By Dr. Ellen M. Snee
Publication date: March 2022
Review date: March 2022
To be an effective leader, one must be able to demonstrate confidence in their authority. This is particularly important for women, who already face many obstacles when taking on such roles. Lead, by Dr. Ellen Snee, takes a refreshing approach to this topic by focusing on the experiences of women working in leadership positions rather than by making gender comparisons.
She chose to write Lead in a conversational tone, in an effort to mimic the feel of her coaching sessions and to share the benefit of her own experiences as well as those of her clients. The book follows "Self-Others-Systems," the relational model Dr. Snee developed based on women’s psychological development. Readers will learn about these relationships and how they constantly intersect while one is acting in a leadership role. Each chapter concludes with coaching-style homework, helping the reader to solidify her learning and progress through contemplation and commitment.
Dr. Snee has an EdD in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard, and she is an executive coach whose focus is helping women to advance their careers. In her earlier days, she was a nun with Religious of the Sacred Heart, an order of highly educated female leaders. This gave her the unique opportunity to live and work among women who were able to effectively exercise their authority within a male hierarchy, while understanding leaders’ abilities very much depend on relations.