Likeable badass How women get the success they deserve

Business professor, coach, and adviser Fragale hits the mark with this how-to-get-ahead guide for women (that men can read and follow too). Translate her title into two other words, assertive and warm, and her point comes across almost instantly, backed up by organizational psychology and research. She uses case studies and anecdotes throughout to support her three steps to being a likeable badass (Understand the game, Master plays, Coach others) and suggests exercises for readers to practice their skills. In the process, she destroys common limiting mindset myths (like the age-old, "I don't have the time for this"), explains how to tell your story without resorting to humble-bragging, and goes into detail about evaluating and choosing mentors. By listening and learning, Fragale convinces us, we can achieve conscious excellence--the top level of competence. Includes the author's book recommendations, notes, and an index.

Women can get ahead in the workplace by "getting others to see you as both Assertive and Warm," according to this intermittently useful debut. Fragale, a professor at the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill's business school, recommends that readers make plenty of eye contact, use humor when appropriate, and sit at the head of the table during meetings. Detailing what not to do, she contends that humblebragging ("I hate watching myself on TV") usually comes across as insincere and that issuing unnecessary apologies undercuts assertiveness. Readers should instead be forthright about their successes and, if they feel compelled to apologize, do so in the form of "expressions of regret for undesirable circumstances" ("Sorry about the weather"). Noting that women are less likely than men to have professional mentors, Fragale encourages readers to share their wisdom with others, suggesting that doing so helps mentors better understand and hone their own skill set. This stands out for the emphasis Fragale places on assisting others, but she has an unfortunate tendency to assert that her guidance is based on research without explaining how that research was conducted or by whom, making it difficult to evaluate how well the literature supports her claims. Still, there are enough sensible suggestions on offer to warrant checking this out. Agent: Margo Beth Fleming, Brockman, Inc. (Sept.)