Women and Power

Read our report!

Learn how women can fill more senior level jobs and how both men and women can remake how leadership is practiced.

If you've ever attended one of Jane's keynotes or workshops, you heard her talk about her "Aunt Polly" story and how it changed the course of her career, "My fascination with love and power in the workplace began after a new boss described me – a vice president with 150 people in her department – as Aunt Polly."

Jane recently partnered with Anne Perschel of Germane Consulting to research women in business and their relationship with power.

Five learnable skill areas

Jane and Anne combined their research findings with lessons they'd learned from their own executive experiences to identify five actions for women to master for stepping up and into their personal and professional power. All five items — matters of both the head and heart — can be learned, provided there's a willingness to do so. The key phrase here is willingness to do so...as we're put off by incorrect assertions that there aren't more women in senior level jobs because women are "broken." 

• Women need to Show up. Stand up. Voice Up. They must build the confidence and courage to tactfully toot their own horn.
• It's time to Ditch Cinderella. Women must quit waiting for things to happen to them — start seizing opportunities and making things happen.
• Forge strategic connections. Connections — who you know and who knows you — are the new currency of the workplace, particularly at higher levels.
• Unstick your thinking means women do not have to choose between being powerful and being well-liked because there's a way to do both.
• Know power:  it's simply the neutral authority to achieve outcomes by deploying resources to drive change. Be powerful by understanding that power is readily available from a multitude of personal and positional sources.

What Companies Can Do

Women stepping into their personal and professional power is just half the change equation. Companies must do their part to catalyze change and close the gender gap. CEOs must focus on making gender balance a real priority, redefining leadership and walking the talk by developing women leaders.  This report offers practical tips and insights on how to do so.

Ready to learn more?

The BIG team is excited to share what we've learned and equip more women to step up and into power. Download our research report, Women and The Paradox of Power, 8 Keys for Transforming Business Culture!