Introduction
Welcome to a candid conversation about being an introvert leader and woman in the corporate world. Today, let’s delve into the compelling story of a fellow introvert and the invaluable lessons it holds for introverted women leaders like you and me.
Meet Monica: An Introvert’s Odyssey
I want to tell you the story of my friend and client, Monica. Monica worked for finance at Citibank. And you may or may not be already aware that Citibank is where I started my formal HR career.
Monica and I started at Citi at the same time. She just happened to work in finance, and I was working in Human Resources. Now when Monica started out in finance at Citibank, she started out as an administrative assistant. She worked as an administrative assistant for a few years. And then her team turned over, meaning that the leaders that she was supporting as an administrative assistant left the organization. So Monica decided to leave as well. She went to another financial services company in New York City and became a financial specialist.
She worked on accounts as a finance specialist, an individual contributor. She was at the other financial services company for about seven years or so. And during that time, she moved from specialist to manager to director.
She got promoted a couple of times where she unenthusiastically started to manage other people. She was managing as a director there with one direct report.
Then we hit the recession in the late 90s, and she was laid off. She did a job search on her own, and looked for about a year or so, and she finally landed a role at Nike.
Once at Nike, she started out as a director, not managing any people though.She had the director title, but it was an individual contributor position. But she was a direct report to the head of finance for her division, which was great because the head of finance really, really believed in Monica.
She saw in Monica all the things she thought was needed to succeed her and eventually become the head of finance for that division. So the head of finance started grooming Monica.
She gave Monica more responsibility.
She gave Monica more exposure.
She gave her more training.
She allowed Monica to travel to the different locations for the company, lead different projects.
She assigned Monica to manage her first team member, then two, then three.
Ten years went by and Monica was still a director even after all the grooming
Why was Monica still a director? Ask different people, you’ll get different stories. In fact, I did a 360 for Monica, and there literally were different stories from different perspectives about Monica and why she had not been able to move up in her career at Nike after 10 years.
Her finance boss ultimately retired, and they brought someone in from the outside to head up the function.
When I asked Monica herself why she believes she did not get the ultimate role, she actually doesn’t blame the organization. She thinks that her boss truly did try to position her for the next level. But Monica blames herself because she believes that she just could not get out of her own way. Although she enjoyed being groomed, although she enjoyed learning and she liked all the various experiences that she was able to participate in, she believes she could not get herself to truly step into being the head of the finance function. She couldn’t do it mentally, she couldn’t do it emotionally, and knew she was not able to position herself as such so that the people around her, besides her boss, had confidence in the fact that she could do the head of department role.”
The Struggle Within: Monica’s Internal Battle
Despite receiving mentorship and support from her others, Monica grappled with self-doubt and imposter syndrome, hindering her from fully embracing her leadership potential. Despite being groomed for higher roles, Monica’s lack of self-belief ultimately kept her stuck at the director level.
Lessons Learned: Owning Your Leadership Potential
Monica’s story resonates with introverted leaders who may feel overlooked or hesitant to seize opportunities. Despite Monica’s undeniable potential, she struggled to step into her full leadership role, hindered by internal barriers and external perceptions.
Unveiling the Signature Framework: Elevate Your Leadership
If you can relate to Monica’s story, I want to share my proven framework that has propelled countless introverted women to leadership success, yielding significant career advancements and salary increases. Over the coming weeks, I’ll unveil this transformative framework on the blog, offering actionable insights to help you thrive in your leadership journey.
Conclusion
Monica’s story is a powerful reminder that your journey to leadership excellence is within reach. By embracing your introvert authenticity and leadership aspirations, you can navigate the corporate landscape with confidence and clarity. Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts as we dive deeper into my signature framework to support you.
Until then, keep leading your introverted way.
