We have experienced a global pandemic. We’ve witnessed great strides towards diversity and inclusion. And we have also seen many organizations move towards justice and equality. From an organizational perspective, we have seen women leading in many different roles coming out of the pandemic. In fact, women have been at the helm of organizations making decisions about COVID-19 responses. Why is this? Organizations are realizing that without diversity, we don’t have innovative conflict. Without innovative conflict, we can’t have productive solutions for the internal and external customers that we serve.

We have made great strides in this area. But the reality is that our U.S. workforce is made up of 54% of women, but only 8% of those are holding executive leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. Although there are many external factors that impact this, today I want to highlight a common theme that I hear from the women that I coach regularly. That common theme is fear. It’s fear of perceptions. It is fear of taking risks. It’s fear of speaking up when you are the first and the only or you are outnumbered in the room.

Leader efficacy is a skill that we all can develop. Leader efficacy can be defined as the level of confidence one possesses in the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with leading others. Here are four ways that you can build your own leader efficacy.

1. Be You: Know Your Skills, Then Know Your Worth

Be you; know your worth. Yes, you are a woman leader, but you are also a leader who brings skills, gifts, talents, and different perspectives. Take time to invest in yourself and empower yourself with the skills that you possess. Take an assessment of your skills to find out what you are made of and what you are good at. Ask the people who are close to you, “What am I good at? What do you see that I offer to this organization?” And find opportunities where you can use your skills. Join a nonprofit board or a community group in your neighborhood. And then invest in a coach, mentor, or someone who can pour into you and create a space for you to ask questions and develop your skills.

2. Advocate for You: Kindness + Conviction

You bring a perspective, and sometimes that is a different perspective. So I just want to remind you that even a different perspective is helpful to transformation and innovation in organizations. Lean into having a different viewpoint. Lean into difficult conversations. Share and speak up for yourself. There are ways that you can be proactive in advocating for you. Schedule the meeting. Don’t wait for the invite, create the invite. If you have opportunities or discussions that you need to have with those that you work with or serve, you take the initiative and set up those times to meet with those you are serving. Another thing that you can do is create your own personal and professional targets. We often wait for our leadership to give us goals. We often wait for others to validate what we are doing. But you have all the power in you to create your own goals, create your own targets, and then measure your own success.

3. Manage You (Not Perceptions)

You can’t manage the perceptions that others have about you, but you can manage your response. I love what Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior, without your consent.” Leadership comes with challenges for all people. And oftentimes there will be moments where you will need to lean into some really difficult conversations. There also may be moments when there are people who may not see you for who you really are. That is common for all leaders, but one way to navigate that is to lean into those conversations and have those difficult times where you can really express how you feel. This helps you build relationships with people so that they get to know you and not a perception of who they think you are. And the other way that you can help yourself narrow the perceptions that may be put on you is to find allies, both men and women who can pour into you, who can encourage you, but who can also speak truth into your life.

4. Be the “You” You Wish You Had: Model the Way

I remember the leaders in my life who made an impact in a positive way and also the ones who made an impact in a negative way. What legacy do you want to leave behind? Are your goals targeted towards serving the least of these and those who are around you? And if you are hearing this and you are saying, “I don’t have anyone that is modeling the kind of leadership that I am looking for,” find one. Find the leaders in your life who can pour into you or that you can emulate in your own organization. Grab coffee with them. Send the LinkedIn message. Bump into them in the lobby of your church. Take the initiative to find those leaders that can model what you are looking for in your own leadership journey. I once heard a quote that said, “If you can’t find a good role model, be one.”

Tips to Support Women in Leadership

Here are some ways to support the women in your organization:

1. Always Be Curious

Silence doesn’t always mean agreement. One of the things that I’ve learned is to always be curious as a leader. So when you see those moments when the leaders in the room are quiet, ask questions, engage with them, bring them into the conversation, solicit their feedback, and look for ways that you can engage and include them in the conversation at the table.

2. Welcome… Getting Uncomfortable

Also, value the perspective that women bring to your organization, even if it makes you a little uncomfortable. You know, comfort is the enemy of progress. So sometimes we need to lean into the moments where it is a little more uncomfortable because the perspectives are fresh, new, and different.

3. Advocate & Disrupt

Be an advocate and a disruptor. When you hear that women are not being perceived in a light that truly represents who they are, speak up for them. Advocate for them when they are in the room and when they are not in the room.

4. Be Intentional

Lastly, organizations can be really intentional about developing women in their leadership and in their organization. There are lots of ways to do that. We can hire more women. We can create leadership programs that are led and developed by women and supported by our male allies. We can also use resources that are written by women, developed by women, and researched by women. We have so many opportunities for innovation by including women in the conversation.

So how are you supporting and developing the women in your life?

As leaders, we have this beautiful opportunity to lean into the uncomfortable, to support the women in our lives, and to help them to live out, fully and boldly with confidence, the calling that God has placed on their lives. We are better together.

Toni Scialanca is a Consultant at The Center Consulting Group. She holds an M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Cairn University and is currently pursuing a Doctorate degree in Strategic Leadership from Regent University. In addition to her work with The Center, Toni also serves as VP & Board Chair for a global nonprofit encouraging leadership development in young girls. Toni’s previous work experience included various areas of supply chain, customer experience, and product deployment as well as in church leadership and management. Her consulting expertise includes strategic planning, leadership coaching, team building, and customer experience.