IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2008 - 44

Career Advisor
Experiences from the Real World

Preparedness Is a
Key to Success
and Consulting Professionals on the Web,
and The Council of Advisors.
McKee does both one-on-one coaching
and group coaching, and he has even
developed online coaching programs. He
says about 65% of his clients who use
one-on-one coaching are women. He even
developed a group coaching program
exclusively for women, "Working Around
and Through the 'Old Boys Network.'"
Does this mean women need more
coaching than men? "It depends. If a
woman is in a male-dominated environment, she may need more coaching
to be able to understand the playing
field and how best to act," McKee says.
But why are women not rising to the
ranks as fast as their male counterparts?
"Many of my women clients think that the
number one reason behind the deplorable
lack of balance in executive suites is the
so-called glass ceiling," he says. "This barrier to entry is real of course, although it's
not as great a problem as in the past. With
an increasing number of males my age-
50-55 years old-leaving their senior
positions for early retirement or other
ventures, the old boy's network is becoming less of a factor impacting the promotion tracks of women," McKee says.

was the biggest reason for women not
moving into very senior levels. As they
reported, it is due to them being their
own worst enemy, he says. "The top reason cited was women's lack of self-promotion! I agree with the research. My
observation is that women are more likely than men to wait to get noticed at
work. And while women are more prone
to engage solely on the task at hand, men
are more likely to take advantage of selfpromotion opportunities," McKee adds.
According to McKee, when promotions
are made, bosses are simply more aware of
the accomplishments of the males in the
organization. "I have seen many talented
and accomplished women executives
passed over for this reason," he says.
"Working tirelessly and selflessly won't
always ensure you get into the corner
office! You cannot afford to sit back and
hope someone will notice your contributions in today's competitive environment.
Develop the skill and learn to talk about
your achievements in the workplace."
And a good coach can help you do so.
A good coach acts as a trusted advisor,
especially a coach with real-world experience. A coach can also act as a mentor, a
business partner-without a vested
interest except for helping the client to
succeed-and simply someone who can
develop a proactive plan to aid in career
advancement, McKee says.
"I provide the benefit of being an 'old
boy' myself with over 30 years experience, having hired, promoted, fired, and
laid off literally thousands of people, as
well as being a certified business and
executive coach," McKee says. As a result
of McKee's coaching experience, he
believes there are certain things most of
his women clients want to know.

Their Own Worst Enemy?

Women Care About Life Balance

Recently, 1,200 professional women were
asked by survey to identify what they felt

"Women are often dumbfounded by the
approach their male counterparts use to

Establish a plan and follow it, protect against legal problems,
and learn to understand the people with whom you deal

Got Passed Over
for That Promotion?
Never Again!
A career coach offers tips to help you
get the recognition you deserve.

Why are less than 4% of the largest companies run by women?
John McKee, career coach and author of
21 Ways Women in Management Shoot
Themselves in the Foot (Wheatmark, 2006),
and Career Wisdom, 101 Proven Strategies
to Ensure Workplace Success (Wheatmark,
2007), tells us why more women are not in
senior management roles. He also gives us
the inside scoop on how to get noticed on
the job and move up the ranks.
McKee is regularly featured on national
TV and radio shows and appears frequently
in magazines and newspapers across
North America. He has over 25 years of
senior executive experience in leading
companies in retail, telecom, satellite and
cable broadcasting, franchising, and other
services. He's also one of the founding senior executives of DIRECTV and is a member of The International Coaching
Federation, Worldwide Association of
Business Coaches, Association of Coaching
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2008.925805

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2008