Customer Reviews

How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life

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Given that I am a vascular surgeon, I was not sure if this book would apply to my life or resonate with me personally, but after reading it on the insistence of a friend, I found it to be an amazing lesson on how to authentically structure one's work life so that it can be productive and rewarding even if you are not "leading" in the traditional sense. Follow the leads in this book and you will be a leader by example if nothing else. I couldn't put the book down, the stories of the women in this book were gripping and inspiring....every woman should read this book.

Let's make this easy: just buy it! You won't be sorry!
As the director of a women's leadership program at a college, I get an opportunity to read (and review) dozens of books on women's leadership. I also get the pleasure of hosting some of the authors. While there are some good (even very good) books and some good (even very good) authors-as-presenters, rarely do these two dimensions come togther in ways that are intellectually intriguiging, inspiring and just plain enormous fun and engaging. How Remarkable Women Lead, accomplishes all of this as a book. But if you get a chance to actually hear the author, Joanna Barsh present, run, don't walk. She's magic.

I have throroughly enjoyed this book. It is real, yet inspiring on many levels. Joanna gives you a very real view of women leaders and helps to frame how they make it through tough times-which is what I need now-and I think many leaders need. Her concept of Centered Leadership is a strong life model and I found myself making lots of notes in the margins with "to do's" in my own work life. Like many leaders, this is a particularly tough time to lead and this book helped me to reframe what I have to offer my team and my colleagues. I am buying copies for all of my direct reports with the intent that they will share many of the concepts with their teams.

I first read this book in one weekend. I carried the book around with me everywhere -- to my son's baseball games and doing errands -- and I talked about the ideas in the book with my family and friends and the strangers in line at Starbucks. The next weekend, I re-read certain chapters of the book, and this time, I read it with a pen in hand and made notes in the margins. This book not only prompts thinking about work and life, but offers concrete strategies to try.
(I bought another copy to give as a gift to a friend who just got promoted.)

As I read this book co-authored by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston, with substantial assistance provided by Geoffrey Lewis, I realized that remarkable men lead others in much the same way that, as Barsh and Cranston explain, remarkable women do: by leveraging their talent, desire to lead, and tolerance for change within all areas of their lives. Barsh and Cranston characterize this as "Centered Leadership" within five separate but interdependent dimensions: Meaning, Framing, Connecting, Engaging, and Energizing. They devote a separate chapter to each of the five. However they are named and defined, there are areas in which aspiring leaders are challenged to attract the support of others. The greater challenge is to sustain that support. What Barsh and Cranston share in this book is what they learned from five years of rigorous and extensive research that involved hundreds of remarkable women in all manner of leadership positions.

What they call "the journey to the center" is one of the most important themes in their narrative, strikingly similar to what Bill George and Peter Sims describe in True North: a three-phase "journey to authentic leadership" which begins with character formation and culminates (not concludes) with full development of authentic leadership within five separate but related dimensions: pursuing purpose with passion, practicing purpose with passion, practicing solid values, leading with heart, establishing connected relationships, and demonstrating self-discipline. Hundreds (thousands?) of self-help books on leadership also invoke the "journey" metaphor while suggesting all manner of "phases," "stages," "dimensions," etc. What sets these two books (i.e. How Remarkable Women Lead and True North) apart is the authenticity of what their respective interviewees share so candidly and so generously.

It is worth noting that throughout Barsh and Cranston's narrative, most of those interviewed emphasized the importance of establishing and then nourishing personal relationships. This is especially true of those who are entrusted with leadership responsibilities. More often than not, what George and Sims characterize as a process of "peeling back the onion" to locate the "authentic self" requires the assistance, indeed the direct involvement of others. According to George and Sims, True North is "the internal compass that guides you as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orienting point - your fixed point in a spinning world - that helps you stay on track as a leader. Your True North is based on what is most important to you, your most cherished values, your passions and motivations, the sources of satisfaction in your life. Just as a compass points toward a magnetic field, your True North pulls you toward the purpose of your leadership." George and Sims could well be describing Centered Leadership.

Barsh and Cranston acknowledge in the Introduction that during their research for this book, they were not only involved but engaged in their own journey of self-exploration, one that provided unexpected revelations to which they were obviously receptive, a key point. "We were weaving the threads of leadership, performance, and fulfillment into a system with behaviors, skills, and actions...It was also about choice. About personal ownership." Then one of the most important paragraphs in the Introduction: "Meaning underpinned everything. It established the right motivation and helped women identify their direction. On top of this, we saw that there were three clusters of capabilities and tactics - framing and connecting and engaging - that led to sustained success and increased joy in living. Finally, we brought in `energizing' to fuel each woman's long-term journey."

Presumably many women who read this book will have already embarked on that journey. What Barsh and Cranston share in this book can help them to gain even greater meaning and happiness from what they experience. Presumably some of these women have encountered severe, perhaps debilitating resistance or at least formidable barriers to their progress. What Barsh and Cranston share can help them to regain their self-confidence, energy, and - most important of all - their faith in what they can accomplish. There are others who will not read this book but who, nonetheless, will also derive substantial benefit from it because they are supervised by those who do. One of the most important responsibilities of a great leader - one that every great leader views as a privilege as well as an obligation - is to help "grow" those entrusted to their care.

I presume to add that what Barsh and Cranston share can also be of substantial value to the personal fulfillment as well as the professional development of men would aspire to become remarkable leaders. There is much they can learn from the women who are so extensively quoted as they explain how they helped to inspire others, how they gained clarity of both vision and purpose when coping with difficult, sometimes unpleasant realities, how they initiated and then nourished mutually beneficial relationships with others, how they took ownership for opportunities as well as risks with personal accountability, and how they assumed and fulfilled their responsibilities to their families and to their communities. Neither women nor men in leadership positions can "balance" everything in their careers and personal lives (no one can) but it is possible to recognize what is most important at any given time and then "balance" the allocation of one's time and energy accordingly.

For some readers, let the journey to the center begin. For others, let that journey proceed more smoothly and expeditiously. Either way, bon voyage!

Joanna Barsh does a remarkable job framing opportunities for women who are currently leaders or aspiring leaders. The book balances anecdotal stories with evidence based on years of research. As a rising leader in corporate America, it was refreshing to hear from some of the most accomplished women leaders in the world. It was enlightening to hear that they had their moments of crisis, self doubt and mistakes. They learned from these moments and used them to build their future. This book is important for any aspiring leader, whether male or female, as it presents another, a better, way to lead. Kudos to Joanna, Susie Cranston and the team at the Centered Leadership Project.

Athena, Diana and Durga might pave astronomical roadways; but we small mortals -especially we women - can still take giant steps, even leaps. The rhythms, the reasons may differ - but the distances covered are equal. A woman warrior, teacher, philosopher, scientist, businesswoman or educator is no less than any other. Ms. Barsh and Cranston's book serves as a roadmap, a cartographic guide perhaps, towards the journey countless woman leaders take.

How Remarkable Women Lead is both a roadmap as well as an accessible workbook into the mechanisms that govern the lives of women leaders. The text is useful for the established leader as well as the budding student. All of the sections are useful: Energizing, Meaning, Connecting, etc... However - the section on "Framing", in particular, is perhaps the most honest and useful in that it moves beyond the typical women's empowerment pulpit and forays into the landscape of pragmatism and realism. Framing tactically addresses the landscape of "what do I do when..."; the very space many leadership books fail to address. Framing is the necessary and critical reality about becoming a leader. This books speaks to the evolution - not the destination of leadership.

Framing acknowledges the need for contextualization and the "scalar" management of problems and situations. The Framing section of How Remarkable Women Lead takes an honest and realistic approach towards an exercise often used in the laboratory called: "recalibration."

I believe in the globalized and dynamic professional landscape - framing - as a tool kit - will become increasingly important towards building sustainable leadership models and thus, organizations.

Each section is useful and a discrete guide into various stages of development. This book is a useful and a brilliant guide for a any student of leadership.


- Meg Mude
Student of Leadership and Innovation...

This book is wonderful for any professional....As a new consultant, I have gone through self-doubt and bouts of pessimism in an intense way as I have been getting settled to my new job and my new client. This book has provided me with a framework to reflect and improve - at the very least, it has reminded me that I am not alone in the hopelessness that I have felt at times. I'm looking forward to applying its tenets on a daily basis so that I can become a more effective leader.

This book has the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of women (and men). I'm planning to give them to my business school friends and sisters for Christmas.

The more I got into this book, the better it got. Toward the end I didn't want to put it down. I found myself reaching for my highlighter, a sure sign that there was good information there that I don't want to lose.

Some chapters in this book didn't really reach out and grab me, because they better apply to women starting out in their careers. I found a chapter that not only reached out and grabbed me, but it shouted at me! I suspect that most women will find something worthwhile in this book, even if not every chapter applies. I found a technique that I hope will help me avoid one of my problematic habits.

In addition to my problem section, which I will not share here, <grin>, I particularly enjoyed the chapter on making your own luck. "The core lesson in engaging is taking charge and making things happen for yourself." That's an improvement over what seems to be the trend, especially since the internet, message boards, etc., where everyone plays the victim. "This is what was done to me" and "How dare you tell me I should take responsibility for myself when these people have mistreated me." The author tells us we have to recognize what we want and then take steps to get it. You have to take a few risks, and before you do, you need to "know what you know and what you don't know."

There are stories and excellent quotes throughout the book from leaders, women and men, to illustrate the points the author is making.

Adapting To The New Realities is a section I would like to recommend along with the Stepping up to Lead. "You can manage a lot of people, but to lead you have to inspire, not intimidate. Have passion and compassion." Then I was delighted with the section on "Energy in Your Toolkit" where an example was given of treating your energy as an asset that you invest and grow. The information on how to "Minimize the Drains" on your energy is right on target. Having boundaries. What an interesting idea! OUCH! The comment also got me about a Pavlovian reaction to your phone ringing and fragmenting your time through ongoing e-mailing, texting, and phonecalls causing you to lose concentration and lose control of your schedule. I DO allow others to highjack my time on things that may be far less important. Urgent is not important. Kicking the "always-On" habit. Can you do that? It sounds wonderful to me.

I'm going to have to spend more time on that chapter.

Then I'm going to devote a little more time to the chapter on "Recovery Time" I think.

Now where is that highlighter.

As an aspiring leader in her 30's, I have found The Centered Leadership framework to be extremely valuable from a personal and professional perspective. Not only does the book contain numerous inspiring stories, but it also provides clear and practical exercises that anyone can apply in his/her daily life. Simply reflecting on the themes of the book for a few minutes a day can have a significant impact on one's perspective. I would recommend this book to any man or woman looking to obtain a more holistic picture of leadership.