Dig Your Heels In: Navigate Corporate BS and Build the Company You Deserve

by Joan Snyder Kuhl

Overview

This comprehensive guide for professional women offers inspiration and practical strategies for getting the career you deserve.
 
In Dig in Your Heels, Joan Kuhl helps women create a clear vision of what they deserve in their careers and a practical path for turning that vision into reality. She offers strategies for overcoming sexist attitudes in the office, as well as for dealing with self-limiting behaviors like Imposter's Syndrome and the Myth of Meritocracy. Kuhl also describes how to build support networks before you even need them and explains how to get actionable feedback that will help you get to the next level—the kind women are rarely afforded. 
 
Case studies, practical exercises, and inspiring stories from Kuhl's work with clients at companies such as Goldman Sachs, U.S. Soccer, BlackRock, and top business schools make this a truly comprehensive guide. It's an indispensable resource for women who are determined to secure their seat at the table and create a welcoming workplace for everyone.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523098378
Publisher:	Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Publication date:	04/14/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Joan Kuhl is the Founder of Why Millennials Matter and a champion for girls and women in leadership. She is an international speaker and a consultant on talent management, career, communication and leadership trends. After 14 years in the pharmaceutical industry and building her thought leadership as a campus speaker, mentor and coach, Joan launched Why Millennials Matter, a training, research and consulting company that focuses on raising awareness about the value of investing in the early career workforce and cultivating the loyalty of Millennials as consumers. Her international speaking engagements and consulting have impacted leaders from over 60 countries with clients such as Goldman Sachs, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Discovery Communications, FINRA, Novo Nordisk, Viacom, the NY Mets and Columbia Business School. She has launched and worked with over a dozen corporate women’s networks and young professional, intergenerational employee resource groups. Her expertise has been featured in the NY Times, Harvard Business Review, CNBC and Success Magazine. Joan is a #SheBelieves Champion for the U.S. Soccer Organization, a Contributor to Women@Forbes and has served as a board member for the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute, named after the former CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA. She has a long history of serving on boards of organizations that serve girls such as Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Step Up for Women’s Junior Board and currently with Girls Inc. of New York City.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Thriving, Not Just Surviving 1

Part 1 Making the Case 15

1 The Case for Digging Your Heels In (Everybody Wins) 17

2 Making the Decision 28

Part 2 Making It Happen 49

3 Setting the Stage for Success 51

4 Big Bold Moves 74

5 Overcoming Obstacles 104

Part 3 Making Work Worth It 135

6 Relationships Are Everything 137

7 Life + Work Hacks 162

Conclusion: Be What She Sees 175

The Business Case for Change: What's in It for Your Company 178

Chapter Action Summaries 181

1 The Case for Digging Your Heels In (Everybody Wins) 181

2 Making the Decision 182

3 Setting the Stage for Success 183

4 Big Bold Moves 185

5 Overcoming Obstacles 187

6 Relationship Are Everything 188

7 Life + Work Hacks 189

Conclusion: Be What She Sees 190

Notes 191

Acknowledgments 199

Index 203

About the Author 217

Editorial Reviews

Joan Kuhl has proven to be an unabashed champion for girls’ leadership and advancing women in the workplace. Dig Your Heels In is a solid playbook that arms women with real-world strategies for disrupting the corporate world and getting what we deserve.”
—Sophia Amoruso, cofounder and CEO, Girlboss

“An incredibly important book that will change the way we lead, grow and transform our organizations—and ourselves. Dig Your Heels In distills the essence of what it takes to become a significant change agent, guiding us to challenge the status quo and moving us from where we are to where we are called to be.”
—Frances Hesselbein, Chairman, Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; and former CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA

“Need a dose of inspiration and career strategy before your next mansplaining? Here it is! As much as Lean In charted the course, Dig Your Heels In is about staying the course. A very special message to millennial women that will take them through, not just to, the glass ceiling. The stories in this book are as inspiring as they are instructive.
            Joan Kuhl was among the first thought leaders to focus intently on young leaders and by doing so has inspired me to a lifetime of developing millennials before they assume top leader roles. A profoundly talented writer and speaker, Joan is a standard bearer for women in business. Dig Your Heels In is not just about standing firm; it’s about moving ahead.”
—Tom Kolditz, PhD, retired Brigadier General and Executive Director, The Doerr Institute for New Leaders, Rice University

“Our girls need advocates like Joan Kuhl to help them grow up to be strong, respected, and valued leaders. Dig Your Heels In emphasizes the bold moves that individuals can take to ensure women of all ages, levels, and backgrounds have the time, space, and support to be our authentic selves in a world of social pressures and gender stereotypes.”
—Kate T. Parker, photographer and author of Strong Is the New Pretty
 
“Women face specific challenges to rise in their careers and oftentimes shrink themselves at the prospect of engaging others around their ambitions. Dig Your Heels In gives women permission and courage to go after what they need and deserve while also strengthening their peer network to empower women around them.”
—Sally Helgesen, coauthor of How Women Rise
 
“Women deserve to know the real deal so they can power through the obstacles that they will encounter in pursuit of the happy, fulfilling, and successful careers they deserve. Dig Your Heels In is a movement based on having the courage to advocate for ourselves and play the long game for our peers and the women to follow.”
—Annie McKee, author of How to be Happy at Work and Senior Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
 
“Dig Your Heels In delivers relevant and actionable strategies to empower women to lead within their organizations.”
—Anne Ackerley, Head of BlackRock’s U.S. and Canada Defined Contribution Group and Co-Founder of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network
 
“Practical solutions, relevant stories, and even scripts for difficult situations make Dig Your Heels In a must-read for any woman who wants to advance her career and change her organization for the better.”
—Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It
 
“The trust and influence that Joan Kuhl has earned through her research-based consulting projects and passion for transforming culture are infectious. We have worked together for the past several years on efforts to engage early career professionals and advance women in sports, so I’m thrilled that her advice and strategies are accessible through her new book, Dig Your Heels In, to more leaders in human resources and talent management.”
—Holly Lindvall, Senior Vice President, People and Culture, New York Mets
 
“For over a decade, I have witnessed Joan Kuhl’s impact on global organizations and diverse leaders led by her passion for early career development and advancement of women in the workplace. Dig Your Heels In pulls together Joan’s expertise with inspiring stories of trailblazers who provide a realistic pathway for achieving success at work and in life.”
—Marshall Goldsmith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and #1 Executive Coach and the only two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the World, Thinkers50

From the Publisher