Argues that political skill is a necessary, vital aspect of women's career advancement and that breaking the glass ceiling without shattering hopes for a promising executive career requires delicate political skills. However, the political skills practiced have more to do with speaking the truth about the business at hand than with conforming to the norms of how others expect business will be done. To learn more about how women gained access to top-level positions, the author conducted interviews with 55 women executives in America's largest companies. Further analysis of the interviews revealed that most Ss had gone through 4 stages of political maturation: (1) developing political naivete, (2) building credibility, (3) refining a style, and (4) shouldering responsibility.