Running for Office--Getting Yourself Elected to the career you really want

Mary Anne Gale, Author As Procter & Gamble s first female plant manager and, later, first female vice president in P&G s manufacturing organization, Mary Anne Gale became a role model and mentor for women across the U.S. After meeting thousands of women who consistently delivered excellent results yet failed to gain commensurate promotions she developed a set of career advancement strategies. Then, in 2003, after 30 years in North America, she transferred to P&G s Asian headquarters, where she worked with people from countries and cultures from around the globe. She quickly realized that women's issues in the U.S. and Western Europe, are issues faced by men as well as women in the rest of the world.

Running for Office: Getting Yourself Elected to the Career You Really Want is based on the notion that many professionals fail to achieve the success they believe they deserve because they don t understand the dynamics of the workplace. They cling to the false belief that it is a meritocracy, where good work is sufficient for success.

Running for Office explains that the workplace is like a democracy, where top performers get elected to roles, based on their relationships with decision-makers who advocate for them and vote on their behalf. Running for Office refutes the idea that building relationships in order to advance is disingenuous; arguing that relationship building requires the same level of strategic focus as developing skills and experiences, and delivering great results. By deconstructing the dynamics of Western corporate culture, Ms. Gale explains why beliefs and traditions at the core of many of the world s cultures make relationship building especially difficult for women and non-westerners men and women alike.

The text is supported by dozens of anecdotes by professionals from corporations, non-profit organizations and academic institutions. Each chapter also includes tips, exercises and self-assessment guides. Mary Anne Gale s 35-year career with Procter & Gamble began in Cheboygan, Michigan as an employee relation s specialist. She moved to various locations in the U.S. before becoming P&G s first female plant manager in 1987, and the Company s first female vice president in the Product Supply (manufacturing) organization in 1999. In 2004 Mary Anne moved to Guangzhou, China where she served as Vice President, Product Supply Asia until her retirement in 2008. Mary Anne Gale was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1948, and graduated from Michigan State University in 1971 with a B.A. in Retailing. She and her husband, Robert Gale, are the parents of three children