Stephanie Kubota COM CM419 Professor Cakebread Assignment Two Karen Kaplan s Leadership In his Forbes article The Most Undervalued Leadership Traits of Women writer Glenn Llopis talks about the distinctive yet underappreciated leadership skills that women offer in the business industry Although the world may now seem progressive there is still a large disparity between men and women in leadership roles In fact only 4 6 percent of Fortune s 1 000 Chief Executive Officer positions in the world are held by women Llopis 2014 Karen Kaplan is one of the 4 6 percent She is the president of Boston s largest advertising agency Hill Holliday She demonstrates the qualities in women leaders that Llopis outlines Llopis first trait is being opportunity driven Women always find a silver lining when they are faced with difficult circumstances Their opportunistic and optimistic attitudes allow them to learn from every experience Despite her unrelated French literature college degree and experiences limited to baby sitting and waitressing Kaplan took the opportunity to be the receptionist at Hill Holiday in 1982 Although her original intention for taking the position was to raise enough money to pay for law school she soon realized that she had the potential to thrive within the advertising industry She took her role as a receptionist what her then colleagues claimed as a step below the guy in the mail room and the guy who delivers packages seriously taking advantage of the prospects of what being the face behind the front desk offered meeting and greeting executives clients and VIP guests Subsequently Llopis claims that female frontrunners are both strategic and passionate More often than not women are keen observers they provide a broader perspective of things that goes beyond what is seen on the surface Because of this one may say that women tend to be master manipulators This label could be taken as an insult however in reality successful women are wise to play the game when they have to anticipating the unexpected and calculating the timing of each move they make Kaplan used her instincts to her advantage as she climbed to the top She often worked after hours coming in on weekends to make sure that her responsibilities were performed on time and correctly Herein she realized that expending minimal extra effort reaps great rewards In 31 years she progressed through 12 different positions until she became the successor of Mike Sheehan as the CEO of Hill Holliday in May 2013 Bruell 2013 Moreover Llopis points out that women are nurturing and inspiring Not only are women self ambitious they also aspire to motivate others to achieve Women are good listeners and excellent connectors traits that help them build a collaborative environment within the office culture Kaplan was recently honored by Advertising Age as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising Bruell 2013 Today 60 percent of Hill Holiday s employees are women In her speech to Northeastern University s graduating class of 2013 she outlines the 10 rules to success and leadership 1 Originality requires attention 2 Always be confident and optimistic 3 Embrace what makes you different 4 Always work hard 5 Keep your eyes wide open 6 Find the right environment that will allow you to succeed 7 Have humility 8 Never forget how lucky you are and always remember to give back 9 You have to believe in yourself 10 Have fun along the way Lastly Llopis states that successful women value traditions and family Women are often the glue that keeps things together whether at home or at work Llopis 2014 They are big believers in team building that enforces the maintenance of mission statements goals and values of the company They appreciate the past as it has paved the way to the present and affects what is to come in the future In fact Kaplan has saved the business card of every one of her 12 positions to commemorate how far she has come Stampler 2013 However Llopis acknowledges that women are yet to be fully appreciated for the unique qualities and abilities they bring to the workplace Although Kaplan has risen to CEO there are still small but telling reminders of sexism within the business Kaplan recalls the many times clients have falsely assumed that she was a man before meeting her or the waiter handing the check to male clients when she was the one paying for the meal Kearnan 2013 Regardless Kaplan acknowledges that life will always be messy and the path to success will not always be a straight line Her telltale feat reminds me that anything is truly achievable with hard work and patience Similar Llopis childhood I also grew up surrounded by strong willed hardworking and purpose driven women In the Philippines it is far more common to find a female breadwinner than one that is male My mother who has been working since she was 15 years old has brought her family from the slums of Caloocan to the wealth of Manila She reminiscent to Karen Kaplan and Llopis mentors is a constant reminder to be grateful that I have a roof over my shoulders let alone a higher education at an esteemed university As a result I always strive to give my best and take as much as I can get from every opportunity that arises One such example is my contribution to the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue conference held at Harvard University last fall My frequent participation and proactive character as a freshman representative encouraged my superiors to promote me to one of the chairs in the committee Thereafter I was in charge of everything pertaining to media This included allocating and managing responsibilities such as designing posters flyers brochures publicizing the event in social media communicating with vendors and suppliers organizing a welcoming group scheduling etc Although I am proficient in creating the necessary content what challenged me most was leading and coordinating a diverse set of people I found it exceedingly difficult relying on other people to adequately give their contributions to the project but it was far too big a task to execute by myself From this experience I realize that success does not only come from my talent and skills it is also built and strengthened with trust and cooperation with the people I work with Llopis listed underappreciated qualities and Karen Kaplan s 10 commandments are evidence of the ironic juxtaposition of how far society has progressed and how much more it can progress At 54 with Hill Holliday drawing in