The ads for Valentine's Day gifts are reaching a peak this week. So what does that have to do with business leadership expertise? Well, for starts, one of the biggest issues we women struggle with daily; work life balance. How do we juggle our relationships with our spouses, our partners, let alone kids and extended family and still get anything done at the office? Does the … [Read more...]
Women Leadership and Reshaping
There is a scene in the film “The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio” starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson that struck me like a bolt of lightning. They are the parents of ten children just living their lives in a small town. She is a housewife and he is a machinist. The era is the happy days of the fifties spilling over into the early sixties. They call each other … [Read more...]
A Woman’s Place is in the Classroom
I was recently invited to speak at Purdue University and had the absolute pleasure of spending time with Dr. Beverly Davenport Sypher. Dr. Sypher had some important statistics for us to consider before we moved into the fascinating reasons she chose higher education as her vocation. We all go to school, most of us graduate. School is a good place to be. There used to be a … [Read more...]
Leadership Strategies: Are You a Davos Woman?
Picture yourself in Davos Switzerland at the annual gathering of the world’s rich and powerful. No, you have not morphed into Angelina Jolie, you are you with a lot to offer and much to say. First some facts: Did you know that fewer than 3 percent of the Fortune Global 500 chief executives are women? Only 15 percent of ministers and parliamentarians are female? Less than 20 … [Read more...]
Leadership Strategies and a New Verbal Diet
This time of year you can count on tons (pardon the pun) of ways to diet. Eat more of this, less of that. You can just do protein and veggies, or maybe the newest, most amazing carb to hit the town from the African bush. Well, I have another idea. How about changing your verbal diet? Think about it, would you only eat hamburgers for a month without anything else? “Of course … [Read more...]
Revisiting Our Masculine Side of Leadership
There is a little book I highly recommend, a leadership development tale short on title and only 90 pages, yet filled with the wisdom of the ages. “He” by Robert Johnson is about the myth of Perceval and the Holy Grail. Now, it is, in essence, a mystery story and a precursor of the Indiana Jones films. It is, also a pointer to the masculine in each of us. And as women, we … [Read more...]
What Women Leaders Bring to the New Decade
The most important issues facing us today are underlined in big red markers for women. The deepest concerns that are facing us, population control, climate change, leadership and flexibility in the workplace call out to women to take charge. Did you know that in all areas of the world when women can make decisions about population control the rate of population has gone … [Read more...]
Can Leaders Take a Break?
Do we have to go off to an island with limited access to the internet to get some quiet? Is it ever okay to put a “do not disturb” sign on the office door? Can we ever admit we are fried, exhausted, done, and not be judged as lacking in mojo, courage, stamina? These were some of the thoughts I had after spending a remarkable day presenting at Purdue University in Indiana. … [Read more...]
Chick Flicks and Leadership
Lots of plane rides lately, long plane rides with lots of movies. Instead of diving into writing next chapters on my new book about women and work based on our Women Executive Leadership Learning program, I watched and watched the small screen in front of me. There was Julia Roberts in Italy, India and Bali searching for true love. It was a modern version of boy and girl in … [Read more...]
Teamwork: Sharing the Blame!
Now that the old model of command and control is out the window and team collaboration is the norm what has really changed when things go wrong? I have been watching the teams I consult with to see if there is a better level of accountability than in the past. Here is what I notice: when stress is high, heads are down and everyone is pointing fingers outward, in the … [Read more...]