How Creating Workgroups with Fellow Female Professionals Can Expedite Your Career Growth  

Over the past decade women have banded together for a push to make significant strides for gender equality in Corporate America. And although the buzz around supporting female business leaders, increasing female representation in the C-Suite and on Corporate Boards, and recognizing unconscious biases has increased, there’s still much work to be done. McKinsey’s 2015 Women in the Workplace study revealed that women still remain underrepresented at all leadership levels of organizations, while a Quartz news article reinforced that women still struggle to reach C-Suite tracks. Fortunately, the trend is moving in the right direction and we, as female leaders, have the ability and responsibility to continue to push to change this workplace dynamic and help each other be more successful.

So, how can women change the current dynamic?  According to a recent Catalyst study, women often miss out on the “hot jobs” needed to fast-forward their careers – mostly due to a lack of organizational support and programs aimed at developing women as leaders. Thus, it stands to reason that investing the time to create support networks and development opportunities, pave the way for future career success. Therefore, whether starting a first job or as a tenured employee, women can create workgroups to improve career trajectory.

Workgroups are safe and trusted incubators for idea-sharing, problem-solving, and skill-refining. The groups should be comprised of several talented women from different parts and levels of the organization who seek to support one another in their development, and the insights and feedback provided are often superior compared to outside resources because there is a clear understanding of the company and how it operates. The aim is to meet regularly to fuel ideas, strengthen professional prowess, discuss problems, and find solutions without the pressure or concern of how others perceive them.

This set-up provides enhanced support in the workplace and can boost confidence, to the point that women who participate in workgroups may well be prepared to ask for and take on more challenging projects.

Workgroups and Workplace Success: A Personal Story

As a female executive, I know first-hand how beneficial workgroups are to developing new skills and creating better opportunities. Early in my career, I didn’t realize how aligning myself with other women could positively impact my career. Then, through various get-togethers over coffee and cocktails, I found that a powerful group was born, comprised of women who grew together as leaders. The group championed each other in meetings and other work events, and the sharing of information, ideas, and challenges presented an opportunity to improve and make adjustments before presenting ideas to management.

As well, the knowledge that the group believed in my leadership made a significant impact on my job and career, and the strength I gained allowed me to ask for new responsibilities, including overseeing the marketing and sales for billion-dollar products. In short, I developed new skills, acquired more confidence, and successfully negotiated increased responsibility and salary because of this group.  And the last part? Through their support and feedback I had the confidence to leave the security of the corporate world and challenge myself to start my own company.

The support of other females within an organization and developing relationships that focus on work output can have a meaningfully impact on performance, reviews, and job opportunities.

Building a Business Workgroup 

To create a workgroup, here are some steps:

• Begin thinking about colleagues within your organization who are motivated and whose career goals align with yours.
• Look at other departments that interact with yours.  Consider women who are one or two tiers above — and below — you whose work you value. (You can tap into relationships you already have, but it is important to have a diverse group whose opinions will lead to growth for the members.)
• Once you have several colleagues in mind, reach out and ask them to grab a coffee.
• Approach the workgroup idea by bringing up a current work project and asking for their input and advice.  At the end of the conversation, explain how helpful it was to work through some ideas together and ask if they’d consider doing this on a regular basis.
• Over time, slowly add additional members, until the group reaches six to eight participants. Having a group this size ensures the group meets regularly while keeping it intimate enough to meet individual needs.
• Once the group is set, schedule a monthly meeting and use a shared calendar where members of the group can add topics they wish to cover for the upcoming meeting.

Guidelines for a Great Workgroup

Workgroup members should plan for meetings, with the goal of all contributing to meeting topics.

• Topic Basics:
  • When the group is formed, come up with seven to ten topic ideas to ensure that there is not a lapse in meeting early on (i.e. that you do not run out of topics).
  • Each topic should benefit the members of the group and have use in the workplace.
  • Either broad-based or specific, targeted topics such as negotiating salary or practicing presentations are appropriate.
  • Over time, there should an abundant list of topics that fill meetings. If that doesn’t occur, your group may not be optimized and may need additional (or more diverse) members.
  • Members should provide honest insights, critiques and sincere feedback on business topics.
  • Reap the benefits of the workgroup by openly highlighting workgroup contributions at meetings and during discussions with superiors.  In other words, share insights and solutions devised from the group to improve upon projects or ideas currently percolating.

Workgroups add value to the organization. These informal groups highlight dedication, drive and motivation, and so it is smart to collect success stories from members of the workgroup, and share those stories with superiors. Why specifically do this? Because it reinforces the positive impact the group has, which senior leadership will then likely observe — and given that it’s clear the participants are interested both in what’s good for the company and the chance for career growth, this can lead to promotions and additional opportunities.

As female leaders, it is our responsibility to both pave our own path to success and to unite with others to help them accomplish career success. Workgroups are an easy way to facilitate that for all. In addition, don’t forget to have male and female mentors for 1×1 feedback and to help to help with career advancement.