“You have to give 110% at every step of your career.”

August 16, 20161 minute read

— Sally Blount, Ph.D, dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and one of the few female deans of a top, global business school, in an article about what it takes for a woman to excel in a male-dominated field. She lists five requirements, including having an unwavering work ethic.

In the article on Forbes.com, Blount says the essential factor in success is “an enduring reputation as an outstanding performer.” In addition to the right work ethic, she names highest integrity, learning focus, passion for your work, and dignity and grace.

Blount was named dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2010 and is an internationally recognized thought leader in management, negotiation and behavioral decision-making. In a 2015 essay in Fortune.com she describes how she became the first female dean of a top b-school.

In that essay, she writes, “It is not an exaggeration to say that nothing great ever came from just following conventional wisdom, especially for women.”