References

Cecutti, Chiara Quando il manager è donna: Come fare carriera senza trasformarsi in un uomo BookID 151779970 ISBN 9788820381738 (see LibraryThing.com card)

Description (from Amazon)

Che siano già in carriera, la desiderino, la temano o siano al primo impiego, tutte le donne troveranno in questo libro rassicurazioni, spunti e suggerimenti preziosi per avanzare fiduciose nel mondo del lavoro nel rispetto della propria femminilità e in una logica di work-life balance.

Un testo che descrive in modo piacevole e diretto situazioni che le donne vivono comunemente sul lavoro e che integra efficacemente in ogni capitolo tre diverse prospettive proponendo: la descrizione di un reale percorso di coaching condotto con successo dall'autrice con una protagonista manager di volta in volta diversa; approfondimenti sul tema centrale della sezione; riflessioni, compiti ed esercizi utili per migliorare la carriera delle lettrici attraverso modalità pratiche di self coaching.

Un libro ricco di spunti pratici per sviluppare una professionalità basata su elementi di forza del femminile anziché su un modello maschile e che offre conferme, indicazioni e strategie utili per le donne che desiderano realizzarsi in tutte le aree della propria vita.

My review: 3.5/5

I picked up this book in my monthly serendipity walk in bookshops, and, frankly, was mainly out of curiosity, to see if it was the usual ""cookbook"" that we Italians are importing as a ""format"" from our USA allies- forgetting completely that what makes sense there, doesn't necessarily make sense here.

I am currently trying to add books on Italy and Italian business

Why? Because currently I live and work in Italy, but since the 1980s I have been either working or constantly within international environments

The more I work here, the more I understand the gap and see patterns of change that would be needed not to align Italy to other countries I worked on, but to design a different path that doesn't just try to parrot, 20 years later, what has been done in other countries with a completely different socio-cultural history (""provincialismo"", along with ""dietrologia"" and ""campanilismo"" are three cardinal sins that are deeply ingrained in Italy).

Why did I buy this book (not just for myself)? Because I read the conclusions and saw that at least told what, for somebody who lived, worked (and loved) abroad is quite obvious: the higher you go in the feeding chain, the more relevant are skills that cannot be ""computed""- and it is a total social waste not to involve everybody that could provide that.

But it is not enough to have ""quotas""- you need also to create a social environment that creates real opportunities to participation, and until husbands, live-in boyfriends, or even fathers, will not accept that there is no contradiction between having a family and having a career, but both elements in a couple need join forces, that would never happen.

This book is interesting also in terms of structure: each chapter is short, presenting a short case, along with an equally short discussion on the two opposites on a specific behavioral pattern, closed by a self-coaching section

Interestingly, I found patterns that I observed in Italy since the 1980s, and that will still require a bit of time to be overcome- but, as the writer rightfully repeats here and there across this short book, what is needed is a ""support network"", not just a change path for the person directly involved

And, frankly, while being focused on women who are also managers, the book applies also to men, considering that ""soft skills training"" is something that I personally suggested or was asked to integrate in training to managers and cadres also in predominantly male environments, in Italy and abroad, since the early 1990s.

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