If you're a female CEO, you may have experienced firsthand how intimidating it can be to get up in front of a room of male investors or directors and give a presentation. Despite the shrinking gender gap in business leadership, men do still dominate the playing field in many industries, and being a woman in that world isn't without its challenges.
As an African-American female business leader, Phrantceena Halres has risen above a double business underdog status. In 2002, she founded TPS Global Security, a security company focused on critical national assets and infrastructure, and currently serves as the chairwoman and CEO. Over the years, Halres has learned a lot about taking control and becoming a strong female leader in the primarily male security industry.
"Women have been taught that being quiet is a negative thing in terms of empowerment, but using nonverbal language is powerful," Halres told BusinessNewsDaily. "It stimulates intelligence on all levels from a place that cannot be captured by the alphabet or numbers. It's not heard, but one can feel its results."
Halres offered these three other tips for success that every female business leader should follow:
Focus on the facts. Leave all the emotions and drama out of the boardroom to move your business initiatives forward. Remaining calm under pressure and focusing solely on the business at hand will help solve problems and bring valuable, lasting solutions.
Do your homework. It requires mental discipline and is a continuous process of improvement, but female executives need to understand the space in which they're leading. Knowing about financial statements, profit and loss, mergers, acquisitions, etc., directly ties into your performance as a leader.
Stay true to your values. A common negative stereotype about women in high-ranking positions is that they used their sexuality and "feminine wiles" to get there. Female leaders who don't compromise their values and get to the top with hard work and determination find true success.
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