Week 68: Sit at the Table—Literally! – #AlphaFemaleFriday

Week 68: Sit at the Table—Literally! – #AlphaFemaleFriday

“ WEEK 68 / 133 – 133 WEEKS TO SUCCESS ”

We have heard the advice of Sheryl Sandberg telling us to lean in and literally take a seat at the table. What happens when we cannot literally sit at the table? Just as it is important to sit at the table (literally and figuratively) when being a part of a meeting or a lunch or whatever the reason is you’re staring at a table in the first place, it’s important to ask ourselves if there are any other tables we are missing out on.

We do not always get to sit at physical tables with the people we work with or the clients who we talk to almost every day and yet rarely if ever see in person. Take, for example, the time when I was told I would be jumping on a conference call with the new board and the invite would get sent to me personally later on. I waited a few days…I heard nothing. I grew curious and followed up with the person I was supposed to have a conference with and see if perhaps the board rescheduled?

The call already passed and I completely missed the call. Lesson to be learned here? People get busy, and they forget to remind you of something that they should have. They get buried in meetings of other tables to sit at and emails that are all someone’s urgency. After that, I quickly learned to be more proactive. You can trust people to do what they say, but it doesn’t hurt to verify with them. It’s a cheap insurance, a simple 30-second check of a gentle reminder or poke and prod here and there.

So take a seat at the table because the worst that can happen is that someone tells you that this isn’t a place for you to sit. If you never sit at the table, you’ll never know. We may find ourselves feeling like it’s middle school lunch all over again and we’re trying to find our friends before the bell rings. Take a seat, anyway.

Cheers,

Kelly

@AlphaFemSociety tweets by @KellyRGonzales

About:

Each week, I take a tip from Lois P. Frankel’s book, Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, and explore how each of these tips affect myself and other women in similar positions on the road to becoming the women we want to be. There are far and few between who are a few steps behind me, and many more who are far advanced. I found that Lois P. Frankel’s advice applied to novice, intermediates, and experts alike. It helped me see that I was already doing right, served as a reminder to keep on doing what I was doing and how to keep that momentum going. The book also showed me areas where I could improve, and gave realistic tips to jump on board. There are a total of 133 tips, and explore one tip per week in a program I call: 133 Weeks to Success.

Join the movement using the hashtag #133WeeksToSuccess with posts which are posted every #AlphaFemaleFriday.