How Women in Leadership Can Shape How Others See Them

Women in power face a well-documented lose-lose scenario where they’re either seen as competent but cold or likeable but not very effective. What if, instead of waging an unwinnable war against biases and expectations about who they are, women leaders could take control of their narratives and redirect the way they’re seen? Particularly in times of economic uncertainty, evolving business priorities, or shifting political winds, women leaders need deliberate, reliable tactics to subvert, counter, or sidestep assumptions and biases that may pose barriers to their advancement. To own your story and shape how you’re seen, even when the odds seem stacked against you, you should: 1) Craft a counternarrative; 2) use positive association to shift perceptions; and 3) turn feedback into power.

hbr.org · Harvard Business Review