Make Room For Her: Why Companies Need An Integrated Leadership Model To Achieve Extraordinary Results

This spring I was honored to be chosen as a breakout speaker at The Women’s Center 27th Annual Leadership Conference and while sitting at the speaker’s table during the opening session I scanned the impressive company and saw Rebecca Shambaugh a couple of chairs over.  I had the privilege to meet Becky when she launched her It’s Not a Glass Ceiling it’s a Sticky Floor back in 2007 and I instantly admired her strength, compassion and style.  I have recommended that book to countless clients, and it always resonates with them.  It really shifted the way I look at my own self-limiting beliefs of what I can accomplish in a ‘man’s’ world of business, and I am a more effective leader as a result.

Becky was a moderator for a fascinating panel discussion and also introduced us to her latest book "Make Room For Her: Why Companies Need An Integrated Leadership Model To Achieve Extraordinary Results". The concept of integrating all types of leaders into an organization, women, minorities, and generations for instance is interesting.  I immediately referenced it in my break out session on Leading Millennials as I saw the correlation pertinent.

In the book, Make Room For Her, the author provides valuable data proving that successful businesses must have a more balanced team of men and women working together.  This book features interviews with more than 50 top executives and case studies based on her extensive work coaching hundreds of women and men leaders.

“Successful Organizations of the future will be led by fully engaged, balanced teams of men and women working together synergistically to produce extraordinary results.  I call this integrated Leadership.  Leaders who create high-performing organizations and get lasting results are those who value and leverage the broad spectrum of gender intelligence-an intentional balance that enables an organization to deal with the complexities in today’s marketplace.  A balanced, Integrated Leadership team is the new competitive advantage.”

Businesses need to have a more Integrated Leadership for their companies to succeed.  Consider the following statistics:

• Women make over 80 percent of all consumer purchases
• Women make up more than 50 percent of the U.S. workforce.  By 2010, the number of women in the U.S. labor force had increased by almost 10 million, a growth rate almost one-third higher than that of men.
• Women are graduating at twice the rate of men across all disciplines at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
• Women own more than 50 percent of nearly half the 10.6 million privately held companies in the United States.  Between 1997 and 2004, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned businesses was nearly twice the rate of all firms.

She goes into great detail about the Gender-Based Brain Differences and how this will play out in a Leadership role.  We coaches love the brain and neuroscience, and she does an excellent job giving us more ammunition to the criticality of enlightening ourselves about how we are hardwired.

We will all benefit from a more balanced work atmosphere and she provides solutions that will work for both men and women.  There is also valuable information from a man’s perspective on what women need to know to succeed.  This is a must read for anyone wanting to lead their company to greatness.  I plan to recommend this to my leaders, and it is always exciting to see a fellow coach and DC metro leader thrive and share their insights with us!

Rebecca Shambaugh is an internationally recognized leadership expert, author, and keynote speaker. Rebecca is President of SHAMBAUGH, a global leadership development organization and Founder of Women In Leadership and Learning (WILL), one of the first executive leadership development programs in the country, dedicated to the research, advancement, and retention of women leaders and executives. Rebecca has coached and advised over a hundred leaders and executives and has enhanced their overall level of excellence in such areas as communications, strategic thinking, gender intelligence, visionary leadership, employee engagement, executive presence, and culture transformation. Prior to starting her own company, she worked for such premier organizations as General Motors, Fairchild Industries, and Amax Inc. as a senior executive in the leadership and human resources arena.

Rebecca is a sought out speaker and has presented within organizations, major conferences, and executive forums regarding the 21st Century Leadership Model and her company’s research and best practices on leadership and organizational transformation. Rebecca has been showcased on TED Talks, Fox News (New York), NPR, Washington Business, ABC, and numerous syndicated radio talk shows. She has been featured in publications such as: Leader to Leader, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Time Magazine, USA Today, Fortune Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Pink Magazine, and Entrepreneur Magazine.

Rebecca is a known thought leader in the industry and is the author of two best seller books titled, “It’s Not A Glass Ceiling, It’s A Sticky Floor” and “Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton,” and her new book, “Make Room For Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model To Achieve Extraordinary Results,” all published by McGraw-Hill. Her books illustrate her unconventional and results-focused approach to creating great leaders.