Gail Evans believes that women can take lessons from men when it comes to building networks and looking out for one another in the business world.
Evans, a former White House aide and CNN's first female executive vice president, speaks from experience when it comes to climbing the career ladder, and from lecturing and mentoring women on achieving their potential in the corporate world. In She Wins, You Win, a follow-up to her bestseller, Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman, Evans encourages women to create their equivalent of the old-boy network.
She argues that women have an obligation to help each other succeed because the advancement of each woman contributes to others' chances for success. After making her case that "every woman must always play on the women's team," she addresses some common fears that women have against joining a team, from the risk of being viewed as an "old-fashioned feminista" to the dangers of losing one's individuality.
Evans also suggests ways to join the team and describes how to create informal networks where they do not exist in corporate organizations. Her tips for team members include "Be a Mentor," "Rainmake," "Uncover and Share Information," "Keep Quiet," "Unite with All Women at All Times," "Make Team-Related Choices," and "Weave a Female Web."
Evans illustrates her points with illuminating examples. In a section on rainmaking, Evans tells the story of a female general counsel of a large manufacturing firm searching for a labor lawyer. There was an obvious choice—a leading expert in labor law, who happened to be male. But the general counsel also contacted a former classmate who happened to work in the same firm as the candidate, and got her involved in the recruitment. By doing this, the general counsel extended her network, and the classmate received career-boosting credit for the hire.—Mallory Stark