September/October, 2021  

Breaking the Rules for Success

Kay Fittes, October, 2021

At my core, due to my upbringing, I am a rule follower.  I can hear my mother now, “Good little girls are polite, look pretty, wait their turn.” Can you hear your own mother, father, grandmother, schoolteacher?  It’s a common lament of women, we have been taught to follow the rules.  I am not proposing anarchy.  Or am I?  I love the quote from Katharine Hepburn, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” I was always considered a “Goody Two Shoes”!  In 6th grade, we were allowed to walk home for lunch but not go anywhere else.  [Read More]

Kay’s Consulting Corner

Each month in this section, Kay offers actionable career consulting tips.

Smart Rule Breakers Guide

1. Obstacles provide guidance.  Identify three obstacles to your career success.  Within those obstacles lie rules to break.  For example, perhaps you are an entrepreneur, the obstacle is not enough people know what you offer.  At your next social setting, celebrate the success of one of your clients and weave in how using your product or service was a game-changer for the client.  Your rule might be two-fold, don’t mix business and pleasure and don’t toot your own horn.  Focus on the client first and your contribution second.  When you take that approach it will come across a conversational, appropriate, and still spread the word of what you do.
   
   
2. Chain of command is limiting.  Caveat, if you are a woman in the military, ignore my advice.  For the rest of you, chain of command is a limiting rule.  Go up one or two levels of your hierarchy and ask a pertinent question.  You may not get an answer, but you will feel bold, and you will get a different perspective than you would from your immediate supervisor if you get a response.  Try the same “jump the chain” to discuss an idea you have for a new service, process, or cost savings.  Breaking the rule of the chain can give you a huge boost in your career.
   
   
3. Your seat at the table matters.  I can remember, as a child, going to church and everyone always sat in the same spot.  There obviously was no written seat chart but woe to the folks that had the audacity to sit in Miss Martha’s spot.  Business meetings are similar.  Usually there are no specific seating rules, but you would never know it by looking at photos week after week.  Break the rules and sit where you can leverage your ideas.  The seats at the table are power positions.  Avoid the periphery seating at all costs.  Get there early for a prime spot.  Locate yourself diagonally from the leader, not immediately to their right or left, these are invisible positions.  That diagonal spot affords you the opportunity to catch the eye of the leader and then report your brilliant idea.

These rule breaking tips are just the beginning.  Need support and guidance in other behavior and skills that will take your career to the next level?  Let’s set a time to discuss your challenges and how to capitalize on your assets.  Call the office at (513) 561-4288 or email me at kay@highheeledsuccess.com.

Client Testimonial – Karla Price

I think you are phenomenal, so there’s that!!!!  I would shout it from the roof tops!!  Kay, you may or may not remember this, in Winter 2019, I was literally on the verge of homelessness, going to the food pantry to get food, and I met you at the Job Search Focus Group Monday meeting where you did a presentation and offered a 45 minute phone call to those interested.  I took you up on it and two things happened:  1 – You gave me the support, encouragement, inspiration and confidence I needed, at the worse time in my life; 2 – Most importantly you listened, you were kind, caring, loving and that conversation gave me hope.  I started a job in July 2019, where I am still today, it is the best job for me in my life right now!  You made a difference in my life that will never be forgotten ever!

Sincerely and respectfully,

Karla K. Price  Project Coordinator, Ecosystem Strategy Management  Alta IT Services for ADM  1260 Pacific Avenue  Erlanger, KY 41018  t 859-905-2318 / m 513-785-8378  adm.com

High-Heeled Success^® supports Dress for Success through donations of clothing, time and money.  We offer complimentary seats at every workshop for women participating in the Dress for Success program.

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Website:  https://www.highheeledsuccess.com

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