How Women Lead by Sharon Hadary

Author:Sharon Hadary
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw Hill LLC
Published: 2013-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Make Business Acumen a High Priority

Business acumen is having the knowledge and skills to understand the business fundamentals of your company, the ability to decipher complex and uncertain situations and their financial implications for your company, and the decisiveness to take appropriate actions that will effectively respond to challenges while enhancing your company’s financial performance.

The higher you are in management, the more important business acumen, especially financial sophistication, becomes. By the time you are ready to make the move into senior leadership, it is absolutely critical. Some attribute the slowdown in women’s advancement once they reach middle management to a lack of business acumen. There is no question that women are fully capable of succeeding in financial management. It is a matter of acquiring the knowledge, skills, and experience early in your career. You must make this a top priority.

Business acumen brings together a thorough understanding of your company, the wisdom developed from addressing and solving complex business problems, and the confidence to assertively take advantage of opportunities and respond to risks. When a business opportunity or challenge arises, the best leaders quickly analyze the situation, identify the potential implications for the company and its financial performance, develop the pros and cons of possible strategies, and move with confidence to action.

While some of the skills, such as financial sophistication, can be learned through courses or books, financial acumen is acquired from on-the-job experience and from mentors. Seek out opportunities that will provide the experiences you need to fully develop your business acumen and work with mentors who can provide insights that lead to wisdom.

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