I want to share a short version of a post on blog here; titled "How to be relevant in a Man's World"

Naturally men are built to lead, thus imagine a room filled with strong "alphas", How do you want to be relevant in that setting? How do you want your "soft" voice to be heard over all the roars?

Since I have been there, I will outline what has worked for me and hopefully it will help YOU in your own "jungle".

Tips:
1) Drop your pretty face and use your brain: Yes, that may sound harsh, but that's the reality. For how long do you want to use "what you've got to get up that ladder"?.

Remember the "beautiful ones" are not yet born, so there is a very high chance that one pretty Belle will come and over throw your pretty face one day.

So instead, use what is uniquely yours; your brain, no one can steal your knowledge, especially if you know how to use it effectively.

Read, research and constantly practice ways to hone your skills.

The upside of this is that the Men in your Team will see you as more than an object with "pretty boobs and backside" and instead see you as someone they can relate to on an intellectual level.

2) Define your skill(s): You know that saying about " Jack of all trades, Master of none"? Well, it is very true. You can be talented in various area but most times they all have to be categorized under one group; for example, you can be good at drafting Minutes, logistics and organizing Meetings and Workshops, all these can fall under Administrative duties.

Once you have defined your "category" (your strengths and what you can do effortlessly), then the main "work" begins.

It is not enough to be talented, you have to know how to harness these skills.

Go for Seminars, read good books, get a Mentor, etc.

Just look for a way to take a step forward toward harnessing your skills.

3) Don't back out: I know how it feels to be the "under dog"; I am the only female in my Team and to make it worse, I was the youngest for a long time, so all I used to hear was "Semira, draft this letter", "Semira, make a photocopy of this document" etc and I used to hate it very very much.

Until I decided to make lemonades out of the "lemons"

So when I am asked to type a letter, I don't say," Sir, am tired or I don't know how to do it".

I simply say; "Yes Sir" and get it done.

If I get lost, I simply go to google (trust me, you can get a lot of ideas surfing the internet), type in a topic related to what I have been asked to draft and use it as a guideline.

I may not come out with the best work but at least I made an effort and after all the corrections are made, I learn another method of drafting a specific kind of letter.

Remember; "No Knowledge is Lost", so never ever say "I can't". Just do it!!!

If you get stuck, go to your Colleagues that are more experienced or even your Supervisor and ask for help, it won't kill you :).

4) Make yourself relevant: This is the most important part and I must differentiate "kissing ass" from "being relevant" here.

Kissing ass is trying to be seen even when you don't have anything to offer.

While,

Being relevant is selfless; you want to give something back to your Team.

"You can't give what you don't have yeah"?.

So after you have put your brain into gear, defined your skills and harnessed them, then it is time to give back.

How you may ask?

Simple.

Study and take note of what is lacking in your Team; something you know you can do efficiently or even if it is already present, look for ways to make it better.

Then put yourself out there.

So the next time you are asked to do something "mundane", don't say NO, use it as a stepping stone instead, embrace that job that is beneath you and bring it up to your standard.

That beats being inactive and unheard, trust me.

For now these are the major tips I can think of that will make you a part of that "pack of wolves"

The most important thing is to know your "salt" and use it in seasoning your Team dynamic.