BALA CYNWYD, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES, April 22, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Research indicates that when there are both women and men at the top of organizations, these companies are significantly more successful and profitable. Indeed, all evidence suggests there should be more co-leadership.

Although we want both genders to work together successfully, women leaders face unique challenges as they enter the executive ranks that may either derail their development or cause them to leave their companies.

Molly D Shepard is the President and CEO of The Leader's Edge/Leaders By Design, a firm dedicated to providing leadership development to executive and high-potential women and men to enhance their effectiveness as senior leaders.

“We've worked with thousands of women and men since our founding in 2001 and have assisted some wonderful leaders to become even better,” says Shepard.

After running a successful human resource consulting firm for 17 years, Shepard had the opportunity to sell it. Too young to retire, she wondered she could possibly do next.

“In the course of my career I had coached hundreds of women and recognized that they had different issues that confronted them in the corporate workplace than men,” recalls Shepard. “I looked at the stats on how women were actually doing and discovered, much to my dismay, that they weren't faring very well. Women weren't moving up the ladder in spite of their tenure and credentials. They were encountering obstacles that prevented them from advancing in their careers. So I thought maybe this is a space where I could be helpful and do work that would be meaningful and make a difference.”

In 2001, Shepard established The Leader’s Edge to support women in building their leadership skills, increasing their confidence, and enhancing their overall effectiveness. In 2005, The Leader’s Edge merged with Leaders By Design, run by Shepard’s husband Peter Dean, which addresses the leadership development needs of senior men with a slant towards helping them to understand the importance of diversity and inclusion when building and running their teams and organizations.

“It’s often about communication: how you speak, how loud your voice is, how assertive you are, how strategic your words are and how you create visibility and credibility for yourself by actively participating,” says Shepard. “Women will often be quiet in meetings because they tend to listen more than speak which can be perceived as passive. Then there's executive presence and impact. How does a woman carry herself? How does she enter into a room? How does she establish her brand and her identity? Other significant issues are self-promotion, strategic networking and political savvy all of which can be problematic for a woman.”

Shepard says this work is ultimately about taking control of your career with an awareness of what you need to learn and do before you get promoted and to take risks and move faster on new opportunities.

CUTV News Radio will feature Molly Shepard in an interview with Jim Masters on April 24th at 1pm EDT.

Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio

If you have a question for our guest, call (347) 996-3389.

For more information on The Leader’s Edge Leaders by Design, visit www.the-leaders-edge.com

Lou Ceparano
CUTV News
+1 631-850-3314
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