”Women roar,” exclaims management guru Tom Peters. “Want a leader?” asks BusinessWeek. “Hire a woman.” This list of women taking the reins at top companies and turning them around grows longer. There’s Anne Mulcahy at Xerox, Carly Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard, Anne Moore at Time, Inc., Andrea Jung at Avon, and Ann Fudge at Young & Rubicam.

Despite these visible success stories, the path to the executive suite remains torturous for women. The testing can be prolonged, the scrutiny intense. Will she really have the “right stuff” when the going gets rough? Even Carly Florina was unprepared for the attention paid to her gender.

Her Place at the Table is a practical guide for any woman dealing with a demanding role. Drawing on extensive interviews with women leaders, the authors isolate five key challenges.

Intelligence – to make informed decisions you need good information, but getting it can be a tricky proposition for women
Backing – no one wants to take on a tough job without the support of major players, but you can’t take those allies for granted
Resources – allocations don’t always square with the results expected
Buy-In – you can’t lead if no one wants to follow, but bringing a team on board can be problematic
Making a Difference – the value you create must be visible before it makes a difference
For each challenge, the authors offer tips on avoiding common traps and then lay out the strategic moves that position you for success. The guides concluding each chapter make it easy to put the principles to work.