Dondi Scumaci, the author of Designed for Success: the 10 commandments for women in the workplace, has identified some interesting observations about women and their workplace behaviors. Could there really be such as thing as female DNA that prevents MBA women from being identified or recognized as potential leaders?

Now, I have to be honest because I recognized in my own corporate career that I was exhibiting certain behaviors that while I was seen as hardworking, diligent, and dependable, prime leadership roles were not getting funneled in my direction.

Here are some seeds for thought and contemplation:

1) Women are raised and socialized differently from men

I remember early in my own MBA career, I consistently brought a high-level of energy, enthusiasm and drive to every project that I took on. It was never too long before I gained the reputation as an entrusted source of information, creativity and new ideas among my colleagues and my direct boss.

However, the “party” and “fanfare” always seemed to go south when it came time for my annual performance review and associated raises and promotions. I would walk away from those review meetings feeling discouraged and disappointed because I felt like I was not being appreciated or rewarded for my efforts. It would only be a matter of time before I would lose interest in my work and been to seek greener pastures in another company.

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? Are you going into performance review meetings with low expectations?

As professional women, we often face an internal struggle that we bring upon ourselves – we feel bound by an unspoken oath to not openly talk about our achievements or contributions, but secretly expect to get promotions and gain visibility. Wrong strategy!

I remember getting to a point in my MBA career when I realized that being silent and hoping for the best was simply not going to work anymore. I challenged myself to move beyond my comfort zone and started to proactively market myself within the company and became very diligent about chronicling my career achievements and project updates. Then, something miraculous started to happen – within the first year on the job, I achieved the following:

– I was repeatedly sought to serve as company representative for local and community-related events.

– I was selected by the president to spearhead a high-profile, but complex project.

– I received the highest percentage raise among my peers and recommended for promotion to next level in my career path.

What changed? I took full control of my career success instead of leaving it up to my boss. Here are a few lessons that you take from my story?

– Keep good notes on your ongoing projects and special assignments and summarize the outcomes in the Challenge-Action-Results formula – this strategy will benefit you tremendously in your self-assessments.

– Establish rapport and maintain open communication with your project leader and boss – many of the opportunities I got for external projects or volunteer activities came about through casual conversation.

– Actively solicit and encourage feedback and advice from boss and colleagues – my willingness to learn and improve my skills was readily rewarded with company-paid training courses and programs.

– Speak up about inequities (real or perceived) in a logical manner and use real facts, not heresy, to support your concerns – I always got a listening ear from my boss because I had strong facts and quantifiable examples to demonstrate my point.

Every company and work environment will have its challenges and you cannot leave your career success in someone else’s hands – take a more proactive role in your professional development. Start with this small step, document and note your project successes and highlights from the first quarter of 2010.

A recent study done by the Catalyst has found that women MBAs still earn less than their male counterparts even when their career background, experience and education are the same. In addition, the research has found that men are more likely to attain senior-level executive and C-level position twice as fast as women.

Now these findings really bothered me because on one hand, there are plenty of professional and executive MBA women making significant contributions to the corporate world, so why are we coming up short? While we can certainly agree that bias and gender discrimination still exists in companies, I am a big proponent of executing deliberate, proactive strategies to minimize career obstacles and consistently chip away at the proverbial glass ceiling.

I challenge you with these questions:

Did you negotiate your salary, benefits and total compensation package before you accepted your current position?

Studies have repeatedly shown that professional men are eight times more likely than a woman to negotiate their salary before finally accepting an offer.  If you are actively job seeking, take the extra steps to conduct research, talk to other professional women AND men in the industry and have a solid salary range in mind before accepting a job offer.

– Support your case for a higher salary based on your experience, proven qualifications and the value that you bring to employers. 

– Develop a Critical Leadership Initiatives document to use as a leave behind document in interviews and as vital tool in your negotiation process. Do more than say you are qualified, provide solid, quantifiable achievements written in a Challenge-Action-Results format.

Have you had a direct conversation with your boss to express interest in new projects or upward mobility?

As much as we have made progress as professional women, there are still companies hesitant to promote women, give them out-of-town projects or recommend them for new roles that require long days and weekend hours. We can certainly spend a lot of time arguing against that thought process, but unless you speak up and let your interests be known, you will continue to get overlooked for career growth opportunities that you are more than qualified to handle.

– As part of your annual review process, do more than develop current “job-specific” goals; take the discussion to the next level and talk about the skills and qualifications that you need to take you to the next level.

– Focus on direct questions like “What additional experience, qualifications and skills do I need to advance to the next level?” or “What is the next step in my career path?”

– Establish clear, realistic career goals and objectives so that you don’t wake up one day and realize that you have been left behind.

 More importantly, don’t expect your boss to read your mind, if you want a promotion, new challenges or more responsibilities, then speak up.

Do you regularly solicit feedback and recommendations from your boss and other colleagues?

Okay, so this is the part that no one likes – we don’t mind hearing the praises, but when it comes to criticism, we want to run for the hills. Constructive criticism and feedback on our performance, speaking abilities, interpersonal skills and team interactions are what women MBAs need to be competitive.

If your idea of climbing the corporate ladder means that you show up on time every day, work really hard and be nice to everyone, you will be disappointed time and time again. Your personal brand and professional reputation depends heavily on how others perceive you – your easy-going, “don’t-rock-the-boat” approach may seem fair to you, but may get you overlooked as a leader where the company expects you to make tough decisions.

– Conduct a 360 assessment every year and send out the survey to colleagues, family members, friends and current/former bosses.

– Pay attention to the most common adjectives used to describe you and your personal attributes and determine your areas of improvement and opportunities for personal growth.

You have completed your MBA degree, you have made a solid commitment to your career, and you consistently work hard – all the smart steps for long-term career growth and success, right? Wrong.

Despite the increased representation of women leaders in the business world, surveys from Catalyst (a research organization that supports the advancement of women in their careers) have found that only 15% of officer-level positions in some of the largest companies are occupied by women.

So how do you make significant strides to move beyond the “glass ceiling” and overcome any career obstacles when hard work alone is not the answer? Well, it starts with having a good understanding of your work environment, making deliberate shifts in your mindset about career success and embracing effective career growth habits from a very early point in your career.

Increase Your Professional Voice

If you are silently plugging away at desk, putting in very long hours and going beyond the scope of your job responsibilities, that is very admirable. However, it does nothing for your career path if your actions and efforts go unnoticed. While being humble is noble, you must become a public relations expert for your own career.

– Take advantage of opportunities to participate in meetings, readily share your ideas with colleagues and frequently make references to special projects or assignments that you are working on.

– Learn the language of confidence – don’t lose your audience in a sea of “uhs” and “ahs” – make a practice of starting sentences with phrases like:

I feel strongly that…

My experience suggests…

I recently observed…

My idea is…

I recommend…

– Join a local Toastmasters’ group to improve your verbal communications skills and increase your comfort level with public speaking.

Promote Your Brand & Career Achievements

Unfortunately, the ability to “boast” of career achievements and actively promote personal strengths continues to be an area of challenge for many professional women. Traditionally, we were raised to be modest and told that “bragging” was somehow inappropriate or unacceptable for women.

However in today’s competitive and evolving workplace, if you are not consistently communicating your personal brand and referencing past career achievements and individual contributions, you are in a disadvantaged position for promotions, salary raises, bonuses and high-profile projects. It is critical that not only your immediate boss is aware of your value proposition, but also the company’s vendors and clients.

– Maximize popular social media tools and resources to build and maintain a strong online brand identity; at minimum, you should have targeted profiles with LinkedIn, VisualCV, Google, Zoominfo and Twitter.

– Chronicle your career achievements carefully; take inventory of your progress every quarterly and compile a Word document that summarizes your contributions to the company.

– Think carefully about your contributions not only in terms of new revenues, cost savings, customer acquisition, new market share, public relations and staff leadership, but also focus on anything you have done to make the company or your department perform better.

– Don’t overlook leadership opportunities outside of the company through non-profit, community and civic organizations that would provide you and your personal brand with more visibility.

– Get involved in a cause that your company supports and funds like United Way or American Cancer Society so that you can expand your network beyond your immediate department colleagues.

Build A Support Team

You can have all the resources in the world and read through every book and article on leadership in the corporate world, but it can never take the place of a supportive network of personal and professional friends.

– Identify another well-connected, successful woman leader within your company or your industry/profession who can serve as a mentor. Mentors are essential for long-term career success as that person can help “sell” you for major assignments, help position you for promotions and serve as your personal cheerleader as you advance in your career.

– Build a large, diverse strategic network; don’t limit your connections to only people who work in your field. Instead reach out to other individuals who can offer a different perspective and often valuable insight on your career challenges.

– Join a professional and/or industry organization that focuses on career development and leadership issues for professional women. For example, check out the National Association of Women MBAs.

Overall, true career success will not happen overnight, but it will happen. It takes careful planning, a strong desire to grow and an open mind to try new strategies if the old ones are simply not working.