HLB International has recently released a new report, Women Advancement Report 2024, Defining Success: Women, Work, and Leadership. The report offers insights into gender parity, diversity, and inclusion within the professional landscape, offering strategies for creating more equitable workplaces in financial services.

To further support our people, HLB has created a toolkit featuring practical recommendations and guidance from educators and leaders. We have summarised some key points from the toolkit, which may serve as a valuable resource for anyone navigating a career in professional services.

The report and toolkit are available for download here.

Have the right mindset

Having the right mindset can help overcome self-doubt and improve emotional control. HLB’s leaders recommend the following for developing a better mindset:

  1. Build up confidence – remind yourself of what you’re good at. For instance, save emails with kind words or positive feedback. Additionally, a curated summary of achievements may help in future career negotiations.
  2. Practice self-reflection – recognise your own achievements, strengths, as well as limitations.
  3. Maintain healthy boundaries – being assertive doesn’t mean ignoring others’ needs and emotions. However, it’s important to proactively communicate your needs and feelings in a clear, confident, and respectful manner. This also helps you recover better from setbacks and maintain higher self-esteem.

Learn to negotiate

Negotiating helps you invest in a better future for yourself. Whether it’s negotiating a higher base pay, more responsibilities, or more flexible hours, it’s a vital skill that leads to personal and professional growth.

HLB’s leaders recommend the following when negotiating:

  1. Set goals – They help you determine strategy and tactics as well as define what success looks like. Your negotiation goals should be aspirational, allowing room for concessions and counteroffers.
  2. Listen – Successful negotiation involves both inquiry and active listening. Your objective is to understand your counterpart’s interests and find ways to align them with your own.
  3. Collaborate – Negotiation is not an adversarial process, even if your positions differ initially. By reframing your mindset and approach, you can create more opportunities for discussion. A collaborative approach reduces stress and anxiety associated with negotiations.

Build a support network

Your daily battles do not have to be carried out alone. Support at the workplace comes in different ways. HLB’s leaders define various types of supporters. Seek out these individuals to help guide and shape your career.

  1. Mentors – A mentor ‘talks at you’. They provide non-evaluative feedback, counsel you through your career challenges, and provide personal advice, rooted in their experience. HLB Mann Judd mentorships support staff at all levels.
  2. Coaches – A coach ‘talks with you’. They discuss the challenges you’re facing and empowers you to stride towards your goals. Coaches challenge your mindset by reflecting on conversations and inspire you to act with greater confidence.
  3. Sponsors – A sponsor ‘talks about you’. They advocate for your engagement in particular projects, suggest your candidacy for new positions, and otherwise leverage their social capital to provide you with greater access to opportunities.

To learn more and gain deeper insights, explore HLB’s Women Advancement Report, which highlights key trends and strategies for advancing women’s careers globally.