International Women's Day (and Month!) is a time to celebrate women and their contributions to society. Women have made great strides in business, and today there are many inspiring books and podcasts by women that can help other women and business leaders learn, grow, and succeed. Here are some top picks:
Be the Calm or Be the Storm: Leadership Lessons from a Woman at the Helm (2023) by Captain Sandy Yawn
Captain Sandy, a superyacht captain and star of Bravo's Below Deck Mediterranean, shares her leadership lessons and critical thinking skills in her book. Drawing on her resourceful and resilient life, she empowers readers to navigate their way to a successful life. From selecting and sizing up her crew to solving knotty problems, Sandy describes the authority and discipline required to lead, tempered with compassion, understanding, and a desire to see her crew succeed. She emphasizes leading with empathy and the importance of constantly upgrading one's knowledge and skill set to sustain excellence. Throughout her stories, Sandy's optimism and abiding faith in individuals' potential shine through.
Permission to Speak: How to Change What Power Sounds Like, Starting with You (2023) by Samara Bay
Permission to Speak by Samara Bay is a timely and revolutionary take on public speaking, offering a fresh perspective on how to use your voice to get what you want. Bay challenges the traditional notion of how powerful people should speak and provides a new definition of what power sounds like - namely, you. This book blends anecdotes with eye-opening research in leadership, linguistics, and social science to show readers how to strike the right balance of strength and warmth to land their message. It's a personal and cultural reckoning with what speaking in public is and what it can be, offering a provocation that when we change what power sounds like, we change who has it.
Rising Together: How We Can Bridge Divides and Create a More Inclusive Workplace by Sally Helgesen
In her latest book, Rising Together, Sally Helgesen offers practical ways to build more inclusive relationships, teams, and workplaces. Drawing on three decades of work with executives and aspiring leaders around the world, Helgesen identifies eight common triggers that undermine our ability to collaborate across divides, such as gender, age, ethnicity, race, sexuality, and life experience. She then provides specific practices to address these triggers, including simple behavioral tweaks, a method for enlisting allies, and a means for cultivating the power of "we." Rising Together is for readers at every stage and level in their careers who recognize the importance of building a broad range of relationships for their advancement, and for HR, diversity, and leadership professionals tasked with addressing misunderstandings, resentments, and derailments caused by these triggers. By focusing on behaviors rather than biases, Helgesen provides a grounded, real-world approach to redirecting the inclusion conversation and building more inclusive workplaces.
Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work by Randi Braun
In Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work, executive coach Randi Braun provides a fresh take on empowering women to chart their own course to the top, dialing up confidence and fulfillment, and dialing down burnout in the process. Through stories and practical advice, Braun tackles common challenges faced by women in the workplace, such as self-doubt, perfectionism, and owning their message. Her conversational style makes the book wildly entertaining, while providing a new playbook for women to play the leadership game on their own terms and win. Whether you're an aspiring leader or an experienced one, Something Major offers a valuable resource for rethinking outdated rules and achieving your goals.
Women at Work from Harvard Business Review
This podcast features stories and insights from women who have succeeded in male-dominated fields. It covers a wide range of topics, including navigating gender bias, managing conflict, and building strong networks.
The Broad Experience with Ashley Milne-Tyte
This podcast covers a range of issues related to women in the workplace, including gender bias, work-life balance, and leadership. It offers thoughtful insights and practical advice for women at all stages of their careers.
Women Rule by Politico
This podcast features women who are breaking barriers and making a difference in politics, business, and society. Hosted by Politico's Anna Palmer, the podcast covers topics such as entrepreneurship, leadership, and activism.
No Limits with Rebecca Jarvis by ABC News
Hosted by ABC News correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, this podcast features interviews with successful women from a variety of industries, including business, entertainment, and politics. Each episode focuses on the guest's career journey and offers insights and advice for listeners.
The Him & Her Podcast by The Skinny Confidential
Lauryn Evarts Bosstick is the entrepreneur & creator behind The Skinny Confidential, a blog, brand, podcast, and YouTube channel that reaches millions of women and men trying to live their best lives by sharing wellness, business, beauty, & lifestyle tips. Michael Bosstick is a serial entrepreneur and brand builder as well as the Co-Founder and CEO of the Dear Media Podcast Network.
These books and podcasts offer valuable insights and inspiration for women in business. By learning from the experiences and wisdom of successful women, we can all work towards a more equal and inclusive workplace.
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