If you care about diversity and a stronger representation of women in your organization, How Women Rise needs to go to your “must read” list. Released in April 2018, How Women Rise is a collaboration between Marshall Goldsmith and Sally Helgesen.
How Women Rise: A Brief Look at the Authors
Marshall is an executive coach to leaders of many major organizations and is the author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, a well-known book on what it takes to rise to the next level.
Sally is an executive coach and expert on women’s leadership and has authored five books on the topic. I was not familiar with her work until I stumbled upon the pre-release advertising of How Women Rise. This is the first book that I have ever purchased pre-release, in part due to my admiration for Marshall’s work and for the focus of the book – women.
Women, Which Habits are Holding You Back in the Workplace?
As you might have guessed, women are wired differently than men. I was especially interested in Marshall’s take on the differences, as much of his work with high level executives is dominated by men. The authors used the same approach taken in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and identified specific habits that hold women back in the workplace.
I found it interesting to guess which habits might apply to me. You can find a short list of the habits on page 60 of the book. I checked the ones I thought applied and as I read through each habit in the book, I was able to confirm or deny. I was guilty of more “hold me back” habits than I originally thought! I’m wondering if you’ll see a similar pattern in yourself as you read through the book.
If You’re a Woman Focused on Rising in Your Organization…
And that is what really gets us: a lack of awareness of our own behavior and of how others perceive our behavior. In some cases, an executive is fortunate enough to have a coach observe her in action over several days and across a variety of situations to provide effective feedback. But that is the rare case; most of us get to figure this out on our own.
There are tools in the book to help you, but one of the most important points the authors make is not to go it alone. If you are a woman focused on rising in your organization, make the pitch for the use of an executive coach to help you rise to the next level.
Women Must Build on Two Key Business Trends
Organizations’ awareness of the value of executive coaching continues to rise. Organizations’ desire to have a more diverse workplace continues to rise. Build on these two trends and make your case for adding an executive coach to your team. Take advantage of our free resource, What To Consider When Hiring a Coach, so you’ll be more than prepared to make that pitch.
Don’t assume your organization won’t support a coach for you. That makes you guilty of Habit 5, Failing to Enlist Allies from Day One. Sally and Marshall provide other useful tools in the book to help raise awareness of these habits in your work life and other tools to make positive changes. I want you to ask for the support first.
Psst…The habit I overlooked is the first of 12 habits listed in the book. Grab a copy to find out what this habit is!