HBR Guide for Women at Work
HBR Editors with Various Contributors
Harvard Business Review Press (November 2018)

How to overcome unconscious biases that oppose women’s personal growth and professional development

This is one of the volumes in a series of anthologies of articles that first appeared in Harvard Business Review. Having read all of them when they were published individually, and then most of them in a previously published anthology, I can personally attest to the high quality of their authors’ (or co-authors’) insights as well as the eloquence with which they are expressed. This collection has two substantial value-added benefits that should also be noted: If all of the 25 articles were purchased separately as reprints, the total cost would be at least $250; also, they are now conveniently bound in a single volume for only $15.51 and the material is easily potable.

That’s not a bargain; that’s a steal.

Who will derive the greatest value from the material in this book? Women in need of cutting-edge thinking to overcome unconscious biases that oppose personal growth and professional development. Also, men in need of expert guidance to ensure that all women have the support needed to achieve that worthy objective.

The articles are organized within six Sections and each stresses the importance of a specific initiative: “Make Yourself Visible” (Chapters 1-3), “Communicate with Confidence” (4-7), “Build a Network of Support” (8-1), and “Position Yourself for Leadership” (13-16),  “Negotiate for What You Want” (17-20), and “Navigate Difficult Situations” (21-25). Consider these facts: The U.S. Constitution and its initial “Bill of Rights” were ratified in 1789 but it was not until 1863 that slavery was declared illegal, until 1920 that women were eligible to vote, and until 1954 that segregation was also declared unconstitutional. Even now, women continue to be compromised  by biases — both conscious and unconscious. Yes, it has taken more than two centuries to close the gap between the founders’ original vision and its fulfillment. Much more remains to be done.

These are among the articles of special interest to me, also cited to suggest the scope of coverage.

o “Why You Aren’t Noticed for Your Accomplishments: Four behaviors holding women back” (Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, and Mary Davis Holt)

o “To Seem Confident, You Must Be Seen as Warm: Competence alone won’t influence others” (Margarita Mayo)

o “Three Ways Women Can Rethink Office Politics: Understand your network, and secure your allies” (Kathryn Heath)

o “Women and the Vision Thing: Show that you’re strategic” (Herminia Ibarra and Otilia Obodaru)

o “How to React to a Biased Performance Review: And prevent them in the future” (Paolo Cecchi-Dimeglio and Kim Kleman)

o “Responding to an Offensive Comment at Work” Whether it’s inappropriate or even sexist (Amy Gallo)

o “What to Do If You’ve Been Sexually Harassed” Understanding your legal options   (Joanna L. Grossman and Deborah L. Rhode)

o “Tackle Bias in Your Company Without Making People Defensive” Focus on the opportunity, not the problem (Avivah Wittenberg-Cox)

All of the articles in all of the HBR anthologies — including those in this one — are of exceptionally high quality. The authors’ recommendations are practical and do-able as well as redundantly validated by extensive evidence from real-world experience. Most (if not all) of the material can be of incalculable value to leaders in almost any organization, whatever its size and nature may be.

I presume to add a few thoughts of my own. First, I highly recommend highlighting key passages and keeping a lined notebook near at hand in which to record your comments, questions, page references, etc. These tactics will help to facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of key material later.

Next, the title for this brief commentary — “How to overcome unconscious biases that oppose women’s personal growth and professional development” — was carefully selected. Women alone cannot overcome the unconscious biases against them that hold them back. These biases are difficult to work around and even more difficult to eliminate. Yes, this book was written for women and that is why contributors use direct address. However, I also highly recommend it to all male executives, especially in C-level positions.  They can help achieve long-overdue changes in workplace culture that will be of substantial benefit to all stakeholders.

Finally, there are no finance issues, HR issues, IT issues, marketing issues, etc…there are only BUSINESS issues. Keep that in mind, especially when making decisions. In Judgment Calls, Thomas Davenport and Brooke Manville explain how and why decisions made by a Great Organization tend to be much better than those made by a Great Leader. Why? While conducting rigorous and extensive research over a period of many years, they discovered – as Laurence Prusak notes in the Foreword — “that no one was looking into the workings of what we term organizational judgment — the collective capacity to make good calls and wise moves when the need for them exceeds the scope of any single leader’s direct control.” It is imperative to have women centrally involved in this decision-making process. Their values and perspectives will ensure much better calls and much wiser moves.

In the final section of this book, the focus in four articles is on HOW to get more people more actively involved in efforts to, in the Editors’ words, “help women maneuver around or overcome the difficulties they face at work. But all of us need to work as a society to eliminate these biases altogether — for man, managers, and organizational leaders to advocate for women, develop them, and get them on the path to growth.”

In this context, I am again reminded of an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” That was true of the leaders of thirteen colonies in 1776 and it is true of leaders today at all levels and in all areas of our society. First, we must recognize and condemn unconscious bias. Next, we must eliminate it. Finally, we must make certain that those viruses can never again limit any of us…and thereby limit all of us.