Early in my career, empathy was my ace-in-the-hole management technique. I was all business when it came to helping my team on technical, process and performance issues, but if they had an emotional reaction or issue, I reverted to empathy because it was the easy thing to do. I learned that when I...
In a previous post about job interview tips, I outlined the findings of several research studies about advancing your career – especially for professional women in leadership who want to land a C-suite executive job. The research basically pointed up the following: If targeting a C-suite job,...
There’s merit to the feminist narrative that says professional women aren’t hired for the top jobs as often because corporate cultures aren’t accommodating and sexism still exists – but sometimes it’s not about that at all. Sometimes, high-achieving women leaders are just not ready, or we...
Title: California Women Business Leaders Study: UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders (Curall, UC Davis 2012-13) Finding: Women still hold fewer than one in 10 of the highest-paid executive positions and board seats at the top public firms in California. Note about The Woman Effect...
Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, has generated a ton of dialog about women and work – not all of it positive, and not all the criticism from men. Actually, the only criticism I’ve read or heard has been from women, and it seems to literally illustrate her point that sexism is very cultural and...
It is a well known fact in human psychology. We only see what we believe. I was speaking a few years ago on a panel of C-suite women about how to achieve career success. One woman in the audience asked: “How did each of you shatter the glass ceiling?”. Every single one of us on the panel looked...
Study: A Study in Leadership: Women Do it Better Than Men (Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman – Zenger/Folkman 2012) Finding: This study of 7,280 leaders finds that women excel at 15 of 16 individual leadership characteristics, as judged by their peers, subordinates and managers. The variation between...
It's sad that the glass ceiling still exists. Even though there has been progress, we still have a long way to go regarding women enjoying equality in important leadership positions and compensation. Far too few capable women are offered positions with the responsibilities and influence they have...
So you’ve just gotten that great opportunity you’ve wanted for so long. You got the promotion! Woo hoo! You settle into your new office, put the higher pay in your monthly budget, meet your colleagues, receive the key to the bathroom and put that first board meeting on your calendar. Then the...
Study: Why you didn't land the top job (CBS News, 2011, Weisul) Finding: Many job seekers at all levels don't understand what the hiring managers are actually looking for in the interview process, and because of this they tend to emphasize the wrong characteristics and traits. Note about The Woman...
