Product Description

Thoroughly researched and clearly written, Standing at the Crossroads speaks to the whole professional woman and her organization, providing a framework for guiding a woman's growth and development as a high- achieving leader. The authors debunk the common myth that women must give up life's other roles to be successful professionally, and offer research conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership in conjunction with participants in The Women's Leadership Program to show that multiple roles in fact benefit and enhance women's managerial performance. The book provides individuals and their organizations with invaluable advice they can use to support women's development as managers and leaders.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90867 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780787955700
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
For businesswomen who are unsure of which step to take on the road to success, Marian N. Ruderman and Patricia J. Ohlott offer Standing at the Crossroads: Next Steps for High-Achieving Women. Based on a study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, researchers Ruderman and Ohlott explain women's need to act authentically, make connections, control their destiny, achieve wholeness and gain self-clarity. Based on these needs, the authors' suggestions transcend the business world to help women with their personal and inner lives, too. For Ruderman and Ohlott, "[b]uilding a whole and full life is a critical task."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Finally, a book about women that goes beyond tired jargon and outdated platitudes. Standing at the Crossroads details how the issue of 'making it' shifts in subtle ways as women move up the ranks, creating new challenges and the need for new strategies. This book is a must-read for high-achieving women-and the people who lead them-who want to understand how things have changed in the forty years since the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique."
--Joyce K. Fletcher, professor of management, Simmons Graduate School of Management in Boston, and author of Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work

"This is an important book that provides a pathway for understanding and action. As high-achieving women continue to change organizational landscapes, this work provides well-researched, illustrative, and balanced perspectives on what women are thinking and feeling today. Organizations and individuals will benefit from this book's insights and recommendations for organizational remedies."
--Yolan Williams, corporate succession planner, Verizon Communications, Inc.

"A much-needed resource for high-achieving women and those who support their development, this book provides a rich framework for understanding the intertwined career and life challenges that women leaders face and insightful strategies for developing and growing from these challenges."
--Lorrina J. Eastman, vice president, leadership development, Bank of America

From the Inside Flap
As women move into leadership and managerial positions in record numbers, there is an increasing need to understand how they will prioritize and integrate the many new roles and possibilities available to them. Standing at the Crossroads looks at the fundamental pressures that influence the career and personal decisions high-achieving women make and identifies strategies for adapting to the many demands that both challenge and enhance their lives. Based on extensive research conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCLâ) in conjunction with participants in The Women's Leadership Program, the book provides a basis for understanding the many choices, tradeoffs, and decisions that face women daily. Showcasing many personal stories, it spotlights the five key themes that are essential to guiding executive women's development today-the need to act authentically, make connections, control one's destiny, achieve wholeness, and gain self-clarity.

While each theme can stand alone, the authors show how the five blend together to create a pattern that is unique and dynamic for each individual woman. Each chapter in the first part of the book explains why a particular theme matters, what it looks like, how to develop it, the obstacles to achieving it, and a short "thumbnail" that summarizes, in easy-to-use form, the major areas for the reader to develop. The second part of the book illuminates how both the individual reader and the organization can apply an understanding of the themes to enhance their mutual effectiveness. Finally, the book offers a reference list of valuable source texts and other literature related to these topics.

Customer Reviews

An underrated gem of a book!
I picked up this book casually on my way into a bookstore... to add to those which I would peruse on my cross-country flight. I quickly found myself thoroughly engrossed in the stories of 61 women managers and executives who seemingly "had it all." I found myself thinking through episodes in my own life and identifying with the choices, tradeoffs, and dilemmas of several different women. It gave me some new appreciation of and insights into how successful women grapple with the issue of integrating their personal and professional lives in order to live life to the fullest, whatever their own personal definition of that might be. I used some of the strategies suggested in one chapter to help me think through a career problem I'm currently grappling with. This book was an easy and insightful read; it turned out to be the ONLY book I read during my flight! I would encourage all women, not just managers, to read this book; it addresses concerns that almost all of us have. For that matter, even though the research is based on women, I know from personal experiece that many men are grappling with similar issues, and they would probably find the book helpful as well. Even if not interested for themselves, it would help them better understand their wives, daughters, and female coworkers.

A MUST READ!
Although this book is written with women managers in mind, the issues and themes it discusses will resonate with every woman who has ever juggled a number of different roles in her life - and probably with many men as well! The authors discuss five key developmental themes in women's lives -- the need to act authentically, make connections, control one's destiny, achieve wholeness, and gain self-clarity -- and show how these themes combine to create a whole that is dynamic and unique to every woman. In addition, the book is filled with practical tips and helpful exercises to help the reader who wants to develop in these areas. One thing that makes this book stand out from many other popular business books is that it is based on an extremely solid piece of research. The authors interviewed more than sixty women, followed them over time, and collected other information about them. Yet, although it is based on an academic study, the book is an easy read - very enjoyable. Almost every woman should be able to find herself somewhere in this book. I highly recommend it!

Standing at the Crossroads: Next Steps for High Achieving Women
I bought this book while attending a leadership course at the Center for Creative Leadership this past summer -- grappling with some issues related to gender and leadership. Every page of this book spoke to me in a way that the numerous other leadership books I've read never have. It provided clear examples to illustrate complex concepts, weaving together women's stories with principles gleaned from the authors' experiences and research, as well as related theories and research. I am an academic who has been in leadership roles for two decades. I found the book inspiring, educational, and is one I expect to go back to numerous times -- revisiting the exercises proposed to help think through relevant issues. I have recommended this book to many colleagues who are interested in women's leadership.