The reading assignment for this unit involved reading several articles and one book in particular, The Female Advantage, by Sally Helgesen as an introduction to the various styles of leadership. Leadership, as a honed craft is continually practiced in different ways and under different circumstances, no two individuals will have the same leadership style. Some distinctive traits brought to the forum and put on display for followers to observe. Some traits may be visible, for example clothing or skin color, others, however, are not so visible such as education or family situation. Each of these factors could play a role in a leader's leadership style. One characteristic that the book's author uses to distinguish leaders is gender. As much as men and women should be treated fairly and equally, there is no denying that outside of the biological aspect, men and women are slightly different. Each genre brings with it a unique approach to leadership situations. In the book, Sally Helgesen cites the “Feminine Principles” brought forward by Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, as basic principles that could help distinguish, or rather help deepen, defining men and women leaders. The principles include: taking care of yourself, making intuitive decisions, not getting stuck in hierarchy, feeling like work is part of your life, putting work where your love is, being responsible to the world, and knowing that end result should not be the sole driving factor. These are the principles that encompass the “feminine principles” in the context of the text. While these principles are broad, they are not exclusive to women, however, women in general display these qualities in more impactful ways than men. Women, as a whole, tend to be more co... ....where the goal is to simply end up with "the black". Among all its successes, there isn't a component that needs significant changes or anything that I personally could see doing differently. Indeed, what would be fascinating would be to update this book and now follow these leaders into the age of smartphones, email, Skype, instant messaging, and the iPad. Curious to see how modern technology interfaces with the leadership style of modern women leaders on a daily basis. How does having instant communication at your fingertips enable or inhibit a modern leader? In the past, subordinates would have more autonomy in their work because they may not be able to connect with their superior, now this barrier has been broken. Are leaders more engaged or more micromanaged? These are all questions that would be fascinating to explore after reading this book.