The economic waves have settled a bit and my company is getting ready to hire several new employees. As the resumes have rolled in, more than I can ever remember, I thought back to my very first professional job and the anticipation of the world that was unfolding before me. When you started your career what was front and center on your work agenda? I was armed with a … [Read more...]
Mother’s Day and Great Gifts
In this column I talked about what a fiasco it was when I did not send flowers to my mother. It had become an iconic story in the family. On Saturday a gorgeous bouquet arrived in a fabulous vase. Of course it was from my daughters and their families. We are in the Pennsylvania, they in California so the gift and sentiment worked. However, I also received an amazing gift … [Read more...]
Infidelity, Narcissists, Cheaters and Our Culture
There seems to be a new polarization happening between men and women. Granted the celebrities in the news who are the cheating ones are mostly men, at least for now. The big debate is about sexual addiction and we are all asked to vote if we think sleeping around is a disease of not. The article in the Huffington Post caught my eye and by the time I finished I had a knot of … [Read more...]
Altruism at Work
During the 1940’s, Harvard sociologist Pitirim Sorokin argued that industrial societies needed to transform themselves by developing a more integrated, holistic, and systemic approach to the world – what he called creative altruism. He discussed the idea that there is a part of the brain that is programmed for altruism. He discussed this way before we had any of the … [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...]
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...]