Believe 'girls can do anything'? It's time to step up - Women's Agenda

Believe ‘girls can do anything’? It’s time to step up

If there is one amazing thing each of us can do in this world, it’s this. Make a small improvement before we hand the world over to the next generation. ‘Why me?’ you might ask. ‘Why not you?’ I would ask. And if not you, then who?

If we wait to be called up, nothing will ever get done. As leaders, we can step up whenever we see that something thing needs to be done.
If you hear a doubting, inner voice, try to isolate the cause of your resistance and challenge it. If you think it is not your place to take the lead or that others are more skilled or qualified, consider why you are rating yourself so poorly. Then ‘back yourself’ instead.

Millions of men and women before us have changed the world – in big and small ways. Plenty of ordinary citizens started out doing something they believed in and over time they influenced change in their worlds of politics, Robert Menzies and Julia Gillard; in medicine, Victor Chang and Ian Frazer; art, Sidney Nolan and Ken Done; literature, Bryce Courtenay and Germaine Greer; and business, Steve Jobs and Sheryl Sandberg. Each of these individuals stood for something and I suspect each of them believed in the possibility that things could be better and that motivated them to step forward to make it happen.

You don’t have to be famous to make a difference. But you do have to give something of yourself. So what does stepping up look like? I wrote about this in my book ‘Stepping Up’.

Here are some every day examples of how to step up in your community to shift attitudes about gender roles and generate greater equality in the future:

• If you are a political leader you could legislate change that will stop people from acting in a way that creates inequality and install sanctions for those who ignore the new behaviour guidelines.

• If you are a business owner you could confirm your commitment to gender and cultural equality by promoting men and women equally and promote only those who deliver equality for others (linking promotion and bonus to diversity performance).

• If you are a purchasing officer you could advise suppliers that your company only deals with organisations that match your diversity commitment and can illustrate gender and culture balancing.

• If you are an entry level employee you could request that hiring managers demonstrate there is no glass or bamboo ceilings and to outline your career path milestones and timeframes.

• If you are a working mother you could stop doing 80% of the household chores and insist that your partner takes up 50% of the admin and chores or helps you to pay for home help.

• If you are a working father who would like to cut back to 3 or 4 days a week to share the child care with your partner then seek out employers who will offer that and companies that have properly adjusted systems to accommodate part-timers without bias).

• If you are an Asian manager seeking a CEO position look for companies that can demonstrate there is no bias towards no Anglo-Saxon at top levels and those which have a commitment to doing business in Asia.

• If you are a school teacher look to identify the gender biases and stereotyping teaching methods and playground activities that force children to take up outdated gender roles and encourage them to try activities outside their comfort zone.

• If you are a local Mayor you could influence a shift in perceptions in your community of old attitudes and behaviors by putting male receptionists on the front desk and hiring female rangers; and ensure the cultural mix of staff reflects your community.

• If you are a CEO of a national sports club be sure that your male teams don’t travel business class to sporting events while your females teams fly economy…ensure the female prize money is equal and skill development opportunities are equal…and remove any barriers that prohibit people of different cultural backgrounds from participating equally.

It is quite possible that you are more than one of these people at any one time – you might be a politician, a mother and on a local sports committee or board. You could therefore influence change in three or more of your circles at one time. If you are a business owner, a father and a volunteer at your local Rotary club you can influence change in three other circles at one time.

All of us have more than one circle of influence and if we take the opportunity to get people thinking about the growth potential that can come from more gender diverse leadership teams in our work, local communities, political groups, sports clubs and church groups all at the same time…then we can make big difference.

How do you get others to follow you?’

Leadership is really about ‘followship’ because people follow those who inspire them. To inspire others, you need to have a vision about how to solve a problem, and give others hope that a different or better future is possible.

If you can help others to believe in a better future, you can help motivate them into action too. What does that take? It needs only a little confidence to speak up, or step up. By showing others that you back yourself and your vision well enough to walk ahead of them, you can help motivate their self-belief too. You can encourage them to follow your lead.

Not everyone wants to walk ahead of others. So as the leader, you need to go first. Soon after you walk forward, those you inspire will follow. The ‘first followers’ are the heroes, they are the people who believe in you and tell others. They are the ones who can create the critical mass you need to get a community of people marching together to the same drumbeat.

Think about who your ‘first followers’ might be. Invite them to join you. Help them understand the possibilities and give them room to stand up beside you, to lead with you and then once you are in step, watch others fall in behind them.

You don’t have to have a high ranking job title to be a leader of change, you just need to share your vision for making things better with others who want to see it happen. You don’t have to have a big budget or a fancy office to be a leader of change, you just have to have an audience of people who are willing to listen to your ideas for a solution to their problem.

Unleash your inner leader and step up today

Find that inner champion that coerces you to ‘give it a go’ and stomp on the inner doubter who waves red flags chanting ‘you might fall, so leave it to someone else’. You won’t fall if you believe in the solution. You might find that the road is hilly or that there are a few obstacles you need to climb over, but the ground will not open up underneath you – trust me, those fables were of biblical times and need to stay where they belong!
It is such a wonderful thing to step over your fear and do something you believe in. It brings relief and satisfaction, and it fuels your passion for more.

Achieving equality and freedom has been the hope of women around the world for centuries. Too many of women and girls have in the past been conditioned to wait for men to fix things for them, or to wait for permission to step up, or sit back and wait for others to lead the way. In Australia we believe that no women or girl in 2015 needs permission to lead change or needs to wait for others to do it for them. Yes there may be challenges or even annoying consequences to deal with, for being the one to pave the way, but if you are an advocate of the phrase ‘girls can do anything’, then what are you waiting for? An easy ride?

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