Women leaders in both general business settings and the business of law have a lot to teach us. Business leadership is not the exclusive dominion of men. Find out why.

Today I call your attention to a new book, When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn From Them. The author, Julia Boorstin, Senior Media and Tech Correspondent at CNBC, has put together a primer for women who aspire to become leaders throughout business, and she has gathered an impressive group of women leaders to describe their journeys to successful business leadership positions. Although most of those leaders are engaged in the business of raising venture capital to aid in the production and promotion of innovative products and processes, the content is very instructive for all young women in business and law as well as their male counterparts.

Full disclosure. I have yet to read the book. The fifth book in the Best Friends at the Bar series, scheduled for release later this Fall, has my full attention these days. You can be sure, however, that I will get to When Women Lead as soon as possible after my editorial/ marketing responsibilities to my publisher are met.

Like me, however, you can examine the Index and preface to the work and, particularly, the content titled “Concepts and Skills” included in “See Inside” on the Amazon description of the book. Then you can decide if it sounds like something that will be valuable to you. And, if so, you can put the title on your holiday gift list. What a meaningful gift for friends and family to share with young women business leaders in training today.

And think about doing the same for my new book. New Lawyer Launch: THE Handbook for Young Lawyers will be very worthy of your attention and will also make a great holiday gift for the young lawyers in your life.

I have been writing about toxic law firm cultures since 2016 when I addressed that issue in an article I wrote for Corporate Counsel magazine. That was early in terms of the seriousness that law firms attached to firm cultures. And, since that time, I have continued to sound the alarm about toxic law firm cultures and the disastrous effects of negative practices on the profession.

Here is a very recent update on toxic workplace cultures based on research conducted at MIT examining workplaces in general. The findings translate well to law firms and identify powerful predictors of toxic workplace behaviors, including toxic leadership, toxic social norms, and toxic work designs. The report also explores the ways employers can dramatically improve employee experiences and minimize unwanted attrition, employee disengagement, and negative perceptions in the business community.

Perhaps most important, the authors of the study have identified toxic culture as the primary driver of the Great Resignation, which has been experienced recently throughout the workforce. In fact they believe that toxic workplace culture is more than 10 times as powerful a factor as compensation.

Now that is worth some very serious consideration — for both legal employees and legal employers.