We Can: The Executive Woman's Guide to Career Advancement

by Robin Toft

Overview

Becoming an executive is no easy task. Becoming a female executive is something else altogether. How can the ambitious woman excel, advance, and thrive with thousands of years of history working against her and in seemingly male-dominated industries? Through her own inspiring journey from employee to powerful female executive, Robin Toft couples the wisdom she gleaned at the boardroom table as an executive with over a decade of experience in executive search as Founder and CEO of the award-winning Toft Group. No matter where you are on your executive journey, Robin Toft will move you to action and empower you as a trusted partner through every aspect of your career advancement. Part manual and part memoir, WE CAN will provide you with the confidence, language, and tools to design and realize the career of your dreams, and turn inspiration into action--from landing the job to making vertical moves and securing your own seat at the boardroom table.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949635034
Publisher:	Merack Publishing
Publication date:	02/07/2019
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Robin Toft is the founder and CEO of Toft Group Executive Search, where she combines a deep inside knowledge of the life science industry with a passion for building game-changing management teams.

In her 10-plus years in the executive search industry, Robin has placed more than 500 executives at innovation-led companies in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, life science tools and digital health.

A champion of diverse executive teams, Robin has built a reputation for recruiting women and minorities into top roles, and helping the life science industry overcome unconscious bias in hiring.

Prior to founding Toft Group in 2010, Robin served as Managing Director of Sanford Rose Associates - San Francisco, an executive search firm also specialized in life sciences. In joining Sanford Rose in 2006, Robin essentially launched a second career, following more than two decades as a biotech executive; her prior roles include senior vice president of global commercial operations at Roche, vice president of virology at Roche, and executive vice president of marketing and sales at ViroLogic Inc. (now Monogram Biosciences), a San Francisco startup where she was instrumental in the company's first product launches and IPO. Robin also served in a variety of senior management posts at LabCorp, one of the world's largest clinical diagnostic companies, after beginning her career at SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories.

Robin serves on the board of Scripps Mercy Hospital Foundation, The Clearity Foundation, supporting ovarian cancer patients, and LEAD San Diego, the only organization in greater San Diego dedicated to developing civically engaged leaders. Additionally, Robin has been active on American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" executive leadership team and has participated in the annual Susan G. Komen walk to support breast cancer research since 2010.

Robin's leadership talents have not gone unnoticed: she was awarded Woman of the Year in San Diego in 2017, in 2018 she was a finalist in Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year awards, and she's been honored as a finalist for San Diego Business Journal's "Women Who Mean Business" and "Most Admired CEO" awards in multiple years. Under Robin's leadership, Toft Group was honored as a finalist in the Diversity and Inclusion awards, and received the prestigious Athena Pinnacle Top Company Award.

Robin holds a B.S. in Medical Technology (Clinical Laboratory Science) from Michigan State University and pursued her teaching credential at San Diego State University, later teaching at University of Hawaii.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS



PROLOGUE



INTRODUCTION

DREAMS AND MOTIVATION



Finding Your Passion



Your Ideal Job



MINDSET



Self-Talk



Daring to Dream Big



Preparation and Practice



Tools



Self-Care



Drive: Your Own Definition of “Success”



COACHES AND MENTORS



My Early Mentors



My Coaches



Finding Your Coaches



Finding Your Mentors



My First Executive Mentor



From Executive Mentors to Executive Peers



Don’t Forget Your Non-Business Friends

CREATE YOUR CAREER MAP



Start With a Plan



Map Your Progression



Pursuing Your Passion Place



Organizing Your Accomplishments



Inherent Skills & Your Résumé



THE SIX PHASES OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT



1. The Pre-Career Phase



2. The Early Career Phase



3. The Emerging Career Phase



4. The Established Career Phase



5. The Mature Career Phase



6. The Encore Career Phase



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEMALE EXECUTIVE WARRIOR



Defy the Cult of Indecisiveness



Self-Care



Know How You (and Your People) Operate



The Three Stages of a Company



Commercial Stage



Globalization Stage



The Dark Side of Drive



Spin Your Drive Positively



The Marriage of Personal and Professional



WE ARE NOT MINI-MEN



Overcoming the Myth of the Female Executive



The New Generation of Female Leaders



Norms are Normal But Authentic isn’t Average



Owning Your Feminine Power



Authenticity Without Oversharing



How to Approach Maternity Leave



THE CAREER PATH PROCESS



Do Your Homework



Build and Maintain Your Network

IX



INTERVIEW TO WIN



Take the Call



Have an Organized and Crisp Career Strategy



Be Confident



Compensation



Gaps in Work History



Act Like You Want the Job



Don’t Act Desperate



Please Don’t Talk Negatively of Past Employers

Interview Preparation Questions



The Company’s Perspective



Create Value



Ask for Opportunity



Communicate



Work Yourself Out of a Job (While Training Your Replacements)



NEXT LEVEL LEADERSHIP



Is Being a CEO the Right Choice for You?



CONCLUSION



EPILOGUE: A LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE



APPENDIX



WE CAN Executive Self Assessment



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Editorial Reviews

“Reading Robin’s book was like spending the weekend with a private professional coach. I now have the next steps I need to gain the clarity that will position me for my next big career move.”

- Kelley Sewell, Female Health Care Executive & Author of The Blind Switch

“Robin Toft expertly designs a roadmap for female professionals aspiring to a higher level in their career journey. A must read for every female professional seeking to connect with her passion while making an authentic difference in her chosen field.”

- Krista Clive-Smith, CEO & Author of Get Noticed. Be Remembered.

From the Publisher