Women lack representation in the top positions at companies and within industries across the global workforce. Those who do reach the top are in a unique position to provide mentoring and foster gender equity for other Women on their way up.

Women’s stories of overcoming difficulties and crafting their own leadership path illuminate the qualities leaders need, including courage, resiliency, adaptability and vulnerability.

This book summary of The Courage To Advance relates the journeys of 36 strong women leaders who overcame obstacles to serve as advocates for gender parity in leadership roles.

Content Summary

Recommendation
Take-Aways
Summary
About the author
Genres
Table of Contents
Overview
Review/Endorsements/Praise/Award
Video and Podcast
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Recommendation

Bonnie Hagemann, Lisa Pent and their colleagues from the WomenExecs on Boards network offer a collection of truly inspiring stories of the struggles that defined and shaped them as strong women leaders. All 36 women who share their experiences here participated in the Harvard Business School network program and are passionate about Hagemann and Pent’s cause: increasing gender parity in leadership roles worldwide. Their stories expose the less glamorous side of success and demonstrate the strength women must muster to overcome adversity. These revealing narratives about how women leaders found strength and persevered will inspire readers to overcome obstacles in their path.

Take-Aways

• Successful women’s stories of triumph over adversity demonstrate important leadership lessons.
• Muster your courage to face the dangers of difficult but necessary jobs.
• Be resilient through change and setbacks.
• Adapt to new challenges as you forge a better path for others to follow.
• Pause and reflect to make sure you’re learning the right lessons.
• To grow as a leader, be vulnerable, authentic, honest and transparent.
• The hardships you face will teach you important leadership skills.

Summary

Successful women’s stories of triumph over adversity demonstrate important leadership lessons.

Women lack representation in the top positions at companies and within industries across the global workforce. Those who do reach the top are in a unique position to provide mentoring and foster gender equity for other women on their way up.

Women’s stories of overcoming difficulties and crafting their own leadership path illuminate the qualities leaders need, including courage, resiliency, adaptability and vulnerability.

Muster your courage to face the dangers of difficult but necessary jobs.

Leaders need to be brave to persevere in the face of danger. Consider Saniye Gulser Corat, director of UNESCO, the first woman to lead a successful Asian Development Bank project mission in Cambodia, and the first woman and social scientist to oversee the Bangladesh National Water Policy and Management Plan.

Corat became aware of gender inequality when she visited the Ivory Coast to research her doctoral thesis. She launched a company, ECI Consulting, Inc., to provide funding and solutions for international developmental issues. She decided to include an analysis of gender relations in each of the projects she led.

Corat faced a test of courage in 1997 during her eight-month project with the Asian Development Bank in Cambodia.Her task was to implement a $50 million loan program to employ military veterans, disabled people and women. She chose Cambodia because it was in violent turmoil from the remnants of the Khmer Rouge movement and its leader, Pol Pot. His regime systematically destroyed the country’s history, executed the educated class and starved overworked citizens.

“We must remember that any woman who has made it to high levels has done so on the backs of the women who have gone before.”

Corat dealt with the extreme challenges of building infrastructure from scratch with little to no resources, communicating with citizens who did not trust the government or each other, and traveling with armed guards to keep her team safe because she was a prime target for Pol Pot’s retribution.

As she witnessed Cambodian families’ appalling conditions and lived in constant fear and risk, Corat found the courage to persevere. Her mission helped many Cambodians gain financial security and education.

Be resilient through changes and setbacks.

Sisu is a Finnish phrase for the stoic attitude that enables you to keep going when you reach your breaking point. It is the inner strength you need to face life’s changes with resiliency. Rebecca (Riv) Goldman, the SVP and General Counsel at Optimas Solutions in Milwaukee, exemplifies sisu.

Goldman’s career began in the McNeil consumer products division at Johnson & Johnson, where she faced her first intense challenge as part of the response team for Tylenol during the 1982 “Chicago Tylenol Murders.” Someone poisoned bottles of the pain relief pills with potassium cyanide, killing consumers. Tylenol created what is now regarded as the standard safety packaging for such products. Thanks in part to Goldman, the company earned praise for the way it handled the crisis.

The resiliency Goldman demonstrated at Tylenol put her in line for a major promotion; however, she had recently married and her husband had a family business in Springfield, Illinois. Goldman chose to move to Springfield and raise a family. She was uncertain what this drastic lifestyle change would bring, but after having her two children – and finding optimism and joy in motherhood – she returned to work at an insurance company. This position expanded her knowledge of financial planning and marketing.

After Goldman’s husband sold the family business and the family moved to Springfield, Ohio, she became the vice president of strategic planning for another insurance company

The couple suffered their most difficult setback when their son Michael was diagnosed with autism. In the early 1990s, autistic children were often placed in institutions. Experts assumed they could not grow cognitively beyond the third grade. Goldman’s research told her that the best educational environment for her son was in an inclusive, mainstream classroom with supportive help. The school superintendent and her own lawyer denied her request, even though the law was in her favor. Goldman would not take no for an answer. She decided to pursue a law degree to fight for her son’s education.

“If you get knocked down or if you take a detour, you’re going to come back. Just put one foot in front of the other, and keep moving in the direction of your goal.”

In 1993, during her second year of law school, she won the case of Michael W. Goldman v. Centerville School District and set a precedent for including autistic children in public schools.

Goldman finished her law degree, took a job at GE and worked her way up to become its general counsel in seven short years. At GE, she says, she collaborated with some of the best lawyers in corporate America.

During her career, she found satisfaction in mentoring many other women in leadership skills, inspiring them with her record of tenacious and determined action in the face of change.

Adapt to new challenges as you forge a better path for others to follow.

Each step a woman climbs up the corporate ladder creates a cultural shift that encourages a company to become more accepting of all women. However, many women who paved the way for today’s more inclusive corporate culture did it by adapting and acting like men in male-dominated professions.

Author Lisa Pent, a client partner and head of diversity and inclusion in capital markets at Cognizant in New York, had to be brave as she learned to adapt to male-dominated Wall Street in the 1980s. Pent encountered gender discrimination on her first day at work. She wore a pantsuit to her Merrill Lynch office, and her boss ordered her to return home to “dress more appropriately.”

She faced additional misogyny, arrogance and sexist behavior. For example, she had to work late one night, unnecessarily, while her male co-workers loudly reacted to pornography they were watching in the office space she shared with them. At that time, women who filed HR complaints were rarely taken seriously. In fact, they were often penalized. Pent chose to keep her head down, protect her reputation and slowly climb the corporate ladder from analyst to senior vice president. Proud of her professional accomplishments, she left Wall Street to work in consulting at Thomson Reuters.

“It’s OK to change your career path and to change companies to find a better fit, achieve a higher level or just to feel valued at a different level.”

Pent married and raised a family before moving again to a top accounting firm, then into technology and finally settling in at her current position at Cognizant, which has a positive work culture that embraces diversity and inclusion.

Today, Pent regrets that she wasn’t more forceful in confronting discrimination early in her career. Still, she recognizes she might not have risen as high in the executive ranks if she hadn’t been adaptable. Pent was careful in her decisions and always kind. She stayed strategic – not emotional – in navigating the challenges of gender discrimination as she learned what worked best for her personal success. Her experiences and efforts helped create a better path for other women.

Pause and reflect to make sure you’re learning the right lessons.

Great leaders stop and calculate their actions during a conflict. They rely on information from other people to help them make sense of events around them. Their problem-solving skills offer important lessons, and one way you can learn those lessons is to build your own community of mentors.

Environmental scientist Elaine Dorward-King learned how much her work as a leader benefited from having a network of trusted colleagues. She has been the director of several top global mining companies, including the Newmont Mining Corporation, Richards Bay Minerals and the Rio Tinto Group. In addition, she led the mining industry’s efforts to develop conservation practices, improve sustainability in mining communities, and set world-class standards for health and safety.

Dorward-King began building her network of mentors during her first job in agricultural biotechnology at Monsanto. She moved to an environmental consulting firm in Seattle and then landed her first position in the mining industry at the Kennecott Corporation in Salt Lake City, Utah. She then joined the Rio Tinto Group, where she passionately advocated for research on the environmental impact of copper mining. She traveled the world to ensure health, safety and environment (HSE) sustainability at all Rio Tinto mines, and took an assignment as managing director at Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa.

Dorward-King left Rio Tinto after 20 years when a long-term colleague offered her a job at the Newmont Mining Corporation. She worked for six and a half years as Newmont’s executive vice president for sustainability and external relations. This job tested her ability to network and to make sense of complicated situations.

“Have a strong network in your organization, including above you, below you and, critically, parallel to you.”

She spent five years creating a portfolio for an “integrated function,” incorporating proper health, safety and environmental regulations for the company’s future growth. An unexpected internal political power play interrupted Dorward-King’s program, threatened to break apart her portfolio and created risks around Newmont’s HSE functions.

As a strategic thinker, she drew on her network of trusted colleagues and mentors, who suggested that she organize an objective third-party study. The study proved that her initial portfolio was the company’s least risky, most productive option. She succeeded because she took time as a leader to analyze her situation, collect sound advice and establish a strategy before taking action.Dorward-King had the wisdom to admit what she didn’t know, and she understood the value of accepting help.

To grow as a leader, be vulnerable, authentic, honest and transparent.

When you are a leader, people watch your every move, including in your most vulnerable moments. Embrace these moments and allow them to shape your growth.

Iram Shah learned a valuable lesson about vulnerability that shaped her into the leader she is today, an adviser to CEOs and a member of various boards of directors. She led the digital transformation at Schneider Electric as a senior vice president and managed a global career in Fortune 100 companies across four industries.

Shah was born and raised in Peshawar, Pakistan, where women often married young and lived without freedom or empowerment. She shocked her family when she pursued a career in business. As the only woman at her business college, she went on to complete the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Shah shaped a variety of brands, including Gatorade and Coca-Cola, and was a top executive at Zurich Financial and British Petroleum.

“You cannot lose hope; always try to learn from your experiences, no matter how painful.”

Her life changed when her 18-year-old daughter Sonia died in a car crash. Shah’s intense grief exposed her vulnerability to her peers. She sought support and advice from her friends and family and resolved to turn tragedy into action.

Before Sonia died, Shah had been involved in building a school for women in rural Pakistan. She finished building the school as part of her new nonprofit, the Sonia Shah Organization. The school provides its students with electricity, computers, uniforms and clean water. It serves 200 students, 75% of whom are girls. More than 200 women who graduated from the organization’s vocational center have achieved financial independence.

Shah established scholarships for girls to study in the United States and created the Sonia Shah Young Ambassadors program, which teaches young women to become influential leaders. She pushed through her personal grief and now celebrates her daughter’s life by pursuing Sonia’s dream to empower girls and women through education.

The hardships you face will teach you important leadership skills.

These profiles offer a behind-the-scenes look at the painful side of falling down and an honest view of what it takes to get back up.

“Every person who has ever done anything meaningful has done it in the midst of challenge, struggle and pain. If you’re struggling, you are not alone, and… there is hope ahead.”
Women who share their courage, resilience, adaptability, strategic thinking and vulnerability provide a realistic, inspiring picture of the path to success. They demonstrate ways to power through your struggles, embrace your challenges, and consider the encouragement and energy your actions could spark in other women.

About the author

Bonnie Hagemann (Author)
Bonnie Hagemann is the CEO of EDA, Inc. formerly known as Executive Development Associates. EDA is a progressive firm using its HR/Culture Tech platform and it 37-year history of top-of-the-house executive development to create compelling cultures and advance the strategy of the companies we serve.

Bonnie Hagemann | Twitter @Bonnie_Hagemann
Bonnie Hagemann | LinkedIn
Bonnie Hagemann | YouTube
Bonnie Hagemann | Email

Lisa Pent (Author)
Lisa Pent is a financially literate FTSE 100 senior executive fluent in the worlds of Business Development, Finance, Governance, Strategy, Transformation, Innovation, and Digital Transformation. Lisa sits on the board of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance and was in the inaugural Class of Harvard Business School’s Executive Education – Women on Boards: Succeeding as a Corporate Director program.

Lisa Pent | LinkedIn
Lisa Pent | Twitter @Lisa_Pent

WomenExecs on Boards is a global network of Women Prepared for Board Service at Harvard Business School with over 190 members from 23 countries. They are deeply committed to one another’s success and are working together systematically to advance the state of gender equality in corporate governance and senior executive positions.

WomenExecs on Boards | Website
WomenExecs on Boards | Twitter @womenexecsboard
WomenExecs on Boards | LinkedIn

Bonnie Hagemann and Lisa Pent and their colleagues in the WomenExecs on Boards network are graduates of the Harvard Business School.

Genres

Business Culture, Business Encyclopedias, Business Motivation, Self-Improvement, Motivational Management, Leadership

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii
Dedication xv
Foreword xvii
Preface: Leadership Gets Real xix

Chapter 1 Courage
Surviving and Leading Through Extreme Circumstances: Saniye Gülser Corat 3
Everything on the Line: Virginia Parker 9
Facing Down Imposter Syndrome: Maria del Carmen Garcia Nielsen 14
Blindsided by Voters: Heidi Zuckerman 18
Grace Under Fire: Chris Cheesman 22
Standing Up, Walking Out: Suzanna de Baca 27
Breaking Stereotypes: Judy Lee 32

Chapter 2 Resiliency
Surviving Downturns: Bonnie Hagemann 40
Owning and Addressing Product Launch Failure: Ainslie Simmonds 45
A New Job with a Newborn: Christine Fellowes 49
Losing Balance, Finding Joy: Emmanuelle Mace-Driskill 54
Taking on the Establishment: Rebecca (Riv) Goldman 59
The Art of the Pivot: Joanna Dodd Massey 65
Make Your Own Rules to Avoid Burnout: Annabelle Vultee 70

Chapter 3 Adaptability
Making Your Voice Heard Over Culture Shock and Discrimination: Shing Pan 79
Managing Through Gender Bias: Lisa Pent 84
Picking Up the Mantle: Roberta Sydney 89
Pivots and Priorities: Valerie Robert 94
Leaving Good, Pursuing Great: Patricia Hurler 99
Disrupting Sameness: Laura Kiernan 104
Getting Enough and Making Changes: Gisella Benavente 108

Chapter 4 Sensemaking
Learning Awareness: Cynthia (Cinny) Murray 117
Overcoming Unfairness: Rosie Bichard 123
From Setback to Success: Dorlisa Flur 128
Learning to Manage Difficult People: Sonja Vodusek 134
Facing Giants and Coming Out Stronger: Jeanine Charlton 138
Standing Up for What’s Right: Elaine Dorward-King 143
Finding Fit: Arti Singh 149
Bouncing Back from Betrayal: Nicole Parent Haughey 154

Chapter 5 Vulnerability
Finding Good in the Deepest Pain: Iram Shah 162
Brave Leaps and a Need for Help: Bhavani Amirthalingam 168
From Deepest Pain to Highest Purpose: Jocelyn Martin-Leano 173
Finding Order in Chaos: Hana’a AlSyead 177
Laying Down a High-Level Position for the Love of Another: Patricia Fortier 181
Overcoming Cancer: Patricia Rodriguez Christian 187
Say Yes. Keep Living.: Lynda Bourque Moss 191

Conclusion 197

Overview

Getting to the top in business is never straightforward, especially as a woman.

A powerful collection of 36 stories about how the world’s most successful women have overcome some of life’s biggest challenges to reach the top of their professions. This is a book written for every current and aspiring leader, revealing the things that leaders rarely talk about: the behind the scenes struggles.

The women in these stories are powerful, internationally diverse, and have impressive leadership accomplishments. They were brought together through one unifying experience: they have all completed the Harvard Business School Women on Boards Program, a course that has turned into a movement. Today there are over 190 members of the WomenExecs on Boards network, from 23 countries. This is the network where organizations go to find educated, prepared, qualified, and diverse women for corporate board seats.

After reading this book you will be inspired to lead and make a difference for others whether it’s running a company or leading a division, team, project, community event or your family and home. You will discover that you already have all you need to succeed when it gets hard, to never give up, and how to keep going through life’s difficult and sometimes terrible challenges. These women want you to know that you are not alone, and that you can lean on the strength of those who have gone before you, keep leading and keep getting back up again and again.

Review/Endorsements/Praise/Award

“As I read the many stories so artfully captured in the Courage to Advance, I could not help but think of my own mothers struggle to succeed as Physician in a Navy town in the late 1960s. Like so many of the leaders profiled in this book, she persevered through countless challenges and setbacks and paved the way for future generations of leaders in the process. One cannot help but be inspired by the courage, humility, and tenacity of the special Women profiled in these stories.” ―Christian Brickman, CEO, Sally Beauty Holdings, SBH (NYSE:SBH)

“Women’s empowerment is the single biggest opportunity of the 21st century. Read this book and be inspired by the courageous stories of those who are re-writing the rules of leadership.”―Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever plc UL (NYSE: UL), Co-founder and Chair of IMAGINE, a social venture accelerating business leadership to achieve the Global Goals

“It’s often through hearing the stories of others that we come to the best moments of clarity in our own. Women leaders are courageous, resilient, fully capable of making sense and success of the world around them. We adapt, and we also lead change. All, with grace, humility, and vulnerability. In this book are thirty-six stories of proof.”―Coco Brown, Founder & CEO, Athena Alliance, Inc., a digital platform for community, learning and access to opportunity for the top women in business

“Courage to Advance is an easy read because it keeps you engaged through the very personal and different stories which are short but powerful. It will inspire you to never give up and to achieve your wildest dreams despite the many obstacles along the way. You will take ownership and achieve more than you could have ever imagined!”―Dimitri Panayotopoulos, Board Director and former vice chairman of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG)

“Finally! A book so validating, so encouraging, that it feels as though I sat through years of life, career, and business lessons from successful mentors willing to bare it all to pave a path just for me. If you are ready for your head to be full of ideas, your heart running over, and your insides raring to go – The Courage to Advance is for you!”―Nanette Harrell, Independent Fractional Chief Information Officer & former Transportation Executive, at Faneuil, Inc., Savi Tech & GE (NYSE: GE)

“It’s through the power of storytelling that we are motivated and inspired. Here are the stories of some of our top women leaders. The stories contain big lessons in bite-size pieces. Many have a ‘hard knocks’ quality because they are genuine and unsparing. They show courage, resiliency, adaptability, sense-making, and vulnerability at work. Bonnie Hagemann and colleagues have produced a volume that will have a wide following. The volume should be on the top of your desk, the lessons very much top of mind.”―Andrew R. Hoehn, Senior Vice President, RAND Corporation, an American nonprofit global policy think tank

“Through telling the stories of these courageous leaders, we reveal the path for others. Sharing the wisdom from experiences that led these women to step fully into the light of their success, is a gift to the reader and a roadmap for stepping into one’s own power and potential.” ―Rebekah E. Dopp, Founder & Chair of Exponent, a Global Gender Accelerator

“There is an old adage that ‘anything that matters in life is worth fighting for’ and Hagemann, Pent and their amazing contributing Board members provide some remarkably elegant advise on how women have overcome societies innate obstacles to achieving their full potential in leadership without selling out on family and work-life balance. This book really helps our world on a path to gender neutral leadership. The stories told will give you courage, inspiration and the confidence to help you navigate the rocks, stones and jerks in the road.”―Chris Perry, President, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR)

“There is no single background, style or path to become a successful leader. As seen in The Courage to Advance, one often has to overcome challenging systemic and interpersonal obstacles. Through hard work, clarity of purpose, and perseverance we see examples of women who are making significant, positive impacts on people and organizations. An inspiring read with useful words of wisdom for any leader.”―Ken Pasternak, Global Executive Educator, Keynote Speaker, and author of “Performance at the Limit” & “Exploding Turkeys and Spare Trousers: Adventures in Global Business”

“The book offers a compendium of advice from truly accomplished women leaders who shine a light on the executive path to success that often is hidden from sight. Part memoir, part guide to business and part life advice should stick to any serious reader who is looking for a path to succeed on their terms.”―Dr. Anita Gupta, Distinguished Physician, Author, FDA Advisor, & Head of Scripps Clinic, MD Anderson Cancer Center

“This book serves as a wonderful reminder that courage takes many forms. And that the women featured are not just capable. They’re exceptional. If ever there was an assembly of gutsy, talented leaders with inspiring stories, this is it!” ―Jordan Rich, WBZ Radio Boston, Host of “On Mic with Jordan Rich” podcast, Author of “On-Air: My Fifty Year Love Affair with Radio”

“A great collection of strong powerful and yet easy-to-read stories from women leading the business to the place it belongs. One of the greatest opportunities for business as infinite game is to have women empowered and this book illustrates such great examples of successful women that said no to the word “giving up”. Value and beliefs are the main stimulants of a quality leadership and this book demonstrates in a humble way through real-life examples how these two factors can help achieving business goals but also contribute to a better world.” ―Ali Ahmadian, CEO, Heliospectra (OTCMKTS: HLSPY)

“The Courage to Advance is a powerful reminder of the human behind the mask. Every day, we step out of our houses and onto the stage of life, showing the world our best selves, hoping they don’t see the flaws ever-present in our minds and private lives. But it is these so-called flaws and struggles that add color to our experiences and ultimately teach us to be resilient, determined, and successful. The courage demonstrated in the stories of these exceptional women serve as a reminder to us all to aim for the stars, even in the face of adversity.” ―Dr. JJ Walcutt, Scientist, Author and CEO of Clay Strategic Designs, former Director of Innovation at the US Dept. of Defense and former US Democratic Presidential candidate

“The book presents a moving account of the courage and resilience of these strong women leaders from all walks of life. It is interesting how Hagemann and Pent use vulnerability as a means of inspiring strength in the reader. These poignant portraits will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.”―Charlotte Dennery, CEO, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, a global Consumer Finance company of 22000 FTE, and member of the Executive Committee of the BNP Paribas Group

“Women all over the world have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, in what may be the biggest set-back for gender equality in our lifetimes. Stories like these, brilliantly curated by Hagemann and Pent, will be pivotal in galvanizing the next generation of leaders. A must read for every aspiring young woman.”―Carmen Ene, CEO of 3stepIT and BNP Paribas 3 Step IT

“When you read the stories in this book, you can’t help but be moved and energized by the words and experiences of these fearless women leaders. This book will call you out, lift you up, and help you thrive in your purpose. A great how-to on leadership for those looking to take things to the next level.”―Sherrese Smith, Partner at Paul Hastings and Board Member of Cable One (NYSE: CABO), Norton LifeLock (NASDAQ: NLOK), America’s Public Television Stations

“Courage to Advance brings the power of story front and center to educate and inspire the next generation of leaders.”―Shellye Archambeau, Author of UNAPOLOGETICALLY AMBITIOUS and Board Member for Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), and Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP)

“Hagemann and Pent artfully weave together a narrative of empowerment and resilience in share-your-story format. In the spirit of being ‘judged by the company you keep’, those who read this work are keeping very good company.” ―Cathy Benko, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE), Board Member and former Vice Chairman, Deloitte LLP

“Some may pass over Courage to Advance simply because its title doesn’t seem to resonate with them personally; they do so at their own peril! What’s evident from the start that these are REAL stories that have the power to immediately draw one in and then inspire and then teach! THAT is a combination to lean in to for growth!”―Julie Laulis, Chair of the Board and CEO of Cable ONE (NYSE: CABO), Board of Directors AES Corporation (NYSE: AES)

“This is a much-needed inspirational multicultural roadmap of how thirty-six stories extraordinary women leaders got to where they are. We need more examples to show to our young girls and emerging leaders of the grit, resilience, and pure creativity women needed when they came up against the expected norms set by their societies and exceeding them. Simply Inspirational. ” ―Muna AbuSulayman, Social Impact Investor, Philanthropist and Global Equity Board Member & Advisor for Gucci (NYSE: GUC)

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