The Sum – Meaning of the Week: Join

The word of the week is JOIN.

As in come together.

As in take part.

As in join me for Take The Lead Day.

The first responsibility of leadership is the creation of meaning.” Warren Bennis

Welcome to The Sum, where I share my take on the meaning of sum of the week’s parts. I want your voice too. Leave comments here or @GloriaFeldt

I did something I’ve never done before. I joined those admirable ones of you who refuse to power through when you need to take time to do something for yourself instead.

You see, I’m dentally challenged. About once a year I lose a crown, inevitably when I’m supposed to stand in front of an audience and deliver a presentation. It is mortifying.

Last week I joined Take The Lead’s Leadership Ambassadors for their first ever recertification conference, beachside in Marina Del Rey CA.

Right on cue as I was getting dressed to deliver an inspiring welcome on the first morning, the offending crown popped off, leaving a visible gap. For the first time, instead of making a lame joke and feeling horribly embarrassed while speaking, I found a local dentist and spent the morning getting repaired. This required the group to rearrange the schedule for the day. Do you know what? It worked out just fine. And I felt comfortable in my own skin (and smile) again, more than a little proud I had done that for myself.

I want you to do something important for yourself. It won’t involve a dental repair. But it can change your life.

It will bring you not only inspiration and information but practical tools you can use and actions you can take to advance your career or move forward in your life’s intentions.

Yes, I mean JOIN ME and come together with thousands of other women globally for the first ever Take The Lead Day on November 14: we want you there to get the tools you need to build the future of your choice. There will be free events all around the world — it’s not too late if you want to host your own — and you can livestream the New York hub events.

If you are in the New York area, I warmly invite you to join me in person at the Helen Mills Theater for the afternoon symposium and the evening “Powertopia: Women, Power, and the Art of Leadership” performance event. Cocktail reception at 6pm, performance at 7.

I’m so excited former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios — the visionary woman behind the fight to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill — will join our New York evening Powertopia: Women, Power and the Art of Leadership lineup. Actor/activist Kathleen Turner, the fabulous musical group BETTY, performance artist Brooke Axtell, Claudia Chan, Jamia Wilson, and I will join a unique talk back conversation with you, the audience, about three provocative, smart original theater pieces brought to us by Women in The Arts.

There will be lots more surprises — but most importantly, you will be part of the action and discussion! Tickets are here: and all proceeds go to support the work we do at Take The Lead across the country.

What I saw and heard this week at events like the Women’s Media Center gala, from honorees and attendees alike (yes, that’s me with Jane Fonda whose 80th birthday we celebrated) was that women are joining together to insist they won’t be silenced any longer.

Take The Lead Day launches as women are using their voices to combat sexual assault and harassment. That is just the start of a new wave of women’s advancement. Take The Lead Day is a call for all of us, men and women together, to take action for women’s fair and equal share of leadership across all sectors for good — their own good and the good of men, women, and families everywhere.

Join us at our NYC hub in the Helen Mills Auditorium for great workshops and panels from noon to 4:30 PM November 14, and be a part of a different kind of women’s conference — one that focuses on intention and action.

The Take The Lead Day Powertopia Symposium is interactive, themed to my 9 Leadership Power Tools, and providing women with what you need now to face challenges and create the life and world we want. Here’s a quick look at a program that keeps growing!

Afternoon SYMPOSIUM: NOVEMBER 14, 2017

12:00pm — 12:30pm EST — Registration and Networking

12:40pm — 1:40pm EST — Kickoff Session: Take Action and Create a Movement — Agenda

Opening Power Panel Take Action — Create a Movement: Leadership Parity from the Living Room to the Boardroom:

Jewelle Bickford, Co-Chair, Paradigm for Parity; Rohini Dey, Owner & Founder, Vermilion; Patricia Russo, Executive Director, Women’s Campaign School at Yale University; Nathalie Molina Niño, CEO & Founder, BRAVA Investments; Gloria Feldt, President & CoFounder, Take The Lead (moderator)

1:45 — Networking & Coffee Break

2:05 (choose one)

Embrace Controversy: How to Reach Gender Parity in Tech (Panel)

Eileen Carey, Founder & CEO, Glassbreakers; Katica Roy, CEO, Pipeline Equity; Alok Kapur, Innovation Catalyst at SAP; Patricia Jerido, Leadership Ambassador, Take The Lead

Define Your Own Terms: Negotiating for What’s Important to You (Workshop)

Georgene Huang, CEO & Co-Founder, Fairygodboss

3:00 — Networking & Coffee Break

3:20 (choose one)

Wear the Shirt: Making Your Business Match Your Values (Entrepreneur Workshop);

Cheryl Najafi, Founder, Love Over H8; Carrie Hammer, Chief Role Model, Role Models Not Runway Models

Employ Every Medium: Using Your Voice Powerfully (Panel)

Natasha Alford, Deputy Editor & Digital Host, TheGrio; Michelle Herrera Mulligan, founding editor of Cosmopolitan for Latinas; Katie Orenstein, Founder and CEO, The Op Ed Project; Sarah Maslin Nir, Journalist, New York Times (moderator)

(As if that’s not enough, at Galvanize (315 Hudson Street), we’ve got Building Your Digital Brand for Entrepreneurs — it starts with getting your story straight! 10 Things You Need To Know To Build Your Brand Online presented by Joanne Tombrakos from noon-2 PM — I know, so much good stuff, how do I be in two places at once?)

Again, here’s the ticket information to join Take The Lead Day Powertopia Symposium in New York on November 14.

And here’s the link to tickets for the evening performance of Powertopia: Women, Power, and the Art of Leadership.

We’re incredibly grateful to our sponsors: Presenting Sponsor Dow Jones (stay tuned to this space because what they’ll have for our NYC hub attendees is not to be missed), Lyft(I’ll go into the plans they have in more detail next week because it is a great story), Galvanize, Women Connect4Good, loveoverh8, Glassbreakers, Everyday Dishes, New York Distilling Company, SheKnows Media, City Winery, Vermillion. You can still add your company to be among these sponsor names and declare your support of women’s leadership: here’s how.

Take The Lead Day gives you the power to change your life — join us for yourself!

TAKE THE LEAD prepares, develops, inspires and propels women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors by 2025. It’s today’s women’s movement — a unique catalyst for women to embrace power and reach leadership parity. Join us online, sign up for our newsletter and have insightful news and advice delivered weekly, and check out our Virtual Happy Hour, our leadership programs and other offerings.