BUSINESSWOMEN, MEET YOUR MATCH
Monday, August 23, 2010 by Brett Nolan
Entrepreneur Judith Willson worked nearly three decades in management consulting — surrounded mostly by men. To provide other businesswomen with a bit more company, she has set up Washington Women’s Weekly (www.womensweekly-wdc.com), which matches mentors with tomorrow’s female entrepreneurs. Why create the website?
There are three qualities that people who are very successful, accomplished and powerful would generally give as to why they’re there. No. 1 is hard work. They’ve known what they wanted to do. They have had a mentor to help them up through the ranks and be there for them. Third is, they have had a strong network.
Why mentor? When you get older and you have that level of confidence, you reach a point where you have a sense of self, and it feels good to give back. It’s also a great way to mentor someone as a possible recruit.
What makes for a good mentor/mentee relationship? When both individuals have trust and respect, the relationship can progress in a very successful way. It needs to be somewhat fluid and flexible to ensure that each of their goals are being met.
What is a businesswoman’s biggest potential career trap? Not learning or feeling comfortable with strong leadership skills. Strong leadership, management and negotiation — those are three areas where for some reason, men are more successful.
Read more: Businesswomen, meet your match | Washington Business Journal
