Young women are raised to think they don’t have the natural skills to succeed in a “man’s world,” writes Reshma Saujani.

But the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code says she’s hopeful that this will change, and she’s inspired by Sallie Krawchek’s book, Own It: The Power of Women at Work, which states that women don’t have to adapt to man’s business world.

“In this inspiring book, Krawcheck shows why stereotypically ‘female’ qualities are actually a source of strength.  This book fills me with hope that our next generation of young women will grow up believing they are brave and capable of changing the world,” Saujani says.

Krawcheck — who was CEO of Smith Barney, CEO of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and CFO of Citigroup and is the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, a digital investment platform designed to help women reach their financial goals — wrote the book to give women practical and actionable advice, she told bizjournals.com.

In it, she uses research and anecdotes from her career to show that women already possess the inherent qualities and skillsets to succeed.

As noted in Velsoft’s Women and Leadership course, Krawchek suggests women have been conditioned to think leadership is about strength, confidence, and pushing ahead without fear, regardless of whether the answer is known, or the project is ready. She argues that embracing oneself — quirks, fears, and all — is a crucial step to sound leadership, and to avoiding frustration, stagnation, and burnout.

Four main leadership skills are often associated with women:

Instincts, knowing of danger, crises, or opportunities before visible signs or concrete data emerge. In other words: “believing is seeing.”

Seamless Shifting, able to take a phone call from home, type an email addressing a client’s complaint, and find an error in the monthly sales report, all in rapid succession.

Connected Visioning, linking news of the day to a months-old project for a new way forward, or engaging a client with something seen on social media a few weeks back. Life is an open fertile field, rather than a series of silos.

Passion, with a depth of knowledge and caring for people and things, as well as success and accomplishment: “still waters run deep.”

“It’s no secret the business world is in a time of transformation, largely driven by technology. Increased automation means that skills like collaboration, creativity and relationship-building are even more valuable,” writes Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and author of Thrive, in a review of Own It.

“As Krawcheck shows, women are uniquely positioned to succeed by tapping into these skills they already possess. Own It is a manual for how women can both thrive and accelerate these changes — which will benefit both men and women.”

Today is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s theme is Press for Progress, a call-to-action to continue to push for gender parity, and motivate people to think, act and be gender inclusive. #PressforProgress

In honour of International Women’s Day, all women are encouraged to use Krawchek’s example and advice to embrace their skills and talents and make a positive difference for women.

To assist with this, download the Velsoft Training Materials Women and Leadership: Owning Your Strengths and Skills Quick Reference Guide.

Women and Leadership QRG - front cover