In this panel‑style book talk, speakers introduce The Influence Effect, a practical guide aimed at helping women become more influential and secure senior leadership positions. They explain that the book is built on research interviews with top influencers and offers concrete strategies to overcome limiting beliefs about office politics. The discussion highlights common perceptions that politics is manipulative and untruthful, and argues that women can engage authentically without “selling their soul” by leveraging their natural relational strengths in a purposeful, strategic way. The speakers also note that organizations increasingly demand leaders who can drive transformation, disrupt the status quo, and wield influence with a clear agenda. Overall, the talk positions the book as a service to women, promising actionable methods to become politically savvy, authentic, and successful in high‑impact roles.
Chapters
The book is called The Influence Effect, and what we think is women have an incredibly long runway, and if they learn to be more influential, they can get the lift to get off that runway and get into these big jobs that we think they deserve and are qualified for. So the book is strategies that would help them. It's very practical. Mm-hmm. It's based on our research that we did where we interviewed people who are really good at influencing and said, what do you do?
If women are gonna have great careers, it's mandatory. Yes. So what we're trying to do is be of service to women, say, we have a way to do this, you can really do it. You're going to be able to unravel all your negative limiting beliefs about being politically savvy, try our new way, try our new strategy, see that it works, and it's gonna be more palatable to you than it feels right now.
And more truthful. Right. I think women really think that office politics is slimy, manipulative, Manipulative, untruthful, all those bad things. So what we're trying to do is get women to say, how can I be authentic and do it in a way that I haven't sold my soul?
It's interesting because women are really good at relationships. Exceptional. And this is what influence is all about, is developing those relationships in a way that's strategic, in a way that's purposeful and intentional, as Jill said. And they will be infinitely more successful just being who they are.
Every organization we work in says that you have— I want leaders who can transform, who can drive change, who almost disrupt. They want somebody who can influence and have an agenda, a point of view, and go for it.
The book approaches this idea of influence from 2 ways. One is we want to get in the heads of the women. Because all these limiting beliefs, the things that we tell ourselves, are one of the main things that hold women back. So that— the book is partly about that. The other part of the book is techniques. And we have Big 5, what we call the Big 5 techniques that they can try. All of them, a few of them, whatever. But they are approaches that fit women and that work for women.
