Career advancement rarely comes solely by doing good work and waiting for promotions to be handed down. Successful individuals carefully craft their careers and take calculated risks, pushing beyond their comfort zones to excel.
A valuable skill set required to navigate advancement is the ability to advocate for yourself. Albeit not the most comfortable thing to do, it’s proven to be a critical component to getting where you want to go. In reality, self-advocacy is a crucial tool for success in any industry. From building a stronger reputation to securing new opportunities, professionals can excel by pushing past fear and stepping out as their own biggest champions.
Looking at the experiences of men and women in the construction industry, you might be surprised to learn that their paths to advancement are vastly different. Research has begun to uncover discrepancies, pointing to the fact that performance isn’t always measured and rewarded equally.
Why Self-Advocacy in the Workplace May Be More Essential for Women
A recent study by the University of Maryland analyzed the career differences between genders in the construction industry. The study looked at the ENR’s Top 400 list of 2019 and analyzed the LinkedIn profiles of more than 2,800 executives. The results found that men are ascending into leadership roles at a rate four times higher than women. However, successful women leaders in construction have typically worked for 56% more companies, held 19% more job titles, and been 73% more likely to have earned a graduate degree compared to men.
What gives?
The study highlights the obvious gender gaps pertaining to career mobility in the construction industry and points to the idea that advocating for oneself in the workplace may be crucial for career advancement — something women have historically been less comfortable doing.
Building strategies to advocate for yourself can unlock opportunities and fast-track your career growth, helping avoid the affinity bias getting between women and their future roles.
Here are four valuable tips women have offered to unlock career potential through strategic self-promotion:
1. Work with a mentor in your field to come up with a game plan
Before stepping into a conversation with your boss about what you need and where you want to be in your career, it can be helpful to verbally process with a woman who has previously advocated for herself in the workplace and ask for support. If you don’t know of anyone, start asking around. Moreover, when women step into spaces where they had to advocate for themselves to get there, they often coach other women on how to do the same.
2. Verbalize your goals to yourself and your boss
When seeking to advocate for oneself, it is important to be clear about what you want and to have a plan in place to achieve it. Speaking up and verbalizing your goals can increase the chances of your boss taking you seriously and give them actionable steps on how to hold you accountable for those goals. Being proactive is a great way to show how much you are committed to your ideas and growth.
“Verbalizing is so important because it increases the chances of you actually performing and accomplishing what you set out to do. You’re committing to someone else verbally that you want this and that you can do it. I’m looking for a commitment: ‘I’m going to take this on. I’m going to do it this way,’” Jada Escarpita, chief administrative officer at Escarpita Construction, said.
“I’m also looking for a plan — how you’re going to do this and what kind of outcome I can expect when you perform,” she explained. “Those are really important because not only does it show that you’ve put thought into it, but it also shows that you have intention and purpose in what you’re doing. Those are the driving factors that will move you up.”
3. “No” does not mean you blew it (or that you will get fired)
Hearing the word “no” can trigger alarm bells in our brains. We often feel as if we did something wrong, someone doesn’t like us, or we asked for too much. The reality is, there are many reasons you could hear the word “no,” and they might have nothing to do with you.
When it comes to advocating for yourself, and your boss tells you “no,” give yourself the freedom to feel the emotions that come with that response, but be curious. What are the reasons your boss would say “no” that have nothing to do with you? Did your ask involve a pay increase that is unavailable in the budget? Did your ask involve being a part of a team that is already at full capacity? Did your boss say “no” because they are looking out for your well-being and know that taking on this new project might increase your risk of burnout?
If you do get a “no” or a “not yet,” ask what you can do now to potentially get a “yes” in the future. This is a great way to channel your energy to something productive and give you purpose while you wait.
4. Build a better future with self-advocacy
For someone who is advocating for themselves, it’s crucial to understand that it is a process. It’s common for anxiety to build when you put too much pressure on the initial meeting with your boss and fail to realize that the interaction is just the beginning of an ongoing conversation.
Many bosses want to work with their employees to make sure they are happy in their roles, but it often takes multiple conversations to reach a solution that works for everyone. The best thing you can do for yourself is to be patient and continue stepping into those uncomfortable conversations.
As for leaders, if they want to retain the women on their teams, they must ensure they are helping advance those women’s careers. This means recognizing when affinity bias is at play and causing them to measure performance differently for men than women. Many times, attention to detail, diligent note taking, and thoughtful planning are seen as administrative skills and not leadership qualities. This perception limits many women from advancing into leadership succession pathways.
All people should be equipped with the tools necessary to take charge of their careers through self-advocacy while recognizing promotions can take time and diligent planning. By adopting a process mindset and taking persistent steps forward, there is no doubt you can achieve success and build a career you can be proud of.
Register now for the webinar “The Data on Diversity and Women in Construction” to learn what business leaders can do to better retain women and diverse top talent.
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