Customer Reviews

Why the Best Man for the Job Is A Woman: The Unique Female Qualities of Leadership

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

 

 

This is a wonderful book that should bolster the confidence of all the women who read it. But I would add one very important item: women show far too much humility about their talents and skills. If we want people to value our skills, we must first show that we value ourselves - by making sure our accomplishments are visible to targeted audiences. If we want people to hire us, buy from us, and invest in our companies, they have to know who we are, what we have accomplished and why they should do business with us! Self-promotion is not bragging. It is a valuable business tool that careerwomen must add to their strategies for success.

The author captures many of the unique aspects of female leadership missing from corporate America -- in its old and new economy iterations.

Wachs-Book uses clear examples to illustrate how specifically "female" problem-solving attributes can enhance a comany's leadership portfolio. Her commentary on women's rule-creating and not rule-following qualities rings especially true.

This is an excellent read for people participating in the process of creating and evolving their organizations' senior management teams.

I loved this book. I usually read fiction but this book captured my interest right away. I especially enjoyed learning about the backgrounds and personalities of these intriguing women. Wachs Book has done thorough research and has made clear the parellels between these "new paradigm leaders" from whom we can all learn something. Don't miss this one!

This fresh look at women professionals is both entertaining and informative. An excellent reporter and writer, Esther Wachs Book provides in-depth profiles of women CEOs and business leaders (many of whom rarely speak to the press) as she shows how traditionally "female" qualities are assets in today's business climate. A fast, fascinating read!

This book is easy to read, but it's not well written. That aside, Book fails to prove her point that what makes female leaders so successful is because of 'unique female' traits. In fact, other than the usually female stereotyped traits of 'compassion, collaboration, and empathy', which men, too, can learn, the other success traits: courage, being a good listener, seeing new opportunities, etc. are not innately female. It's almost insulting to get to the end of the book and see that she has just slapped short shallow bios of female executives, probably the ones who declined an interview with her. The biggest shame of this book is that the women profiled are incredibly admirable for what they've accomplished, but not 'just' because they are women.

I read this book for an assignment in my Small Group Communication class. I stumbled upon it while searching for books on leadership and the title caught my eye instantly. I am in no way a feminist, but throughout the course of my education I have, for some reason, always garnered an interest in feminist perspectives and theories. So, naturally I found this book quite intriguing. It was nice to hear that women's heightened emotions and eagerness to help and listen to others is finally paying off in the corporate world. Book had a very nice, easy to read set-up, with a proper introduction that defined all of the key terms and key people she wrote about in the bulk of work: namely the concept of new paradigm leaders and the 14 women she described who exemplified this unique style of leadership in the workforce. I like that Book didn't dismiss male leadership, nor did she talk down to men and their managerial styles, but rather she discussed how women are using those previous techniques and mixing them with their own styles of leadership that center around strengthening the group, not just one man's (or woman's) role/position in the company.
She lays out seven characteristics that separate the women from the boys and discusses uses primary examples of females in leadership positions in corporate America represent those characteristics. There is a need to not only read about defining characteristics that make women good leaders, but a need to actually see real examples of women executing those characteristics. I also like that this book IS NOT a "How-to" guide to becoming a top female executive, but rather a book that inspires the female sex to use what they have to their advantage (primarily "characteristics" that the opposite sex has deemed to be weak), and make moves to the top levels of their company.
This got me thinking about any job in general, whether it is a high-paying job in the corporate world or a part-time job for a student in college. When something bad has happened to you or a family member and you need to "call off" work or "take some time" to gather your thoughts, who would you rather talk to about it? Your intimidating, power-driven, "command and control" boss, or your understanding, supportive, "team oriented" boss? This may be a bit of a stretch, but this is a question Book has made me consider when thinking about the position I want to be in in the professional world....after college. Book definitely has some conscious-raising questions regarding the female race and overall, I enjoyed reading it. This is definitely a book I would read regardless of whether or not it was part of an assignment, but I'm glad I had amazon to help me find it.

Esther Wachs brings something to the table with this one. Writing in a style that's both lucid and engaging, she unpacks the mysteries of how the feminine mystique is shaping the digital age. Useful, check that please, ESSENTIAL reading for men too!

Why women should buy this book? Are they really in need for this kind of "confidence boost" or we already know that women can compete head-to-head with men?

My advice is simple: If you need this book, then you should look for a career where you don't need to compete with anyone, neither man or woman.

Save your money! The authors hopelessly biased style and language is a big turn-off. Any useful information is obscured by the overly general "truths" about the innate supperiority of women to men. I found this book to be a BIG dissapointment. There are much better books out there that offer similar substance with a more positive and believable tone. Get one of them!