{"id":6911,"date":"2018-03-01T12:25:28","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T01:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/?p=6911"},"modified":"2018-04-06T17:46:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T07:46:26","slug":"biggest-advocate-key-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/biggest-advocate-key-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Why being your own biggest advocate is key to success"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my most vivid memories was from when I was 16 years of age. My mother, believing that education was wasted on girls, marched herself down to the high school I attended and attempted to yank me out of my classroom, humiliating me in front of all my classmates.\u00a0 The best path for me she believed, was to be \u2018barefoot and pregnant\u2019 as soon as possible. I railed fiercely against her decision and, thanks to the support of my grandmother, I was able to graduate with my classmates.<\/p>\n

As a result of my mother\u2019s attitude, I learned at a young age that if I wanted to be in control of my education and career path, I needed the courage to represent myself with confidence within any professional scenario. While you may be fortunate to have mentors and cheerleaders throughout your career, you can\u2019t rely on others to put you forward for opportunities or address issues that are preventing you from moving ahead. Other people can certainly help you along the way, but ultimately it\u2019s up to you to take charge of your destiny.<\/p>\n

Speaking up for yourself changes how others perceive you. It demonstrates that you stand by your beliefs and have the integrity to follow through. When I joined Stockdale & Leggo as COO, my appointment was controversial amongst some of the longstanding franchisees with many critical comments made about my appointment. I decided to face the criticism head on. I called a meeting of the franchisees and addressed each of their concerns, and asked that I be judged on my results. I presented myself as a strong leader and this helped shift not only their perceptions of me, but also the culture within the organisation.<\/p>\n

Self-advocacy has been key for me in overcoming obstacles and ultimately becoming a successful leader. Here are some of the strategies I employed which helped me to become my own biggest advocate.<\/p>\n