In 2023, the trend for leaders to be human and to be visible with a purpose continued, and it’s something we’re going to see more of this year. But when it comes to female leaders being visible, many women struggle with how to get this right.
How do you share the fact that you’re a mum struggling to get your kids to soccer training too without becoming known only for being the CEO who struggles to get her kids to soccer on time? How do you share the volunteering you do without risking only becoming known for that when you have multiple areas of expertise and a perspective that’s potentially more informed and future-facing than many of the (mostly male) influencers in your industry? The media, industry and stakeholders are all harder on women in this area. When men show this side of their lives, they’re often applauded for showing ‘real them’ or being a ‘hands on dad’ but we don’t offer the same generosity to women.
Human content is critical for leaders today because it allows them to show common humanity. Whether you’re a CEO or the founder of a business, we all face challenges and it’s important to share them. It grows community, it builds empathy and it helps bring people on your journey. According to Harvard Business Review, “We have been asking for humble leaders for 20 years or so, but we keep gravitating toward ones who are overconfident and narcissistic (generally not female).” Basically, it’s time for women leaders to be more visible and it’s time for them to be able to be more human too.
So, if you’re a woman who’s either already visible and considering sharing more of the human you when it comes to your visibiliy or you’re a woman just starting out and you want to be a human leader with your public profile from the start, here are some tips on how you can do that.
Know your purpose
Your purpose for being visible will be the guide that tells you what to share and what not to share in regards to the human you. If your purpose is to pave the way for the women in your industry who’ll follow you, showing them how you make it all possible is part of that. If your purpose is to balance the gender representation of your industry, then showing what got you to where you are and the human skills you rely on in life and work is part of that. If you’ve overcome adversity, a disability, discrimination or another life-changing challenge, showing how you’ve overcome that or manage it is part of showing other women what’s possible for them too.
The authenticity test
When you know your purpose, it’s really easy to test whether the human content you’re considering sharing is authentic to you or not. Do you feel uncomfortable about sharing human content because you haven’t done it before? Or do you feel uncomfortable because it doesn’t feel aligned to who you are? If it’s the former, you can push through it with small actions that show the human you and build to bigger insights.
You can also test your human content with people close to you. They’ll tell you if it reflects the human you or you’re off-course.
The visibility ratio
Like I mentioned earlier, audiences are harder on women leaders than men when it comes to human content. Too much family content and it’s perceived that a female CEO is never at work. Too many posts about volunteering that a woman does and people claim they don’t know how she’s leading her (for-profit) business. On the flipside, audiences love human content and you’ll find your humanising posts are often the ones with the most engagement. A good rule to use when you start being more human in your visibility is: for every 10-15 insights/pieces of content/visibility moves you make that are based on your leadership, make one that is human. The exact number for you will vary month-to-month because of what’s actually happening in your life, what’s happening in your business, how often you’re being visible and on what platforms.
Whether you’re already visible or starting out and you’re wanting to make sure you’re human at the same time, you can do it so it feels comfortable and aligned to who you are as a person and as a leader. It just takes some thinking and consideration to get it right. Starting small with the human you insights and building from there is a good way to go.
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I’ve created a low-fee, high-value one-to-one support offer for women who want to build their visibility in 2024.
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The women I have worked with (and still do!):
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More info: Email me here if you’d like to sign up or click here if you’d like to book a 15-minute call with me so we can talk about the program, how I work and the results you’d like. As I mentioned above, it’s critical we’re a good fit so I can support you in the way you need and get you results fast!
Angela Cross is a reputation strategist who works with leaders and brands to elevate their reputations through PR, corporate social media, industry communication, and stakeholder engagement. If you would like to build your reputation with purpose and authority, visit her website.
You can also download her guide to overcoming the most common barriers to building your reputation here.
