Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead_. But Gutsy Girls Do - Kate White [11]
Sure, things ultimately worked out very well for me, but who knows what opportunities might have unfolded if I'd gotten the top job at such a young age.
Recognizing how much I acted like a good girl during that time has been a turning point for me. It's allowed me to see that good-girl behavior often masquerades as something we consider to be positive. You tell yourself, for instance, that you're cautious or modest or patient, and you assume that's the mark of a real pro. Yes, sometimes caution and modesty and patience have their place. But left unchecked, they are career quicksand.
So when you're considering how much of a good girl you may be, look below the surface. If you're not certain how ingrained your good-girlism is, the quiz below will give you some clues.
THE OFFICIAL GOOD-GIRL QUIZ
1) Your boss calls a meeting and announces to you and the rest of the staff that he wants each of you to come up with suggestions for a presentation geared to winning new clients. He offers several guidelines, based on what's worked for clients in the past. You
a. put together a thoughtful, well-written plan, following his instructions to the T.
b. come up with a plan that's outside the parameters your boss suggests—in fact, it's partially inspired by something you saw on MTV—but you sense it could work beautifully, so you submit it anyway.
2) You've recently been put in charge of a new area in your company and you've spent several weeks researching and developing a set of goals for the area. Two of your new employees want you to add several of their pet interests to your list. You
a. hear them out but decide not to incorporate their ideas into your overall plan because they don't fit with your mission.
b. include their goals because you know it's important to make them feel part of the team.
3) Your boss asks you to provide her with written suggestions on how to improve some of the services your company provides. She says she wants it in two weeks. When the date arrives, you
a. give yourself a few extra days to polish your report, counting on the fact that your boss will appreciate your efforts.
b. hand in the report, knowing that though it's good, you would have loved to have had another week.
4) Your secretary arrives late for the fifth time in two weeks. She has mentioned to you that she is having problems with both her boyfriend and her sinuses. You
a. call her into your office and explain that you want her at her desk promptly at nine each morning.
b. say nothing, because she's basically responsible and you can count on her to sort things out. Scolding her will only make things worse.
5) At a meeting of your department, you bring up an idea you've been cogitating on for a few weeks. Your boss seems mildly curious and she throws it out for discussion. A few colleagues mumble polite encouragement, but one co-worker, someone you consider a real pal, announces that she doesn't feel the idea has much merit. She backs up her opinion with several statistics. You feel
a. embarrassed and hurt.
b. curious about how she knows so much on that particular subject.
6) One of your clients sends you a terrific note praising your performance. You
a. Pass along the letter to your boss with a note that says, FYI.
b. Tuck it in a file you keep of letters and notes like this, just in case you might want to use it in the future.
7) In the past year you've taken on more and more of your boss's responsibility, allowing him to assume more exciting projects himself. Your boss has consistently praised your performance and announced the other day that if it weren't for the budget freeze, he'd promote you. You
a. trust your boss to