I checked out an inspiring panel on Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Fearless Women Entrepreneurs Monday at SXSWi. There are only 13 women CEO’s in the USA’s 500 most publicly traded companies. Starting a business is taking a big step and the women in the room were eager to discuss how to overcome barriers and share tactics that have helped transform them from entrepreneurs to business leaders. So, what are these barriers?
The number one unanimous obstacle was fear. Despite the panel name, these women were definitely not fearless. Fear can shut down your ambitions and close you off to possibility or you can take another approach to it. One woman indicated that her “aha” moment came when she accepted that she can and will be afraid but that it isn’t going to stop her. As Emerson famously quotes “Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.”
Another common theme I have heard a lot this weekend is the tendency for women to want to do everything themselves. A big challenge was being able to ask for help and accepting help when it was offered. Likewise, many of these entrepreneurs felt the pressure to know everything and stated how important it was to be able to say, “I don’t have all the answers” and seek expertise or surround yourself with hired talent to support you.
Everyone in our panel also seem to wholeheartedly agree that women don’t help one another out enough and that this needs to change. Marylene Delbourg-Delphis, http://delbourg-delphis.com/2/ a Grade A entrepreneur and panel leader challenged the group to take at least one female under our wings each year to coach and support and promised that it will bring change.
Other challenges for the group to think about were if the definition of success is different for a man than a woman. Career coaches in the room stated that women most often felt successful if they could achieve balance in their lives as opposed to more typical male focus of success solely in business. Whatever the definition of success is for an individual, key points were to build on a idea slowly and get to work instead of daydreaming. Commit, be stubborn for the goal and confidently work towards your vision. Be bold, be courageous, be relentless, and believe in yourself and you will achieve.
