Today’s guest, Betsy Myers, author of ‘Take the Lead ‘ is very well-equipped to talk about leadership and women in business. Her very impressive background includes serving as President Clinton’s senior advisor on women’s issues and his Deputy Assistant, an Executive Director for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and then a senior advisor to Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. In January 2007 she took on the role of Obama’s Chief Operating Officer. Then, in 2011, Betsy was appointed Founding Director at the Centre for Women and Business at Bentley University, near Boston. The focus at the Centre is to study and apply best practice for corporate America, to help them recruit and retain women leaders.

 

In our discussion she shares the motivators and experiences that led her along this path of service and education; insights from working with both Presidents; and she finishes with discussion about how companies can attract and keep more women in senior positions. (In corporate America there are only between 10% to 15% of women in leadership positions.)

 

Amongst many other thought-provoking comments and stories you will hear:

• how and why Clinton generated such loyalty from his staff
• the small and seemingly insignificant action that enabled Clinton, many years after his presidency, to defuse a very serious diplomatic situation in North Korea
• how Obama managed to come from nowhere to become President of the United States
• why some people motivate us and others seem to drain our energy
• why companies, despite their best efforts, have plateaued in regards to promotion of women executives, and some of the steps that can be done to change that
• the simple techniques that companies could use to reduce the costly drain of departing senior women executives