The Sum
King’s Less-Known Speech Teaches 3 Leadership Lessons We Can All Use Now
Issue 218 — January 16, 2023
January 16, 2023: The nation celebrates the birthday of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King today.
For many, the holiday acknowledging Dr. King’s transformational significance in American History has become primarily a welcome long weekend off from work. For others, it’s the opportunity to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy in secular and religious settings, as President Joe Biden did at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where King had been the pastor.
Read MoreWhat Energy Are You NOT Bringing Into 2023? (And Other Questions About Your Future History)
Issue 217 — January 9, 2023
Last week, I quoted Alicia Keys who asked the great question on social media:
“What energy are u bringing into this year?”
What was your answer?
Read MoreBring Gloria to Speak at Your Women’s History Month Event
Bring Gloria Feldt to speak to your women’s ERG, DEI program, or the entire organization during Women’s History Month
Read MoreHow Will You Answer Alicia Keys’ Most Powerful Question?
Issue 216 — January 2, 2023
Alicia Keys — yes THAT Alicia Keys — and yes I follow her on all social media — asked this New Year question on social media, and I love it:
“What energy are u bringing into this year?”
Read MoreI Wish My Mother Had Taken Mackenzie Scott’s Advice
Issue 215 — December 19, 2022
My mother’s Wedgewood Bone china and Tiffany crystal wine, water, and cordial glasses glisten in the hutch I bought, where they could be not just stored but seen.
Mother had kept them packed away for many years. Why? Because she was “saving them for nice,” as she put it.
Read MoreAre You the One Who Sent The $2000 Check?
Issue 211 — November 21, 2022
If you sent that check — it came last week without information as to the donor — to Take The Lead, thank you! This post will be published to coincide with Giving Tuesday so whoever you are, your timing could not be more perfect.
Read MoreHow Nancy Pelosi Aced the 4 P’s of Political Leadership: Power, Presence, Platform, and Perseverance
Issue 211 — November 21, 2022
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi gave the best speech of her political life on November 17, when after the 2022 midterm elections, she announced she would remain in Congress but would not run for Minority Leader again in January when the new Congress convenes.
Read MoreSix (Nonpartisan) Leadership Lessons from the 2022 Elections
Issue 210 — November 14, 2022
I believe so strongly that #votingisleadership that I created a hashtag for it. Civic engagement is in my view a critical part of leadership. We are all shaped by our communities and so must be part of shaping them.
Politics, as political scientist Walter Truett Anderson defined it, is the clash of uncertainties from which social realities are constructed.
Goodness knows that several big uncertainties in the cultural zeitgeist are clashing.
Read MoreIs There a Place For Us? Only #Whenweallvote
Issue 209 — November 7, 2022
Voting is a form of leadership. My grandparents, who were immigrants and entrepreneurs, taught me that everyone has an obligation to participate in the community. If you have not already cast your vote in the crucial midterm elections, here is where you can go to make sure your vote counts, where and how to vote in your state, and information about where candidates stand on issues of concern to you. Here is an easy to use resource to find out what is on the ballot where you vote, how to get help if you experience a problem casting your vote, and more.
Read MoreHow Do You Go from Grief to Joy?
How do you go from grief to joy?
This week I write about how the examples of recent moments of communal grief–the 21st anniversary of 9/11 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II—can inform us as we grapple with personal grief. And I share a phone call that helped me process my grief by creating a lasting legacy in memory of my husband, and the resulting joy. Read the full story here…
Read More