Happy/Not Happy Fifth of July: The Case for Action

Issue 234 — July 5, 2023

Happy Fifth of July. It’s National Bikini Day in case you hadn’t noticed. And National Graham Cracker Day (who makes these things up?).

I needed that moment of levity coming off a Fourth of July that was tinged with anger, sadness, and a new resolve, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last week eviscerating academic affirmative action precedents. Best selling author of The Memo and Right Within Minda Harts called it a sucker punch in her LinkedIn Post responding to the ruling.

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Power Over vs. Power TO — Finally, It’s A Recognized Thing

Issue 233 — June 26, 2023

I took a class in Tai Chi last weekend. The teacher started by describing the practice as “intentional movement.”

Intentional movement is a useful framework for thinking about one’s own behavior as a leader and for interpreting or attempting to interpret the behavior of other leaders.

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How About We Solve a Problem Instead of Admiring It? Building a Solution-Focused Mindset

Issue 232 — June 19, 2023

I often quote Mellody Hobson, President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, in my speeches and training. She said, “We have admired the problem long enough.”

I don’t remember what she was referring to but to me this wry comment applies to every injustice people face, every complaint we may have even if it is fully warranted. We can spout data about how awful this is and how discriminatory that is, but until we are willing to roll up our sleeves and take action, we’re just “admiring the problem” and failing to get to the solutions.

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From Mass Disruption to Critical Mass of Progress: Lead YOUR Intention

Issue 231 - June 12, 2023

Are you ready for the 2023 Power Up Concert and Conference, as always on Women’s Equality Day August 26? Learn about it and get your super early bird tickets here.
I am excited to invite you to join in this pivotal moment to seize opportunities in the wake of pandemic recovery. The last 3 years have exacerbated disparities and revealed fault lines in our culture. The time to advance racial and gender parity in leadership is now.

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What’s Tina Got to Do With Women’s Leadership?

Issue 230 — May 28, 2023

Back in the day, a friend of mine used to say that she wanted to BE Tina Turner.

As the tributes flowed following Turner’s death on May 24 at 83, it was obvious that she had an equally significant impact on countless people around the world. (In Australia, the whole country stopped to dance to “Nutbush City Limits.”)

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Pivotal Moments: Why Gender Equality in Leadership Is Coming

Issue 229 — May 22, 2023

My grandmother was a Bolshevik.

Grandmother Rose was anything but revolutionary by the time she was my primary caregiver during my preschool years in Temple, Texas. She came to America in 1920 to marry her fiancée from their home town in Lithuania, had two children, and learned to play domestic arts like the other traditional housewives in the neighborhood.

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Will Your Future as a Leader Be Determined by ChatGPT?

Issue 228 — May 8, 2023

We got a cool tutorial in ChatGPT and Open AI from Marisa Hambleton, a participant in Take The Lead’s Intentioning Leadership Mastermind Series last week. I love learning about new technologies that are being employed to work better, faster, and more creatively.

The big question is, will the new applications of AI and in particular, ChatGPT, enable us to be faster, more creative problem solvers? And more specifically, how will it affect each of us individually and women’s advancement into and up through leadership roles?

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