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...]
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...]
Leadership Development and Educating our Young
Think back to when you began your school years. Did you wake up eager and ready for the learning and relationship challenges that were there each day? Were you a social butterfly or more prone to stand on the sidelines? Were you an academic star or just muddled through? There is lots of conflicting research about what really matters in the process to educate children. It … [Read more...]
Leadership Challenges: Start with a Strong Spine
When we meet people, we are always looking for the core of who they are. Sometimes we just observe, other times we ask lots of questions. When I met Peggy McColl at the 21st Century Book Marketing Conference in San Diego, I first observed. A seasoned speaker she was engaging and had a wealth of important information about the power of online marketing to capture … [Read more...]
Business Leadership: Recycling Conflict
Last week I was delighted to be a workshop presenter at the HBA Conference in Philadelphia. The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association is filled with many of the brightest executive women I have met. The key to the success of the two day program is the care and constant tending the presenters get once they have been chosen. Interestingly, I mused about this after the … [Read more...]