Offering both a male and female perspective on the dilemmas women face in business, this book provides the benefits of high-level executive coaching to all women who want to take control of their careers and achieve their aspirations for corporate leadership.

Despite efforts to increase diversity within Fortune 500 companies and larger numbers of highly motivated and educated women in the workforce, women remain vastly under-represented at the highest levels of corporate leadership. Only about 15 percent of women hold senior executive positions, and about 17 percent are represented on corporate boards; worldwide, only 3-4 percent of CEOs are women. These statistics are in spite of the fact that many companies are actively seeking to take advantage of the financial boost that gender balance at the corporate level brings: Companies that have women in leadership roles are showing higher performance in various measures of profitability, such as revenues, assets, and stockholder value. How can qualified women leaders overcome the myriad longstanding hurdles of the corporate environment and reach the top?

Coauthored by executive coaches to some of corporate America’s most notable leaders, this practical, research- and experience-based guide identifies the various barriers that block women from reaching positions of corporate leadership and offers readers specific strategies and approaches that they can utilize to advance themselves into the positions they want-and apply their talents and abilities at the very top. The chapters address very specific challenges for women in the business world, such as strengthening and leveraging their closest connections, including those with their mentors and their sponsors; understanding how performance means more than doing their jobs well; garnering positive attention and recognition for their efforts and results; and getting honest, practical feedback that will serve to advance their careers.

Addresses the myriad obstacles and dilemmas women leaders face as they climb the corporate ladder, from the Demeanor Dilemma (the no-win situation of being in a society that expects women to be feminine and a workplace that rewards masculine traits) to the Advancement Dilemma (finding the trap doors in the glass ceiling to move up)

Supplies advice from more than 100 accomplished executives who participated in the authors’ research, including several of Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women

Presents insights and wisdom gained from the authors’ combined executive coaching experience, bringing readers real-world specifics, lessons learned, and cautionary tales about what helps women advance in corporate settings

Supplies strategies and solutions accompanied by practical exercises and examples that women can use to their advantage