How to Thrive and Survive as a Working Woman: The Coach-Yourself Toolkit

For many women, a fulfilling and rewarding working life is often more important than achieving a high-flying career. By suggesting practical tools and techniques to help you reflect on, review and assess your needs, this book will enable you to plan for success and satisfaction in your working life. Although many work issues have improved considerably in recent decades, it is clear that women continue to face a range of challenges and barriers in the workplace, any of which can hamper their efforts to succeed. Based on new data from hundreds of surveys and interviews, How to Thrive and Survive as a Working Woman encompasses stories, examples, interviews, strategies and practical exercises. Both instructive and interactive, the book offers insights from the authors’ own experience of coaching and working with women across many different sectors, jobs and levels. Focusing on key issues for development and career success, Fiona Elsa Dent and Viki Holton, both faculty members at Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School in the UK, examine these issues in the light of specific challenges facing women at work, including: · - getting started in your career · - dealing with motherhood and a career · - changing career direction · - moving up to senior levels · - lack of confidence · - developing a clear career plan. Providing tips, techniques and approaches, this is the essential handbook for working women of all ages and at all stages of their careers in any industry.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Career Audit Chapter 2: Women’s Experiences: What They Say Chapter 3: Where Are You In Your Career? Chapter 4: Essential Skills and Qualities For Career Success Chapter 5: Essential Personal Skills and Qualities For Career Success Chapter 6: Essential Relationship Skills and Qualities For Career Success Chapter 7: Essential Strategic Skills and Qualities For Career Success Chapter 8: Essential Career Skills and Qualities For Career Success Chapter 9: Making It Happen Chapter 10: The Current Landscape For Working Women Chapter 11: Conclusion

About the Author :
Fiona Elsa Dent is a Management Trainer, Leadership Coach and Associate Faculty member at Ashridge. Previously she held a role on the management team as Director of Executive Education, where for ten years she managed a faculty group and contributed to the strategic operation of the organization. Viki Holton is a Research Fellow at Ashridge where she was also involved with the Ashridge Centre for Business and Society for over eight years. She has a degree in Psychology and is a regular speaker at national and international conferences including the British Academy of Management.

Review :
A book written for those seeking to ‘thrive and survive’ in pursuit of their career. It will resonate with women, whatever their personal stage of life and career. By drawing on extensive research, experience of working alongside many women, theory and history, the authors have created a rich treasure trove that stimulates interest, personal reflection and provides a sound practical toolkit. Pick it up as a good read or take up the challenges of raising your self-awareness to explore your life and career from different perspectives. Whatever your purpose, engage with the conclusion and ‘go for it. The book makes significant leaps in women's development with rather less attention given to surviving as so many books offer, and instead a far greater focus on thriving with an ethical core to the authors’ messages – to be true to yourself, believe in yourself and pay attention to how you work. The tools and tips stay true to this theme; it's a book written for women by career women who have observed, researched and experienced much of what they write about, so their advice is practical and, importantly, kind. Reflecting the real life experiences of many contributors to their research, Dent and Holton present a critical appraisal of ongoing challenges for women in the workplaces of the 21st century. In its chapter-by-chapter steps through a range of essential skills and qualities, the book provides a practical toolkit combining techniques of self-analysis, useful strategies, and constructive tips on how women of all ages and at any stage of their working life can manage and overcome such challenges. Although aimed at working women, this is a book which many will find invaluable in their lives. For men, it provides a perspective which will allow them to play their part in making the workplace more inclusive and fairer for all. Like all truly helpful “how to” books, it’s not a once-only read: it’s a book to keep using over lifetime. The main lesson I have taken from reading this book is the importance of strategizing my own personal development. As a full time working mum I often put aside my own development needs, but these tools have given me the direction I needed to invest the time and focus to achieve the executive position I am aiming for. The hints and tips given, in particular utilising the career coaching model, have been invaluable. Through the book, I realised the importance of taking ownership of my career and to have the confidence to challenge and understand the nuances of business development at senior levels. I feel now I have the tools and motivation to concentrate on my own career trajectory and balance work and home life by more productive means. I have been inspired to re-think my own coaching principles to relay onto my staff and I would highly recommend this book to any women who is currently career planning for senior roles. This book is excellent; it provides a great insight into others’ experiences, as well as how they managed and adapted to those experiences. I’d recommend this to anyone thinking about their career – whether first, intermediary or final steps!