The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #AccelerateAction. A call to action that reminds all of us of our responsibility to make change happen and create a world free from bias and discrimination. The diagram below is a powerful framework that can help you focus your time and energy on where you can make a real difference to accelerating gender equality.
How to make a difference
The Circles of Influence framework was first devised by Steve Covey in his book the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. Let’s start by giving you a quick overview of how it works. The inner circle represents those things that are completely within your control, such as the work you do, your attitude towards life, what you read and the words you use. The middle circle is your area of influence – those things that you can still do something about, such as the quality of your work, the relationships you form and the results you can achieve. The outer circle is your area of concern, touching on things over which you have no control – traffic, terrorism, foreign policy, the weather or natural disasters – that you can agonise over but ultimately are powerless to change.
The secret to accelerating action is to consciously focus your attention on the things within your circles of control and influence. These are the things that you can actually do something about, rather than wasting your energy on matters outside of your control, in your area of concern, that can leave you feeling frustrated and demotivated.
Building a momentum for change
The first step to creating meaningful change is to take action on a daily basis by focusing on your circle of control and the way you communicate, foster inclusivity, embrace diversity and empower others. This could be calling out any examples of inequality or discrimination. Remember, small consistent actions lead to big results. It’s only by maximising your efforts in this way that you can help create a true momentum for change.
The next step is to focus on those things you can do within your circle of influence. This could be coaching the people in your team to help them recognise any unconscious bias or mentoring women to help prepare them for leadership roles. By role-modelling what good looks like, you will inspire others to follow your lead and take practical steps to help achieve gender parity. It’s only by working together to take purposeful actions, that we can drive impactful change and help pave the way for future generations. Let’s #AccelerateAction together.
