The Inner Voice of Female Leaders

Tonight I will talk to you about the “shitty committee”. Who of you have already heard of the “shitty committee”?

The shitty committee is a constant companion of many women. It’s that inner voice that shouts in their mind that they do not belong, that they are just not good enough. It is that inner loud voice that sabotages their thoughts or actions with self-doubt. Sounds familiar?

Unfortunately, in my professional experience as an Executive and Board recruitment specialist, I can see that, even at that level, the Shitty Committee is very familiar to many women. Brilliant women with huge experience and a proven track record of success. Women who put obstacles in their minds, which prevent them from reaching their full potential. 

Let me give you an example: I once hunted down an accomplished female in the field of AI. The lady came to the interview – and she came very well prepared. She pulled out the job description, where she had marked in yellow all the points where she felt she was not 100% perfect. She was the perfect candidate for me, even before I realized that she had not mentioned on her CV the patents she had registered with the European Patent Office in the field of Artificial Intelligence! You can imagine my despair!

I am personally guaranteeing any candidate I put forward to my clients. How could I present a candidate that lacks so much self-confidence? She came to the interview to explain to me why she was not good enough for the job! She was the best candidate, but I chose not to present her to the client. She missed a huge professional opportunity. 

See, I grew up in communist Romania, under the dictatorship of Ceausescu. Life was very tough back then, but there is one thing which deeply inspired me. When it comes to work, there was no difference between women and men. Culturally, women do not have any barriers in their professional life in Romania. To think that you cannot succeed professionally because you are a woman, is purely unthinkable! So, my role models in life, were all the women in my country who had no limitations in their heads. They worked hard and they dared to succeed! 

Can you imagine my surprise when I moved to western Europe and saw the way that women subordinate themselves to a male-dominated professional environment? I was stunned how one’s gender is a criterion for professional success. 

FEMALE LEADERSHIP – TWO-WAY STREET

The CEO of one of my clients, a multinational company once told me: “When I look at the women in my Executive Committee, every one of them individually is more intelligent than I am. But I know that if they do not actively take their career into their own hands, they will never reach their full potential.” 

Promoting female leadership is a two-way street. It needs a lot of willingness from companies. In that respect, a lot has happened in western Europe over the past years. 

But it also needs those women to play their part, to bring up courage, to claim territory, to drop their self-doubts, and to lead their own careers. They need to shut up the Shitty Committee and dare to succeed!

DARE TO SUCCEED!

See, I was lucky enough to be born in a society where there were no barriers for women. My upbringing and my conscience gave me the fundamental conviction that if I work hard, I will succeed. Leadership is not about gender, is about having no limits in your mind. Leadership is daring to succeed!

This is why I have created a program to help women overcome those barriers in their minds, to help take their careers into their own hands and reach their full potential. In a safe environment, women learn from each other by sharing experiences and they create their own career plans, that they will apply in the years to come. So that finally, that shitty committee shuts up. And women dare to succeed!