Author Note: This is the second in a series of blogs based on the She Leads STEM 100 Leaders Report. The first in the series is “Top 10 Challenges Faced by Women Leaders in STEM”, which you can read HERE.

What you'll read in this blog is a small snapshot of the data available. Sign up to access the FREE report here: https://bit.ly/sls100report

Have you ever looked at someone else’s career path and wondered: how did you get there?

Have you ever thought to yourself: I KNOW I have the capabilities to lead, but I wish someone would tell me how to get there faster?

You may even have sought advice from mentors but received information that didn’t apply to your situation or bad advice.

Two examples from my journey include:

When a senior leader told an audience of young professionals (that included me) that if you wanted to rise to leadership and are a woman, you’d have to choose between family and your career.
When a manager told me working remotely would never be an option if I wanted to be a manager.

The problem: much “advice” is a product of one person’s experience and is unproven to work for others.

From a purely mathematical perspective, it’s a single data point that isn’t statistically valid in all but the narrowest circumstances.

In other words: if you want to rise through your organization and are dealing with a similar set of people and circumstances that allowed your manager to get promoted ten years ago, your manager’s advice may be somewhat reliable on how to get ahead.

Otherwise, recognize that you’ll need to collect enough data to extract the patterns to your specific situation.

I looked for patterns during my interviews of more than 100 women emerging and current STEM leaders and allies, as outlined in the She Leads STEM 100 Leaders Report.

The skillsets of individuals who rose faster to leadership than their peers with similar experience levels are one of the patterns that emerged. Six common patterns emerged in the “superpowers” that those with accelerated leadership paths self-attributed to their rise. These patterns are:

Connector
Communicator
Realist
Speaks up (Self-advocates)
Risk-taker
Strategic thinker

These patterns tell you where to focus your non-technical skill development areas if you are looking to advance more quickly. They are also invaluable for those mentoring others or building the leadership pipeline in their organization.

Six Leadership Skill Sets to Accelerate Your Career

1. Connector

Connectors are people who actively build their network and connections with other people. Leaders with accelerated leadership paths were more likely than others interviewed to say that they prioritized building relationships.

Two trends noted in these connectors that you can use to accelerate your path include:

They are active networkers. These leaders consistently “put themselves out there.” Some even have specific professional networking goals, such as attending one monthly networking event and setting weekly time aside to connect with their network.
They were more likely to report positive relationships with firm and industry leadership. I didn’t interview ANY leader who described themselves as an eccentric, lone-ranger-type genius toiling away in their cubicle, lab, or garage that we often see glorified in mainstream media. Instead, these leaders prioritized long-term relationship building and built a support network over time.

Notably, the majority of those I interviewed self-identified as introverts. That didn’t stop them from building relationships. The more people you know, the easier it is to learn about promotional and leadership opportunities. A positive relationship with leadership means you are more likely to be “tapped on the shoulder” and viewed favorably for a high-visibility project or role.

2. Communicator

You know that communication is vital for career success. However, you may not be aware of how much of an accelerating effect excellent communication skill has on your technical career.

Approximately 90% of the leaders I interviewed with accelerated career paths cited their communication superpower as THE skill that moved them more quickly into STEM leadership when compared with their peers.

But WHICH communication skill sets matter most? The answer varied greatly between leaders and was usually tied directly to their individual strengths. Notably, the leaders with accelerated paths didn’t excel at the same kind of communication. Examples given when I asked for more detail include:

Building consensus
Public speaking
Unpacking complex concepts for non-technical clients
Collaboration
Writing and written communication

The takeaway for aspiring leaders and those developing leaders is that identifying and developing an individual’s communication strength (and then putting them in roles where that strength is an asset) matters more than developing a specific one-size-fits-all communication strength.

3. Realist

Women in STEM leadership positions who rose more rapidly than their peers were more likely to be realists. A realist looks at the facts as they are, not as they would like them to be.

When it came to leadership paths, I interviewed numerous individuals who:

a) Were satisfied with the speed at which they were promoted into leadership

b) “Paid their dues” and were eventually promoted to a leadership position

c) “Paid their dues” and got strung along for years that they would be promoted, but it didn’t happen, and they eventually left for a better position or to start their own firm

A substantial number of current leaders I interviewed (all genders) had experienced scenario “c” above, and their frustration was palpable when describing those experiences.

The key differentiator for those who rose into leadership quickly was that they did not allow themselves to be strung along with false promises.

In other words, they were explicit about their needs and set boundaries related to how long and under what conditions they were willing to wait for the growth opportunity they sought. They were willing to exit roles where those conditions could not be met.

Examples of “realist” behaviors shared included:

Mindfully choosing which battles to fight at work (and recognizing that you can’t fight them all)
Pragmatic and strategic choices about how to use their limited time and energy
Strategic networking
Moving on from roles or companies that aren’t a good fit

Instead of wishing and hoping that things could improve, these realists acted, making practical decisions that put them on an accelerated path to leadership.

4. Speaks up

“Speaking up” - considered a key component of self-advocacy - was the top leadership self-identified “personal trait” among all leaders interviewed.

The key difference between leaders with accelerated paths versus those with more traditional timelines is a willingness to speak up in a group setting and to those with seniority above them.

Examples of how those with accelerated paths describe their brand of self-advocacy include:

“I’m not afraid of speaking up.”
“People with seniority don’t intimidate me.”
“I make my thoughts known in meetings.”
“I ask for what I want.”

Examples leaders shared of “speaking up” also included setting boundaries, such as saying “no” when appropriate or navigating conflict situations. They are also able to identify and articulate to others what they want in their career.

5. Risk-taker

Leaders with accelerated career paths were more likely to have taken calculated career risks than the other leaders we interviewed.

Examples of calculated risks shared include:

Saying “yes” to a high-visibility stretch project or role
Pivoting industries or roles
Taking a short-term pay cut for long-term growth potential
Moving to a different area of the world for work
Joining a start-up
Starting a company

When describing those career risks, many leaders viewed them as opportunities for learning, implying a growth mindset. Even when a particular risk did not pan out, the language used to describe that part of their careers tended to be about “what they learned” instead of “I wish I hadn’t done that.”

That mindset is an essential takeaway for ambitious STEM professionals and those mentoring STEM professionals: A growth mindset allows you to be more comfortable taking calculated career risks.

6. Strategic thinker

The last skill set held in common by women in STEM leadership is that they are strategic thinkers. They align their activities with their goals.

Strategic thinkers clearly communicate their short- and long-term goals with others. Then, they’ll choose projects that align with those goals, leverage their networks, and be deliberate with their activities to achieve them.

Today’s challenge: spend 15 minutes honing one of these skill sets

The six skill sets I’ve shared today are the most prominent of those shared as “superpowers” in my case study interviews of more than 100 women emerging and current STEM leaders and allies. If you’re interested in learning more about this topic or others in my case study, click here to get a free copy of the entire white paper.

The most common question I am asked about these skillsets is: “Did all the leaders with accelerated paths have ALL the skillsets?”

The answer is no. Leaders with accelerated paths generally self-identified 3-4 of these, with #1-#4 being the most common. That means that you can pick and choose which ones you focus on based on your interests and skillsets right now.

Which of these skill sets do you think is most important? What might be a strength you can hone into a leadership superpower?