Women Leaders Who Confidently Overcome All Challenges

It takes a lot of discipline and strategizing for women leaders not to negatively internalize micro-aggressions stemming from sexism. When confronted with ongoing indirect or explicitly hostile sexism, always begin by reminding yourself that there is nothing wrong with you. This is a systemic problem that many women leaders have to deal with. There are some lucky women who are blessed enough to not experience hostile sexism. However, they are in the minority. Most women experience some form of sexism in the workplace or throughout life. This explains why women leaders who earn six figures or more often face the same issues as everyone else: fear, doubting their own worth, and questioning their own abilities. For minority and immigrant women, the challenges women face when navigating leadership roles are compounded by the additional biases that others hold about race, ethnicity, and immigration.

10 Effective Strategies Used By Women Leaders

It is important to remember that your mind is a powerful thing that is innately programmed to have a negative bias. If you are a victim of hostile sexism and discrimination, you can take control of the situation. Reframing your perspective will help you turn something negative into something positive. The following 10 strategies could help you find your confidence again. They can also remind you to value yourself, and show others why they too should value you:

1. Focus on problem-solving by remaining focused on process, functionality, and your goals. 

Individuals who want to sabotage you will always want to distract you and others by focusing on petty and gossip-driven personality conflicts. Some of the strategies they will use to turn public opinion against you are: 1) trying to make you look petty; 2) misconstruing or distorting the facts; 3) gossiping about you and initiating whisper campaigns; 4) hoarding information; and 5) trying to bully you into accepting their “more informed” point of view. Don’t get distracted by this toxic and exhausting behavior. Instead, shift the narrative to your mission, the processes that are necessary for sustainable solutions, the importance of removing the obstacles associated with the advancement of the organizational mission, and creating platforms focused on solutions that advance a broader purpose. If a topic is not related to your project or goal, and could be considered gossip-driven, don’t entertain it. 

2. Ensure that you have the authority you need to make the decisions that will make your team function as it should or begin to plan your exit. 

As a leader, you must behave ethically. This includes providing guidance and transparency to all employees, even if you don’t like them, or you suspect that they are trying to sabotage you. You must also apply your organizational policies equally to all employees without showing a preference for one employee over another. Remember, you are modeling ethical behavior. Thus, in the absence of a serious ethical transgression or a crime, you always want to create an environment that gives employees, even when they are not at their best, the opportunity to redeem themselves. You also want to remain open to taking any authentically helpful suggestions to improve practices or advance the mission of the organization, even when they come from employees who are not supportive of you. This process can even sometimes help uncooperative employees turn the corner by transforming them into strong allies. 

However, if you have given a toxic or problematic employee every possible chance to do the right thing through a formal process and corrective action plans, you must be willing to make difficult decisions. These can include, but not be limited to, not authorizing a salary increase, a demotion, a change in their job description, or a termination. If you do not have the authority to pull the trigger on implementing the accountability measures that are needed to correct the situation, you are doomed to be trapped in an increasingly toxic environment that will ultimately result in people scapegoating you for the organization’s problems. If you find yourself in a situation where you are held accountable for the outcomes but don’t have the authority to implement a remedy, it’s time to move on. 

3. Find a support system.

Experiencing hostile sexism from both men and your female peers can make you feel very lonely. However, you are not the only one who is going through this. You can find this support from a leadership coach who understands women and women’s experiences. You can also join or form a support group of other female leaders who understand what you are going through. This support group can be in person, online, or through professional connections. The support systems that you choose can be a source of sharing, help you gain insight from the experiences of others, and serve as a source for problem-solving. It can also help you remain sane and focused while dealing with negative people who want to undermine your confidence. It is essential, though, that the group you join or the coach you select guarantees absolute confidentiality.

4. Behave ethically, even when those around you don’t.

Behaving ethically can be very difficult when you are feeling unsupported and attacked. However, you must do your best to develop strategies to separate your emotional reactions from your professional actions. You should never retaliate against an employee, give preferential treatment to employees who are supportive of you, or sabotage an employee. You should also never silence employees who may have differing opinions from you because they can help you come up with strategies that will improve your organization and advance your mission. Just because you may be experiencing unfair treatment, does not mean you should change who you are or work contrary to your own ethical code. If you behave in a way that goes against your ethos, you will regret it later when the dust settles. 

 5. Always work transparently, explain your decisions, and follow procedures. 

Your decisions should never be arbitrary or capricious. Policies, procedures, and strategic plans are the most effective tools you can use to temper your emotions and create an environment where everyone is treated fairly, equally, and objectively. 

6. Make decisions based on facts and not on suppositions or assumptions.

The risk of succumbing to confirmation bias under situations of stress can lead you to make erroneous and unethical judgment calls. Thus, make sure that you triangulate facts or the accounts of an event, use data, and follow best practices. It is essential to ask questions of your peers and of yourself to ensure that you do not make a decision based on a narrative you are creating about what you believe has happened. Your instinct may not mirror the facts, which may lead you to make a decision that is unfair or could harm the organization. Remember, fear is the worst advisor you can rely on.

7. Once you have a full understanding of a situation, you should place your trust in yourself, your judgment, and your opinions.

If you have done everything within your power to make decisions based on facts, work ethically, give people opportunities to redeem themselves, weigh the pros and cons of different solutions, and you have taken steps to counteract confirmation bias, then you can rest assured you have done your due diligence. You have engaged in ethical decision-making.

Nonetheless, there will be people who question your judgment or believe that you may be making the wrong decision. When faced with this push-back, have faith in yourself. Others do not have all of the facts you do and may not have a full understanding of the big picture. Also, remember someone, will always view women leaders’ opinions as being wrong. Thus, you should trust in your decisions because they will be questioned anyway.

You should also not beat yourself up for mistakes or bad judgment calls. When you make a decision, you make it based on the facts that you have before you. Thus, believe that you made the right call with the information you had at the time, and if other information comes up later, then make corrections. Never buy into the narrative that a mistake is an indication that you are not meant to be a leader. Instead, as new information arises, you adapt to the circumstances. 

8. Support other women leaders. 

When you see that other women are being silenced or spoken over at meetings, step in. Mention that their comments sound interesting and that you want to hear more about them. When you hear gossip being spread about another female or anyone, it is useful to do the following: 1) ask the person to present facts and not assumptions; 2) inquire how the gossip-driven issue is relevant to the project or organization; and 3) discretely mention that gossip is harmful in the workplace and unprofessional.

9. Take care of yourself.

Always remember, there is only one of you. Although you may not be working in the ideal environment, you must value yourself. Take time for yourself, focus on self-care, eat healthy foods, and exercise regularly. Although these are concepts that we all know, we are more likely not to practice them when our work life is overwhelming. Create simple plans for yourself that will help you stay on track. There is no other way to maintain your physical and mental health intact in periods of crisis and transition. 

10. Focus on adopting systemic solutions that target hostile gender discrimination. 

Do not take on the entire responsibility of solving systemic sexism onto yourself. This has been a problem that women have faced for centuries across all societies. Thus, you cannot solve this issue just by being strategic. You must focus on supporting and designing systems that build in equality through practices, policies, and procedures. Some strategies include blind resumes, flexible work hours, and transparent pay to address the gender pay gap. 

Remember Your Worth!

Always remember that you have value and worth. Even if no one appreciates your contributions, everything that happens to you has the potential to be turned from something negative into a positive experience. You can come out with a stronger, wiser, and more compassionate leader when you work through the crisis. You will always feel better when your actions reflect who you were meant to be and not what others want you to be.

Share Your Solutions With Other Women Leaders

Women still face discrimination in hiring, firing, promotions or benefits, pay discrimination, and gender stereotyping. However, many of us have become successful leaders through strategic decisions, grit, perseverance, and being good at our jobs. Please share any strategies you may have used to overcome hostile sexism below so that other women can find inspiration from your solutions. 

Learn How We Can Work with You 

If you are developing an advocacy strategy around women’s issues or would like support in finding your confidence as a leader again, do not hesitate to reach out and schedule some time to find out how we can work with you. Send me an email, and I will be happy to help. 

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