Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do

The Myth of the Good Girl

Good girls grow up with rules. They are told, "Be a good girl," and "Good girls don’t do that." Every time a good girl obeys these rules, she receives positive feedback. This childhood reinforcement leads to clearly identifiable adult work behavior. If you are a good girl at work, you do what you are told, you try to make sure everyone likes you, and you take on as much work as possible. This behavior "undermines your career and prevents you from achieving maximum success." To grab the full range of opportunity, you must strip away your safe, good-girl behavior and become a gutsy girl. You will derive three benefits from this change in your work personality. First, career opportunities will open up dramatically because you are willing to act boldly. Second, you will have more personal time, because you will learn that it is okay to delegate, take shortcuts, and relax. Third, you will feel a sense of relief because the gutsy girl is no longer frozen inside of you. These two personality types have nine contrasting traits:

1. A good girl follows the rules; a gutsy girl breaks the rules - or makes her own.
2. A good ...