Dare: Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for Women in Charge

Dare: Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for Women in Charge

by Becky Blalock
Released October 2013
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781118562642

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Book description

From a veteran Fortune 500 executive, how women can reach and succeed in top leadership positions

Though women hold a majority of the managerial and professional jobs in the workforce, they occupy a mere 14% of C-suite positions at Fortune 500 firms. To break through this stubborn glass ceiling, women must learn to take bold steps when career-defining moments arise. During her 33-year career at Southern Company, a Fortune 500 utility company, Becky Blalock rose to become CIO in a traditionally male industry. Now she offers her own hard-won advice, as well as that of 28 top female executives, to show all aspiring women how to dare to reach the highest tier of leadership and C-suite positions.

  • Includes advice and mentoring lessons from top women business leaders such as: Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA; Kat Cole, President of Cinnabon; Carol Tomé, CFO of Home Depot; Dr. Beverly Tatum, president of Spelman College, and Jeanette Horan, CIO of IBM, among many others

  • Features straightforward, honest advice on gaining confidence, speaking up, finding mentors, learning to fail, building a network of allies, managing others, and more

  • Written by pioneering business leader Becky Blalock, with a Foreword by Anne Mulcahy, former chairperson and CEO of Xerox Corporation

Dare is must-needed guide for women everywhere, at every level, striving to develop the character, skills, and relationships that deliver greater success in the workplace.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. More Praise for Dare
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Foreword
  7. Introduction: Follow Me
  8. Chapter One: Dare to Set the Target High
    1. Believe You Can Get There
    2. Make Your Personal Vision Specific
    3. Dare to Write a Personal Vision Statement
    4. Core Values: Your Visionary GPS
    5. You Can't Have Everything—So Know What's Most Important
  9. Chapter Two: Dare to Know Yourself
    1. To Get Strong, Admit You're Weak
    2. Dare to Ask for Feedback
    3. How I Learned to Stop Butting In
    4. Getting the Best Data
    5. Setting a Course for Change
    6. Back to the Mirror
  10. Chapter Three: Dare to Stand Out
    1. Under the Microscope
    2. Distinguish Yourself with Integrity
    3. Average is Over
    4. Create Opportunities to Radiate Excellence
    5. Sweating the Small Stuff
    6. Toot Your Horn
    7. Ask for More
    8. Speak up, Please
    9. Ask Questions…
    10. …And Tell a Story
  11. Chapter Four: Dare to Project a Confident Attitude
    1. Get Over Your Need to be Liked
    2. How to be Assertive Without Being Pushy
    3. Don't be Too Grateful
    4. Never Accept no at Face Value
    5. Master the 90 Percent Rule
    6. You're a Fraud—and so is Everyone Else
    7. Forge a Middle Path
    8. The Network Effect
    9. Awaken the Voice of Ambition
  12. Chapter Five: Dare to Learn at Every Age
    1. What Got You There Won't Get You Here
    2. Where Knowledge Meets Confidence
    3. Cultivate Network Intelligence
    4. It's not Whom You Know, It's Who Trusts You
    5. Become a Novice
  13. Chapter Six: Dare to Fail
    1. Your Secret Résumé
    2. The Real Failure in Failure
    3. Take a Positive Approach to Risk
    4. Learn to Live with Failure
    5. The Five Most Powerful Words
    6. Create a Forgiving Environment
    7. Game on, not Game Over
  14. Chapter Seven: Dare to Reach Out
    1. Put Your Family First without Putting Your Job Last
    2. Finding Colleagues—at Other Companies
    3. Building the Network
    4. Mentors Keep You Moving Forward
    5. Whom Should You Recruit as a Mentor?
    6. You also Need Sponsors
    7. Find Allies
    8. The First Law of Motion
  15. Chapter Eight: Dare to be More than the Boss
    1. The Value of “Friendraising”
    2. Spend Time on the Front Line
    3. Always Let Your Calmer Head Prevail
    4. When to have Tough Conversations
    5. It Takes Ears to Build Relationships
    6. Speak the Language of Encouragement
  16. Chapter Nine: Dare to be There—for Others
    1. Be a Mentor, Starting Now
    2. Mentoring Makes You a Better Leader
    3. Making the Match
    4. Mentoring Effectively
    5. Give Back Early
    6. Make an Unbreakable Chain
    7. Look Beyond Your Experience
  17. Appendix
  18. Acknowledgments
  19. About the Author
  20. More from Wiley
  21. Index

Product information

  • Title: Dare: Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for Women in Charge
  • Author(s): Becky Blalock
  • Release date: October 2013
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9781118562642