Customer Reviews

Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Do you ask yourself, "Can I be happy? Is that enough? Am I born a certain way? Can I change myself? If I choose to let go or not be focused on achievement, who will I be? How can I find a life partner or keep my relationship healthy even when I am always busy?"

"Wander Woman: How High Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction" (Berrett-Koehler Publishers 2010) offers emotional antioxidants and avenues of deep introspection that trade the questions for answers.

Marcia Reynolds is a Master Certified Coach and PsyD, organizational psychologist, an international pioneer in executive coaching, a coach's Coach. She is a revolutionary thought leader who blends ancient wisdom, evidence based neuroscience, and persuasive coaching techniques in a targeted guide for high achieving women. She is a Huffington Post blogger and a serious devotee of social media. Her Facebook and Twitter engagement and her personal blogs are blessings in the social space.

I discovered Reynolds on Huffington Post and followed her social crumbs across new media. Every morsel of content the author shares online is rich and thought provoking. "Wander Woman" is no exception to her rule governing excellence.

In a refreshing departure from coaching content du jour, the author does not channel celebrity spirits. She offers no funky discourse about law of physics applied to law of attraction that Max Planck Society scientists find wildly entertaining. "Wander Woman" is a welcome antidote for women suffering from law of attraction fatigue.

I suffer from acute and chronic professional wanderlust. I am a restless spirit, a fractured soul. My adult journey has found me in newspaper reporting, magazine editing (print and online), real estate sales and training, online community management, risk management consulting, social media and blog coaching, and content creation across numerous venues. The author has the uncanny ability to make this reader think she tailored this book for me alone.

Interestingly, Reynolds appeals to women navigating through, below, and away from the glass ceiling -- seasoned executives, middle managers with a yen to grow professionally without climbing the corporate ladder, and entrepreneurs.

The author shares a poignant personal story of youthful adversity, a short stint in jail following an adventure with illegal drugs. She harnesses the will and power to transform a seminal experience into two masters' degrees and a doctoral degree, focusing on exploration of the human brain and behavior.

"This book is intended to help you answer the questions you ask when you wander ... Will I ever find peace of mind in the moment? Will I ever feel that the work I've done is good enough? How can I know if I am doing what I am meant to do as my purpose on this planet?" - Marcia Reynolds, MCC, PsyD.

I found conclusive answers to each question in a compelling week of emotion packed reading.

I debunked assumptions I shared with other women tied to self-limiting beliefs and uncompromising posture in key areas of my professional life.

I applied Reynolds' scoring card to identify dominant behavior patterns as archetypes. I selected several archetypes to serve as my personal Board of Directors, and I summon their energy in combination, at will, when I commence my day. As my tasks and challenges vary, so do the energies attached to them. They respond energetically and joyfully to each challenge and they appear happy to be acknowledged.

My Rebel archetype scored a solid 10, but I kept her off the Board ... she tends to incite emotional riots within me and with people around me. Revolutionary is more constructive, and working in conjunction with Visionary and Connector and Collaborator we may be able to score more success in some arenas. Coach and Teacher are busy these days, and their work will be enhanced with more input from Steward. Artist needs more oxygen. She is going to be Visionary's right arm.

Reynolds explores emotional intelligence, choices and consequences in decision making, behaviors, and the capacity to learn.

"Wander Woman" is more than a book. It is a transformation program for high achieving women.

I look forward to sharing proven Appreciative Dialogue techniques with a partner to problem solve issues. Appreciative Inquiry builds on what is working rather than trying to fix what is not working. Reynolds lays out the premise, step-by-step exercises, and constructs a strict "Appreciative Dialogue: Rules for the Road" the author has tested in companies and organizations across the country and around the world.

The book includes step-by-step personal exercises and detailed instructions for creating communities of support where Wander Women can help each other by testing out new behaviors and celebrate their wins together.

It is one of the best books I have ever read. I am inspired, grounded, and feeling clear and happy about my path. I am a Wander Woman wearing a quieted soul. The pain of fracture yields to contentment. This book is a treasure.

Length:: 3:11 Mins

Please watch the 3-minute overview of Wander Woman. Whether you are a smart, strong, goal-driven woman or you live or work with one, Wander Woman will help you understand and deal with your unique challenges and needs.

This book puts into perspective the lifestyle of the high achieving woman in a way I have never seen before. As someone who has gotten bored and changed careers and direction about every 4 years, I thought I was just incapable of staying focused and committed. This book opened my eyes to ways of using my "wandering" to heighten my joy and overall satisfaction with my own unique exploration and growth. Marcia's work is important for women to have the tools they need to forge their own paths! She gives us some very useful tools to help forge the way. Perfect for any high-achieving woman to better understand herself.

This book is a gift to women; a veritable GPS guiding women from vague discontent through engaging exercises designed to introduce them to their bliss. Marcia makes clear the difference between acting out of obligation as opposed to developing a sense of purpose and deeper meaning.

Through reading the book and completing the thoughtful exercises, such as "The Passion Quest" and "Giving Voice to Your Emotions," women can systematically discover what Marcia Reynolds calls their "grander purpose."

I recommend this book to women everywhere who ever asked themselves the question, "Is that all there is?" Marcia's thorough research and careful case studies will help you reach your untapped potential and map a course toward the life that is calling you, your authentic life.

This book is like Marcia has read my mind. She captured the challenges and frustrations of my 25 year career in corporate America and expressed my desires and dreams for a more fulfilling accomplishment in life. The exercises helped me think about my true hopes and needs and focus my energy so that I can finally realize the fulfillment I've been seeking. Judi Pine-Sellers

In interviewing lots of top women executives, many of them credit their success to being good at "self analysis." These women regularly mull over who they are values-wise, what they're doing well, and what's not going well. For those of us looking to emulate and grow this skill, Reynolds has created the ideal guidebook! This book makes the art of self-reflecting enjoyable, engaging, and surprising. The exercises designed by Reynolds are plentiful and creative; I love "Four Tips for Detaching" and especially like the pointer, "The less you say, the more profound you are." Reynolds writes in a down to earth, authentic, and very knowledgeable way. She is cheering you from the sidelines and her objective of helping you find both contentment and direction is hugely successful.

I am reading an average of 5-10 books at any given time. One reason is because I have a thirst for knowledge and personal growth, the other is because most of them can't hold my interest enough to read just that book. Everyone once in awhile a book comes along that I can't put down until I have finished it, Wander Woman was one of those books. I read a lot of self-help/motivational books and there really isn't anything new or different, they all discuss the same basic principles, which is not a necessarily a bad thing. Not this book, it was different and I couldn't believe it actually had stuff I had never read (and I've read it all). Wander Woman struck a chord in me. I felt like the book was written specifically for me. I was genuinely shocked many times while reading it because I couldn't believe there were so many other women out there that experience the same issues I do. Knowing that I'm not alone, that other successful, smart, talented women struggle with the same issues I do has really helped change my perspective of myself. I recommend it to every woman I know.

It's amazing, Marcia has done the research and gained the experience to see deep inside of our hearts, minds and connected deep down in our soul.
There are five drivers, I really connected with driver 4. Work is your life blood. If you really are serious about gaining contentment and direction, you need to buy this book today. Learn more about the five drivers, transformation and (re)gaining your purpose. Take the journey. It can be life changing. Claim it!!

With regard to the title of Marcia Reynolds' book, it refers to the movement of women with ever-increasing velocity into positions within and beyond the workplace that offer greater freedom and flexibility, more options and fewer restraints, increased authority commensurate with responsibility, and perhaps most important of all, substantially increased control of what they do as well as when, where, and how they do it. Women are now in the majority in terms of enrollment in two- and four-year colleges; also in graduate schools of business, law, and medicine. Now consider these statistics: women control an estimated 80% of all household spending and the percentage is even higher for those ages 55-70. Also, women make 55% of all investment decisions, 55% of all decisions concerning consumer electronics, comprise 60% of all home improvement buyers and make 80% of all home improvement decisions, control more than 60% of new car purchase decisions, and 66% of decisions to purchase computers? With regard to income, during the years 1995-2008, women's inflation-adjusted median income grew 26%, while men's grew only 8%.

As Reynolds points out, women "often intentionally take themselves out of the running for leadership positions as they wander around searching for the elusive `something more' they need to do in this lifetime." This is also one of the key insights in a book co-authored by Dave and Wendy Ulrich, The Why of Work. Men as well as women feel a compelling need to be appreciated, to believe that their work has value and is appreciated, and that there is a greater purpose in their lives. Reynolds notes that unfulfilled women feel "the urge to move, mentally if not physically, [because that] is lodged in their souls." Her characterization is even more specific in Chapter 3 when she discusses 20+ "selves," notably The Wanderer whose restlessness creates a "pattern of energy." As Reynolds correctly notes, no one woman possesses the dominant characteristics of each of the different selves.

There are five factors that drive the success of second-generation high-achievement women: Extreme Confidence ("Give me a stick and I'll build you a bridge"), Constant Need for New Challenges ("Give me a stick and I'll build you a bridge, unless I have already done that, so give me a bigger challenge or I'll move on to something else"), A Strong Drive for Recognition Based on Performance, Not Gender ("Don't do me any favors; just applaud me when I'm done"), Work Is Your Life's Blood ("Retire? Never. I love knowing the world needs me."), and Experience Is the Best Teacher ("Kick me down, I'll bounce back up. But that will never happen again."). Obviously, there is a Janus-like dual nature to these five drivers: too much and not enough. Of course, Reynolds fully understands the importance of proportions. Men as well as women can be guilty of excesses when responding to real or perceived grievances.

I think this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how "high achieving women find contentment and direction." I also think this book can serve as a call to action to other women who have not as yet learned how to cope with their restlessness...and, yes, also as a call to action to men to become actively engaged in helping organizations to be more responsive and supportive of all the "heroes" and "heroines" who not only seek but in fact demand respect for who they are and what they do.

Surprisingly little research has examined why contemporary women leave their corporate jobs for new ones more often than men do. Organizational psychologist Marcia Reynolds interviewed 100 "high-achieving women" to discover why they often change jobs and don't wait around to climb the career ladder. Their answers are not shocking, but they are enlightening, particularly when they underscore the differences between present-day females in the business world compared to previous generations of distaff trailblazers. Reynolds offers useful case studies, exercises and advice to help women understand their restlessness and find their heart's desire, whether at work or at home. While her advice is not radically original - and she acknowledges her reliance upon many other sources - she has identified a new cohort of working people: meaning-driven, high-achieving women. And she writes with warmth, candor and clarity. getAbstract finds her book quite constructive for "wander women" seeking answers. However, its insights might also benefit men who want to understand the wander women in their professional and personal lives and who also seek purpose in their work.