Frustratingly, this movie could have been great, but it falls seriously short.
As many here complain, it presents a very real syndrome, but with only a partial "cure" that is very unlikely to work. Just half a loaf.
So what to do? First, don't see this as a PSYCHOLOGICAL situation, for it is actually not. It is a social situation, which for most women should be easy to correct. Here ya go...
Often better than sex, high performance workgroups almost always give lifetime highs for those (a minority) who experience them. This is not like working in Walmart, it is an invention team, in which everybody creates, breaks new frontiers, puts vital new systems in place, adds immense value, surges along. It is in fact the very guts of economic growth.
Those who have been in such groups often miss them terribly (think eg military, sports, musical groups, new businesses, moms with young kids) and often spend a lifetime trying to get back in.
Success needs LEARNED skills. Process management is a really vital one. This is something at which women beat men hands-down: Seeing systems, visioning, building community and trust, planning, monitoring, networking, incentivizing, empowering, growing careers and incomes, generally leading from behind.
All these skills can be learned. Extremely effective systems have been available for 25 years. Attendance at annual conferences that share all of these are worth the fee in gold.
So back to the hapless Violet. She actually heads a sort of high performance workgroup here, but (improbably) she demonstrates almost a complete lack of these vital skills. Because Violet is so lacking in skills, ones easy and fun to learn (and can pay really well), she is making herself unhappy, and seems set to run that workgroup into the ground.
How can you begin? Read The Art Of The Long View by Peter Schwartz for a fast start. Pay attention to systems at all times. And try the annual conferences of eg the ODN which both network and build skills. Soon, no more inner voices, and you'll ignore the cult of the loner/maverick/superhero, which is doing the US such harm. Good luck. Pete (ex UN).
