I have a complicated relationship with mentoring. Though I’d heard that mentoring was important, I never felt I received much mentoring early in my career, certainly not by anyone who looked like me (I only had one female boss, once, for three months). With decades of workforce experience under my...
Every time I speak about building confidence I’m asked, “Can I fake it ‘til I figure out how to make it?” I usually ask the crowd their opinion. Vigorous discussion ensues, making my job really easy. Many have experienced the hollow feelings of inauthenticity that faking it brings, and they argue...
It's counter-intuitive that if we don't think we are biased, we probably are! But when you realize that bias is natural and that we all have it, then it makes sense that being aware of your bias is the best way to counter-act it. We love this advice from Dana on how to think about bias and work to...
It’s both a trope and a truth that working twice as hard will help you get ahead in your career. It’s also, not surprisingly, a key assumption that under-represented leaders assume they must overwork in order to prove themselves in order to advance their careers. Talk to most women, Black people...
We love the strength’s-based leadership approach. It challenges us to know what our natural gifts are and build on them. But if we’re not careful it can make us blind to our opportunities to improve. – InPower Editors I recently worked with a Vice President who was an up-and-comer in her firm’s...
If you’re focused on achieving your highest potential, you need to set long-term goals for your career. In any situation, goal-setting gives you clarity and direction, which helps you stay focused. In career planning and strategy, however, goals are the critical piece in helping you achieve...
Practical experience and research both tell us that women struggle more than men to speak up and promote themselves. Even women who speak up often find it hard to “sell” themselves. If you’re on the corporate ladder this can slow (or stop) your climb; when you’re self-employed, it can kill your...
We like to keep up with the newest data on women in leadership, updating our primary catalog, Guide to Women’s Leadership, about twice a year. Thanks for my colleague, Jennifer V. Miller we keep this extensive documentation pretty current. The guide now includes 109 citations in four categories...
When you’re mentoring someone, what do you call the person to whom you’re imparting all your wisdom? Mentee seems the easy, opposite of mentor, but I don’t like the term. Putting an “ee” on something makes it sound like something you’re “doing to” someone else. Key Takeaways: Mentorship is a...
Between Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady and Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep has played some pretty tough bosses in her movies. So when I got the umpteenth request from professional women - readers, clients and friends - to explain the phenomenon of lady bully bosses (i.e.,...
