Stephen H Baum Leadership

Ever since my wife and I graduated as classmates from Harvard Business School, I have followed the prospects of women, the progress and the bastions of neanderthals and, yes, the laments of those who hold themselves back. I have often wondered what really holds women back? As you will discover in my book (see icon on this site), the founder of USA Networks, the CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, the CEO of Hearst Magazines and others were not held back by ideas in conventional wisdom: self-concept as unequal to men, perfectionism as the reason to avoid risks, not being competitive or tough enough. 

No, what holds women back is the same phenomenon that holds back so many of their equally talented (or flawed) male counterparts: they are unable to transcend self-doubt, to take their own fears out of the risk calculus. Replace “can I do this?” with “Can we do this and is it worth trying?”

What makes them unable to transcend self-doubt? Many, many interviews indicate this happens from (1) not enough confidence-building shaping experiences, getting knocked down and getting back up (virtually or physically), coming to view setbacks as learning, not fatality  and (2)  deep-seated motivations too weak for taking risk (escaping poverty, controlling their own treatment and destiny, et al),  not strong enough to overcome fear of failure. 

Girl power: what will really let talent loose?  Stepping outside their comfort zone one little step at a time, taking calculated risk, valuing recovery and learning from mistakes rather than playing it safe. No excuses. That’s what my research shows.