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...
Women in Leadership
What Meryl Streep Can Teach Us About Mean Girl Bosses
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.,...
Reframing the Quest to “Have it All” – The Case for Worklife Equity
How did we get here? Who’s silly idea was it to “have it all?” in the first place? My mother’s generation didn’t “have it all” – or even half. Married women in my mother’s and grandmother’s generation were locked in the domestic ivory tower as queens of their homefronts, but powerless in society...
What You & An Air Force General Have in Common – The Path To Leadership
When I first met Lieutenant General Judith Fedder, I was immediately struck by her poise and presence. Then I noticed the three stars on her shoulder and wanted to know about her experience with power and leadership as one of the most senior ranking women in the military. She was very open and...
Iron Man vs. Athena for CEO – Leadership Battle of the Sexes?
I recently saw Iron Man III with my family and it was a good time. Bad guys. Good guys. Destruction. Even a humble pie big enough to go around. As I enjoyed the pyrotechnics and good-guy triumph, however, I was reminded of how completely our comic books reinforce the most unhelpful of bad boy...
Replacing Tropes for Mentoring Women with the Truths They Deserve
Mentoring Women Key Takeaways: Mentorship Must Evolve: Traditional mentoring advice often perpetuates outdated gender tropes that hinder women's leadership potential. Mentors need to update their guidance to reflect current workplace realities. Unconscious Bias is Pervasive: Mentors can...
5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Company – Leadership Right Now
In recognition of the fact that a company with women in roughly 30% of its leadership tend to produce healthier and stronger performing companies, there are lots of good programs out there trying to help women. But should we really wait for HR to come up with a great program?
Seriously – it’s not about the special programs. It’s about you and me and what we do every day to create the culture we live in – and to create a culture that welcomes the gifts women bring into the leadership ranks. Culture is created by the behaviors we tolerate and those we don’t. This doesn’t just apply to women.
Men and women both bear responsibility for helping lead their companies and create a strong culture – no matter what their title is.
Personally what can we do?
Newest Research on Women in Leadership (Sept. ’22)
I’ve been tracking research on women in leadership for over a decade now. It started when I first began coaching and wanted to get smart on leadership in general. I kept coming across intriguing articles on the good impacts women had on organizations when they were in leadership positions. The...
Do Hard: The Most Important Mentoring Tips For Women In Leadership
Much is written about how few women make it into the top leadership positions. The reasons are complex and multilayered, so there is much to write. But I consistently find several mentoring tips for women both maximally effective and minimally understood when I talk to women pursuing leadership...
Women’s History Month: Do We Need Power to Make A Difference?
I’m posting this in celebration of Women’s History Month, 2022, but I’ve been thinking about it for decades. History months always make me ponder what it takes to “make history” and it seems that historical figures need to check two boxes to make it into this rarefied, if sometimes stuffy, air: Do...