What are the Pillars of Power? Last year, a company hired me to present “Leading With Grit & Grace” to its senior women executives. When the sponsor asked me to describe the content of the presentation, I said, “It’s about how women can wield their true power and influence more effectively.”...
Guest Author
Entrepreneurs: Stop Chasing the Dragon!
Why do you do what you do? Mary reminds all of us - especially entrepreneurs - how important it is to focus on the right motivations to achieve the success that matters most. - InPower Editors I enjoy using inappropriate phrases to describe appropriate things. There's a shock value that comes with...
Constructive vs Destructive Complaining
Admit it. Sometimes you just need to whine a bit. Complaining is a natural impulse to experiencing things that we don't like. Mary gives us a great gift in helping distinguish constructive complaining from destructive complaining. Use her wisdom the next time you feel like whining! - InPower...
Forget the “Virtuous Woman” Myth, Enter the “Virtuous Leader”
Have you noticed how harshly we can view women leaders, especially in politics? Is it because of sexism? Or is there something more subconscious and deeply cultural happening? We have had women leaders in the past, but the ones that many of us know best from childhood are the virtuous women...
Keys to Success: 2 Tricks for Goal-Setting and Personal Change
Leadership, career and success gurus place a huge focus on goals as keys to success. There are tons of articles, books, videos, classes and “systems” on how to set goals, how to organize them and how to “keep” them. Entire franchises have been built on this one productivity skill. And with good...
Dear Dana Workplace Advice: How Not to Find a Dream Job
Welcome to “Dear Dana”, our weekly column to give you career and workplace advice/coaching. Please write in and tell me about a career challenge or frustration you’re facing at the office! – Dana Theus Dear Dana, I have done a lot of research on my dream job (thanks to your tools!) but I have an...
How to Release Negative Emotions From Your Body and Mind
Think about each time you swallow a lump in your throat, swallow the words that are on the tip of your tongue in anger, or inhale deeply to keep from expressing frustration. Where do you think those negative emotions go? It would be nice if they just disappeared but they don’t. They actually get...
Michelle Obama to Ellen Sturtz: Assertive or Aggressive?
From the Huffington Post today: “President Barack Obama may have a problem with confrontation, but First Lady Michelle Obama certainly does not. Ellen Sturtz, 56, a lesbian activist protesting President Obama’s delay in signing an anti-discrimination executive order, paid $500…at a private...
‘No’ Is a Complete Sentence. (Anne Lamott)
Say "no" to make your "yes's" mean more. It's that simple. - Dana Theus. What happens when you imagine saying ‘no’ to someone? Does your chest tighten or your stomach knot up? Do emotions arise? Anxiety, perhaps, or even panic? How do you react mentally? Maybe you get fuzzy-headed or think, “Oh, I...
Innovative Leadership 101: Develop a Perspective Protocol
Sometimes we have to accept the reality that innovation can’t always be planned, but when we find a pattern to help us increase the likelihood of spontaneity – why not try to learn it and bake it into the corporate culture? In their new book “Great by Choice,” Jim Collins and Morten Hansen have...








