Category Archives: Women in Leadership

There is a great discrepancy between the percentage of women and minorities sitting in America’s board rooms and their percentage of the general population. Several barriers to career success for women and minorities have led to this lack of representation and brought increased challenges faced by women and minorities in the workplace.

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working as a professional executive coach for many women and minorities. With the use of my PVI (perception, visibility, and influence) model, they have been able to advance their careers further and faster than they had dreamed!

Recently, I wrote a blog post for Keith Ferrazzi, New York Times bestselling author, world-renowned speaker and relationship development expert.  In that post, you’ll find three common challenges women and minorities face and strategies to overcome them. You’ll learn some of the ways you can apply the three key principles of the … Continue reading Overcoming the Challenges of Gender and Race in the Workplace →

Robin Greene was smart and successful; she was often the go-to person on her team if someone needed advice and she was always open to giving it. So when an internal promotion opened up and Robin looked around her, it seemed that she was the only one really deserving of it. However, three days later, she overheard loud and chatty Bill boasting about how he’d just been promoted.

Frustrated, Robin questioned her boss, Isaac, about how this could’ve happened. His answer: Robin was really good at what she did but Bill understood how to increase visibility in the organization and build influence, which had ultimately landed him the promotion.

Isaac offered Robin some sound advice to help her increase her own visibility in the organization to give her a better chance at getting the promotion next time:

Don’t make your work look … Continue reading How Women Can Increase Visibility in Their Organization →

Lindsey is frustrated. She’s been with her company for several years now and she feels stuck. She’s not assigned to work on her department’s high visibility projects. Her boss ignores her in staff meetings. She is beginning to lose her edge. She’s considering looking for another position, but the job market is a scary place right now. Is there a way she can turn the job she has into the job she wants?

Lindsey shares her dilemma with some women in other companies and learns that they have used business coaches to help them move ahead at work. She gets some recommendations and starts working with an executive coach of her own. After a couple of coaching sessions, she begins to operate with a brand new business plan.

• Become the CEO of You, Inc. • Play the role • Ask … Continue reading Business Coaching for Women Gets Results: Find out How →

Client Melanie Asks:

I’m having a real challenge understanding what’s next for me at my company. I’ve been a department manager for five years. I get impeccable performance reviews and consistent kudos from my boss, my peers and my subordinates. I know I’m a good leader. But every manager above me is male. I feel I’ve gone as far as I can go here. Is the glass ceiling for real? Is male leadership ability really superior to female?

Coach Joel Answers:

Your question is certainly a legitimate one. Dozens of leading business publications, including Forbes, Psychology Today, and The Harvard Business Review have done recent studies and articles on male vs. female leadership ability. Here’s what they’ve all concluded: in the top 16 leadership competencies, women outscore men in all but one. In two of the top characteristics (takes initiative, and drives for results), women outrank men by … Continue reading What’s The Difference? Leadership Ability — Male Vs. Female →

Client Mary Ann Asks: I’ve got a real dilemma on my hands. I’ve got two very talented managers who have been on my team for several years. Martin is a real go-getter, definitely somebody who gets the job done. Danielle is a great motivator, a real team player that brings out the best in her people. There’s one open position that would be a move up for both of them—but it’s only one position. Which one should I promote? Does gender make a difference? How do I figure out the different male and female leadership styles between the two of them?

Coach Joel Answers: Leadership styles are not gender-neutral. But when you’re looking at a promotion situation such as this one, I think you need to put gender aside for the moment and look at some key management characteristics. Ask yourself these three critical … Continue reading Can Male and Female Leadership Styles Predict Success? →

Client Julia asks: I’ve tried to find a mentor in my company, but most of the higher-level managers are men, and the way they lead groups doesn’t come naturally to me. Am I just not leadership material?

Coach Joel answers: Julia, you just need to tap into your own strengths as a leader. Empirical research shows that women tend to have a range of strengths that make for a great leader. Women aren’t yet getting equal rewards for these strengths—according to Harvard Business Review, only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and just over 5% of executives in Fortune 500 companies are women. However, many qualities women leaders tend to possess are aspects of transformational leadership, which is fast becoming recognized as the most effective leadership style. Transformational leadership motivates employees by helping them find self-worth through the work they … Continue reading Differences between Male & Female Leadership →

You know your value. You know you add to the company in ways that enrich it. However, women leaders in business and industry need to quantify their value and convey their worth to others so they can continue their upward path to success.

Women Leaders in Business & Industry Statistics to Help Calculate Your Contributions. A McKinsey & Company study showed companies with three or more women in senior management ranked higher in organizational excellence such as leadership, accountability, innovation and six other factors, than companies with no top women. Yet a study conducted by UC Davis in 2011 reveals that women occupy only 9.7% of the board seats and top executive positions in California companies. The London Business School’s study of 1,000 international teams found work teams balanced equally with men and women had more innovation than those teams that had an unequal ratio. When Chicago … Continue reading What Women Leaders in Every Business & Industry Need to Know to Thrive →

More people recognize the admirable role women play in business even though women are still underrepresented in top leadership positions. (Only 4% of CEO’s in US companies are women.) But studies recognize the difference women business leaders make in the companies they work for. One study showed that the 25 Fortune 500 firms with the best record of promoting women to high positions were between 18% and 69% more profitable than the median Fortune 500 firms in their industries.

Recognizing women in leadership for the strength they bring to your company can mean increased revenues, increased innovation, and an increase in quality in the workplace. What can you do to affirm the value women bring to your business?

This is what you can do to individually recognize the women business leaders who work with and for you. Private Recognition

Both men and women in leadership positions … Continue reading Three Ways of Recognizing Women Business Leaders for Greater Profits →