Have you ever found yourself saying “yes” to a project when your plate was already overflowing? Or apologizing profusely before declining a meeting? If you’re nodding along (or maybe even wincing a little), welcome to the club! As women leaders, many of us have earned black belts in the martial art of stretching ourselves too thin.
The Double Bind for Women Leaders (Or: Why “Just Say No” Is Terrible Advice)
Managing time expectations is fundamentally different for women leaders.
Research shows we face the infamous “tightrope bias” – we’re expected to be both competent and warm, assertive yet not “too pushy,” available but not overwhelmed. It’s like being told to simultaneously inhale and exhale. When we set boundaries, we risk being labeled “not a team player” – labels that somehow rarely seem to stick to our male counterparts.
