When Women Lead

Prepare to be inspired by and to learn from the stories of more than 60 highly-successful female CEOs and leaders who are featured in Julia Boorstin’s new book, When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, How We Can Learn From Them.

Boorstin shares that whether you’re a woman looking to rise in your organization or taking on a new leadership position, or a male leader looking to empower women in your organization this book is for you.

The book is divided into three sections:

The first section includes:

A focus on how and why women tend to build strong companies, staring with the structural challenges they must overcome to raise venture capital and scale their businesses.
An Impetus for women to structure their businesses in a more purpose-drive way.
How women build smart teams by embracing a growth mindset and welcoming varied perspectives.

The second section primarily includes:

How women tackle complex problems.

The third section focuses on:

The new patterns that women leaders are creating to break free from old male-dominated systems.

Boorstin is CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech Correspondent and has been an on-air reporter for the network since 2006. Her new book is filled with extensive research, engaging stories, and plenty of learning takeaways. You’ll want to spend ample of time with this book.

Julia Boorstin

Today, Boorstin shares these additional insights with us:

Question: How did you decide which leaders to feature in your book?

Boorstin: I could have written about hundreds-if not thousands–of different women's amazing stories. I started by asking VC investors which women struck them as most remarkable or had the most impressive journey. As I interviewed over 120 people, I looked for themes–and I organized stories into chapters based on the characteristics and approaches that the women were demonstrated.

I wanted to tell surprising stories about women you've heard about before, like Rent the Runway founder Jenn Hyman and Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, and also stories about amazing entrepreneurs you probably haven't heard of, like Meena Sankaran, the CEO of water analytics company Ketos, or Toyin Ajayi, the founder and CEO of City Block Health.

Question: What do you believe it will take for the business industry to fully embrace the value and benefits of women leaders?

Boorstin: I think that companies and investors are missing out by not having more women in leadership roles--and not investing more in women. I think two key things will help to change that.

First, it's essential to see the data I share in my book about the financial benefit of having women in leadership roles–there are a range of studies that have found that having diversity in gender and race in the c-suite and in boards improves corporate performance, that female founders yield higher returns to investors, and that having diversity among investors improves their performance as well.

Second, I think we need to have more examples of successful female innovators. The more we can see stories about all sorts of different types of CEOs, who lead in all sorts of different ways--many of which haven't been traditionally associated with leadership--the more everyone will have a broader vision of what success in business looks like.

Question: How did your experience working at Fortune and now CNBC shape you, and shape this book?

Boorstin: In the 16 years I’ve been a reporter at CNBC and the six years before that I worked for Fortune Magazine, I’ve interviewed thousands of CEOs. I’ve been fascinated to see how these leaders saw the world and approached problem-solving.

In the case of women, I’ve always been curious to understand how they managed to defy the odds and rise through the ranks to run companies and create game-changing businesses. I was struck that the way women led and tackled problems seemed in many ways different from the stereotypical archetype of male leadership–brash, bold, unwaveringly confident.

I found in my reporting that in fact, the ways that women led were just as effective, and in some cases, even more so. Now I'm hugely optimistic that businesses and investors will continue to embrace diversity because it simply drives better results.

Question: You share many commonalities that make women leaders all over the world uniquely equipped to lead, grow businesses, and navigate crises. What is the greatest commonality?

Boorstin: While I was struck by the diversity of success stories and approaches, one thing they all had in common is that all these women worked hard to hone their natural strengths. No one is born a leader and certainly not born a perfect leader.

I was impressed that these women had the humility to learn from their own mistakes and learn from others. It inspired me to know that we can all push ourselves to be better–not by competing against others but by measuring our own progress against our own benchmarks.

Question: The book shares engaging stories from more than 60 female CEOs and leaders including Whitney Wolfe Herdand and Jennifer Hyman who have defied the odds and transformed business. Can you share your favorite piece of advice?

Boorstin: I was surprised to learn that it’s good to NOT be confident all the time–and that confidence SHOULD be on a dial.

Various studies in the book find that it’s useful to be able to dial down your confidence and explore all your concerns and doubts when you’re gathering information to solve a problem. When you’re in that data-gathering mode, humility will let you draw on the most useful data. Then when you’ve made your decision about how to proceed and it’s time to execute, you dial up your confidence. I have personally found this incredibly useful and empowering.

Question: This book isn’t just for women. Can you explain why these lessons are also important for male leaders?

Boorstin: I believe that my book will resonate with women and inspire them to unlock their strengths, but I think it may be even more important for men to read, to help them to succeed in this fast-changing business world.

Many of the characteristics I highlight are more frequently used by women–but they have also been found to be effective when used by men.

Take an approach called “servant leadership” to prioritize employees and customers, or using empathy to identify new business opportunities, or embracing gratitude, which has been found to enable leaders to prioritize long-term outcomes. These leadership approaches work–and men should benefit them as well.

It’s also important for men to understand the challenges women face around stereotype and pattern matching. If men can see how much unconscious bias is holding women back–and can see the new patterns set by the leaders in my book–the more they’ll be able to unlock the opportunity by investing in women.

Question: What’s the first step men and women should take to start applying your advice tomorrow?

Boorstin: We all have workplace superpowers–whether it’s a love of asking questions or an ability to draw out diverse perspectives from a team. Think about what your strengths are or a skill you’d like to improve upon. Is it finding the forest through the trees? Being a “fire preventer” rather than a firefighter–preventing workplace crises before they happen? Focusing on long-term outcomes rather than near-term gains? Then create benchmarks so you can improve upon your skills and measure your progress. The most valuable superpowers might look nothing like “powers”–and we all have tools we can improve on and deploy.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

How To Play Bigger And Be A Category King In Business

"The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn't know we had -- or a problem we didn't pay attention to because we never thought there was another way," explain the four authors of the dynamic new book, Play Bigger . They add that, "the most exciting companies sell us different. They introduce the world to a new category of product or service." And, they become category kings . Examples of category kings are Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA. Play Bigger is all about the strategy that builds category kings. And, to be a category king you need to be good at category design : Category design is the discipline of creating and developing a new market category, and conditioning the market so it will demand your solution and crown your company as its king. Category design is the opposite of "build it and they will come." Key traits of category design...

Nelson Mandela Leadership Quotes

Here are my favorite Nelson Mandela leadership quotes: "Lead from the back--and let others believe they are in front." "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall." "It always seems impossible until it's done." "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles." "I've learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

Five Essential Principles For Sustaining Growth Through Innovation

Even though many companies strive for innovation, most struggle to achieve meaningful change. The largest reason for this disconnect? Playing it safe. Leaders and organizations want to implement new ideas, but too often they are held back by the fear of failure, even though setbacks are intrinsic to the innovation process. In the new book, No Fear, No Failure , by Lorraine H. Marchand (with John Hanc), readers will learn how to overcome the status quo that stifles creative thinking and how to create a culture that encourages innovation. Marchand provides a framework for sustained growth built on the “ 5 Cs ”: Customer First Culture Collaboration Change Chance She draws on more than 120 interviews with leaders across industries, real-world case studies, and her firsthand experience and shares step-by-step, field-tested strategies, tactics, and tools that practitioners can use to embed creativity within organizational cultures. Marchand is a former Big Tech and Big Pharma ex...

Advisory Leadership

Flashback to three years ago...because this book is so, so good! After reading nearly 30 new books about leadership this year, my pick for 2015's best new leadership book is, Advisory Leadership , by Greg Friedman , Although the book is authored by an award-winning financial advisor and primarily written for professionals in the financial services industry, this book is a must read for any leader who wants to create a nurturing heart culture that hinges on the human-centric values the next generation of employees hold in high regard. And, what exactly is heart culture ? Friedman says, "At its core, heart culture symbolizes how a company values more than just an employee's output. It's not about the work, but rather, the people who do the work." He further explains that leaders can no longer afford to ignore the shift toward a people-first culture and its direct influence on a healthy, effective work envir...

Teach An Employee Something New Today

Take the opportunity today to teach an employee something new. Nearly everyone likes to learn and is capable of tackling a new challenge. Teach your employee something that expands their current job description. Teach something that will help them to get promoted within your organization at a later date. Teach them a skill that uses new technology. Or teach them something that will allow them to be a more skilled leader and manager in the future. You can even teach something that you no longer need to be doing in your position, but that will be a rewarding challenge/task for your employee. The benefit to your employee is obvious. The benefit to you is you'll have a more skilled team member who is capable of handling more work that can help you to grow your business and/or make it run more efficiently. Be a leader who teaches.

Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters

“Confusion often abounds as to what workplace wellbeing actually is and what it entails,” explain the authors of the book, Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance . “Workplace wellbeing is how we feel at work and about our work,” share Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward . “It has evaluative, affective, and eudaimonic components. These may sound complicated but are actually very straightforward.” Evaluative workplace wellbeing refers to how we think about our jobs. It is an overall judgment, an assessment about how things are going, and it is typically measured by job satisfaction. Affective wellbeing refers to how we actually feel on a day-to-day basis while we are at work. It is an emotional or hedonic experience, and it can involve both positive and negative emotions. Eudaimonic wellbeing is about how much of a sense of purpose we get out of our work. ...

Important Questions To Ask Your New Hires

In Paul Falcone ’s book, 75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired: 30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting? 60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organi...

29 People Who Taught Us Life Lessons In Courage, Integrity And Leadership

The 29 profiles you will read in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s new book, Character , are about people who are exceptional exemplars of character. They’re inspirational because they used their abilities at their highest levels to work for causes they believed in. Because of character, they influenced the world for good. The dictionary defines “character” as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, the distinctive nature of something, the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way, strength and originality in a person’s nature, and a person’s good reputation. “But beyond these definitions, we know that character is manifested in leadership, innovation, resilience, change, courage, loyalty, breaking barriers, and more,” explains Robert (Bob), “Character drives the best traits in our society, such as honesty, integrity, leadership, and transparency, and it drives others to exhibit those qualities.” Profiled in the book ar...

How To Use The CPR Business Efficiency Framework To Eliminate A Team's Pain Points

In Nick Sonnenberg’s book, Come Up For Air , you’ll learn about his CPR Business Efficiency Framework , which stands for: C ommunication P lanning R esources This framework focuses on eliminating the pain points most teams experience by optimizing these three operation areas foundational to every organization. “In my book, I show you the tools that will boost efficiency in all three of these domains and I provide you with a detailed blueprint for the most effective ways to use them,” explains Sonnenberg. He further shares that some sections of the book may be more applicable to managers, and some may be more applicable to individual contributors. “However, it is still integral that both roles understand all of the concepts within the CPR Framework as each one benefits the team as a whole,” says Sonnenberg. As you read the book, you’ll learn what Sonnenberg has learned through years of building a leading efficiency consulting business – that th...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog