High Five!!! High Five on wanting to take it to the next level and be the leader you know you were born to be!

Being a Boss Babe is all about being a kick a** lady who is not afraid to step up and make things happen. First thing to note: there is a difference between being bossy and being the boss. Your twenties are some incredible years, where you can make a huge impact on your business or the business you are a part of. You have fresh ideas, a new perspective, and of course, are kin to the next generation of clients.  

As you make this journey, I would love to share some life lessons with you to improve your time and speed up your trajectory.

I received my first tech job in my early twenties. For three days, I was a receptionist. Yep, out of college and at the front desk. Don’t judge, I was finding myself;).

While sitting at that desk, I thought I would memorize the collateral of the new products in case questions came up on the phone. The products were motherboards so I memorized everything from the PCI Slots to the kitchen … I mean Heatsink. On day 3, a gentleman called and asked if he could speak to the VP. I placed him on hold and found the VP in a meeting, but the VP said he wanted to talk to the gentleman who was on the phone so he mentioned he would leave his meeting in a few minutes. I hopped back on the phone and let the caller know it would be a few minutes and then asked if he wanted to hear about the new products we recently launched.

He was oddly excited and so I started my spiel. Little did I know, the person I was speaking to was the Founder/CEO of the company I was working at. I’d never met him because he was at the other location, and as I mentioned, it was only day 3 for me. HR spoke to me later that day and asked if I would consider moving into the OEM division. The rest is history.

The moral of the story is always be willing to learn. Soak up everything you can. I wasn’t planning on being in technology but knew if I was answering phones, I wanted to be prepared for any questions that may pop up.

Education and Observation

Education is key. Learn from everyone. I also did a lot more listening than talking because I wanted to learn. I was a sponge and you should be too. Listen to those that have been there, done that.  Learn from their wins and their mistakes. If you spend the right amount of time learning, you will grow a lot faster and make fewer mistakes.

Ask more questions.

Kids, when they are little, are learning about life and everything around them so they ask a TON of questions. Why can’t I eat the flower? Because you’d get sick? Why? Because it’s not good for you? Why? Why why……

You should ask questions too. As many as you can without reverting back to your 2 year old self. What have we tried before that worked or didn’t work? Why? What can I do to contribute to the team that will create the largest impact? How can I help? Have we tried…? What do you think about? What would you have wanted to change?

By asking questions, you earn respect for your inquisitive attitude and peers feel you are engaging on a deeper level because you care to know about them and their previous work.

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” -Sara Blakely

Contribute

Each generation has new technology the previous generation hasn’t adopted. You could be the master of that tool. Yes it’s possible to lead a team, teaching them how to market with Snapchat or any other new tools you think they would benefit from. Thin about how you could be the go to person on recommending artificial intelligence solutions that will solve issues you see. In your observation stage, you will see opportunities where you can improve and help.

If you notice the blog is writing only and know video content is key, then head up the new Vlog side of the business. Start thinking of the strategy and what to bring in for content but don’t demand the company do it a certain way. Talk to the team about what they think. Be prepared to show them the benefits of adopting and have a plan to educate and implement. Even if it is your own company, you need team buy in. If they don’t like what you’re wanting to implement, guess what? It won’t be successful or supported but don’t be hurt by this!

If you feel you have a fantastic idea, pitch it and it gets shot down, don’t worry or be discouraged. Learn and grow. Why do they feel it wouldn’t work? Get the information so next time you pitch, you know some additional guidelines to help you be more successful.

Follow through is key

I see a lot of stellar, next generation people, however, their follow through is not always there. (If you’re reading this, it’s clearly not you I am speaking of) They have great ideas but don’t execute. You see them waiting for someone to make a decision and not communicating that they need a decision to be made in order to move forward. You hear them repeat others ideas claiming them as their own instead of coming up with original thoughts.  They insert themselves into meetings and monopolize the conversation when they haven’t spent the time to learn.

These are huge ways to drive a wedge between you and others. Come up with a strong way you can impact the team and know it’s okay to be a bit heads down so you can execute. Pull people in with additional ideas so you are looking at multiple angles of success and able to put a plan together.  

There is nothing better for a boss than to have someone come up with an idea, do the research, lay out how it can be accomplished and then communicate what the ROI would be.

I know a lot of outstanding, next generation people who have this nailed! And since you’re reading this, I am pretty sure you are or will be one.

You are on your way little one! Keep up the positive attitude, and I know you will conquer the world one giant step at a time.