The Devil Wears Prada: Fact or Urban Legend?

Urban legend has it that she-devils are the only ones that get the corner office. As the CEO and owner of a multi-million dollar legal nurse consultant training and certification business I can tell you first hand that growing horns has very little to do with success in the real world.

Maybe the myth evolved from the fact that most successful women know their strengths and know how and when to use them. But as reality has it, women on top excel because they know how to innately communicate effectively to pull teams together and create loyalty among their workers. The bottom line is, women are communicators not instigators.

When building your own career remember that this best-selling novel by Lauren Weisberger was classified as fiction for a reason.

The good news is that all women have 10 innate strengths they can use to get the life and career they want, including their very own collection of Prada shoes.

The secret is harnessing as many of these feminine strengths as possible. Here are a couple of these feminine strengths with tips on how to master them:

1. Genius – While women ultimately make their own decisions, collaboration is one of the secrets to our success. It’s the advantage we have, a woman’s intellectual edge in problem solving. My advice is to collect gray matter wherever you can find it. There’s not a single problem you will encounter that someone hasn’t already successfully solved. As you discuss diverse opinions, ideas spark new thoughts, and one plus one suddenly equals a lot more than two. You arrive at a place neither of you would have reached alone, and your project rises to a new level.

2. Endurance - Among people 100 years or older, women outnumber men 4 to 1. That’s endurance. But endurance isn’t just about living long. It’s also about having the stamina to do what it takes to succeed. Fuel your endurance with incremental payoffs as you focus on your vision. Celebrate your small achievements from time to time. Don’t wait until you reach the big goal. There are a lot of steps along the way you can stop and acknowledge yourself for. This endurance tip is what I like to think of as a mental energy bar.

3. Intuitive Vision - Intuitive vision is about connecting with your imagination, paying attention, trusting, perhaps experimenting a little, and seeing where that takes you. It will also help you make the right decisions. How often have you not followed your “gut” and regretted it? Instead, use your intuitive vision to help you make the right decisions—whether it’s about the relocation offer your boss put on the table, about starting your own business or about any career decision. Trust your intuition because if you always wait for the facts, it may be too late.

Next, begin to use your vision to catapult to new levels. To become more successful, you must first see yourself as more successful. Envision your new success over and over—planning, taking action, succeeding. If your goal is to put together the marketing proposal that wins the big account or to earn a promotion, vividly see the benefits you’ll receive and the people who will enjoy the fruits of your efforts.

4. Agility - Women are flexible and adaptable, often juggling a dozen different projects. But agility is more than bending over backwards; it’s also growing and stretching both personally and professionally. I believe the happiest people are those who are open to learning and pushing beyond their current limits. The only way to grow is to question, challenge, probe for new answers and be agile enough to try new things.

Open your mind and energy to people who can introduce you to new ideas and take you to new levels. Be willing to change directions and shake things up. Risking even minor change strengthens your agility to go where you need to go next and prepares you for future challenges that will undoubtedly require even more change. As women we have incredible powers and skills, but they are just the foundation for what we are capable of. Mastering your feminine strengths will lead you on a discovery that will surprise, delight and transport you to new levels of personal and professional growth. Whether positioning yourself for a promotion, pursuing a life goal or simply figuring out what you want to be when you grow up, your feminine strengths will get you there without selling your soul to the devil.