Lessons From the Front Lines

I think that people are more likely to assign the word "emotional" as a negative trait to women leaders who have incredibly strong convictions. Instead of saying about a male business leader, "He has very strong convictions, he is so emotional," the perception stops after the comma and it's only perceived as a positive.

Leadership is different from "management." To me, a leader is being a vision- and strategy-setter, and a manager is being more of a great boss in the day-to-day. I think there are plenty of great leaders who are terrible managers, and many terrific managers who will just never grow to become true leaders. But I think a common misconception is that you can't learn to be a helluva lot better at both.

For me and my teams, it's all about talking and questioning and debating that gets us closer to success. As a leader, you need to ask the questions and entertain real opinions about the answers you get from the people who work for you.

Lisa Dennison, Executive VP, Sotheby ' s North America
You're always at somewhat of a disadvantage when you work your way up the ladder at the same institution. At the Guggenheim Museum, I climbed from a summer intern to chief curator, and then to director. At times, I had difficulty adjusting my own perception of myself. There were days when I was running the place, but I felt the same as I had when I was a junior curator. You have to project change and growth. And you have to be somewhat demanding and make sure that people recognize how you have grown so that you are given the opportunities you have earned. Women often don't ask for what they deserve. They accept what comes their way and make the best of it.

I have learned that the best way to deal with difficult people is to never say no. Saying yes immediately catches people off-guard. Then I try to determine if I can make it happen, perhaps with some modifications. If I can't, I go back to them with a no, but it's always much better appreciated because I tried to find a path.

When I went to Wellesley, there was this idea that you could be superwoman—that you could have a great career, be a fantastic wife and mother—all at the same time. But the superwoman model doesn't work. You are never going to be all things to all people. Don't be afraid of that. Just try to be as balanced as you can and compensate for the suffering that anyone might be feeling at a particular time—including yourself!