The Sum
Three Steps to Help Company Culture Change for the Better in the #MeToo Era
Issue 70 — October 14, 2018 I tuned in to the re-upped ”Murphy Brown” episode parodying sexual harassment training for the newsroom staff. The very idea of getting “trained in sexual harassment” is evidence of language fail and fodder for a humorous show tackling a serious topic. The trainer was priggish; the participants ranged from uninterested to downright hostile.…
Read MoreOne Year After #metoo, How to Teach the Next Generation of Girls
Issue 69 — October 6, 2018 When I was in junior high school, I took ballroom dancing. The teacher, a woman, told us that if a misstep was made, it was always the girl’s fault. While I know now that is not true and I would tell anyone it’s a ridiculously sexist idea, the fact that it remains seared…
Read MoreThe Enemy in Your Head: How Implicit Bias Shaped Kavanaugh’s and Blasey Ford’s Testimony — and…
Issue 68— September 30, 2018 He yelled; she calmly measured her words. He displayed raw anger; she acknowledged being terrified. A furious and often aggressive Brett Kavanaugh pushed back hard on questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee. At times he deflected their questions entirely, never stating unequivocally whether he wanted an FBI investigation of the facts and…
Read MoreWhy I Love Controversy (and You Should Too) — Leadership Power Tool #4
Why I Love Controversy (and You Should Too) — Leadership Power Tool #4 Issue 67 — September 23, 2018 The country is embroiled in a major controversy. The makeup of the US Supreme Court is at stake, and with it the future of our country. Perhaps who or what we will be as a culture for the next generation will be…
Read MoreSistering: How Mutual Support Gives Female Philanthropists the Courage to Draw a Bigger Circle
Stacey Engle, VP for Marketing at Fierce and I shared our respective programs helping people have those difficult workplace conversations. Issue 66 — September 17, 2018 Women like to do things together. Nowhere is this more evident than in philanthropy where women’s giving circles and organizations large and small are making ripples, waves, and sometimes sea changes with…
Read MoreSerena For President
Issue 65 — September 9, 2018 I’m not a tennis player. Want to know why? I’ll reveal that in a bit. Right now I am obsessed with Serena Williams for so many reasons. First, it was the flap about her catsuit and then her tutu. But now, all things Serena have ratcheted up to the point that if anyone…
Read MoreWhat to Wear to Work: Serena’s Tutu, Kyrsten’s Shoes, and Why I Wear Red
Issue 64 — September 2, 2018 After the third interview request in a week’s time asking me to comment on what constitutes appropriate work attire for women, I finally realized the cosmic importance of the question. The wry humor in tennis great Serena Williams’ frilly tutu following on the heels of the flap about her stern black catsuit…
Read MoreLet’s Disrupt Women’s Equality Day
Issue 63 — August 26, 2018 Hold onto Bella’s hat, mind Alice’s admonition, and follow Sojourner’s truth. It’s Women’s Equality Day again. Again. August 26. First so designated by the 1971 legislative initiative of the inimitable NY Congresswoman Bella Abzug to commemorate the date on which the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote officially became the law…
Read MoreHow did you get to be you? 3 Aspects Shared by Women Leaders
Stop. Before you read further, take one minute to answer this for yourself. How did you get to be you? That’s the first question I ask guests on Take The Lead’s Virtual Happy Hours. It’s eternally interesting to hear women’s stories. Each is unique. But a common thread runs through the answers given by the amazing,…
Read MoreWhat Color Were Dorothy’s Shoes?
The book that taught me I could be a leader On this day, August 12, in 1939, the film version of L. Frank Baum’s classic book The Wizard of Oz premiered in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin of all places. The unlikely location for a premier was chosen in part because the studio was concerned it would be a flop.…
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