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Remember, if you’d like to get the Orange Appeal Newsletter emailed directly to you, click here to subscribe.

You can also purchase a 2 year subscription for only $20.

Enthusiasm, charisma, clear communication, strategic thinking, and “cool minded” decision making are just a few of Virginia Rometty’s leadership characteristics. On January 1, she will become the first female CEO of International Business Machines Corp. An article from the NewYork Times says self-confidence may have played into her success.

Self-confidence is one of the elements of active coping, a set of behaviors central to executive success for senior leadership roles. Research conducted by the University of Chicago School of Business investigated the longer-term personality predictors of leadership. They found that the only measure that predicted leadership for men and women alike was an overall measure of active coping that indicates the ability to respond adaptively to stress and to grow.

Gender-based expectations for behavior influence the styles and evaluations of leaders. For instance, women are expected to display high levels of social (communal) qualities (affiliation, concern of others, spontaneity) while men display high levels of agentic qualities (exertion of power, assertiveness, competence).

As a whole, these findings indicate that women have to have high self esteem and high self confidence while leading in a communal style in order to be perceived as effective leaders. In short, they must be stronger copers in order to transcend the constraints placed on their leadership style. Virginia Rometty appears to demonstrate these characteristics.

For the full article please visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/women_leaders_need_self-confidence.html.

We hope that everyone has a safe and fulfilling Thanksgiving!

Remember, if you’d like to get the Orange Appeal Newsletter emailed directly to you, click here to subscribe.

You can also purchase a 2 year subscription for only $20.

California female entrepreneur, Ruth Handler transformed her belief of girls playing with paper dolls, to dolls with breasts being vital to the child’s self-esteem. That belief led to the icon everyone knows as Barbie. From a garage in 1945, Mattel grew to become a Fortune 500 company. Ruth’s understanding of self-image continued later in life when she developed the “Nearly Me” breast prosthesis following a mastectomy. Disliked by feminists, Handler’s ability to stick to her vision shows the trait required by all small business owners.

 The first African-American woman to become a billionaire, Oprah overcame her own trials and tribulations stemming from child abuse. Oprah began her television career at seventeen and her star was lit when she turned around the failing “AM Chicago” show. Oprah’s business and career success can be attributed to her passion to help others.

Oprah clearly states her corporate mission for The Oprah Winfrey Show “…is to use television to transform people’s lives, to make viewers see themselves differently and to bring happiness and a sense of fulfillment into every home.”

These women represent a small sampling of many great women in business influentials. The one common thread among the stories of success is success does not come easy. Success goes hand in hand with hardship and challenges. Never lose sight of your small business struggles…they are a requirement to great things.