Bonnie Marcus- THE POLITICS OF PROMOTION

Bonnie Marcus- THE POLITICS OF PROMOTION: How High-Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead

This on demand audio series is a part of the Executive Girlfriends Group Vignette Series. Chicke Fitzgerald interviews Bonnie Marcus. The original live interview was 7/03/15.

Working industriously, diligently, and with heads down has served women well. They now hold 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees and 51 percent of all doctorates, and earn 47 percent of law degrees and 45 percent of all master’s degrees in business. Yet, with optimism and ambition, women enter the workforce and are blindsided: only 5.2 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 5.4 percent of Fortune 1,000 CEO positions are held by women.

The problem? A naïve negligence of workplace politics, argues Bonnie Marcus, award-winning entrepreneur and founder and president of Women’s Success Coaching. In her new book, Marcus details common, research-backed land mines women encounter in the workplace – from unconscious and second-generation bias to a lack of self-confidence and a distaste for self-promotion – and provides proven tools for women to arm themselves for success.

Bonnie received a BA from Connecticut College and a M.Ed. from New York University. She is an ICF certified executive coach. As the President of Women’s Success Coaching, Bonnie assists professional women to successfully navigate the workplace and position and promote themselves to advance their careers.

 

With personal anecdotes from accomplished professionals, the book’s insights advocate political savvy in relationships in order to propel competent, talented women to the top – and keep them there.

“Politically savvy individuals work the system in a subtle manner. They are often behind the scenes building relationships of trust and influence,” writes Marcus. “They are not self-serving. They are using their relationships for the greater good of everyone. This sets them apart from the outright manipulators that give office politics a bad name.”

The mindset about workplace politics as negative, manipulative, and evil is one that is commonly held by women, which often leaves them unwilling to engage altogether. This aversion puts women in vulnerable positions, Marcus argues, and keeps them from “leaning in” with no essential information about how judgments are made and who makes and influences them. Women give up their power and influence to affect the decision-making process. Men, on the other hand, are much more willing to engage in workplace politics. Research shows men spend on average about 80 percent of their time doing their work and 20 percent of their time letting everyone else know what a good job they’ve done. Marcus helps women embrace the same type of self-promotion. In her book, she shows how to exercise political savvy as a skill, not a trait, which women can learn and put to practice in their daily job performance and leadership.

Award winning entrepreneur, Forbes and Business Insider contributing writer, Bonnie Marcus, M.Ed., has real conversations for real women about real situations in the workplace today.

Her website is http://womenssuccesscoaching.com/

To order the book click HERE