The Editor's Desk

Last April, we invited some of the smartest and most successful women we knew to a lunch here at NEWSWEEK to help us plan this week's special report on women and leadership. When I arrived at our company dining room, I was horrified to discover that it had been decorated all in pink. I began by apologizing to our guests, but they just laughed: they were long past being offended by such color profiling. I also wondered how these bankers and movie executives and editors in chief would respond to our questions about balancing work and family, and whether women have distinct leadership styles. But that's exactly what they wanted to talk about, and for two hours they shared stories and opinions freely and frankly, with no one demanding center stage. When it was done, we had notebooks full of good ideas--and a living example of how differently powerful women behave than a roomful of alpha males might have.

Most of all, they stressed that they weren't just interested in profiles: they wanted to hear female leaders talk about how they got where they are today. So in our cover package--which was conceived and edited by Alexis Gelber and reported by Barbara Kantrowitz,Holly Peterson and Pat Wingert --that's what we asked for. In all, 20 of America's most powerful women opened up to us, with eight telling us personal stories of how they made it, and a dozen more offering lessons for success. From San Francisco, Karen Breslau reported on the female troika that now runs that city's police department, fire department and DA's office. And Daniel McGinn explored the turnaround in results and culture that CEO Anne Mulcahy and her largely female executive team have achieved at Xerox. While these stories are all unique, they share common themes: The importance of communication. The danger of fixed game plans, in business or life. And--contrary to cliches about female emotions--the determination never to cry in the office.

As Iraqis count the ballots in their vote for a constitution, Babak Dehghanpisheh and Michael Hirsh explore what kind of impact the trial of Saddam Hussein may have on the country he ruled for so long. Howard Fineman and Richard Wolffe measure the fallout from the revolt over the Harriet Miers nomination, while Michael Isikoff reports on the endgame for Karl Rove, his counsel and special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak probe. We hope you find this issue informative and inspiring--and look for some of the women we profile this week on the Oprah show and the Nightly News and Today on NBC.