Inside Knowledge (How Women Can Thrive in Professional Service Firms)

Inside Knowledge provides practical guidance for women working in professional service firms who aspire to achieve their full potential in what have traditionally been male working environments. It explores what women can do to achieve careers in professional service firms commensurate with their knowledge, skills, experience and talent. The book draws on the knowledge accumulated during the author’s thirty years of experience working in and for such firms, supplemented by what she has learned from her work with hundreds of professional women and men that she has coached in accountancy, law and consulting firms as well as in award-winning women’s leadership programmes. The practical exercises that appear within the book have been extensively tested and finely honed over time and are designed to build on one another, thereby allowing readers to manage their careers efficiently and effectively. They help the reader to articulate what she wants from her career and what she can offer a professional service firm, ensuring that others understand her ambitions, hopes and dreams as well as her knowledge, skills and expertise. The exercises build to provide guidance for managing office politics, developing business and ultimately obtaining the desired results from appraisals and promotion opportunities.