The
Woman Executive Today Commands Respect
and Admiration More Than Ever Before
The woman executive today is not as rare as it used to be.
When I entered the workforce, I was denied the job I wanted
because as the interviewer said, “there were no women
in the computer room”. Back then, the thought of a woman
working for much less for a woman
executive heading up a
multinational technology company or sitting on its board was
unthinkable. Today, Fortune Magazine named eBay Inc.'s Meg
Whitman, the “most Powerful Businesswoman”.
Whitman
earned Fortune's top spot due to eBay's significant growth
over the past year. EBay's earnings last quarter were double
Wall Street's expectations, and the company recently acquired
Baazee.com, the largest on-line marketplace in India.
She
unseated Carly Fiorina, chairman and CEO of computer equipment
maker Hewlett-Packard Co. Fiorina had held the title since
Fortune magazine began its annual list of most powerful women
in business back in 1998.
The
woman executive is on the rise and there is a new resource
focused on helping them do just that—Executive
Women Power Track. It is a new resource bringing together
the proven concepts of mastermind groups with the power of
technology. Its goal is to give women access to information,
strategies and tactics that typically is only available from
“C” level executives. In the words of its founder
Marcia Steele, “who better to help women get to the
top than those who are already there?”
One
of the key features of Executive Woman Power Track is its
audio magazine. On the current issue, Dan Burrus one of America’s
top three business gurus according to the NY Times, pointed
out the importance of differentiating between soft trends
and hard trends and the dangers of becoming easily commoditized.
Another
very useful tip came from Lesley Everett, a personal branding
coach from the United Kingdom. She recommends that women take
the time to analyze their values, what they are good at and
what they want to be known for. Then consciously project those
things at all times. Because whether we are conscious of it
or not, we are constantly creating and projecting our “personal
brand”. It is important to be aware of it and to make
sure it is the one we want to be known for.
Every
woman executive has had to work hard at being her own person
and not a caricature of some male predecessor. The six most
powerful women are masters of personal branding. Andrea Jung,
chairman and CEO of Avon Products Inc., was named by Fortune
in the No. 3 spot, while Xerox Corp. chairman and CEO, Anne
Mulcahy, was No. 4. Marjorie Magner, chairman and CEO of Citigroup
Inc.'s global consumer group, placed fifth and Oprah Winfrey
ranked No. 6.
Roll
the dice, women are on the power track and are coming up on
all sides. They have strong personal brands and they are making
their presence felt from Wall Street to the information super
highway. Three of the six are doing it, “not in the
computer room” but at the helm of technology companies.
That means a lot of hope for the woman executive. |
