New Business Book Summary Available for Breaking Through “Bitch”

Feb. 26, 2016 - PRLog -- In Breaking Through “Bitch,” Carol Vallone Mitchell examines why and how women must lead differently than men in today’s business climate by “feminizing” leadership competencies. She outlines a nine-part leadership competency model based on the experiences of successful female executives that aspiring women leaders can apply to their own journeys to the top.

Women leaders must have the following characteristics:

• Confidence. Rather than using confidence to emphasize and defend their position of authority, women use it to underscore confidence in their teams and show their willingness to rise to the occasion.

• Achievement drive.Women avoid appearing threatening when they demonstrate their passion and drive by rallying others behind major goals that will provide them with organizational visibility.

• Persuasion. Finding a shared agenda or goal helps women present themselves as collaborators instead of as people who are pushy.

• Inspiring commitment.By focusing on interpersonal relationships, inclusiveness, and democratic leadership, women inspire greater commitment from others.

• Strategic control. Women steer the direction of particular projects by positioning themselves as collaborators, partners, and visionaries instead of micromanagers.

• Conceptual thinking. Women's natural biological tendency toward "web thinking" enables them to see alternatives that can lead to surprising and innovative solutions.

• Cultural and political savvy. Women leaders must be adept at altering their communication style to their audiences, reading subtle cues, and mapping specific actions they will need to take to reach a goal in a given cultural and political context.

• Tempering assertiveness. Successful female executives exude confidence without being aggressive, and "soften the edges" of their authority through humor, empathy, or establishing common interests.

• Self-development savvy. Women who aspire to be leaders are vigilant and proactive about their self-development.

To learn more, please visit www.bizsum.com