According to Elissa Sangster in her article for Forbes, these are the attribute possessed by successful women at the top; see any attribute you possess? the writings in italics (slanting) are Forbes Elissa Sangster own words while the normal writing will be my own personal commentaries on each point. You can drop your own personal commentaries also.

The number one thing that successful women business leaders have in common is that they don’t let the persistent underrepresentation of women in business deter them from taking a place at the table.





1. Know thyself. Trite? Maybe. True? Always. From finding the right initial career opportunity to identifying ways to continuously improve your performance, women leaders tell us that insight and self-knowledge are key. Not sure how to cultivate self-awareness? A Cosmo quiz or today’s horoscope won’t get you where you want to go; find a mentor, and learn to ask for and accept honest feedback. I always say that the first step to anything in life {career choice, marriage, which school to go, which course to study) is knowing who you are. you must know thyself first then you must work in the area you are best suited for then you will excel. read finding where you belong





2. Don’t be afraid to take a career off-ramp, but know where the on-ramp is, too. Successful women business leaders have often figured out how to make the puzzle pieces of life fit together. Childbearing and child rearing affect women more than men and the reality is that becoming a parent can interrupt a career. Find out in advance what your employer is willing to do to make it work for you, and know how to get off, and back on, the career superhighway. A successful career woman should be able to balance home and work. family is very important and should not be tossed aside because of career.







3. Get help. It’s not fashionable to admit it, but getting the help you need, whether that’s a full-time nanny or just someone to clean your apartment can save your sanity . One senior executive in the financial sector recently admitted to us that for years, she didn’t net a penny from her full-time job because all her earnings went to childcare—but she estimated that, over the course of a 30-year career, those zero-sum years have paid off exponentially by keeping her career on track. When a woman talks of getting a help in this part of the world she is perceived as lazy but the truth is, you cannot do everything on your own. pay someone to handle the things you don’t have time to do and focus on doing the things only you can do. personally i prefer professional cleaning services to “house helps” but even at that you have to be careful. I recommend that who ever you are getting to help you should be paid appropriately and not treated as a slave. most Nigerian women fear that matured maids will steal there husbands lolz





4. Don’t wait to be tapped on the shoulder. This is your career we’re talking about, not a junior high school dance. Research shows over and over again that, too often, women wait to be recognized rather than being proactive in seeking out recognition for their accomplishments. Successful women in business find appropriate ways to summarize their achievements and take credit for their performance.







5. Learn to negotiate. Susan Fleming Cabrera, a friend of Forté and researcher at the Johnson Graduate School of management at Cornell, has found that women simply do not negotiate as often or as effectively as men, due to a complex mix of socialization, stereotypes, and bias. Top women business leaders know better than to leave something on the table. They also know that negotiation skills show up in your paycheck: Cabrera cites research demonstrating that only 7% of MBA women asked for more money during salary negotiations, while 57% of men asked the same. The result of that disparity? Starting salaries of the male MBA grads were 7.6% higher. one of my many principles in life is that, business is business. when we talk business i must negotiate and make sure you understand my terms. most people say if you do this it means you like money and you don’t know where you will meet someone in future blah blah well those of the words of fragile people. I believe one should be decisive and firm when it comes to business. business is business learn to negotiate.





6. Don’t plan ahead. Successful executives advise over and over that the best career moves they ever made were the ones they could never have foreseen. What does that mean? Stay nimble, have flexible expectations, and don’t try to map your life decades in advance only to find that you’ve foreclosed opportunity. flexibility is very important cause life is dynamic.



7. Get an MBA. Many successful executives say that the MBA was a game changer for them. They gained skills and a network that put them on an entirely different track. As one recent MBA put it “In just 2 years, I got the credentials, confidence and respect that I might have never received just staying in my job. Now, with my MBA, I’m off to the races.” I’ll be getting one very soon, say next year as soon as i round up with my present program
- See more at: http://superwoman.com.ng/2015/05/forbes-7-traits-of-women-business-leaders.html#sthash.fzVZJQdS.dpuf