Do you lean in or lean out? It is a question that many of us have thought about thanks to the March 2013 publication of Lean In. That book asked women to engage themselves more fully – to lean in – albeit in a largely corporate vein. While interesting to consider, I’ve found another more important posture that women not only need to be aware of – they need to defy. I call it the failure posture. Continue reading…
A gift for you this holiday…
“What will be the fullest expression of your greatness?” Sounds jarring, doesn’t it? It isn’t meant to be. The New Yorker’s Philip Gourevitch stated in a Postscript piece eulogizing Nelson Mandela, “It was in the negotiations of apartheid’s end that Mandela’s greatness found its fullest expression.” The instant I read the sentence I loved it. Why? I believe that every person, no exception, has a greatness quotient. Our toughest work? Bringing it forth. Continue reading…
Transition’s Winning Formula…
“It wasn’t me,” shared Carlos Kotkin as part of The Moth’s Radio Hour. “I felt like my spirit, my soul, was being stifled. I hated my shoes.” So went the conclusion of a story entitled The Accidental Executive. Carlos went from college drop out, to chauffeur, to studio executive at 20th Century Fox in what seemed like twenty-four months. Serendipity? Perhaps. His next move may surprise you. Continue reading…
Boylston St: Silencing or Raising Voices?
How ironic. On the day residents of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts gathered to commemorate the nation’s first fight for freedom we were reminded of just how precious freedom is. Patriot’s Day. A rite of spring in a bold city on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Tragedy? Continue reading…
The self we project….
‘Nice. Happy. Fun.’ So read my picture’s caption on my 3rd grader’s All About Me poster. She is VIP in her class this week. Amidst the photo cut outs of birthday parties, funny antics and family vacations there were silhouettes of each member of our family. The words caught my eye as glue sticks and scrap paper swirled across the kitchen table Sunday evening in a mad dash for Monday readiness. The words made me pause. Continue reading…
Summer Book Review #26: Smart Women Embrace Transitions
A red-haired expatriate hippie with a beard and a business suit sat on the floor across from me in a Japanese restaurant in the middle of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Think Jerry Garcia meets Howdy Doody. Lincoln, a former Peace Corps volunteer, was regaling myself and a friend with stories of his escapades in Latin America. I vaguely remember him talking about starting a business importing condoms. He was concerned about the quality of those available in country. It was unclear if his interest was driven by humanitarian or by personal reasons. Continue reading…
Those elusive 21st century female role models
Is anyone else entertained? Can you recall any male executive who was held accountable amidst all of the hoopla surrounding the global financial crisis in 2008? We had a crisis that resulted in the collapse or near collapse of large financial institutions, like Lehman Brothers or AIG; the federal bailout of financial services and large industrial companies, recall TARP and GM; downturns in the global stock market and the housing market; and widespread unemployment that reached and still remains at historic highs. Now answer this: is there anyone in America who can’t tell you who Ina Drew is? Continue reading…
Transition Approach: certain versus confident
I remember a great NPR piece from the summer of 2009. I was driving in traffic, my typical commute. Eight miles in 55 minutes. The discussion’s topic was leadership. The reason it caught me was that it described leadership in two simple yet separate buckets; certain or confident. It hit me because I think that every leader I have ever worked under would think of herself or himself as confident when in fact they were more often certain. I wonder if this simple dichotomy works in transition as well? Continue reading…
A 2012 Challenge: Innovation
“Workers are dropping out of the labor force in droves and they are mostly women,” boasted a front page New York Times headline just before New Year’s. “They are not dropping out forever; instead, these young women seem to be postponing their working lives to get more education.” What can I say? It caught my eye during a rare moment of peace over the holiday vacation. Continue reading…
What’s your Agenda?
” I wasted a lot of time,” confided a long-time friend as she described the years that she had not worked outside the home. She and I were having a conversation about her decision to return to work. At the time she had three high school aged children. The dialogue stayed with me.
A recent conversation got me thinking about this ‘wasted time’ exchange. A friend was out and about with a visible kick to her step. Continue reading…