Top Career Content from LinkedIn Members

There is a strong belief that women are more generous, and care more about equality, than men. Also, many people believe that women tend to be underconfident. None of these beliefs are true, two recent papers find. One paper —nicely titled "Men are from Mars, and Women Too"— focuses on self-confidence. The paper starts by surveying hundreds of experts, finding that 77% of them think that women are underconfident whereas men are overconfident. Next they do a comprehensive survey of all experimental tests of self-confidence that have been published in the past twenty years. The key result: 72% of all studies find that *both* women and men are overconfident. Only 18% of published studies support the commonly held view. The other paper considers social preferences. "Using data from 15 studies and 8,979 individuals" the paper finds "that women are believed to be more generous and more equality-oriented than men. [...] Yet this believed gender gap is largely inaccurate." The authors "find little to no evidence for gender differences in behavior or attitudes relating to social preferences". Hence, women and men are much more similar than commonly thought. Sure, people differ in their social preferences and self-confidence, and actually differences can be quite substantially. But gender is not predictive of such differences. Why is this important to know? Why is it important to correct these misperceptions about women and men? One reason is that misperceptions may affect selection and sorting in the labor market, in politics, and in society at large, resulting in a misallocation of talents and traits. For instance, if people think that to be a good leader one needs to have sufficient self-confidence, they may be biased against women, as they mistakenly believe that women tend to be underconfident. Likewise, people may be biased against men when selecting for positions that require generosity and care, mistakenly thinking that these qualities are mainly or only present among women. Read the full papers here (all open access!): Oriana Bandiera, Nidhi Parekh, Barbara Petrongolo, and Michelle Rao (2022), Men are from Mars, and Women Too: A Bayesian Meta-analysis of Overconfidence Experiments, Economica: https://lnkd.in/e6_dMRyG Christine Exley, Oliver Hauser, Molly Moore, and John-Henry Pezzuto (2024), Believed Gender Differences in Social Preferences, Quarterly Journal of Economics, forthcoming: https://lnkd.in/ecZCS2er And see also: Esther-Mirjam Sent and Irene van Staveren (2019), A Feminist Review of Behavioral Economic Research on Gender Differences, Feminist Economics: https://lnkd.in/ejJ8S6iX

Just by being Black, the level of latitude you're given for behaviour – especially behaviour deemed "bad" – is often completely different. The consequences are harsher and the scrutiny is sharper. Take disciplinary matters, for example. Black employees are often judged more harshly for the same behaviours as their white counterparts. A Black professional might be labelled “difficult”, “angry”, “intimidating”, or “unprofessional” for expressing frustration in a meeting, while a white colleague might be excused as “passionate” or “assertive”. You know the type of comments – “Elizabeth is just expressing how she feels,” or “Johnny was just a bit hot under the collar.” The disparity isn’t just anecdotal – it’s backed up by research into workplace racial bias. Then there’s career progression. Black employees are frequently held to higher standards to earn the same recognition. Feedback like, “You need to prove yourself more” or “be more of a team player” is often levelled at those who have already delivered exceptional results. Meanwhile, others are promoted based on potential or likeability rather than consistent performance. Not sure if this is (or has) happened in your workplace? 1) Look at patterns in employee relations cases – Are Black employees disproportionately disciplined or receiving harsher feedback compared to their peers in similar roles? 2) Examine promotion criteria – Are Black employees expected to overperform just to be considered for opportunities, while others get ahead based on vague ideas of potential or even subpar performance? How do performance and potential ratings for Black employees compare with others? 3) Observe how behaviours are labelled – Is there a difference in the language used to describe similar actions? Are words like “angry” or “unapproachable” disproportionately applied to Black colleagues? For Black women, how are their traits described compared to non-Black women? For Black men, what “advice” is given under the guise of mentorship to ensure they aren’t perceived as “intimidating” or “scary” – particularly when they express frustration or anger? To address this, the first step is noticing the patterns (or not dismissing or acting defensively when it’s pointed out), the second is to question and avoid making assumptions that it is an “unfounded accusation” and the third? Well, that’s up to you. You can either take action or ignore it. I say that only because too many organisations are still struggling to get past the first step 🤷🏾♀️ 📹 Sterling K. Brown

Avoiding tough talks is a direct path to losing team trust. Here's how top leaders handle conflict: 1/ The Real Problem → Leaders stall, hoping conflict resolves itself → Feedback gets softened until it’s meaningless → The issue festers, and performance suffers 2/ Why It Matters → Projects halt because no one says what needs to be said → The wrong people stay in the room, the right ones leave → Culture declines and misalignment becomes the norm 3/ The CLEAR Framework → Cut the Fluff: Skip the warm-up and get to the point → Label the Behavior: Focus on actions, not identity → Explain the Impact: Make it real, why does it matter? → Ask for Alignment: Invite a response, not a lecture → Recommit or Redirect: Don’t end vague, end with clarity 4/ What Happens Next → Tension goes down, not up → People feel respected, not ambushed → Projects move forward, with trust, not silence 5/ Why You Need This → Leading isn’t about avoiding discomfort → It’s about creating clarity when others won’t → This framework gives you the words to do it right What's your biggest takeaway?

SELF BELIEF > INTELLIGENCE Believing in yourself is often more critical than raw intelligence. Intelligence can sometimes lead to overanalysis, hesitation, and self-doubt, hindering progress. On the other hand, confidence drives action, resilience, and the ability to learn from failures. Balancing intelligence with self-belief enables you to take risks, make decisions, and persevere through challenges. 1. Cultivate Self-Belief: * Affirmations: Start each day with positive affirmations reinforcing your abilities and potential. Statements like "I am capable," "I trust my judgment," and "I can achieve my goals" can boost your confidence. * Celebrate Successes: Keep a journal of your achievements, big or small. Reflecting on past successes can remind you of your capabilities and build your self-esteem.
 2. Manage Overthinking: * Set Time Limits: When faced with a decision, give yourself a specific amount of time to analyse and then commit to a choice. This prevents paralysis by analysis. * Simplify Decisions: Break complex decisions into smaller, manageable parts. Focus on one aspect at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
 3. Embrace Failure: * Learn and Adapt: View failures as opportunities to learn and grow. Analyse what went wrong, adjust your approach, and try again with newfound knowledge. * Resilience Practice: Develop resilience by challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone regularly. The more you face and overcome challenges, the more confident you will become.
 4. Balance Intelligence with Action: * Trust Your Gut: Sometimes, intuition can guide you better than overanalysis. Learn to trust your instincts and make decisions with confidence. * Take Calculated Risks: Use your intelligence to assess risks, but don’t let fear of failure stop you from taking action. Embrace uncertainty and move forward with confidence.
 5. Seek Support: * Mentors and Peers: Surround yourself with supportive people who believe in you and encourage your growth. Seek mentors who can provide guidance and feedback. * Positive Environment: Create an environment that fosters positivity and growth. Minimise interactions with negative influences that may undermine your confidence.
 6. Continuous Improvement: * Lifelong Learning: Commit to continuous learning and self-improvement. Embrace new challenges and opportunities to expand your skills and knowledge. * Set Realistic Goals: Establish achievable goals that push you slightly out of your comfort zone. As you achieve these goals, your confidence will grow.

I’ve had four completely different careers. Every decade, I’ve stripped my life back to its core, reexamined my direction, and reimagined my purpose. With each reinvention, I’ve moved closer to the truth of who I am and to the work I believe I was made to do. Here are the four changes I’ve gone through: – Classical musician: Learned discipline, beauty, and the cost of perfection. – Economics professor: Studied human behavior through the lens of financial choice. – Think tank president: Led ideas with impact at a national scale. – Writer and teacher on happiness: Now I help others build lives of deep meaning. In our early careers, many of us chase fluid rewards: novel problems, fast wins, accolades, and advancement. But as we age, something shifts, and our minds start to change, our priorities evolve, and the rewards that once satisfied us begin to feel hollow. Research shows that as fluid intelligence fades, crystallized intelligence (the ability to teach, synthesize, and lead with wisdom) rises. But to access it, we have to let go of who we were and embrace who we’re becoming. By rebuilding with intention, you let go of the ego that says, “I can’t afford to change.” And listen instead to the voice that asks, “What am I being called to do next?”

Data Integration Revolution: ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL, and the AI Paradigm Shift In recents years, we've witnessed a seismic shift in how we handle data integration. Let's break down this evolution and explore where AI is taking us: 1. ETL: The Reliable Workhorse      Extract, Transform, Load - the backbone of data integration for decades. Why it's still relevant: • Critical for complex transformations and data cleansing • Essential for compliance (GDPR, CCPA) - scrubbing sensitive data pre-warehouse • Often the go-to for legacy system integration 2. ELT: The Cloud-Era Innovator Extract, Load, Transform - born from the cloud revolution. Key advantages: • Preserves data granularity - transform only what you need, when you need it • Leverages cheap cloud storage and powerful cloud compute • Enables agile analytics - transform data on-the-fly for various use cases Personal experience: Migrating a financial services data pipeline from ETL to ELT cut processing time by 60% and opened up new analytics possibilities. 3. Reverse ETL: The Insights Activator The missing link in many data strategies. Why it's game-changing: • Operationalizes data insights - pushes warehouse data to front-line tools • Enables data democracy - right data, right place, right time • Closes the analytics loop - from raw data to actionable intelligence Use case: E-commerce company using Reverse ETL to sync customer segments from their data warehouse directly to their marketing platforms, supercharging personalization. 4. AI: The Force Multiplier AI isn't just enhancing these processes; it's redefining them: • Automated data discovery and mapping • Intelligent data quality management and anomaly detection • Self-optimizing data pipelines • Predictive maintenance and capacity planning Emerging trend: AI-driven data fabric architectures that dynamically integrate and manage data across complex environments. The Pragmatic Approach: In reality, most organizations need a mix of these approaches. The key is knowing when to use each: • ETL for sensitive data and complex transformations • ELT for large-scale, cloud-based analytics • Reverse ETL for activating insights in operational systems AI should be seen as an enabler across all these processes, not a replacement. Looking Ahead: The future of data integration lies in seamless, AI-driven orchestration of these techniques, creating a unified data fabric that adapts to business needs in real-time. How are you balancing these approaches in your data stack? What challenges are you facing in adopting AI-driven data integration?

The fox served the heron on a flat platter. She couldn't eat. Not because she wasn't hungry. Not because she didn't try hard enough. Because the platter wasn't made for her beak. At a recent event, the brilliant Shraddha Jain (aiyyoShraddha) used this fable to explain something that I've been struggling to articulate for quite some time about women growing in the workforce. We debate whether women deserve a seat at the table. We rarely ask whether the table is built for them. Women don't enter the workforce on equal footing. They walk in with one hand already tied — childcare, elder care, home care. These aren't personal choices. They're structural loads. And then life stages hit. With devastating timing. Maternity arrives exactly when a woman is crossing the hardest threshold — from middle management to leadership. The moment she has finally earned the room, her body asks her to step out of it. Menopause arrives when she is on the cusp of moving from leader to executive. Years of experience, sharpest strategic mind, highest stakes — and her body is in flux again. These aren't coincidences. They're biology meeting a system that was never designed around her timeline. Shinjini Kumar, author of 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯: 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢, put it plainly: you're fine, as long as you're home when the child returns from school. As long as you can take leave when a parent needs care. The moment you can't — the question comes. 𝘒𝘺𝘢 𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘪? And when women push through anyway? We don't give them the field. As Shraddha puts it, we post them for fielding 𝙟𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙖𝙩𝙞 𝙝𝙞 𝙣𝙖𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙞. Administrative roles. Safe corners. Away from where decisions are made. So what's the answer? Not menstrual leave that quietly marks her as unreliable. Not menopausal sabbaticals framed as disability. Not policies that solve the optics while cementing the stigma. Infrastructure. For return. With equal footing. Flexible structures that don't freeze her career while she's away. Re-entry pathways that don't make her start over. Leadership pipelines that account for the fact that her most pivotal biological moments land at her most pivotal professional ones. Inclusion isn't an invitation. It's infrastructure. The reservation bill debate is loud right now. But even louder is the silence around what happens after women get the seat. #WomenInWorkforce #GenderEquity #WomenLeadership #InclusionAtWork #Menopause #Maternity #WorkplacePolicy #IndiaInc

Looking for a job during the holiday season? Here are some key things to remember as a jobseeker; 🎄Recruiters & Managers will take extended annual leave/PTO during these periods so there could be longer delays in getting back to you. (Equally, this should be communicated to you) 🤶 Roles can be paused or cancelled - its not uncommon due to budget constraints or team structure/org refreshes. Roles can be pushed back till the following year due to a new financial year budget allocation. Companies could also be on cost containment and will remove roles that aren’t deemed business critical. 📊 Budgets, End of Year Reviews, Project Dealines and other business critical tasks can take precedence over hiring for a lot of companies and managers as the year draws to a close and time is limited. 🎅 Don’t be disheartened if you do see or hear much recruitment activity during this period. Typically, from experience the last 2 weeks of December and first week in January are the quietest. You then see a surge mid-January. 🎁 Interviews very rarely happen during these periods because of the distance between stages and hiring manager availability. It’s not unheard to interview during these periods but elongates the hiring process and both parties lose momentum. ⛄️During this period take time for reflection and thank individuals on this platform and companies for their content you’ve seen over the last 12 months that’s helped you. This keeps you in the peripherals when opportunities do open up 🔋Take time to evaluate your CV/Resume during this time period and review your job search strategy. Are you being a busy fool and spraying and praying or being meticulous with your applications and engagement? 🎯Target who you want to work for in 2025, build up a list of Top 20 employers. Connect with their recruiters and hiring managers in your field/profession. Engage and like their content to build rapport and gain visibility. 👨👩👧👦 Job hunting is tough anytime of year, but during the holiday season try not let it consume your time and efforts nor disengage you from spending quality time with the people you love. Recharge > Refocus > Re-enter 2025 Revitalised

Your hobby may be one of the best investments you'll ever make in your career. Do you have one? In today's AI-driven world, technical knowledge alone isn't enough. The ability to **build, create, solve problems, and think differently** is becoming an even bigger competitive advantage. Using your hands—whether it's woodworking, building PCs, restoring cars, photography, gardening, cooking, 3D printing, or DIY projects—develops skills that transfer directly into business: 🔹 Better problem-solving through experimentation. 🔹 Greater patience and attention to detail. 🔹 Higher creativity by connecting ideas across different disciplines. 🔹 Stronger resilience because mistakes become learning opportunities. 🔹 Improved focus in a world full of constant digital distractions. The science backs it up: 📊 Studies have found that people who regularly engage in creative hobbies report **higher levels of well-being and lower stress**. 📊 Research also shows that mentally stimulating leisure activities are associated with **better cognitive performance and lifelong brain health**. 🏁 George Russell doesn't compete at the front of Formula 1 through talent alone. Every race is built on thousands of hours of preparation, simulator sessions, engineering collaboration, data analysis, and relentless practice. Success is earned by mastering the details. Business works the same way. Every project you build with your own hands teaches lessons that no PowerPoint, meeting, or AI tool can fully replicate. Your hobby isn't taking time away from success. **It is helping build the mindset, discipline, creativity, and resilience that create long-term success.** What hobby has taught you the most valuable business lesson? #Leadership via @sholoush #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Business #Learning #GrowthMindset #Engineering #Technology #STEM #Productivity #ContinuousLearning #FutureOfWork #Manufacturing #Craftsmanship #ProblemSolving #DigitalTransformation #MercedesAMGF1 #Formula1

I became self-employed, safe in the knowledge that we could “survive” on my maternity pay. If I could make just £1500 per month, we’d be good. Only, they don’t tell you at “entrepreneur school” that you can’t just work for 20 hours per week at £25 per hour, minus a bit of expenses, and take your £1500. So I will. Here are 16 things you have to know about becoming self-employed: 1. “Self-employed” is completely the wrong way to think of this. You are NOT employed. If you think like an employee, you’ve already missed the point. 2. Every friend or family member you know will think you're mad or will be worried about you failing, or both. 3. Nobody will check in on you. If you want this to work, you have to make it work. 4. You will have no structure. Nothing. You have to decide what the heck you’re going to spend your time doing. My suggestion: do the things that bring in money. 5. You will have no priorities. You have to decide what deserves your attention. And just to say, ten-gazillion things could make it onto that list if you let them. 6. You can live without a logo. This is not a reason not to get started. 7. You are your own everything department.
When tech goes wrong, it's on you to fix it or find someone who can. Your accounts aren’t filed, also, this is on you. Make systems. 8. Clients can be unpredictable. Some may vanish without a word, and others might demand more than agreed upon. Set the rules for working together. Hold the power in the relationship. 9. Holidays will be a luxury if you don’t factor them into your business. Systemise your business so you can take time off. Price so you can take time off. 10. Marketing yourself is a daily job. If you’re not out there promoting, you won’t have clients when you need them. 11. You'll need to be a financial planner. Budgeting, saving for taxes, and managing irregular income is all part of the package. Find someone who can do this for you if you can’t. 12. You’ll crave the simplicity of a job you can go to and forget at the end of the day. You’ll also feel like a caged anminal if you ever try to be an employee again. 13. You’ll need to ignore everyone else. Comparison will make you paranoid. Stay in your lane. Stay focussed. Get really damn good at what you do. 14. There will be failures. Not everything will go according to plan. The first business might not even be “the one”. Learn and move on. 15. It won’t happen overnight. Overnight success is months and months of getting out of your comfort zone and sitting at your laptop in the evenings. 16. Support networks are invaluable. Find people who understand what you’re doing, they know how to get there faster. ——————————— I’m Zoe and I share posts like this that help you be the entrepreneur you want to be. Follow me for more.