I had the opportunity to witness the final day of a week-long Tibetan monk mandala creation in Santa Barbara, California. The tradition for this type of Buddhist mandala is to represent an ideal of a perfect universe, transforming our ordinary human minds into a state that is enlightened. The Sanskrit meaning of the word mandala is ‘circle’, and these art pieces are a … [Read more...]
Overcoming the Female Confidence Gap
Only about 12% of undergraduate women are STEM majors. STEM is a commonly used acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; which are fields that are imperative in our society today. There are a lot of reasons why this number is so ridiculously low, however an often overlooked reason is the confidence gap between men and women when pursuing education, jobs, … [Read more...]
Self Confidence and the Female Entrepreneur
In Ireland, there is a strong, on-going government initiative to encourage entrepreneurship. In conjunction with the global recession of the past eight years or so, Ireland also experienced its own devastating banking crisis. During, and since this awful time, realization dawned that entrepreneurs are the backbone of our economy. Their strength, in the face of uncertainty, … [Read more...]
What Does it Take to be a Thought Leader?
Last week I attended a panel discussion at Barclay’s in New York City on the topic of How to Be a Thought Leader. The panel included Nicki Gilmour, CEO of The Glass Hammer, Carol Hymowitz, Editorial Director of Forbes Woman, and Barbara Jones, of Editorial Director of Hyperion Books. The discussion focused on professional women and thought leadership. According to … [Read more...]
Is it Possible to be Too Cautious?
Many thought leaders believe that because women are more cautious, they make better decisions. I believe there is some validity in this especially if you look at the recent events on Wall Street. It’s only speculation of course, but there is a widely held opinion that if there was more diversity at the leadership and board level, this current economic crisis might have … [Read more...]
You Need to Raise Your Hand
If you don’t raise your hand, you won’t be called on and maybe that’s a good thing; a good thing, that is, if you want to remain invisible and safe. After all, when you raise your hand, you are risking public failure. When you raise your hand, you are sending a signal to everyone that you have the confidence to publicly state your opinion, volunteer for something, or ask … [Read more...]
Why Can’t We Just Be Ourselves?
Sometimes I think we can make things much more complicated than they really are. We analyze and dissect and re-analyze our behavior and the implications of our behavior until we forget our original intention. I could be wrong here, but I think we, as women, especially professional women, expend a great deal of energy second guessing ourselves. Do you find that’s true for … [Read more...]
Where Does All Our Self-Confidence Go?
Where does all the bravado and self-confidence of our early childhood go? Do you ever think back to when you were a young child? If your childhood was anything like mine, you were probably happy as a clam and had a bounty of self-esteem. I did. I vividly remember my childhood dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. I took ballet lessons three times a week and carried my ballet … [Read more...]
Promote From Within
Many corporations create an HR policy that suggests it's best to promote from within. Look at the existing talent and resources within your organization before your search to fill current or potential job openings takes you outside the company. It's a good policy and it makes sound business sense on many levels. Is it possible for us to mirror this policy for our own … [Read more...]