“Who am I professionally?” I remember asking myself this question the very first time I attended a networking event and had to answer the question: “So, what do you do?” I also remember asking myself this same question at every critical turn of my life and career, when the need to define or re-define a new professional as a working woman would become an urgent quest. More recently, the question has popped up in the midst of a global pandemic that has blurred the line between work and home, health and disease, and safety and the lack thereof.
This is a question you may have asked yourself throughout your career, or have been faced with through interactions with and inquiries from others. Most importantly, this is a call you may have had to answer at decisive moments in your life and work and as you grow and evolve closer to your purpose. As a working woman and/or a working mom, you may struggle with this continuously during the current pandemic we all find ourselves in.
As crucial as it is to develop our personal identities, defining our professional ones play a central role in our careers. Prior research defines professional identity as “one’s professional self-concept based on attributes, beliefs, values, motives and experiences” (H., 1999). The Institute for Advancement of the American Legal System defines one’s professional identity as “how to bring your personal values into your profession so that you don’t lose your sense of self.” However, research also shows that while professional roles can provide their holders with a sense of privilege and even prestige, stigmatized individuals such as working women during the COVID-19 pandemic, may not benefit from this privilege. This makes it crucial for working women to define new, more compelling professional identities in light of the unique times and challenges we’re currently facing.
Here are 3 steps to develop a new professional identity as a working woman during and after the pandemic:
Leverage your skills, not your weaknesses
Traditional professional identities may have had many, if not most of us, majoring in minors as we focused on our weaknesses more than we did our skills. However, faced with the scarcity imposed by a global health crisis of epic proportions, it becomes more important than ever to gain time, efficiency and impact by focusing on our strengths.
Assess your skills: What are your strong areas? What do you excel at? What comes to you naturally? What skills have you acquired over time? Assessing your strengths is the first step towards re-building a professional identity that zooms in on what you’re good at, as opposed to your average skills or even your weak areas.
Package your skills: How can you package your skills into a product or service worth selling? Whether it is a product or service for your business, or a set of skills providing you with a competitive advantage as an employee, packaging what you are good at is at the center of your new, most effective professional identity.
Put yourself out there!
Gone are the days when working women were relegated to the back of the room, working in silence and utter oblivion. What these unique times have shown us, is that in times of challenges, women create change! From women heads of states who have successfully confronted the pandemic in their countries, to women rising up to make history in politics and various industries, we’ve seen progress happen through female leadership in times of crisis.
Let go of the fear to be excellent: Excellence can be scary for working women, who have long been discouraged to take the lead in their fields. A new, reinvented professional identity also involves coming out of the professional shadows to unapologetically show your excellence.
Build your tribe: Professional impact is not achieved alone. It takes a village to create impactful change, growth and progress. Part of working women’s re-invented professional identities entails the creation of positive, fruitful networks of excellence.
Re-imagine your lifestyle!
Live on purpose: Your professional identity is not an entity separate from your personal identity. Your life is a whole. As such, all its various parts are inter-dependent. As you operate in excellence at work, you also have to commit to living on purpose in all other areas of your life.
Use your time purposely: Time is your most precious commodity. As a working woman and mom, you know all too well how many demands weigh on your time. Hence why it is crucial to re-imagine a life and identity where time is used in an impactful way.
How will you re-invent your professional identity as a working woman?
The Corporate Sis.
