Most Recent Posts
My Wish List for Senior Executives
Key Takeaways: As a senior executive, simply telling yourself you listen isn’t enough—true leadership begins with patient listening that deeply seeks to learn and understand, not just solve. In our rush and multitasking world, the best of us fall prey to...
Dear Dana Interview Advice: Am I More Than What I Do?
Key Takeaways: “Interview advice”: before you even schedule a conversation, ask yourself whether it’s worth the time—for you and for them—because preparing for and attending an interview takes focus, time, and energy. Doing an interview you don’t intend to take can...
Sanity Challenge: Powerful Bosses Don’t Listen
Key Takeaways: “Bosses don’t listen” isn’t just your frustration—it’s a documented pattern: the more powerful the leader, the less likely they are to heed advice, and that growing infallibility makes everyone anxious and decision‑making worse. Too much deference to a...
Managers: Are You Ready to Hire Bots onto Your Teams?
Key Takeaways: The robots are coming Whether they’re steel, software, or smart algorithms, robots are already reshaping white‑collar roles—and middle managers must begin preparing now for a future where machines handle analysis, prediction, and many decision‑making...
Working Mother Advice: Back-to-School Tips & Tricks – Part 2
Key Takeaways: Working mother A relaxed “back‑to‑school meeting” with your kids a week or two before classes begin helps ease everyone into a new schedule—discussing bedtime shifts, lunch‑packing preferences, and new routines so the transition feels intentional, not...
Dear Dana Workplace Advice: Self Care for Leaders During Layoffs
Key Takeaways: Layoffs affect leaders too: While the focus is often on helping those who are laid off, team leaders also experience significant stress, including guilt and additional work. It's important to recognize that leaders need support as well. Adopt a mindset...
Popular Posts
5 Steps to Taming Your Emotional Triggers
We welcome Dr. Marcia Reynolds back to the site to provide insight into ways of understanding and releasing your emotional triggers. Learn about Marcia's book, The Discomfort Zone and how to turn discomfort into a leadership asset. – InPower Editors How to Tame...
7 Ways to Survive A Bully Boss
There’s an old stereotype about female bosses, which is that they can be really mean, and for some reason women are often the ones to perpetuate this story about female leaders. Personally, I don’t think this is particularly more common – or more important – to think...
Career Advice: Examples of Team Accomplishments When Applying for a Job
Welcome to “Dear Dana”, a column to give you career and workplace advice/coaching from executive coach, Dana Theus Dear Dana, I am updating my resume to apply for jobs. I read your article about "speaking accomplishments." I liked your advice and will apply it to how...
Leadership
Signs of a Toxic Boss: How Good People Can Succeed In the Executive Suite
Key Takeaways: “Signs of a Toxic Boss” go beyond isolated frustrations—they paint a picture of leadership that’s self‑centered, emotionally reactive, and ultimately corrosive to trust and authenticity. Toxicity often creeps in through ruthless behaviors: unrealistic...
Sanity Challenge: Powerful Bosses Don’t Listen
Key Takeaways: “Bosses don’t listen” isn’t just your frustration—it’s a documented pattern: the more powerful the leader, the less likely they are to heed advice, and that growing infallibility makes everyone anxious and decision‑making worse. Too much deference to a...
3 Ways To Recognize Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Key Takeaways: Emotional Intelligence In The Workplace shows up when petty disputes stay small: In emotionally intelligent cultures, small personal conflicts are resolved directly between people rather than escalating upward—so leadership only deals with issues that...
Mentoring
Questions to Ask a Mentor
Mentors are a true career asset, whether they are “officially” part of a formal mentoring relationship (often matched through a mentoring program) or unofficially informal relationships that grow organically. Regardless of how you enter a mentoring...
What are Long-Term Goals for Your Career and Why You Should Set Them
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...
Mentee vs. Protégé: Is there a Difference?
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...
Interviews
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Career Advice
The Top 5 Mistakes Women Make Receiving Feedback
Key Takeaways: Receiving feedback as a woman often means managing style critiques, not just performance issues: Women are disproportionately given feedback about how they behave—not just what they achieve. This makes receiving feedback more personal and often more...
Gaining Power In Your Career: A Guide to Getting Promoted at Every Level
Key Takeaways Getting promoted is not just about hard work: While dedication is important, getting promoted requires a deeper understanding of how the system works. You need to be strategic and play the game effectively. Toot your own horn: Don't be shy...
Are You Fully Charged? 5 Ways to Energize Your Work & Life
Key Takeaways: Integrating work & life is the real balancing act. Forget the old tug-of-war between the office and everything else—true well-being comes when we design lives (and workplaces) where our personal values and professional goals can actually coexist...
Women in Leadership
Book Review: Spiraling Upward, the 5 Co-Creative Powers for Women on the Rise – How It Is Helping Me Restart My Business
Key Takeaways: Book review reflections reveal how Spiraling Upward opens deep inner pathways: The author describes how Wendy Wallbridge’s work helped restart her business by nurturing belief, energy, and authentic direction—showing that success begins with...
The Elephant in the Gender Equality Room: Masculinity
Key Takeaways: Gender equality cannot be achieved without challenging masculinity: Expanding definitions of masculinity—moving beyond rigid traits like dominance or stoicism—is essential for progress. Narrow, culturally enforced ideals of masculinity limit both men...
Work-Life Balance: Return to Work While the Going’s Good
Key Takeaways: work‑life balance is a strategic choice—not a luxury. Keeping even a small job while caregiving (for children or aging parents) ensures financial stability and continuity. Opting out of work for caregiving without planning can cost you dearly—those who...
Diversity & Inclusion
Do You Confuse Emotions with Emotional Intelligence (EQ?)
Key Takeaways: Emotional intelligence isn’t about suppressing feelings—it’s about understanding them. EQ isn’t the absence of emotion; it’s the skill of recognizing emotions (yours and others’) and responding to them in a way that’s constructive, not reactive. Strong...
4 Reasons The Western Woman Can Save The World
The Dali Lama said “The Western Woman will come to the rescue of the world.” Never mind that Hilary Clinton didn’t get elected president of the United States. The trend she is a part of is well underway, and I’m not talking about feminism.
Just because no one I know got raptured last weekend doesn’t mean the apocalypse isn’t upon us; it just means we get to change the world before everything goes to hell. The world is in a pretty nasty state, based on the daily headlines, and it’s easy to feel powerless to save it. Yet I know so many people determined to do just that, many of them women. What I’d like to see is more people – men and women – stepping into their world-saving powers, more consciously, more assertively and more effectively.
Note to Men: Don’t stop reading now (if you got this far – kudos to you!) The stuff we ladies are naturally good at – and that the world needs – you are pretty good at too. Mostly you just need to ALLOW yourself to be good at it!
A Guide to Allyship: The Authenticity Paradox and How to Help Women in the Workplace Move Past It
Key Takeaways: Key Actions for a Guide to Allyship: Men and women can support women in leadership by assuming competence, mentoring and sponsoring them, calling out bias, and fostering visibility. Allies should also work to educate themselves about the unique...
