How Women Rise

The most powerful idea in How Women Rise is that many women unconsciously run their careers using strategies designed to avoid backlash: stay modest, stay helpful, stay perfect, stay emotionally controlled, stay hyper-aware.

Those strategies reduce risk—but they also reduce power.

To rise, women must shift toward influence strategies:

be visible (without apologizing)

state goals (so others can support them)

set boundaries (so priorities reflect purpose)

use networks (so opportunities expand)

let go of perfection (so bold action becomes possible)

stop over-processing (so presence and confidence return)

The authors’ message is not “become like men.” It’s: stop shrinking the parts of you that signal leadership. Keep your strengths—empathy, diligence, relationship skill—but stop letting them turn into self-erasure, overwork, and hesitation.

When women learn to advocate for themselves, tolerate being imperfect, and operate with strategic clarity, they become harder to overlook—not because they changed who they are, but because they stopped hiding their impact.

Sally Helgesen is a leadership coach, speaker, and author focused on women’s leadership and inclusion. Recognized in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, she has written influential work on how women lead, how organizations can better support them, and how women can navigate the dynamics of power without abandoning authenticity. Her books include The Female Advantage, The Web of Inclusion, and Rising Together (a continuation of themes explored in How Women Rise).

Marshall Goldsmith is a prominent executive coach and leadership educator, also inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame. He is known for behavior-focused coaching that helps successful leaders identify the habits that sabotage them at higher levels. His best-known books include What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and Triggers, which share the same core premise that growth requires changing the behaviors that once created success.