20 Tips for Becoming a Woman Executive Before 30

On my thirtieth birthday, I had already hit every milestone I set for myself career-wise. I was doing exactly what I loved, working with many of the people I aspired most to be.

Everyone kept asking me “how did you do it?”

So I wrote a little facebook post of the principles I religiously follow. The thinking was: I’m not special, anyone can do it, you just have to stay focused and keep forward momentum toward your desired direction.

The post quickly went viral. A former professor even reached out asking if she could print and share it with her students.

It is simply my recipe for becoming a corporate executive before the age of 30. The principles apply to any age, and any goal, really. There are just too many women who aspire to a big vision for themselves, but get caught somewhere along the way. You truly have to be a woman to understand how hard it really is. We’re biased heuristically, economically, environmentally and then there’s everyone else that gets in the way.

Many of these issues are just coming to light now, three years later. But my list of principles is still as relevant as ever.

HER Magazine recently picked up my article, and you can read it here.

The substantive information is provided below, and as an update: I’m still following my own words. Still doing exactly what I love, with the most interesting collaborators and clients on Earth.

Wherever you are in your career right now, know that I’ve been there. Nothing was ever given to me. You have to take it. Hope this helps:

1. You’re going to cry. Don’t pretend like you’re not a woman. Everyone else already knows this. You’ll be fine.
2. Make brave choices daily.
3. Decide who you are, and what you want to accomplish.
4. If anyone tries to influence the above: carry on.
5. Begin projects by setting expectations for yourself and others. You can do anything, but you cannot do everything. Take on new tasks with excitement and be honest regarding your skill and time. Say that you cannot do it yet, so it takes time, but only the first time.
6. Build your skillset over time through the above. The future is made for generalists.
7. Speak your value daily.
8. Get comfortable with the fact that you will fail. Expect it.
9. When failure happens: learn; forge ahead. And see step 1.
10. When you communicate, always speak to the end user. What do they want to know? The rest doesn’t matter. Skip it.
11. Make decisions and communications always from logic. If you have good statistics and financials, you’re probably going to win. We all have feelings and emotions, but the best come prepared.
12. If you encounter someone who works illogically, convert your logic to the end user’s emotional outcome, and communicate that to gain buy-in.
13. Don’t allow the emotional state of others to interfere with your brain space. There is much to be done, and the person who accomplishes the most (over the long term) wins. Don’t mess around with politics.
14. If you find yourself in an environment with harassment, or even an undertone: leave. You’re not going anywhere there, anyway.
15. Find people who don’t care that you’re a woman.
16. Do great things. Solve for big, complex unknowns. You can.
17. The rest does not take care of itself. Demand it.
18. Keep demanding it.
19. Never expect it to get easy. Humans love solving problems, otherwise we get bored and create problems for ourselves that we can then pretend to solve. Congratulations — you aren’t bored. You are interesting. Enjoy that.
20. Leverage your intellectual advantages, and especially take advantage of the fact that you do not get distracted by the opposite gender. You would be shocked at how much time men waste on this topic.