After 30+ years of corporate experience in executive positions at companies like Frito Lay, Heinz, Hostess and Rudi's Organic Bakery, Jane Miller authored Sleep Your Way to the Top (and other myths about business success) in 2014 to help others learn from her experiences and her mistakes. Today she runs JaneKnows.com, an online career resource center for young professionals climbing the corporate ladder. Jane is an accomplished CEO, career expert, public speaker, and author, helping you build a meaningful career with tips, tools, and truths.
In her experience Jane found it's often soft skills, not technical skills, that foster gender inequality in the workplace. There is a lack of understanding of the differences in personal attributes amongst colleagues with diverse work styles.
Jane is an accomplished CEO, career expert, public speaker, and author, helping you build a meaningful career with tips, tools, and truths.
Jane suggests professionals, particularly entrepreneurs, surround themselves with a "personal advisory board." Create a team of honest and supportive people who can be trusted to offer good advice, but more importantly, offer candid feedback regarding soft skills such as tonality and communication style. These areas can have a significant impact on professional success, but are often avoided or not discussed in a constructive manner within teams and by managers.
Your advisory board should possess a complementary skill set that allows the entrepreneur to focus on their strengths. When pitching ideas, entrepreneurs should not be deterred or intimidated by questions that challenge their product, ideas or abilities. Instead, Jane encourages you to be confident in you communication, and in the depth of your knowledge and understanding of your product or service. She stresses that entrepreneurs should not be afraid to table questions for later follow-up if you don't feel certain about their answers.
For more practical career advice presented in a fun and sassy tone, visit JaneKnows.com.
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