Long plane rides often bring me fresh ideas, or at least give me time to think in fresh, new ways. Flying from Newark to San Francisco is perfect. Just about six hours with little distraction from my writing and musings. Sometimes! On this particular plane were a brother and a sister, two or so years apart, I guessed. They were attractive, well behaved children whose parents … [Read more...]
Mother’s Day and Great Gifts
In this column I talked about what a fiasco it was when I did not send flowers to my mother. It had become an iconic story in the family. On Saturday a gorgeous bouquet arrived in a fabulous vase. Of course it was from my daughters and their families. We are in the Pennsylvania, they in California so the gift and sentiment worked. However, I also received an amazing gift … [Read more...]
Leadership Work vs. “Women’s Work”
The balance score card to measures a society is graded by how its leaders set policy for caring; for children, the sick, the elderly, and the poor. If I were asked to grade our country I’m saddened to say the marks would not get us into Harvard. What is missing? For me it boils down to the relationship aspect of how we care for each other. Remember the name of Hilary … [Read more...]
Bold Leadership
There are so many words to describe leadership and almost all point to action; leaders, the best leaders, act. This sounds so right, so intuitively right; yet, my question is about what is the right action? How do we know, how do we ever know if what we do when we act is going to be of benefit, going to move our lives, personally and professionally in the direction of … [Read more...]
Complexity of Women Leaders
Women in power in this century are, for the most part, dismissing the old notions of the vast dichotomy between their skills and those of their male counterparts. This has been an on-going debate for decades and essentially, leads nowhere. We are all complex, multi-layered human beings and we need to embrace that concept, female and male. A graduate of the Total Leadership … [Read more...]
Infidelity, Narcissists, Cheaters and Our Culture
There seems to be a new polarization happening between men and women. Granted the celebrities in the news who are the cheating ones are mostly men, at least for now. The big debate is about sexual addiction and we are all asked to vote if we think sleeping around is a disease of not. The article in the Huffington Post caught my eye and by the time I finished I had a knot of … [Read more...]
Altruism at Work
During the 1940’s, Harvard sociologist Pitirim Sorokin argued that industrial societies needed to transform themselves by developing a more integrated, holistic, and systemic approach to the world – what he called creative altruism. He discussed the idea that there is a part of the brain that is programmed for altruism. He discussed this way before we had any of the … [Read more...]
Are We Too Busy to Be Healthy?
The historic health care bill that is now on its way to the Senate is like one hand clapping. It does not tackle some of the key questions that we all need to ask ourselves concerning health and wellness. Women, in key roles both at home and at work, make vital policy decisions about how time and energy are best used. One question that comes up over and over in our “Total … [Read more...]
When We Become Leaders: Happy Ever After??
There is a great image I once saw of someone climbing the ladder of success only to find it was attached to the wrong building; at the top were broken windows and a roof that needed replacing. It’s not always the way we think it will be. I was reminded of that when I was telling my five year-old grand-daughter a new rendition of Cinderella. Life is not always as we expect it … [Read more...]
Leadership and Meryl Streep
I must admit, that while Sandra Bullock is a super actress, I was so sad and unhappy that Meryl Streep did not win the “Best Actress” Oscar at the Academy Awards Ceremony last night. I’ll go on the assumption that both films are worthy. I’ll go on the assumption that both actresses are wonderful. And yet, maybe it’s my own sentimentality, maybe even a bit of loyalty. Meryl … [Read more...]