250. Expert Interview: Women, It’s Time to Take the Lead
Sharon Frame
Women and men have much to learn from each other in building a better workplace and improving the bottom line. It comes from being heart-centered, authentic leaders who are willing to share their unique gifts.
Sharon Frame is the founder of LeadHERship™. A former CNN anchor/writer, Sharon’s passion is to help women find their authentic voice, step into their space, and lead their lives and their business with power, purpose and productivity. As a speech coach, Miss Frame helps clients speak with clarity, confidence and conviction in front of a crowd or a camera, at a boardroom meeting or one-on-one with a client or prospect. She also delivers keynote speeches at conferences, colleges, seminars and to small groups interested in building effective, heart-centered leaders.
Women, It’s Time to Take the Lead
“More and more you hear this conversation in the boardroom and in the company office area among people of like minds. They’re talking about how we can leverage the power of women more in the workplace. I think we have to realize that women make up more than 50% of the workforce, but only 4.6% of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies have female CEOs, and only 19% of top executives are women. It’s taken us 150 years to get to the point where we have some seats at the table. The World Economic Forum predicts that it will be 2095 before women reach gender parity or equity in the workplace. That’s way too long to wait to reach some sort of parity. The question is, why is inclusion not accelerating?”
Why Is This Important?
“If women’s attributes and values are not validated and celebrated in the workplace and marketplace, we are all the poorer because of it, as a nation, as a community and as a world. As we have this conversation, it’s key that we do it in such a way that men don’t feel we are trying to take over the world. We’re simply saying it is our turn to come to the table, and to bring our values. Women bring a different set of values when we say, ‘Let’s collaborate, let’s talk about this and see what’s good for all of us.’ There is this opportunity for change where women and men can celebrate each other’s glory, celebrate each other’s gifts, and not feel intimidated by each other. But I don’t think we have to wait 79 years for that to happen!”
What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?
“There are many proactive things women can do to stand out, to be creative, to leave an impression that says, ‘Hey, this woman has talent and gifts!’ We’ve got to come to the table with innovative thoughts and be not so much aggressive as very assertive in identifying areas where companies need help. What if you were a worker who, as opposed to just coming in and doing your job, looked for ways to improve the company’s bottom line? Wouldn’t that be impressive to the CEO?”
Connecting With Sharon Frame
Email: sf.wiredtowin@gmail.com
Website:sharonframespeaks.com
Twitter: twitter@sframespeaks
Facebook: facebook.com/sharonframe
LinkedIn: linked.com/sharonframe
