It’s common knowledge that many more men make it to the C-suite than women – so what are women doing wrong? Nina DiSesa, Chairman, McCann Erickson New York discussed the mistakes that women make and how to overcome them at the April 23rd Breakfast hosted by the New York Times. Driven women and a handful of men enjoyed candor advice and clever anecdotes as DiSesa spoke to a full room.

She highlighted several key male characteristics that women should aspire to, including an unrelenting air of confidence, the ability to make decisions quickly, and a tendency to focus on one problem at a time rather than multi-task. Besides these and a few other tendencies men possess, DiSesa suggested women are naturally better-programmed to be leaders. Other factors that can hold women back are men not feeling as comfortable around women and the fact that women are the ones that physically have children.

But women can overcome these obstacles, too. Through the “art of seduction and manipulation” a woman can make all of her colleagues prefer to work with her than anyone else in the office, DiSesa argued. When asked whether having children severely hinders a woman’s journey to the top, she reminded the audience that while she herself is not a mother, there are many women in leadership positions that have both children and a corner office.

DiSesa also cited a recent Portfolio article indicating that the presence of women in leadership positions is currently on the decline. We are moving backwards on measures like salary figures, the number of women who are members of a board of directors, and the number of women that are leading corporations. It is critical that we turn these statistics around, and DiSesa hopes that she gives women the tools and inspiration to do so in her witty book, Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactics from a Woman at the Top.