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

Individual Level: Awareness, Choice, Then Change

We work with women every day to encourage them to break their own rules. Our framework for change at the individual level consists of three phases: awareness, choice, then change.

Awareness

Good leaders are self-aware—they have an accurate understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, their accomplishments and needs. But in an opaque corporate environment, gaining a handle on where we stand professionally is tricky.

A few years back, Jill was working with a global bank to determine why so few women were succeeding in senior roles. Women made their way in, but then stalled—or sometimes completely flamed out—once they reached upper management status. Jill spent some time interviewing five members ...