Women in the workplace: Heed this advice
Dee Ann Turner knows what it feels like to be the only woman in the conference room, but you won't see it bother her.
The former vice president of Chick-fil-A has some tips for women in the workplace who want to advance, and it starts with a piece of advice she got many years ago.
1. Your competency will help you grow your career
"My boss walked over to my desk and he said, 'Dee Ann, you're young and you're female. Now, get over it and win them over with your competency,'" Turner told FOX Business.
She said that the boss' advice served her well for years and also kept her going during difficult times.
"There's lots of times that it's easy that we get offended, sometimes for very good reasons, but I just found that if I focused on growing my competency, that helped me more than anything to be able to grow my career."
Turner said it's that piece of advice she passes on to other women in the workplace.
2. Make sure you are heard
Turner said there were many times when she stopped talking because others started speaking.
"One of the traits I had to learn is that when someone started talking over me when I was talking, I needed to go ahead and finish," Turner said.
"Sometimes we're police, and we stop when we really need to go ahead and finish our sentence."
She said she actually learned that from Stephen Covey's book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" which says "seek first to understand, and then to be understood."
"For women, I think the second part of that habit is really important," Turner said. "Yes, listen, seek to understand the other's point of view, but be sure that then you are understood."
3. Go for it
Turner admits she has a load of advice for women in the workplace, but the main thing she wants to remind them of is that it's a great time to be a female in the business world.
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"Young women are more educated than they've ever been before," Turner said. "The opportunities are there. Organizations are looking for talented women to fill their leadership spots."
"So my advice to you is go for it."