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...]
Women Leaders and Male Partnership
In any learning process, there is a tendency to go to extremes before finding middle ground. Take driving, for example. Most teens start by driving very, very slowly, learning when to accelerate and when to put the brakes on. Then there is a time when we all want to experiment with speed, until either fender hits fender, or a ticket is handed by an unsmiling policeman. Most … [Read more...]
Work for a Jerk?
At one point or another, we have all worked for a jerk. Trending analysis, client feedback and underground communication clearly indicate that mismanaged employees and boundary violations are on the rise. Managing through tough times and poor leaders is often time more difficult than the work itself. Poor leadership can range from an immediate supervisor to poor HR … [Read more...]
Leadership Lessons: I’d Rather Be a Whale
Part of leadership, especially women, is to be a voice for separating the wheat from the chaff. It is time for all of us as women leaders to put a halt to the binding messages we are bombarded with about image. No, I don’t mean we should all state that overweight is better, I mean we need to begin to question what is being fed to us (sorry for the pun) about what is the … [Read more...]
Maybe We Really Have Changed
I was very conscious of role changes yesterday. First, my husband and I needed to get some basics for our new home in Sonoma County California. We were running late and made a last stop at the closest Costco. The Super Bowl had started about ten minutes before and as Saints fans, we wanted to get home to cheer this special team to success. I stopped at the bank of … [Read more...]
Women and Men: Different Perspectives
We really are different. Our brains are different, as well as the outlook on what is important. I believe we can help each other see new and critical points of view. I also believe we need to give each other space to be ourselves. Often the best way to say “vive la difference” is through humor. Stephen Kapustin, a lawyer in Philadelphia is a graduate of our Total Leadership … [Read more...]
Healthcare and Women
One of the most well-run and informative meetings I went to last year was the HBA conference in San Francisco. The Healthcare Businesswomen Association is a class act. What impressed me was the juggling act done to show the strong side of women in a mostly male dominated industry, as well as the feminine side that we, as women, need to maintain for our own sanity. The women … [Read more...]
Leadership Partnership and Business Possibilities
Clearing out the old to make way for the new is a wonderful practice as we enter a new year. This time, as we graduate into a new decade, the teen years of the century, we have an amazing opportunity to find a better balance and create a different kind of partnership between men and women. I believe that female leaders in the work world can lead the way in positive and … [Read more...]
Perfection’s Imperfection and the Tiger
One step up from excellence lays perfection. How different are these two concepts? Business excellence can lead us to being better and smarter than the competition, maintaining high standards, striving for leadership, quality, and high service. Perfection can lead us to….the Tiger Woods syndrome! Tiger was a little boy who had a golf club put in his hand as soon as he … [Read more...]
How Much Help is Enough?
There is a pivot point we all need to find between being too caring or too cold when employees have personal issues. Women, hard-wired to be compassionate and consider others first, often get stuck in the caring rather than cold region. Here is an example: Roberta, a valued administrative assistant who does great work and is dedicated to her company had … [Read more...]