The Girl's Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch): Valuable Lessons, Smart Suggestions, and True Stories for Succeeding as the Chick-in-Charge » (Reprint)

As authors and speakers, Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio have helped thousands of women take control of their careers. They are authors of the bestselling and award-winning books The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business and The Girl’s Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch). Co-owners of YC Media, a successful public relations company in Manhattan, Caitlin and Kim have appeared on hundreds of media outlets including Today, CNN, Time, Newsweek, Shape and Real Simple.

Forget what you’ve heard. Nice girls can get the corner office.

As women, we haven’t always had the best role models at work. We’ve either worked for men or we’ve had female bosses who are, well, big bitches. Woman still don’t have much of a road map right now when it comes to taking charge at the office, so the team who brought you the national bestseller The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business is drawing one for us. Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio will teach you to be powerful without being possessive, to be opinionated without being brassy, and to have a strong voice without micromanaging. You’ll learn just how to own the role of queen bee in a positive way so that you can be more mentor than manager, one who leads, inspires, and motivates.

So, you finally got that promotion. You’re the boss now. The supervisor. The manager. The captain. The taskmaster. Those days of taking orders, running errands, and clock-watching are over. As exciting as all this might seem, once the rush of the promotion is over, you might be scratching your head wondering exactly what to do. Being the boss is never easy, but it's twice as hard for a woman. It seems like there's no middle ground. Either you're the dragon lady who rules with an iron fist or the mousey girl who gets drowned out at every meeting. When a woman wields authority and dares to make tough decisions, how often is the "B-word" bandied about by her employees? How can she strike that balance between pushover and dictator?

Fear not. You can do the job. All you need is a little helpful advice to send you on your way. Whether you supervise two as a shift manager or lord over an entire corporate empire, Caitlin Friedman and Kim Yorio will show you how to step gracefully into your new position of power. They’ll teach you how to motivate your team without alienating them, how to delegate without feeling guilty, how to deal with office politics and how to handle evaluations, promotions, and even firings. And for those of you who are already running the show, they can help you become the mentor your employees deserve.

Inside, there are self-assessment questionnaires to help you find out where you land on the bitch or wimp scale; interviews with prominent female bosses, human-resources directors, and therapists; and advice from a whole host of experts. In addition, there are funny and informative checklists and tips to make sure you’re the Good Witch around the office and not the Big Bitch. And, most important, Caitlin and Kim will teach you the secrets to owning your role and loving it. You’ve earned your promotion, so enjoy it!

Publishers Weekly

Since the early 1980s, studies have shown that the techniques utilized by successful men in leadership roles do not have the same effects when practiced by women in similar contexts. It is commonly known that when a woman behaves like her male counterpart, she is often negatively labeled as cold, tough, etc. In addition, women have fewer female role models to whom they can turn for advice and assistance. Friedman and Yorio help readers through this dilemma by compiling personal anecdotes, pop culture references and an array of interviews with female leaders in various fields in an attempt to offer the support and encouragement women need to excel as leaders. The authors state that the patience, strength, wisdom, resourcefulness and nurturance that society cultivates in women might actually make females better managers than males. The book is filled with numerous examples of management styles as well as quizzes to determine if the reader is a "Good Witch" or a "Bad Bitch" with regard to her own leadership skills. Leaders of any gender will find solace in reading these stories from the trenches and may learn some new tips to improve on their own leadership skills as well. (Apr. 4) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     xi
You're a big girl now: From Just Another Employee to Chick-in-Charge     1
The big picture: What It Takes to Become a Great Leader     25
Team building: You're Only as Good as Your Staff     48
Don't try this at work: Ten Ways to Alienate Your Staff     78
Communicate, motivate, celebrate     93
Delegation is not a dirty word: Employing Your Employees     117
Playing goddess: Evaluations, Promotions, and Giving the Ax     136
Culture is queen: Corporate Culture 101     155
Office politics are a big fat drag: Navigating Closed Doors, Hushed Whispers, and Watercooler Rumors     175
Being the boss without being bossy: Business Lessons You Learned in Childhood     194
A final note     213
Resources     215
Index     219