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The Politics of Promotion

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The Politics of Promotion

How High-Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead

Wiley,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Women must take their professional destinies into their own hands by developing and employing workplace “political savvy.”

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

The women’s movement started decades ago, but female business leaders remain rare. You can credibly blame a lingering bias against women in the workplace, but women also seem to have been reluctant to work their companies’ cultures to their personal advantage. Now, you can take your destiny into your own hands by developing and employing “political savvy” within your organization. Professional coach Bonnie Marcus explains why women haven’t received the promotions, pay and positions they want and what they can do about it. She includes some helpful tools, including “Political Skills Assessment” worksheets and handy chapter summaries. She becomes repetitive at times – mostly for emphasis and reassurance, but getAbstract recommends her smart how-to guide to women who want to forge meaningful careers, whether they’re just starting out or fighting to stay on top.

Summary

Are You Savvy?

Despite the development of the modern feminist movement, women have made few strides in gaining promotions at work. Women serve in only slightly more than 5% of chief executive jobs in Fortune 500 and Fortune 1,000 firms. Office politics hold them back. Women must master those machinations to their advantage. To overcome built-in gender bias in the business world, women must become politically adept. That calls for developing relationships and self-assurance, engaging in self-promotion and ferreting out important information they can use strategically.

Cultivate your talent for being politically savvy. Examine the dynamics of your firm. Which of your colleagues receive promotions? Who do they know? Why do decision makers view them favorably? What kind of actions or work does your company prize? Do your firm’s leaders know and value your work? Which leaders should you get to know better?

Make these observations strategically with the purpose of coming to understand how to succeed within your company’s unique environments. If you find this approach unsavory, you aren’t alone: Many women equate playing office politics with surrendering...

About the Author

Bonnie Marcus, a professional career coach, founded and leads Women’s Success Coaching. She writes for business publications, including Business Insider and Forbes.

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