8 Habits for Professional Success for Women 40+
Mini Habits, Atomic Habits, The Power of Habits, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Million Dollar Habits.
There is a reason why there is no shortage of books about habits…. they work.
Whether your goal is health, happiness, financial or professional achievement, good habits are the foundation upon which success is built.
You’ve heard us talk about how our mission at Modern Gen X Woman is to advance the professional success and wealth of women 40+. One of the ways we do that is to help you identify the habits you need to put in place to reach your professional goals.
We’ve worked with hundreds of women who have reached their professional goals, here are the 8 habits we attribute to their success:
Habit 1: Purposefully decide on your career goal.
Don’t let your professional success just unfold. Instead, be clear on where you want to go. Then you can reverse engineer how to get there. And remember, even in our 40s and 50s your next step doesn’t have to be your last. Consider the stepping stones to your ultimate goal.
Habit 2: Communicate and align expectations.
Whether you're working with a boss or a client understand what is expected of you and make sure it can actually be done. Be clear on the measurements for success and make sure your agendas align.
Habit 3: Set boundaries to align with big-picture goals.
We want to be seen as team players and contributors, this is great. However, saying yes to things that don’t align with your goals will take you off track. Remember to be confident in your decisions, and don’t let the needs of others throw you off course.
Habit 4: Become a problem solver vs. a problem panicker.
We all know that person in the office (or in life!) who sends alarm bells for everything; they can’t handle a misstep or a hiccup. Remember, problems will always come up and you won’t always be able to solve them. However, how you approach the problem and communicate the situation is critical here. Remember, not every “problem” is a category 10 problem.
Habit 5: Shift from a perfection mindset to a progression mindset.
There are some parts of your job where perfection is necessary. Consider the perfectionist cost analysis, because striving for perfection will absolutely hinder progress. Know when to let go of the reins and be comfortable with done and not perfect.
Habit 6: Knowing your worth and articulating your value.
There is one common denominator keeping smart women from achieving the professional success they want — and it’s not owning their worth. Spend time understanding what you deliver and how it’s different from anyone else who ‘does what you do.’ Being able to articulate the value you deliver raises your “worth stock” and how valuable you are to the company or client.
Habit 7: Deploy your network.
There are common misconceptions about networking that can make it feel like an icky thing. In reality, networking should be about building organic relationships with other human beings. We call it the human-first approach and it radically changes the perception of networking. So instead of approaching networking as a “what I can get”, think about it more as a “what I can give”. This give-and-take approach creates life-long valuable relationships.
Habit 8: Acknowledge your accomplishments.
The most successful women keep an accomplishment journal and log everything they do to use as collected evidence of their awesomeness. Our brain is always searching for evidence that supports what we believe. Having evidence of your accomplishments will bolster your worth, value, and confidence for the long game.
Start to deploy these habits and we promise you will start to see results!
P.S. If you’re struggling to achieve the professional success you know you’re capable of, schedule a free 30-minute discovery call and we can uncover what may be holding you back.
