More Power to Female Trailblazers

As women rocket into more Fortune 500 leadership roles than ever before, there are lessons to be learned.

Once upon a time, a young woman was offered what she described as a “big job” that she didn’t feel qualified to undertake. So instead of immediately accepting the offer, she expressed her fear of being underqualified and requested some time to ponder the decision.

She probably expected some sympathetic response from her husband, but may have been taken aback when he said, “Do you think a man would have ever answered the question that way?”

This, in a sense, revolutionized her way of thinking. It was then that she realized she needed to summon the courage necessary to make these kinds of leaps in the corporate world, even while feeling somewhat inadequate. ?

Good thing she did. Otherwise she may not have been appointed the first female CEO at IBM in its century-long history. The woman, of course, is Virginia “Ginni” Rometty, who will succeed Sam Palmisano.

If you also count Heather Bresh, who’s expected to take over the CEO position at pharmaceutical firm Mylan, we have two female executives poised to take the reins of Fortune 500 companies effective New Year’s Day. If other female Fortune 500 CEOs remain in their current positions, we will have a record-breaking 18 female trailblazers running some of the world’s most successful companies, notes a recent USA Today article .

The article also discusses men’s tendency to flaunt their talents and accomplishments more and concludes they are therefore hired on the basis of potential. In contrast, women who are by and large more reserved tend to get promoted based on whether or not they can do the job.

If you think about it, this stumbling block isn’t even an external factor — the power to change one’s circumstance lies with the individual herself. So, perhaps Rometty’s “a-ha” moment can serve as a catalyst for other women’s career progression. As she once stated: “You have to be very confident, even though you are so self-critical inside.”