“Nice girls get the corner office”… “Nice girls finish last”… “Anything she can do I can do better”… “Hot Tips for Career Chicks”… all great books with great tips on how to fix the women… but how do we fix the employers who have failed to find, develop and keep the best women on their teams; and create more of the ones that do this well?

With research proving time and time again that organisations with more women in leadership roles produce stronger financial results, and with Australia producing more educated women than men for more than two decades, we’re trying to understand what it is about LEADERS that is stopping women from holding more than 10% of senior leadership roles across almost every industry and sector in Australia. 

We think it’s time to forget about fixing the women, and focus on fixing the bosses who make the promotion decisions.

And we think it’s time for women to explain what they really want at work:

• What inspires you to do a great job at work and to stay with your company?
• Who is the best leader you’ve had… and what was it about their leadership style that brought out the best in you?
• Is there a leader in the public domain you’d bend over backwards to work for, and if so why?
• What’s the difference between a good leader and a bad one, when it comes to inspiring and motivating you?
• What about the horror stories – have you had the boss from hell?  What did they do that really peeved you off?  Did it cause you to leave your job and if so – was your boss surprised when you resigned and did they try to change your mind?
• And the real corker – do you think men or women make better leaders of women… and why?

We’re looking for women to tell their stories about their good and bad leadership experiences at work, how they like to be led, what you love or hate about your boss and their leadership style, and whether in fact your boss has managed to bring out the best in you.

Stories will be posted on the blog and used as case studies in a book on this topic and may involve a short additional interview.  And yes – you can contribute anonymously.

Post your comment here or contact us with your story – you’ll be helping thousands of women and employers in the process and just might have the chance to sing some praises or let off some steam!