The Influence Effect – A New Path to Power for Women Leaders
Women hold over half of all professional jobs today, yet they represent just four percent of CEOs in the S&P 500. Even worse, that percentage has barely budged in a decade. That's where The Influence Effect comes in. Based on recent research by the authors of the New York Times bestseller Break Your Own Rules, this book begins with the premise that when it comes to political savvy, what works for men at work won't work for women. Packed with the authors' coaching insights and their “Big Five” strategies designed specifically for female executives, this book guides women to break past political barriers and get right to what they really want—influence.
Authors Kathryn Heath, Jill Flynn, Mary Davis Holt, and Diana Faison make success far less complex, helping women overcome entrenched resistance to their ideas, create their own access points to power, and attract followers in a way that works for them. They present tools such as Influence Loops (to organically increase influence), Personal Scaffolding (to grow a groundswell of support), and Scenario Thinking (a savvy twist on strategic planning). These and other smart strategies finally allow women to succeed on their own terms.
Illustrated with dozens of engaging, real stories culled from the authors' many years of coaching experience, The Influence Effect moves women past the politics problem and offers a new path to power. Actually, it's more than a path—it's a runway—it frees women to take off in their careers on their own terms. The Influence Effect will work for women, not because gender barriers will no longer exist, but because they will no longer hold women back.
About Kathryn Heath (Charlotte, North Carolina Author)
Kathryn Heath, Ph.D., is a founding partner at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership (FHHL) whose goal is to move women leaders forward faster. She serves as a developer of leadership programs, coach, and training designer. One of the hallmarks of Kathryn’s work is addressing organization’s specific business targets through customized programs that move women leaders forward faster. Her various clients include executives and high-potential leaders at Fortune 500 companies including Deloitte, AIG, Booz Allen Hamilton, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
Before she co-founded FHHL, Kathryn was Senior Vice President and Director of First University at the nation’s fourth-largest bank, First Union (now Wells Fargo), where her inventive and results-focused approach won her numerous awards in the field of learning and development. There, during a period of explosive growth, Kathryn centralized training, expanded the tools and channels both onsite and remotely, and increased the training hours per person exponentially. She also created programs for high-potential employees – many of whom became the company’s top-most leaders.
Kathryn Heath is co-author of the book, Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking That Block Women’s Path to Power, which landed on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The Washington Post. Kathryn received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Like her partners, she serves on a number of corporate and non-profit boards. Kathryn is based in Charlotte, NC. For more information, follow Kathryn on Twitter @FlynnHeathHolt and on LinkedIn.
About Diana Faison (Co-Author)
Diana Faison is a partner at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership, whose goal is to move women leaders forward faster. With expertise in the fields of leadership training, executive coaching, and performance consulting, Diana has concentrated much of her expertise on resilience and professional work-life balance integration. She has designed and facilitated over 600 workshops for both corporate and non-profit groups. Her passion for empowering the next generation of female leaders has led her to coach and design programs targeted toward millennials, including a special interest in social media and the role it can play in leadership development and professional success.
Now in her fourth year as a partner, Diana also worked with Flynn Heath Holt for ten years as a consultant. Prior to that, she ran her own consulting practice for twenty years. Over the span of her career, she has coached clients in a wide range of industries, including professional services, global real estate, financial services, software development, and healthcare. Diana has authored articles for Success and Lead Change Group.
Diana is passionate about empowering the next generation of female leaders, and has spoken to groups for clients including Deloitte, Premier Inc. (healthcare), Summit Properties, and Hynes Sales Company.
Diana received her M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. She is a graduate of Leadership Charlotte, an organization that provides leaders with the opportunity to serve the community. Diana is certified in numerous assessment instruments including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, ChangeWorks!, Hogan Personality Inventory, Situational Leadership II (SLII), and the Leadership Architect. For more information, follow Diana on Twitter @FlynnHeathHolt and @DianaWFaison, and on LinkedIn.
About Jill Flynn (Co-Author)
Jill Flynn is the author of Break Your Own Rules, How to Change the Patterns of Thinking that Block Women’s Paths to Power. This business book for women, co-authored by Jill and her two business partners, made the New York Times best seller list as well as best seller lists on Amazon, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. Most recently Jill co-authored a Harvard Business Review article, Women Find Your Voice which was published in June, 2014.
Jill is a founding partner of Flynn Heath Holt Leadership whose goal is to move women leaders forward, faster. She specializes in partnering with corporate clients to design and implement tailored strategies that result in higher retention and promotion rates for their women leaders. Jill is widely recognized for her coaching, training and consulting expertise and has a roster of happy clients.
Prior to co-founding Flynn Heath Holt Leadership, Jill was Senior Vice President at the nation’s fourth largest bank, First Union (now Wells Fargo), where she established their leadership development, diversity, organizational consulting, and employee satisfaction initiatives. The corporation grew exponentially during her tenure, with more than 100 mergers. Jill and her team prepared a cadre of more than 100 high potential leaders to assume senior positions. Within a three-year timeframe, the number of women in these roles increased from 9% to 26%.
Jill received her B.A. from Salem College and M.Ed. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also holds post masters certifications in psychometry and counseling. Jill was recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals as their 2012 Champion for Diversity. In addition Jill was honored as Charlotte Woman of the Year in 2000, First Union’s “Keeper of the Flame” in 1998, and Charlotte Business Woman of the Year in 1992.
About Mary Davis Holt (Co-Author)
Mary Davis Holt is a senior consultant at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership, whose goal is to move women leaders forward faster. She is an executive coach and keynote speaker on business, women, and leadership. As an in-demand voice, Mary shares her hard-won insights and promotes FHHL’s new rules for success to a wide range of audiences.
Prior to joining FHHL, Mary held executive positions at Time Warner with oversight that ranged from finance to information technology, marketing, human resources, manufacturing, and distribution. She held a number of leadership roles in the publishing group, including Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Time Life, Inc. Among her many career highlights, Mary led the management of worldwide manufacturing distribution for all of Time, Inc.’s magazines (e.g., Time, Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated). She also served as president of Time Life Books and Time Life Kids.
Her book, Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking That Block Women’s Path to Power, which she co-authored with business partners Jill Flynn and Kathryn Heath, has landed on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The Washington Post.
Mary earned a B.A. from Salem College, and an M.B.A. from New York University’s Graduate Business School. Like her partners, she serves on a number of corporate and non-profit boards. Mary is based in the Washington, D.C. area. For more information, follow Mary on Twitter @FlynnHeathHolt.