Four top tips for increasing your impact by Anna Baréz-Brown, Co-Founder, Shine For Women

Often, it’s unfortunately a misconception that women in the workplace need fixing somehow. That they’re broken and need to be treated that way. This is absolutely not the case.

That said, navigating corporate systems that weren’t designed with you in mind, combined with what we call ‘The Endless Juggle’ of responsibilities that society still sees as ‘for women’, can be quite simply exhausting, which in turn can knock your confidence.

This results in a drop-off of mid-senior level women talent, which is prevalent across all sectors. It’s the reason for pay gaps and inequality at the highest decision-making levels. And if you are a woman working within an industry like Construction where there’s a lack of gender equality throughout, the top can feel a very lonely place. It’s estimated that within UK Construction, 11% of the workforce identifies as a woman, and this drops to only 1% for on-site workers. And through a digital lens, across Technology as a whole, research suggests that just 3% of girls see it as their first-choice career, and only 5% of leadership positions are held by women.

So why does gender equality matter to Digital Construction?

Firstly demand. The UN estimates that the world population, currently at 7.6 billion, is set to increase to 11.2 billion by 2100, with approximately 83 million extra people each year. These people require space, which requires people to create it, and in new ways. Even within the UK alone, growth and net zero is demanding an extra quarter of a million extra construction workers by 2025. Opening up the workforce to more women is key.

And there is ultimately the moral question around diversity and inclusion within the build environment. If the population is not reflected within the industry, and importantly the people making decisions, then how can spaces be built that truly serve the communities that will be using them? Staggeringly, a 2021 survey by UN Women UK found that over 70% of women said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. We must ask ourselves, what’s the Construction industry’s role in this, and how might a gender-balanced workforce influence the future safety of women and girls everywhere?

Get more confident on the inside, to be more influential on the outside

As a result, if you are feeling in need of a confidence boost, or a different way of thinking and doing to have more influence on others, here are some simple ideas to use in your day-to-day role, or perhaps if you have a big performance moment on the horizon.

Authority: trust that you know your stuff

At Shine For Women, we believe that authority is the ability to inspire others through your credibility, and you are way more credible than you think (or else you wouldn’t be here). Much of your credibility comes from the way you manage your state: your energy in big performance moments.

Next time you approach a meeting, a presentation or even an important conversation, ask yourself how you’re feeling, really. What’s your energy? Most people are aware they perform best when they are feeling positive. But they tend to spend more time on the content than on getting themselves into the right state which is ten times more important. You may be aware of Albert Mehrabian’s Communication Model, that we only recall 7% of the words someone said, 38% of how the message relates to how it is said (tonality), and 55% of the meaning is conveyed by your the body language. Become more conscious of your energy and you will step into your authority.

Agility: know your audience and what matters to them

One of the key things we need to understand if we are to have true influence, is who it is we want to have influence over. And in our experience, we often find ourselves somewhat fearful of those we perceive as exerting much influence over us.

It’s important for you to stop and consider who these people actually are; the people that have the most interest in, and power over, you. We rarely take time to think about this, or how we might increase our influence and impact with these people specifically.

Whilst many of us would like the world to be a meritocracy, sadly it isn’t and in fact, managing stakeholders is critical to navigating politics, managing up and progressing through any organisation. But, please don’t look at it as a negative or manipulative thing; done thoughtfully, it’s a way to build your network, increase your profile and of course, develop greater power and influence.

Authenticity: be you, you have influence and impact by fact you’re there

We often mistakenly assume authority trumps authenticity when it comes to influence, but actually we all are drawn in by personal stories and a degree of vulnerability. Look how inspired we are by people who are genuinely passionate about a subject – even if it’s not something that we’re particularly interested in! It’s that authenticity which stirs emotional connection in us.

It’s in difficult conversations when your authenticity gets tested. If you are not authentic, people can feel it and it makes it very hard to connect to you. You need to be true to your values and walk your talk, have integrity. The more you come from your true self, the more you will radiate influence and the more confident you will feel.

Activity: keep doing it. Confidence is a muscle

In moments of influence, when you know your audience (the WHO), take time consider the WHY and HOW.

Why? What’s the purpose of this conversation, meeting, presentation? If you intend to move your audience with your why, consider what you know about them as human beings. What makes them tick? In order to do be influenced, how do you need them to feel? Stand in their shoes. Which emotional purposes are going to move them into action? And from there, what do they therefore need to know?

How? How will you influence them? Storytelling has a beginning, middle and an end. Think of the theatre and its three Acts for example – all are critical to the impact of the performance and need preparation.

Consider ‘the hook’ for when you want to capture the attention of our audience. ‘The body’ for the meat, the analysis. And ‘the finale’ is the climax, conclusion, or sequel!

It’s about taking accountability of this in your preparation. Invest time and repeat the process each time you have an upcoming significant interaction with others. The more you do this successfully, the more your confidence will grow.

Digital Construction Week has carefully curated a schedule of speakers that smashes the 11% industry representation of women, with 40% women experts on the agenda, so we are very happy to be a part of the event! Our Head of Partnerships Lara Milward is on the People & Culture stage on Day One at 12pm, where she’ll be discussing further why gender equality involves everybody, and importantly, what you can do about it. Please reach out to us before if you’d like to connect, or on the day for a chat about how we could accelerate gender equality within your organisation.

About Shine For Women

For the last 10 years, our unique methodology that involves coaching, practical tools, science and magic with women and all genders, has been proven to transform thousands of people’s lives. And as a result, the organisations we work with have more gender-balanced leadership and higher-than-average levels of retention, plus cultures are changing for the better, for everyone. Our clients understand that gender-balanced businesses are more profitable, innovative and competitive – that’s a given. By working with the world’s leading companies such as WPP, Rothschild, William Grant and Channel 4 to get more women to the top of their own systems, a ripple effect is created out into the marketplace and wider communities.

Visit our website to discover how we can support you to accelerate gender equality within your organisation and beyond.