BE NASTY
It was the acerbic catchphrase
introduced by Donald Trump in
a reference to Hillary Clinton that
soon took on a meaning of its own:
a more powerful meaning. And
that is, be a ‘nasty woman’.
How can this translate to
the workplace?
We should all embrace the
power player within – she who
rebuffs an unworthy colleague’s
attempted knock-out punch in
the boardroom. She who doesn’t
give up. She who doesn’t tolerate
misogyny, discrimination and
bullying. While it’s not about
being a hard arse, it is about not
being so damn nice all the time.
‘In terms of power, I used to
think talking about money was
terrible and wanting it was just
shallow, but what is life like when
you don’t have it?’ psychologist
Angela Bradley says. ‘If you intend
to have power, don’t feel bad about
it: you deserve it. Think of all the
positive ways you can help other
people while leveraging your own
goals. Be clear on your value and
what a valuable resource you are
for your company and for yourself
and the people around you.’
Claim your ‘nasty woman’
pedigree as a badge of honour.
Stop apologising. Stick up for
yourself. ‘A lot of women don’t
understand how much personal
power they have,’ she says. ‘Be
careful of doubting yourself.’
Bradley encourages women
to harness the power by being
proactive in our careers, having
a plan and an understanding of the
bigger picture goal. We may be
‘nasty women’, but it is about using
our power for good. ‘Use power
and claim your own victories, but
use it in a focused way.’AMP YOUR EQ
You can be smart and rock a high
IQ, but EQ – emotional intelligence- is where you’re going to get ahead
in your 9-5. A strong EQ helps you
not only manage your own behaviour
and emotions more effectively, it
helps you deal with stresses and with
heightened emotions from colleagues.
It’s also about being able to
get ahead in business by building
meaningful relationships – whether
you’re rocking the corner office or
doing the coffee run: ‘You need to
be someone who is constructive,
trustworthy, compassionate, focused
and determined, and build up your
relationships with other people,’
says Bradley.
Familiar with the term The Boys
Club? It exists because those guys
built relationships and were confident
in the strength of those to call upon
them to get ahead. Do that. But, you
know, perhaps more constructively.
‘Confident self-talk is a huge
thing in being able to turn any
criticisms into a constructive source
of feedback,’ says Bradley. ‘If you
feel compassionate towards yourself
and you know why you’re there, you
are in an amazing position to leverage
resources other people will miss.’
So how ’bout we quit with the
second-guessing and show some
confidence in our abilities?W E S H O U L D
A L L E M B R AC E
T H E P OW E R
PL AY E R
WITHIN – SHE
WHO DOESN’T
GIVE UP. SHE
WHO DOESN’T
T O L E R AT E
M I S O G Y N Y
A N D
BULLYINGOH, YOU
NASTYTop three steps to amp your
EQ (without kissing butt):UNDERSTAND YOUR EMOTIONS
Understand how your mind works
so you have more logic and can
understand how other people
work from a distance.BE AUTHENTIC
People respond to those who
are self-accepting; they are quicker
to trust you. Identify with people
and be honest.OBSERVE
Get to know what makes your upline
tick. Make their life easier. Think a
step ahead and be what they need.82 COSMOPOLITAN.com.au TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 136 116