Renegade, trailblazer, don’t-care-if-it’s-a-man’s-world-I’m-here baby. You’re climbing the ladder so fast that all the rest of us can see is dust. Be sure you don’t topple any of the lower rungs on your ascent.

You’re not the type to take no for an answer, and that kick-ass-and-take-names drive has served you well over the years. You’re passionate about creating a future where more women have a seat at the top, and you’re determined to set the example and lead the way.

Other women look to your example, so you help pave the trail for them and bring them up with you. After all, we rise by lifting others.

At Your Best

You dominate the boardroom with your quick and strategic decision-making, driving big results and impact for your organization. You’re determined to succeed, and you excel at whatever you put your mind to. You easily influence others to get on board with projects and new change initiatives, and your love affair with risk-taking makes you the one to beat when it comes to grabbing a spot in the C-Suite.

At Your Stressed

Because you’re killing the career game and rising quickly, you may not take the time to pause and reflect on your many accomplishments. This can make it easy for you to feel like you’ll never have enough – or never be good enough. Because you’re quick to make decisions, you may not think of the impact on others or include other perspectives in decision-making. Not including others may make you feel isolated – you know what it means when they say it’s lonely at the top.

How Others See You

As a Leader: Your team is inspired by you and strives to live up to your high standards. They wish they had more 1-on-1 time with you, but they take it when they can get it. The women on your team especially look up to you and wonder how you got so confident (and where they can get some of that!). They are learning by watching you, so be sure to set a good example.

As a Peer: Your colleagues are in awe of your leadership prowess, and some of them are even jealous of how you’ve ascended so quickly. In projects, others look to you to make the right decision, but some may feel left out of the decision-making process. Peers also turn to you for your innovative ideas and creative ways to solve old problems.

As a Direct Report: Your leader is impressed with the way you use influence to gain consensus and buy-in from a diverse group of leaders. Your leader knows they can count on you to think strategically and make decisions that move the team and the organization toward major goals and objectives. Your leader sees that you take risks with your innovative ideas, and many of them pay off. They see you as an example of what they look for in a great leader.

A few more things…

What Gets You Out of Bed in the Morning: The chance to push boundaries, challenge the status quo, and solve old problems with new ways of thinking.

What Keeps You Up at Night: Worrying that the report you wrote or PowerPoint you created wasn’t quite perfect enough. Anxiety and Impostor Syndrome are two common bedfellows.

Working with Other Types: To balance your trail-blazing, risk-taking nature, partner with someone like The Bleeding Heart, who will help you learn to include everyone’s perspective in the decision-making process. You can help someone like The Protector to more confidently advocate for a project, cause, or team they care deeply about.

How to Shine: Lean on your strengths of strategic thinking and influence. Get involved with business development projects where your innovative ideas will be valued. Mentor women, especially in STEM fields, about leadership, and sponsor a woman in your organization who wants to get to the next level of leadership. Take your passion for women’s equality to the masses and start a blog for awareness. 

Now that you know your Firepower Leadership Style, how can you use this knowledge to create change within your organization?

>> Action 1: Make personal development a habit. Impostor Syndrome is no joke - and it’s not your fault. You need to unlearn harmful thought patterns by reframing negative or self-defeating thoughts, cultivating deeper self-love, and showing genuine appreciation for what you already have - your strengths, experience, and knowledge. Consistent, intentional practices like journaling, meditation, and connecting to your intuition can help take you from fear of the unknown to faith in yourself.

>> Action 2: Find your crew. When you’re working to improve yourself or your organization, it’s important to surround yourself with people that love and support you, no matter what. Especially if you’re the “only” one of you in your organization. Find an accountability partner who shares a similar personal or professional goal, and check in with them every day. You can also join a Meetup group in your area or virtual networking group where you can build a strong network. If you want to take this work to your organization, start an affinity group or women’s leadership group at work. There’s so much power in peer support, because together, we rise.

>> Action 3: Ignite your spark. Start from where you’re at. You have so much knowledge, experience, and inner wisdom that you can tap into immediately. You don’t have to wait until you get another certification or until you’ve worked a certain number of years before you can make the changes you want to see. You are a leader no matter where you’re sitting today. You have the power to use your leadership style to make the workplace a better place for women. And we need more women like you at the top, where the decisions are made. Consider what you can do, and start small! You can start by highlighting the work of a female coworker or asking for your organization to reimburse leadership coaching. Your spark can set the world on fire, and all it takes is that first step.

Take action now:

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