In every business, in every life, it is vital to process all information and even emotional content to make sure that you are making the best decisions you can make. Yet, there are extremes and when you get caught at one end point of the spectrum or the other, there is a tendency to either deny what is going on, or indulge in over-thinking the process. One of our best … [Read more...]
Leadership and a Cup of Tea
The next six weeks of winter are the challenging ones with the flu, colds, and general challenges for all of us until those first green shoots of spring brighten the day. A vital question for all of us, and especially women in business who tend to be caretakers and pleasers is “What do you do to renew your spirit?” I’d love to hear responses that can give all of us some new … [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...]
Partnership for the New Year
This is a wish for all of us - female, male, young, old, every color and part of the planet. Let’s include the animals, trees, and every living thing. Women are the leaders in partnership thinking; we learn it from the very beginning of our journey from womb to tomb. We are hard-wired to think about systems and how they fit together. We are internally programmed every month … [Read more...]
Women Leaders and the Gift of Authenticity
Leadership is a front-and-center job. It’s hard to hide, and if you have chosen leadership, why would you even want to be in the background? Yet, there are times we all need a break and even then, even when you are on holiday, you know you are still being judged, worshipped, detested, quoted, ridiculed, respected, and second-guessed. It’s the nature of the position. Take a … [Read more...]
Leadership and Parenting
Whether we have children or not, we all have parents; some we revere, some we revile, and some play a minimal role in our lives. So what does this have to do with business? The original organization we all joined was the family and the remnants of our experiences there are replicated in our present work organization. Whether we like it or not, there are parent figures that were … [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 Far Should We Go?
Most women love to help, to rescue, to make what hurts all better. We have been programmed for centuries to be the caretaker. It is often a wonderful and powerful position…. most of the time. Except when you are so tired you can’t see straight and someone still wants something from you. Except when resources are limited and guilt keeps you at the end of the line till … [Read more...]
The Plight of the Pleaser
In graduate school I was in an experiment to see what happens when emotionally laden words are presented to you. The question was “can just one word make a difference in how you react?” I’ll give you the answer straight up, one that I guess you already intuitively know. The answer is “Yes! Words, even simple words, not linked together in a sentence can cause us to shake and … [Read more...]