697 Lesley Michaels: Know Your Value

Practical Steps to Overcome Perfectionism and Fears that Hold Female Founders Back

No doubt you’ve heard of “Queen Bee Syndrome”, you know, the phenomenon that has women competing only with each other for what is perceived as a scarce prize. Or “Tall Poppy Syndrome”, where the woman who has the temerity and nerve to dream big and move confidently ahead to realize her dreams, is cut down by other women.

As women, we’ve all experienced these two syndromes one way or another, perhaps a female boss that holds us back, a female friend who tells us “you can’t do that”, or the judgment of other women when we dare to follow our dreams.

Some time ago a female entrepreneur friend of mine likened it all to what happens in a crab pot: The crabs at the bottom always stop the other crabs from climbing out.

What prevents women from being their boldest selves? What is the root of the fears that prevent us from dreaming big – and encouraging other women to dream just as big, even bigger? And what stops the “you go girl” from being more meaningful in practice?

Lesley Michaels, on the same mission as me to encourage women to lift as we climb, says as women we still struggle to know our own value – a belief that often stands in the way of asking for our worth in pay, applying for top jobs, or starting and scaling truly game-changing businesses. And if we don’t value ourselves, it’s all the harder to value and appreciate another woman’s success.

Lesley, one of the earliest women to climb the ranks of the male-dominated oil and gas industry, says what disheartened her most about the corporate world was the lack of support from other women. So, she did what increasing numbers of women are now doing and reinvented herself as an entrepreneur and public speaker – on a mission to help women understand their own value and lift each other up.

Now Lesley hosts the podcast, Women We Should Know, where walks her talk by she features audacious and committed women from around the world who are changing the narratives in arenas from climate change to corporate, so women can learn to help each other in breaking glass ceilings across industries from film to conservation. Lesley’s new book The Shoulders of Mighty Women is due out July 12, accompanied by a new TED Talk.

More about Lesley Michaels at lesleymichaels.com

Be sure to join the conversation with Lesley and me over on the interactive podcast app Podopolo, where you can share your perspectives and she’ll take your questions. Download Podopolo here and invite your friends.

More about Lesley at Lesley Michaels

Lesley Michaels was one of the earliest women to climb the ranks of the oil and gas industry. Then she reinvented herself with a new mission to help women understand their own true value and support each other’s growth in business. Now a highly sought-after public speaker and host of the podcast, Women We Should Know. Lesley has a new book debuting in July called The Shoulders of Mighty Women.

Listen to Lesley’s podcast Women You Should Know

Order her book: The Shoulders of Mighty Women here

Get the Transcript HERE