The Sixth Level: Capitalize on the Power of Women's Psychology for Sustainable Leadership

WHAT IS THE SIXTH LEVEL?

The Sixth Level is a model of leadership that emerges from the experience of successful leaders. Their narratives describe four core differentiators of mutuality, ingenuity, justness, and intrinsic motivation--this is a leadership model for the future.

This book is written by a psychologist and performance coach, a sociologist of gender and leadership, a practitioner-scholar of management, and a business executive and owner, along with sixteen successful leaders who share personal accounts and practical strategies of exemplary leadership.

You can become a Sixth Level leader. Read the book and join the movement!

i>The Sixth Level was created by Stacy Feiner, Rachel Wallis Andreasson, Kathy K. Overbeke, and Jack D. Harris, with contributions from over a dozen CEOs, owners, executives, and entrepreneurs.

Stacy Feiner, PsyD, is an accomplished psychologist, entrepreneur, investor, and mother. She champions the aspirations and ambitions of family businesses with a pro growth, pro health approach that untangles conflict, strengthens emotional dynamics, and facilitates growth. Dr. Feiner founded her firm in 2018 to support the unique needs of private enterprises and ensure they thrive. Committed to optimal results, she collaborates with experts from various disciplines to execute unconventional solutions. Curious about people's lives, Dr. Feiner has lived in eight US cities, traveled to nine countries, and lived in Japan. Trained as a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Dr. Feiner worked in college counseling as a psychotherapist and in corporate settings as a performance coach at Vassar College, Merrill Lynch (licensed 7 and 63), Key Bank, and BDO USA. In 2015, Dr. Feiner published her first book, Talent Mindset. While in high school, she attended the Stone Center lectures at Wellesley College to study Self-in-Relation theory with Dr. Jean Baker Miller.

Rachel Wallis Andreasson, MBA, executive, writer, and collaborator, believes the right people come into your life at the right time for a specific purpose. Rachel has a passion for supporting women and helping them build their network. She joined her family business during its first major acquisition and then built infrastructure, people, and family governance systems for the next twenty-four years. She was the first woman to become president of the Missouri State Association for the convenience store industry, and she was awarded the Leadership Award by her peers while earning her MBA at Washington University. After serving in various leadership positions in her family business, Rachel became the CEO, overseeing 1,100 team members. Today, she remains a shareholder and board member of the family business and is the executive director of the Reform synagogue where she grew up and is a proud mother of three. Rachel serves on a bank board, is a mentor, and is a founding member of a community foundation where she continues to oversee a learning center that serves one hundred children in rural Missouri. Rachel is a self-starter on initiatives that bring value to an organization and thrives on moving people and organizations forward in a purposeful way.

Kathy K. Overbeke, DBA, family business consultant, entrepreneur, researcher, and author, draws on her experience as an entrepreneur and practitioner-scholar to help individuals and businesses discover strengths to conceive new possibilities and reach desired outcomes. She is a family business advisor and executive coach who works with Fortune 500, middle-market, and small businesses. When working with family businesses, Dr. Overbeke aims to keep the entrepreneurial fire alive while maintaining family harmony. She is informed by empirical research when helping family businesses plan for the future and when helping to develop leaders. Dr. Overbeke has published original research in academic journals and has presented her research internationally. She has also published in popular journals such as Psychology Today. She was an entrepreneur for over twenty-five years before returning to school to earn her doctorate in management. Subsequently she founded GPS: Generation Planning Strategies, LLC, joined the executive coaching staff at Case Western Reserve University, and became an adjunct professor of leadership, marketing, and independent studies at various colleges. generationplanningstrategies.com

Jack D. Harris, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York, owner and principal consultant, Harris Consulting Associates, LLC, brings more than forty-five years of successful experience in higher education as well as management and consulting positions with the government and businesses. Jack has served as a professor of sociology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) since 1974. Dr. Harris was twice president of the New York State Sociological Association. Dr. Harris directed the men's studies minor at HWS, the first degree program in men's studies in the United States. He teaches courses on men and masculinity, the sociology of business and management, the sociology of community, and senior seminar research practicum. As a professional applied sociologist with specializations in gender, community development, and social organization, he consults nationwide for local governments about business process reengineering and project and change management. Dr. Harris has published on Vietnamese masculinity and gender relations, including coauthoring a book chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Vietnam (2022) on "The Affairs of Men: Masculinity in Contemporary Vietnam," the article "Extramarital Relationships, Masculinity, and Gender Relations in Vietnam," Southeast Review of Asian Studies, Volume 31 (2009), and "Incorporating Men into Vietnamese Gender Studies," Vietnam Social Sciences (1998). He has presented at numerous national and international conferences on gender relations. In addition, on the business side, he is coauthor of The Municipal Computer Systems Handbook. He has assisted in organizational analysis and design, leadership and management training and staff development, employee motivation, group dynamics and team building, conflict management and resolution, and the analysis of workplace culture.