There are no guarantees: what those who made the breakthrough have in common.

• Author: Ghaffari, Elizabeth

MY BOOK FOCUSED on the outstanding 114 women who serve on the boards of California-based Fortune 1000 companies, and on the lives of 15 exemplary women in particular. These women were chosen to serve because their experience added value to their boards. Clearly, any woman can become competent, qualified, and capable of serving as a director. Some of the women we profiled came from small towns, low incomes, and hardship, while others grew up during an era when it was assumed that "good men would take care of us." Some of the women succeeded, failed, and succeeded again. They all became corporate directors.

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At the same time, it is clear that not every woman will become a director, nor should every woman become a director. A corporate board role is not an entitlement. It is an achievement.

Based on our examination of, and interviews with, these women directors of California corporations, we see leading women within the context of the steps each took to earn our respect and that of their professional peers. We are willing to turn over to them the keys to the boardroom of our major public shareholding corporations. What did they do to earn that trust and respect?

What they did

Across all the career paths that they pursued, there are some things that they all have in common:

1. They chose a worthy skill or endeavor that was of deep interest to them.

2. They refined that skill and enhanced and developed it through their personal efforts.

3. They connected with others who subscribed to goals and missions that complemented their primary area of interest; they recruited others and were recruited by others.

4. They delivered excellent results through delegation and synergies; they didn't try to do it all themselves.

5. They built organizations, institutions, and programs that could endure.

6. They demonstrated leadership, often in the face of challenge.

No 12-step plan

Women in leadership--those whom we had the honor to interview for this book--know that they are going forward: away from a past that might have limited them and their potential.

They are ever alert for those marvelous opportunities just too good to resist. They have confidence in serendipity, knowing that many of the good things that have...