Research shows that women exaggerate the skills they need to succeed. For women entrepreneurs, that could be a problem.
I’ve come to the very speculative conclusion that women owners who hesitate to take the Next Big Step to grow their business may be hampered by misperceptions about how growth is accomplished.
As Jodi Glickman suggests in her recent HBR article, women focus on what they lack, not on what they have. And if women don’t have it all — everything that is required to do the job — they don’t apply for a job. By comparison, men with only half the qualifications asked for will present themselves as ideal candidates.
It’s a matter of perception: half full or half empty?
I think women may view their ability to grow their companies in the same way they view their qualifications for a job: all or nothing. They see the long list of tasks needed to grow a business and base their decision to forge ahead on whether they can do it all. The answer, not surprisingly, is “probably not,” making the undertaking seem too risky.
…to read this article in full, visit leading US small business resource, Inc.
