So first, the bad news. Women still only account for just 4% of Fortune 500 CEOs and on average experience a 17% pay difference from men. Urgh.
What's the deal? When Psychologist Dr. Jude Miller Burke saw this disparity, she wondered whether personality trait differences could be to blame. So she studied over 100 female millionaires in order to find out and discovered that there were five big personality traits that these successful women almost all had most in common. Which means that the good news is that if you tick all these boxes, then who knows? Maybe you'll be rolling in cash one day...
1/ CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
"Highly conscientious people are described as efficient, organised, and thoughtful,' says Dr Burke. 'A less conscientious person may be known by the words 'easygoing' or 'careless'."
"If you need to plan exactly where you are going to be every minute of your vacation, you rank on the high end of conscientiousness. A person who goes on vacation without a single hotel reservation is on the opposite end of the spectrum." Meaning that it's all well and good to be spontaneous, but it probably won't net you millions anytime soon.
2/ EXTRAVERSION
"Extroverts tend to be talkative (sometimes excessively so), positive, energetic, and optimistic. They have a strong drive to be in the company of others, while someone on the other end of the spectrum equally craves time alone to decompress," explains Dr Burke.
"Interestingly, people with high extraversion experience less anxiety over negative feedback." Less anxiety over negative feedback means you can more easily do what the feedback is intended for - improve.
Which millionaire woman comes to mind as an extrovert? "Leah Hoffman, financial advisor and VP at RW Baird is a great example of someone who uses her extraversion skills to initiate contacts and make others feel at ease," says Dr Burke.
3/ AFFILIATION
"People with high affiliation avoid conflict and are considered cooperative, trusting, gentle, modest, and trustworthy," explains Dr Burke. Basically, think the opposite of Gordon Gekko.
"The downside is that as a result, they have a tendency to take on more work than they should and have a hard time delegating. But, because they have the best interest of the team and organisation at heart, employees love to work with them." And you're only as good as your team. Guess millionaire bosses still do the tea rounds, then
4/ OPENNESS
"Naturally creative, imaginative, insightful, curious, and flexible individuals high in this trait. They are emotionally responsive and intellectually curious. If you have a lot of ideas and are excited by trying anything new, or if you have flexible attitudes and imagination, you are high in openness." This is key for both motivating your team and evolving your business.
"Angie Hallier, Owner of Hallier and Lawrence Family Law Firm and author of The Wiser Divorce, is inquisitive and excited about life. She always has her fingers on the pulse of her industry, providing education to others and throwing “Elvis Presley” parties in her spare time." Now that's our kind of boss!
5/ NEUROTICISM
Or lack thereof. "If you find yourself constantly worrying or ruminating about issues at work to the point where it affects your sleep or weekend activities, you may be higher in neuroticism. We all worry about work some of the time, but most successful people in the business world are actually on the low end of the neuroticism spectrum."
And the best way to de-stress? Exercise, of course! "Successful women like Sara Dial, Owner Sara Dial & Associates, uses an exercise regime of spinning three times per week to calm her anxieties." We approve.
So what's the lesson here (apart from realising that female millionaires actually seem like lovely people)? "Men and women clearly have different personality traits, but that doesn't explain why there are still so few female CEOs," says Dr Burke. However, her study found that the personality traits of both wealthy women and men differed to a great degree from the traits of the average person. "By recognising where you fall on these scales of personality factors, you should be able to enhance your personality to give yourself a better chance of success," she advises.
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