There are many theories about what women should do to open the leadership door for themselves. Some of the most on-target advice comes from women executives.
Teresa Roche, vice president and CLO at Agilent. She cautions against polarizing the discussion between two extremes: women's responsibility to seek power and other's responsibility to help them get it.
McDermott coaches women seeking leadership positions and finds many who undermine themselves and recommends that women work with coaches and mentors to develop a game plan for building the credibility and to develop relationships with sponsors.