If you write a leadership blog you know the challenge of dredging the stock photo sites for perfectly politically correct photos of happy business women and men sporting every hue of skin color from creamy white to chocolate brown. If you actually run a business, you know the photo-dredgers have...
Emotional Intelligence at Work
The Biggest Gen Y and Gender Myths and Why Your Company Should Care
I recently published my Harvard study in Harvard Business Review: Busting Gen Y & Gender Myths and Why Your Company Should Care unleashing new research on the work-life aspirations of elite Gen Y women and men. Surveying a group of Harvard and MIT MBAs, I found that they hold more traditional...
Why Leaders Should Care About The Equal Pay Gap & Flexible Work-Life Arrangements
On average, companies are paying women 77% as much as the guys in the cubes next to them, doing the same jobs. Traditionally this has been seen as a women’s issue, an issue of social justice, a reason for women ask for legislated change. However, I believe that this “fairness” argument has been...
Women And Men Working Together = More Sustainable & Successful Work Environments
Want to sustain outstanding results in business? Then leadership must build a culture and environment where both women and men will thrive. The demand is right around the corner and the Millennials will expect it for young men are used to working with women as equals. Today’s college...
The Paradox of “Women’s Leadership Training”
Our economy needs women in leadership. When women are more than tokens in leadership – representing over 30 percent of the team in diverse business specialties – their organizations perform demonstrably better. Not only are women naturally good leaders, showing the capacity to balance their...
Stuck at 15%: Are Women Doomed to Second Place?
Some athletes are simply not destined to get the gold. Women have a record-breaking presence in the Olympics this year - every nation sporting women on their teams for the first time in history and more women than men on the U.S. team. But when I look at the participation stats across the other...
The Business Case For Gender Balanced Leadership
I have been honored with a regular writing gig at the Smartblog on Leadership - an extention of the Smartbrief empire. This was my first post as a contributing author and it generated a lot of interesting comments (read them here). The comments reminded me that there are plenty of people (men AND...
5 Strategies for Leading with the 5 Whys
Most leadership books and gurus will tell you that leaders are learners and full of curiosity. Sometimes, this penchant can get you into trouble and – as many entrepreneurs learn the hard way – lead you traipsing off after some little bright shiny thing, letting your business languish. This kind...
5 Ways to Advance Amid Dysfunction
Old boss - mentoring and advancement opportunities. New boss - frustration, competition, neglect, stupidity and powerlessness. What's your strategy for getting ahead now? In the last week, I've talked to three people in situation "new boss" - at all levels including a CXO (no, my friends,...
3 Ways Powerful Leaders Can Practice the Art of Saying No
Make your YES mean more by saying NO more often. Saying “No” is hard because we don’t just say the word, we burden it with other – unsaid – baggage on both the sayer’s and receiver’s part. But it doesn’t have to be that way and powerful leaders know how to use the Art of No in ways that leave the listener feeling useful, appreciated and inspired. Learn to practice the Art of No. Your team will thank you for it.