These 6 types of moments act as a launchpad for women who want a leadership role
Author Note: This is the fourth in a series of blogs based on the She Leads STEM 100 Leaders Report. What you'll read here is a small snapshot of the data available. Access the entire report for free HERE, and read the summary blogs in this series through the links below:
When you look back over your career, what stands out? You can probably think back to some key moments and milestones—first-ever paycheck, first internship, first post-university job, first promotion… there are so many meaningful moments throughout a career.
But more than just meaningful, some moments define careers. They’re what lead people to career success.
To understand what makes women STEM leaders successful, I interviewed over 100 current and emerging leaders (all in management positions) in the field. The compiled She Leads STEM 100 Leaders report is available as a (free) download. One question I asked was this: “Looking back on your journey, what are the career moments that make you think – If this hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be in a leadership role today?”
The responses were fascinating. By picking out the themes, I found six moments that commonly elevated the careers of current women leaders in STEM. Awareness of the six types of everyday career “events” that accelerate your path to leadership can create situations where you can make your own luck.
6 Moments That Act as a Launchpad into Leadership Roles
Before diving in, it’s important to note that not all leaders had all of these moments—most experienced one or two of them as a catalyzing moment in their leadership journey. The most common combinations included #1 or #2 with one of the others, with self-advocacy being the single most crucial non-technical skill emerging from this study that aspiring leaders need to advance.
Here are the six moments that women STEM leaders say catapulted them to their current leadership roles:
1. Mentorship Moment
My research confirms that mentorship can be a crucial factor in career growth. 89% of the individuals interviewed cited a 1:1 conversation with a mentor as a critical moment in their leadership journey.
These mentorship moments often had a few common characteristics as follows:
More than half stated their conversation occurred with a high-ranking individual where they worked.
Mentorship moment happened in a one-on-one conversation, not a group context.
Mentorship relationships developed over time through multiple conversations; at the same time, there was ONE conversation interviewees identified as “impactful” when they were trying to make a significant career decision that stuck out.
Most mentors cited by interviewees were men in leadership positions. Less than 20% of women interviewed had direct experience with a women mentor.
Women with less than 15 years of industry experience (and in early management/leadership roles) were more likely than older interviewees to say that one of the reasons they stayed at their current firm was because of the presence of senior women mentors or “leaders like them” in the firm.
For the most part, interviewees used “mentorship” and “sponsorship” interchangeably as they spoke about their experiences. As I shared in She Engineers, the difference between the two terms is as follows:
Mentorship tends to be free advice given in support of an individual; there is usually no “skin in the game” or active promotion of the mentee in a typical mentor-mentee relationship.
Sponsorship is typically needed to advance to high-level leadership positions, and the sponsor must expend their energy and resources to promote the sponsored person.
One example of the difference is that a mentor would give you advice on how to get promoted, while a sponsor would advocate to others (when you are not in the room) that you should receive a promotion.
Based on how interviewees described these relationships, most interviewees did NOT have sponsors within their organizations. Those who described sponsor-like support at work from management (about 10% of those interviewed) had a faster rise into leadership (based on analysis of titles relative to experience level) than other leaders interviewed.
Understanding how effective mentorship works is essential to consider in light of the rise of group mentorship. My findings suggest one-on-one mentorship conversations are the most effective in providing support at potential career pivot points. While group mentorship can be effective for other reasons (for example: building community or providing early-career training), my study did NOT find any links between group mentorship and the advancement of women into leadership roles.
2. Self-Advocacy Moment
Self-advocacy is an important factor in career advancement, according to 55% of the individuals we interviewed. Those interviewees said that the action of speaking up and standing out was a catalyst event on their leadership journeys.
Some specific examples of self-advocacy moments include:
Speaking up in meetings and voicing ideas or opinions
Volunteering to take the lead on a high-profile project
Being proactive about projects and initiatives
Solving problems outside of their immediate role description
Making new connections
Looking for a new opportunity rather than waiting out a role that wasn’t a good fit
Not only were self-advocacy moments critical for many women STEM leaders’ successes, but it was also the top personal attribute that current leaders said they had that allowed them to be successful. This was true even for introverts, who comprised approximately 75% of interviewees. One recently-promoted leader summarized a theme noted by many interviewees:
““I realized that those who speak up get ahead, so that’s what I do…..I speak up more at work than I think my natural tendency would be otherwise.””
3. Leadership Development Moment
Leadership starts before you’re in a formal position of leadership. Approximately 50% of the women leaders said they pursued leadership development and training before being promoted to a role demanding those skills.
By proactively seeking leadership development, these leaders were ready to step up when a leadership opportunity came their way. In some cases, the networks they developed during leadership training were also a key element to a promotion.
Examples of ways interviewees said they invested in their leadership development included:
Volunteer with an industry nonprofit. Some examples in the engineering field include the American Society of Civil Engineers, Women in Transportation, the American Society of Chemical Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and more.
Spearheading a volunteer initiative of a firm-wide pet project that is important to leadership.
Investing in leadership training through coaching programs or training opportunities.
4. High-Visibility Role Moment
In my research, about a quarter of respondents shared that they leveraged their strengths into a high-visibility role or project. They are aware of their unique skills and applied them in an activity that helped get them noticed by leadership.
Creating a high-visibility moment for yourself starts with knowing what you’re good at. If you’re struggling to define this, here’s a gameplan:
Journal on past accomplishments, likes, and dislikes at work. You may also want to read my previous blog on finding your STEM passion.
To increase your awareness of talents that you might be taking for granted (taking your skills for granted is EXTREMELY common) - Take one of the many strengths and personality assessments available. Start with Meyers Briggs and Clifton Strengths; if you’re leading a team, you’ll also want to complete a DISC assessment.
Compile feedback from past reviews to understand how others see you. Remember: feedback from one person is ONE data point. More data is better, and having one data point is not statistically valid. In other words, don’t let bad feedback from one person lead you to believe you aren’t (or could never be) good at something.
Speak with a trusted colleague or mentor to narrow in further on your strengths and skills.
Once you have that awareness, use your self-advocacy skills (see #2) to put yourself in more positions to leverage what you’re good at or learn things you are passionate about.
Seventy-five percent of interviewees that cited a high-profile role or project as THE thing that launched them into leadership noted that these opportunities didn’t just “appear”; they had to advocate for them. They still had to speak up to get those opportunities. Leverage what you’re good at so that others can see it.
5. Support or Drive Moment
This point is an interesting dichotomy:
20% of interviewees stated that cultivating a support network outside of work was critical to get to where they were today. The existence and reliance on a robust support network as a catalyst to their current leadership role was widespread for those who are parents or caregivers.
10% of interviewees stated that they succeeded despite having little support. It was their drive to succeed because of challenging circumstances that got them to where they are today. Examples of interviewees who shared this as a driver of their success included first-generation college students, immigrants, and single parents.
Here’s a summary of the lessons you can take from this moment:
If you have a support network or know you work better with group support —cultivate that network and be open to their help. Allow other people to lift you and encourage you in this journey.
If you are driven to succeed despite your circumstances and have little support, go for what you want, but watch out for burnout. Although I didn’t ask interviewees specifically about burnout, references to burnout in their career journeys were much more prevalent for leaders that said they generally lacked support.
Consider that from a psychological standpoint, humans (even introverts) are wired for connections. Most of us will need help at some point in our career journeys. The best time to network is when you don’t need your network, so consider starting today to build your support system.
6. Conflict Moment
Conflict is typically viewed as negative in the workplace, so you might not see how this could be a positive moment for career growth. However, 16% of all leaders interviewed and approximately 50% of the most senior leaders (CEOs, CFOs, Division Leads, etc.) noted that their ability to take a challenging situation, project, client, or under-performing team and turn it around was what got them noticed and catapulted them into a leadership role.
Conflict happens, and you can see the top ten challenges interviewees reported in THIS blog. All of those challenges can cause conflicts. If you can become the type of person who remains calm and handles conflict positively, the data from my study shows that firms value and reward this ability with leadership opportunities.
My own career journey has shown this is a learned skill; if you’re curious how to cultivate this particular “Calm in Chaos” talent, check out one of my most popular blogs: “How to Manage High Emotions and Stay Professional in Conflict.”
Understanding these six moments is not just about other people’s meaningful moments. It’s so that you can go out and create your own. Look at this list and ask: what can I do to create a moment for myself?
Perhaps it’s getting a mentor, asking to work on a high-profile project, or asking a potential mentor for a virtual meeting. Whatever you need to do, start today! Future you will be glad you did.
And if you’re interested in reading the full She Leads STEM 100 white paper report, click here to get a free copy!
