"The minute I express my opinion clearly, I get labeled as aggressive." This may be the most recurrent refrain I hear from the women leaders I coach when discussing leadership communication styles. They report that if they hold back or are soft-spoken, they get run over in conversations. Yet if...
Coaching Advice
Speaking Truth To Power – Why Leaders Keep Fools Nearby
In researching Speaking Truth to Power to help people use their own deep wisdom to advance their careers, I stumbled on this great article by James O'Toole on Harvard Business Review called A Culture of Candor. O'Toole gave several examples of corporate cultures that encourage people to challenge...
Sponsor vs. Mentor – 3 Tips for Attracting a Sponsor
Is “Executive Sponsor” is the New “Mentor” for Women Leaders? The missing piece in women's advancement strategies into leadership? Mentorship helps us be effective, but it’s not as helpful at helping us get a job as sponsorship is. Dana takes a look at what is means to have a sponsor vs. a mentor...
Year End: The Psychology of Closure
Have you ever noticed that once you can tell a story about something, it’s in the past? The year’s end is upon us and I observe my clients reaching for closure to make sense of another time of upheaval in the world. I encourage everyone to engage the psychology of closure, not just at year...
Can Empathy Help You Overcome Bias?
Almost everyone deals with bias, and there are many strategies to deal with it, but we love Dana and Kate’s takes on InPowered strategies for confronting bias with empathy and humility. Enjoy a not-so-obvious-but-very-effective strategy to deal with awkward and unfair situations you find yourself...
Career Audit: How Much Worklife Bliss Did You Achieve?
Where Has “Normal” Career Planning Gotten You? How are you doing in your career? Are you where you want to be? Is everything hunky dory? Do you end every day at work glad to be alive? If every answer isn’t an enthusiastic YES! Then it’s time to do a career audit and see just how much “bliss”...
Six Sources of Burnout at Work
How can you tell the difference between being wiped out, and burnout? Paula blows our minds with this simple distinction and then helps us break down exactly WHY we're burned out so we can do something about it. Awesome post! - InPower Editors Earlier this week I spoke to a group of women...
3 Ways To Thrive During Life Changes
Have you ever lost your job? Cute quotes about making lemonade out of lemonade don't quite cut it when you get the news, do they? Dealing with change is tough, even for those of us who've practiced a lot. We really like Andria's simple rules for handling the inevitable life changes coming our way....
The Role of Dialogue in Performance Reviews
Working in low-income communities, I’ve learned that leadership and management are not only skills that increase productivity, they can and should be empowerment skills as well. Dialogue, in particular, has become my go-to strategy for empowering the people who work for me. When I use it, I...
Dear Dana Workplace Advice: Lots of Interviews, But No Job Offer!
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 been on a number of interviews and they all seem to go well. I have a number...