Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking That Block Women's Paths to Power

What Were We Thinking?

Judy is not alone. It's normal to feel ambivalent amid major change. Change is risky and takes us out of our element, but these days it is everywhere in business. Success, then, for both women and men, requires a fairly high degree of comfort with change and risk. So how do women fare in regard to mastering this capability? The signals are mixed.

There is clearly a stereotype, one that may have some wind left in its sails, which says that women, in general, are not natural risk takers in most cultures and societies.

Much of the academic and clinical research on the topic is very focused and refers to specific types of behaviors that are unrelated to business. It indicates a higher rate of risk acceptance among men in such ...