I Wish I'd Known This - by Brenda Wensil & Kathryn Heath (Paperback)

About the Book

"Two executive coaches reveal the six blind spots that hobble women's career paths and strategies to effectively overcome them. There are predictable blind spots that affect thousands of professional women during their careers, but most don't know they exist or can't see their adverse impacts. Authors and executive coaches Brenda Wensil and Kathryn Heath have spent decades coaching and working with female executives, middle managers, and professionals across industries and age groups. From those sessions and conversations, they identified the six most critical challenges that women face in their careers, along with how to confront them: Blind spot #1: Stop drifting-Set a goal and a strategy and start driving. Blind spot #2: Don't go it alone-Get a posse. Blind spot #3: Don't wing it-Practice relentlessly. Blind spot #4: Don't leave reputation to chance-Install a personal GPS. Blind spot #5: End brand ambiguity-Get famous for something. Blind spot #6: Know your story-Know your limiting beliefs. Each chapter will include stories, strategies, practical insights, and reflective questions that readers can employ to reach their professional finish line successfully no matter where they are in their journeys"--

Book Synopsis

Uncover the six blind spots that derail women's career paths and learn strategies to effectively overcome them for an impactful, sustainable career.

Professional women are subject to blind spots--obstacles that can minimize career potential, impact, or advancement. Some women end up drifting instead of driving through their careers, going it alone instead of building a posse, and leaving their "reputationality" (that special something we are known for) to chance.

Authors and executive coaches Brenda Wensil and Kathryn Heath have spent decades coaching more than 800 women and working with women executives, middle managers, and professionals across industries and age groups. In this book, they outline six challenges women commonly face on their professional journeys and map a way to accelerate through them for higher-impact careers. Readers will learn how to

- Set a vision, strategy, and plan for their careers
- Learn who they are, what they offer, and how to tell their stories
- Seek and act on feedback to guide their paths
- Prepare and practice for the best outcomes
- Enlist help and support from others

Effective women leaders inspire innovation, sustain profitability, manage risk, and create environments for inclusion and diversity to increase. Chock full of strategies, stories, and practical skills, this book will hasten a woman's progress and impact as a professional woman and liberate her to excel in her career on her own terms.

Review Quotes

"This book provides a blueprint for women, regardless of where they are in their leadership journey. It highlights career-advancing skills that keep us moving forward with impact and intention. It grants license to women to show up more boldly, bravely, and authentically in their careers."
--Tamika Tremaglio, Executive Director, National Basketball Players Association

"The authors offer practical, actionable strategies with real examples and research-based approaches. A refreshing reminder that when women achieve, everyone is better for it."
--Karen Case, President of Commercial Real Estate, CIBC US

"In this timely guide, using real workplace stories and research-based approaches, the authors help us better understand potential career derailers for women. It's a necessary reminder that the how of leadership matters as much as, if not more than, the what."
--Wendy Davidson, President of Americas, Glanbia Performance Nutrition

"This is the book you need to read now to shortcut career delays and derailers! Brenda and Kathryn's expert knowledge offers a timeless perspective on challenges women face and how illuminating the blind spots can accelerate the path forward. They encourage us all to think bigger and aim higher!"
--Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won't Get You There

"A wise perspective on the universal blind spots for women leaders and a fantastic guide for those who want greater impact, insightful leadership and practical ways of seeing what's ahead. Reading this book feels like having an executive coach on your shoulder, sharing great stories, asking key questions, and pushing for positive change."
--Bev Kaye, EdD, bestselling coauthor of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em and Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go

About the Author

Brenda F. Wensil is managing director at Bravanti. She was previously an executive leader for First Union (now Wells Fargo), and she established the first customer-focused strategy for the federal government as chief customer experience officer at the US Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid.

Kathryn Heath, PhD, is a founding partner at Bravanti, where she has served as a coach, trainer, and developer of leadership programs for twenty years. Heath was senior vice president and director at the nation's fourth largest bank, First Union (now Wells Fargo).