Show Me a Woman Not Accused of “Negatives” and I’ll Show You One Who’s Never Put a Crack in the Glass Ceiling

You have to hand it to Hillary Clinton. She never gives up. Sure, she stepped out of Barack Obama’s way when it was time to let him run with the nomination in 2008. Then she served as Secretary of State in his administration. No sore loser there. She has been maligned and ridiculed and keeps on going.  She’s tenacious. Is that really so bad?

In my years of studying politics at work, I know the “thin pink line” so many women walk to be sure that aren’t disliked. Clinton is liked or else she wouldn’t be where she is today — a heartbeat away from being the first woman U.S. president. If you want to be liked, not incur the wrath of people who – for reasons they often don’t understand – dislike women who take the lead, you don’t run hard twice for president. She has.

I remember being asked one time about a former student of mine who was applying for a CFO position. At the end of the interview, the woman said, “We heard that she can be abrupt.” I thought for a few seconds and essentially asked, “Are you looking for a CFO who is always pleasant?” She laughed. “She’s outstanding,” I said. “That’s what you want.”  It’s what a lot of us want this time too.