Curious about what it takes to run a Fortune 500 company? Or want to know how the top leaders manage the demands of work and family while still climbing the corporate ladder? Then who better to hear it from than the women who’ve actually done it.
In honor of Women’s History Month (or as we like to say at Chief, Women’s Future Month), we’re highlighting books written by top women leaders that dig deep into the challenges they’ve faced and the advice they’ve followed to reach the pinnacle of their careers. From Ginni Rometty’s Good Power to Ursula Burns Where You Are Is Not Who You Are, to Julia Boorstin’s When Women Lead, these books not only detail the uncharted career paths of today’s most influential business leaders, but they also reveal the key traits and characteristics they employed to navigate crises and obstacles at the top.
Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work and World by Ginni Rometty
In Good Power, Chief speaker and former IBM CEO details her groundbreaking path to becoming one of the world’s most influential business leaders. In this memoir, Rometty shares the many different experiences that have defined her life — including personal hurdles, high-stake business decisions, and passionate advocacy — all while giving actionable advice on how to redefine power and use it for good as a leader.
Where You Are Is Not Who You Are: A Memoir by Ursula Burns
As the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, Burns uses her memoir to look back on her history-making career at Xerox and the challenges she had to overcome. In Where You Are Is Not Who You Are, the former Chief speaker also discusses her unique insights on American business and corporate life, why she feels like greed is threatening democracy and the steps she thinks leaders should take to reach racial and economic justice.
Own the Arena: Getting Ahead, Making a Difference, and Succeeding as the Only One by Katrina Adams
In Own the Arena, Adams, who was the first Black woman and youngest person ever to be President and CEO of the United States Tennis Association, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the leadership skills needed to put on some of the world’s most lucrative sporting events. And she details how the lessons she learned as the head of the USTA can be applied across any business today.
My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future by Indra Nooyi
As the first woman of color and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi provides an in-depth look at her journey from being raised in India, to attending Yale School of Management, to becoming one of the most admired business leaders in the world. In My Life in Full, the former Chief speaker details the difficulties she faced with juggling work and family and why she urges businesses and the government to prioritize the care ecosystem, paid leave, and workplace flexibility.
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
In her bestselling book, The Moment of Lift, former Chief speaker Melinda Gates not only shares the lessons she learned from the inspiring people she’s met from around the world, but also discusses her personal experiences in the highly public workplace of the Gates Foundation and the defining moments that led her to finding her voice as a leader.
When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them by Julia Boorstin
Bringing together stories from more than 60 of today’s top women CEOs and executives, including Chief CEO Carolyn Childers, CNBC reporter and former Chief speaker Julia Boorstin details in When Women Lead the common characteristics that help women thrive today. And, she shares why underestimating characteristics like vulnerability and gratitude could be a huge mistake for all leaders. You can also listen to her speak about this book on Chief’s podcast, The New Rules of Business.
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington
After a devastating fall brought on by exhaustion and a lack of sleep, Huffington knew that in order to have lasting success she needed to change her approach to work. In Thrive, the Co-Founder of The Huffington Post and Co-Founder and CEO of Thrive Global, shares how practicing meditation, mindfulness, and unplugging have helped her to overcome her challenges managing a demanding job and family.