LEAD

A veteran coach offers guidance to women in corporate roles.

In this debut business book, Snee draws on her doctoral research in psychology, her work as the founder and principal of a woman-focused consulting firm, and her years on the staff of a large corporation—in addition to her 18 years as a Roman Catholic nun—to provide advice to women who aspire to professional leadership roles. The volume takes readers through the process of understanding their own interests, motivations, and abilities; addresses specific skills like resilience and financial literacy that are crucial for leaders; advises readers to develop and strengthen strategic relationships within their organizations, throughout their broader networks, and with female subordinates; and explores what the concept of “executive presence” means when the executive is a woman. The narrative is a blend of general observations, insights from Snee’s personal and professional experiences—a lengthy digression into what her research revealed about women and speech patterns is particularly intriguing—and anecdotes from many of the women she has advised. These clients learned to claim responsibility for their own accomplishments, oversee projects that are relevant to their balance sheets, and communicate effectively at all levels. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points and a list of action items, both for self-reflecting and for implementing the book's advice in the workplace (“Pay attention when your inner-critic voice appears, and process it in writing after the fact”).

Snee writes that women need a “cheering section” to remind them of their accomplishments and push them into new and challenging roles. Through this book, she serves as a cheering section for readers, explaining how women can take ownership of their interactions and career trajectories and achieve their goals while emphasizing the work they need to do to reach them. The volume is wide-ranging despite its brevity and does an excellent job of explaining concepts without belaboring them. The writing is solid, and the narrative is cohesive. The author’s experience with a religious vocation gives her a unique perspective (for instance, her guidance on self-awareness is shaped by her training in St. Ignatius Loyola’s practice of discernment), but her overall approach is secular. While the general thrust of the book is similar to many other works on women’s leadership, Snee’s insights into minor but significant topics like word choice and hierarchical relationships distinguish the volume from its peers. The manual is strengthened by the author’s acknowledgement of its limitations. She notes in the introduction that as a White woman whose clients are mostly White, her knowledge of the particular challenges women of color face in pursuing leadership roles is more theoretical than practical. Still, when she returns to the topic in detail toward the end of the volume, she is both thoughtful and informed on the subject. The book focuses on women pursuing corporate careers, though most of Snee’s counsel is broadly applicable to other fields as well.

A solid and insightful guide to succeeding as a woman in business.