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...]
Greet Like a Ginsu – Part One
Post by Frances Cole Jones, contributing Women On Business writer Did you know it took over 600 hours to think up, agree upon, and refine the first ten seconds of the original Ginsu infomercial? (“In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife…”) The image – a hand karate chopping a tomato - was so arresting—weird enough to make the person with the remote stop flipping channels … [Read more...]
Women Leadership and Mad Men
Some revolutions are bloody, and some are flash-in-the-pan moments. The women’s movement began quietly with a book “The Feminine Mystique”, moved to bra burning, and gained traction with consciousness raising groups. All of that seems like it was centuries ago. We now head large organizations, are in key positions in government, and have a say in just about everything. … [Read more...]
Employee Brand Differentiation
Differentiating oneself in the workforce today may hold the key for many employees who are keenly interested and highly motivated to survive downsizing. While it may take extra effort, the payoff can be exponentially greater both short and long range; for the employee and the company. With discipline, determination, and drive, employees can make their mark strategically, … [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...]
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...]
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...]
How Many Hours A Day Can You Be Productive?
I once had a boss who would walk around the office at 5:05 to see who was sitting at their desk and who had already left for the day. He said that if you were able to leave at 5 every day, you didn't care about your job. So, we all sat around for an extra hour a day twiddling our thumbs so as not to arouse his suspicion. Sure, some days we had plenty of work to carry us to … [Read more...]
The Double Bind Challenge
The common belief that leaders should be competent and assertive (typically traits associated with the male gender) often presents a challenge for women in leadership positions. The double bind challenge is that when in leadership roles, women must not only be competent and assertive, but they must also demonstrate that they are nurturing and selfless. Why? Because they are … [Read more...]