Avoid Career Traps: Set Goals for Your Growth

Contributed by Mindy Diamond

Back in the 1990s, a book called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray sold more than 7 million copies and spent 121 weeks on the bestseller list. CNN referred to it as “the highest ranked work of nonfiction of the 1990s.” The premise of the book is that women and men come from distinctly different realms on almost every issue ranging from automobiles to wardrobes.  While that’s not exactly breaking news, particularly among women, the implications of these differences play out in many ways at home and in the business world.

Working over the years with many high caliber female financial advisors, I have witnessed the stark differences between genders when it comes to considering changing jobs.  Women and men approach the idea and process of change very differently.

While there are, of course, exceptions, women generally try to make the best of a given situation and wait until they are profoundly unhappy before looking to make a fundamental career change. Further, if they do leave their current firm, it is often driven more by necessity than by taking proactive steps to make a change.

Men, on the other hand, are more inclined to seek solutions to the problems they are facing at their firms and are more aggressive about finding a resolution. They tend to resolve differences by demanding that senior management pay attention to their issues and look to remediate them, or by choosing to go elsewhere. This is not to suggest that women are less proactive than men. Rather, because women have so many competing priorities for their time, often including family matters, it takes a higher level of pain and frustration before they look to rock the boat. I believe many of the differences between the two sexes stem from women being more sensitive and trusting than men and more inclined to believe that the situation at hand will improve if they just continue to work hard and do their job well.

The guidance I provide to many of the female advisors with whom I work applies to all women who may be questioning if they are in the best place to grow – professionally and personally – since growth is critical to achieving long-term success.

Growth refers to a woman’s ability to increase the amount of revenue she can generate as well the ability to gain satisfaction by advancing to positions of leadership in her career. It centers around being proactive in one’s thought process and not waiting until there is a sense of urgency or panic before commencing the due diligence process on other firms. It’s far easier to think clearly and strategically about a situation before there’s a crisis. Just taking time to reflect on your current situation and to define future goals and desired outcomes can make all the difference in whether or not you end up where you ultimately want to be.

If you decide to explore options, do so with an open mind and be realistic about your choices. Rarely is there a 100% perfect solution, yet many women I work with tend to seek perfection and not make any changes unless they feel it is within reach. In that case, they end up staying at a firm by default, and not because they think they’re in the best place. Without question, staying by default or because of inertia is the worst course of action. Stay or leave from a position of strength – get educated and informed about what your options look like, and then make a decision.

There will always be differences in the ways that women and men handle life changes and I think we are all glad about that. Women just need to remember that they are naturals in business, stemming from being relationship geniuses, and should never settle for anything less than the best opportunity for growth and success.

About Mindy Diamond

Mindy Diamond is President and CEO of Diamond Consultants which she founded in 1997.  With a team of 15, and in partnership with her husband, Howard, they have developed an organization that focuses on smart talent recruiting and strategic business consulting that employs a unique relationship driven approach.

Nationally recognized as an authority in the field, Mindy works with the nation’s top brokerage advisory firms and consults with, trains and coaches individuals, small and large groups on state-of-the-art practices with regard to helping firms and advisors reach their full potential through a Total Growth™approach.

She is sought after and often quoted by leading national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and CNBC as well as advisory publications such as On Wall Street, Financial Advisor Magazine and Investment News.  In addition, Mindy’s monthly column for RegisteredRep, “Career Moves,” serves as a pulse on the industry’s latest recruiting and career trends.  She is an alumnus of The George Washington University with a B.S. in accounting.