** Business Book Awards 2023 Finalist **

Women leaders across the globe are experiencing the influence gap. They struggle to get their voice heard in meetings. They can’t get a seat at the table for the decisions that matter. It’s a systemic problem, not a problem with women.
It’s no wonder so many talented women experience imposter syndrome!

Closing the Influence Gap empowers women leaders to successfully navigate the workplace, leading their way and changing it for the better. It is a reference tool packed with practical strategies and a troubleshooting section which women can draw on daily to tackle the challenging conversations, decisions and situations they face.

It shows women how they can believe in themselves in challenging situations, helps them to get the recognition they deserve as leaders and provides them with the influencing skills they need to get their voices heard and increase their impact.

Carla Miller is a leadership coach and chart-topping podcast host who works with women in management and leadership roles to develop their careers and their confidence. Hundreds of women leaders from global companies, the public sector and charities have taken part in her Influence & Impact programme.

This guide offers invaluable advice and practical tools to support you as you navigate a working culture designed for men, by men. Carla generously shares her experience and coaching tips – a book I will be keeping close by my side and dipping into regularly I’m sure!

Amazon

This is a great book for women who want to be heard, want to influence and who want to get on with leading without having to resort to more ‘male’ behaviours to do so….I really wish this book existed some years back…

Amazon

This book is a must read for women leaders! It is jam packed with practical strategies and troubleshooting ideas that women, as leaders, can use on a daily basis to help with challenges they face in the workplace, decision making, improving your influencing skills and to help build confidence. This books has been written from the heart and Carla’s own leadership experience and passion to make an impact shines through.

Amazon

I appreciated this realistic approach to guidance for female leaders in the workplace, especially those who are newly promoted or just starting their journey in management. I found the advice and point of view to be realistic, but not patronizing.

NetGalley

Carla Miller leads us through how to handle imposter syndrome and how to overcome it. How to increase your impact in the workplace. Have your ideas heard in meetings and get the recognition you deserve. With strategies, tips, and troubleshooting all in one book tackling each scenario. With stories of the women leaders, Carla Miller has helped and put into practice the advice received.

NetGalley

Reassuring, interesting and helped me secure a job promotion.
Carla’s book was an easy read, filled with examples and each chapter was well structured. It gave me confidence, reassured me and helped me believe in myself!

Amazon

This book is for any female leader who is struggling to hold her own. It is grounded in reality and has practical tips on how to manage the challenges that women face at work on a daily basis… No complex theories, or tricky small print to navigate, instead practical, actionable and effective advice.

Amazon

Miller’s practical and comprehensive guide… will undoubtably be the book that many ambitious female leaders wished they had read at the start of their careers.

People Management

This book shares some incredibly practical advice that I think most people can implement relatively easily to help progress their careers.
Great read, not preachy in any way as I have found some leadership books, and one I’ve recommended to others.

Amazon

The hard-hitting introduction of this book perfectly summarises the harm that the Influence Gap is having, not only to women in the workplace but on organisations globally. And it’s this challenge of gender inequality that the author aims to help women to navigate through this practical and punchy guide

HR Director

Giving women a how to manage leadership in a male dominated world. Great read for some practical tips to get busy, to be heard and to get recognition.

Netgalley

An excellent practical and no-nonsense guide on how to develop your own leadership style as a woman (without needing to imitate men in the workplace). I’ll be keeping my copy as a reminder on how to prepare for tricky situations or conversations and giving copies to the women I know who are struggling with how to make their way as leaders of the future. Every capable woman who wants to progress their career should have a copy. Wish I’d read this 15 years ago!
Sarah Thompson, CEO of St Clare Hospice

This is a must-read for any woman leading today. Carla really understands what it means to be a woman in the workplace today. Her empathetic, pragmatic and realistic approach throughout this guide makes it an invaluable companion for anyone on their personal and professional development journey as a leader. A great resource for any female leader who wants to feel more empowered at work!
Catherine Greenwood, Senior Learning and Development Specialist, ActionAid UK

A great read – useful, practical and bang on! I wish I’d read it earlier in my career. I’ll be buying it for the established and emerging leaders I am lucky enough to work with.
Kate Collins, CEO at Teenage Cancer Trust

Carla has created a very special book. Like the friend you need, when you are having a moment of doubt, the book comes at the right moment and knows what you are thinking and gently tells you how to help yourself move on. If you have even experienced self-doubt (ehmm all of us!) then this book will leave you feeling like you can take on that doubt and knock it out. I felt very uplifted and hopeful, and reas- sured that it’s not just me that sometimes has these doubting thoughts. Carla has created a brilliant guide to navigate through life, not just work!
Eleanor Tweddell, author of Why Losing Your Job Could be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You

An empowering, practical and at times a window into the soul of the female leader guide. Whether you read it in one go or take bite-size sections as you need it, this book is a must- have for your leadership journey.
Lindsay Fyffe-Jardine, CEO

This is the leadership book we’ve been waiting for – the perfect combination of practical advice, tools and guidance. It’s the ideal guide for those at the top, those aiming for the top and those starting their journey.
Donna Holland, CEO at Rockinghorse Children’s Charity

Closing the Influence Gap provides such a practical, thoughtful and well-rounded guide for women who know they have more to offer and want to break through. Carla’s experience coaching female leaders shines through, as does her wisdom and empathy.
Harriet Minter, author of WFH: How to Build a Career You Love When You’re Not in the Office

A must-read for any female leaders who want to have more impact in their work and improve their relationship with themself and others. This book is practical yet powerful and is laid out in a way that you can dip in and out – accessing useful techniques to help you overcome whatever gremlins may be keeping your potential locked up.
Lizzie Martin, Leadership Coach and Founder of Work Life Mother

A must-read for those seeking to silence feelings of imposter syndrome to unleash their true potential. This book leaves you feeling truly empowered and equipped to take on the challenges of leadership. After reading this, you realise you are capable of it all. A book to revisit again and again.
Rachel Maguire and Hannah Hall-Turner, @thejobsharepair

This new guide for women leaders will give you valuable insight and practical tips whether you’re starting out in your leadership journey or have been in senior roles for years. Drawing on her considerable experience as a coach and leader, Carla has written an engaging guide to help you lead and influence more successfully. It’s full of useful exercises and stories to bring key points to life as well as lots of reassurance that you’re not alone, and the conversational and easy to read style makes it feel like having a coach by your side in written form. A really good addition to your leadership tool kit.
Kath Abrahams, CEO at Tommy’s

This thoughtfully written self-help guide is the resource that women leaders are searching for. It emphasises that women don’t need to fix themselves to fit into environments designed for men, and they can unleash their leadership ability by diminishing the systemic negative influences surrounding them that often hold women back from fulfilling their poten- tial. With practical solutions and coaching tools, it explains how to successfully navigate the workplace and tackle gender bias with proven strategies that work. Carla’s voice speaks as a reassuring and encouraging mentor through the pages of the book, reminding the reader that they are not alone in this journey and providing support every step of the way.
Julia Muir, Founder of Automotive 30% Club and author of Change the Game

What I loved about this book is how practical and topical it is. Carla has done a great job at creating a companion that will always be there for aspiring and existing women leaders, guiding them through their career path. Full of practical advice and coaching technique tools, this is the book I wish I had been given at the start of my own career.
Mylene Sylvestre, Publishing Director, The Guardian

Introduction
Quiz – what’s your Influence Score?
Part 1 – The Inner Work

• COACHING TOOL: Turning down the volume on your Inner Critic
• COACHING TOOL: Tuning into your Inner Leader (includes online visualization)
• COACHING TOOL: Reframing the beliefs that are holding you back
• Why we all feel like an imposter sometimes
• Say goodbye to perfectionism and overworking
• How to worry less about work (includes online meditation for anxiety)
• Don’t wait for validation from others
• Handling negative feedback with grace
• Avoiding burnout
• Being kind to yourself
• Think like a leader

Part 2 – Being seen as a leader

• COACHING TOOL: Your Cloak of Authority
• DEVELOP YOUR PERSONAL LEADERSHIP BRAND
• LEADING YOUR TEAMBecome brilliant at delegating (includes online template)
  The five mistakes managers make

• MEETING MAGICYour meeting toolkit
  How we give our power away through language
  Having gravitas

Part 3 – Increasing your Influence & Impact

• INFLUENCING
  How we get in our own way when it comes to influencing
  COACHING TOOL: Seeing things from a different perspective
  A 6 step model for influencing anyone
  Knowing who you need to influence

• MANAGING UPWARDS
  How to train your line manager
  Disagreeing with someone more senior than you
  Having the difficult conversations
  Turn your manager into your sponsor
  COACHING TOOL: Giving feedback upwards
• NAVIGATING INTERNAL POLITICS
  Strategic relationship building
  Your team’s personal brand matters
  Gaining respect from your peers
  Become the problem solver
• SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF SENIOR STAKEHOLDERS
  COACHING TOOL: The 4 questions people ask
  Communicating to busy senior people
  Handling objections and difficult questions

Part 4 – Developing your Career

• COACHING TOOL: The Leadership Wheel (online)
• Taking control of your career
• Why ambition isn’t selfish
• Preparing to step up to the next level
• How to succeed at interview
• Moving from specialist to generalist
• How to start a new job well
• When you’re promoted above your peers
• The myth of meritocracy and how to shout about your successes
• Knowing when to leave your job
• Dealing with redundancy

Part 4 – Troubleshooting Q&A

• A bullying boss has really knocked my confidence
• How do I keep myself motivated in challenging times?
• I feel jealous when others are promoted and I’m not
• I find it really hard to say no
• I’m younger than the people I manage
• My team are constantly asking me questions they should know the answer to
• How do I influence internally when I’m working virtually?
• There’s constant tension between my team and another team which I get dragged into
• Working virtually is really impacting my confidence
• I don’t get on with my line manager
• I really want to be liked and I’m avoiding some tough conversations as a result
• I find it very hard to say no
• My confidence has dipped since I returned from parental leave
• The menopause is impacting my performance and confidence
• May add more… – consider trans issue

Conclusion & paying it forward

Acknowledgements

About the author

Influence & Impact

Bibliography & further reading

FORMAT / ISBN / PUBLICATION DATE / RRP

Paperback / 9781788603614 / September 20, 2022 / £14.99

Ebook / 9781788603638 / September 19, 2022 / £7.99

Paperback and eBook Bundle / £16.99

Carla Miller

Carla Miller is a leadership coach and board-level facilitator who works with women in management and leaderships roles to develop their careers and their confidence. Hundreds of women leaders have taken part in her Influence & Impact programme from companies including GSK, BT, Google, Channel 4, Muller and Deloitte, as well as national charities, the NHS and the Civil Service.
Carla’s own leadership experience includes raising £20 million for good causes and leading the fundraising at Samaritans and many other national charities; she was CEO of Tiny Tickers and then Managing Director of Charity People, a leading charity recruitment consultancy alongside founding her own coaching business.
Carla hosts the chart-topping Influence & Impact podcast for female leaders which has featured leading thinkers such as Graham Allcott, Harriet Minter and Stefanie Sword-Williams. She has featured in national media such The Guardian and Psychologies magazine and regularly chairs conference panels on leadership.