress. Excellence is not about being perfectionist but determining to distinguish yourself, giving your best always and keeping on improving.
• Yonder vision always. Ever heard the advice that it is best to  work at the level or position you are aspiring for? Having this approach ensures that you operate above your station, stretch yourself, get noticed and snap that job when it comes.
• Orchestrate opportunity. Opportunity can come or be created. Develop the right networks in order to create opportunity by connecting and co-ordinating seemingly disparate occurrences. In career development good things do not necessarily come to those who wait.
• Navigate the unexpected. Even the best laid career plan can be stopped cold by unforeseen events; for example you don’t get the promotion you wanted, your efforts are undermined by others. Have a credible career plan but accept that detours and twists will come. Manage them.
• Draw on self motivation. Whilst fear tends to emanate from within we look for outside motivation to urge us on. Inspiration may come from external sources but what is truly sustainable is knowing yourself in order to draw on what empowers you from within.

Vera Ng’oma is a leadership facilitator and communications specialist. She may be reached at verangoma @ gmail.com.