DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A SUPPORT SYSTEM Taking the time to maintain supportive and close connections with others is necessary to attain and sustain the energy and well-being you need to achieve career success. At home, you'll need a partner who will agree to negotiate and share family work with you. Be clear with your significant others that you need their help in order to reach your goals. Being overloaded with family responsibility is as much of an obstacle to women reaching positions of leadership as is the "glass ceiling" at work. You'll also need the support of people you supervise - your support staff, paralegals, junior associates, etc. It's easier to recruit such support if you understand their needs and goals and treat them with compassion and respect. Compassion and encouragement motivate people much more than impatience and harshness. Learn to delegate well. Remember, leaders don't do all the work themselves: They effectively match people to tasks based on knowledge of their subordinates' strengths and aspirations. They are clear about their expectations when giving assignments. But don't allow perfectionism to derail good delegating. If you're not satisfied with the finished product, resist the urge to do it over yourself. Instead, return the work to the person who produced it and make sure that he or she understands your expectations. That way, you won't feel overburdened and you'll help the other person increase their own competence.
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