Successful Women Leaders in the Workplace: Advice to Fill a Briefcase for Success

Abstract

This thesis addresses the following research question: what are the steps a young professional woman can take right now-this minute-in order to achieve organizational leadership and success in Omaha, Nebraska in the near future? I accomplish this through integrating scholarly research on women and leadership with actual data from ten successful women leaders in corporations in Omaha, Nebraska. After describing the rationale for the study and the method of gathering qualitative data through a series of open-ended interviews, integrated results are reported at multiple levels. Lessons from the intrapersonal level include the traits that women leaders often possess and why a women's sense of self is so critical. Lessons from the interpersonal level include information on why connecting with others is so valuable-networking assists in creating lifelong professional and personal relationships. This level also discusses workplace communication and the topic ofmentoring. Lastly, lessons from the cultural level include a discussion on the similarities between men and women, the barriers women often face in the workplace and understanding what it means for a successful woman to balance a family and her career. A summary of steps to success as articulated by participants concludes this manuscript.