Posts Tagged ‘Gloria Feldt’
Leadership Development Power Tool Breakout Sessions
No Excuses is now a workshop too!
I had the pleasure of keynoting the Leadership and Business Development Workshop sponsored by Valley Leadership and the ASU Alumni Association in Scottsdale, February 9, 2011.
After the keynote, I moderated a panel of local leaders, Luz Sarmina, Carol Poore, and Jessica Pacheco for the enthusiastic, sold-out audience that packed the room. Then participants broke into smaller groups where they talked the nitty gritty–specific and practical ways to apply the 9 Ways power tools in their own work and lives–and received peer coaching. It made my heart sing that two women announced their intent to run for office, while many others talked about how the power tools would help them expand their businesses or careers within their organizations, write books, or start nonprofits.
This post’s comments below are facilitator notes from a breakout session.
I was very excited to apply No Excuses ideas in a workshop format and thank the conference committee, Rebecca Kennell, Jan Miller, and Tammy Bosse, for organizing an amazing, inspiring event.
If you’d like to create a No Excuses workshop for your professional or community group, contact me here. I am fired up to share the 9 Ways power tools with you!
PS. Here’s what people said about the workshop: “It was truly inspiring to see that all the answers were really in the room. By you opening the dialogue and spurring the conversation important topics came forward and great resources were given to them. I heard from both facilitators and participants that during the breakout session they were able to see their challenges more clearly and a road forward.”
Read MoreVideo: Women, Power, Media, Politics Panel Leaves Questions Unanswered
Yesterday the New York Times reported that women constitute a mere 13% of Wikipedia editors. This is a completely self-selected effort. No closed doors, no glass ceilings.
What’s the problem? There are no excuses, though many reasons remain for this disparity–not unlike the behaviors of women in politics (or not), in business, and women in top media positions.
I had the opportunity to moderate (if one can call it that) a panel of fabulous women at the 92Y Sunday 1/23. It was icy outside but The Nation columnist Katha Pollitt, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY 18), and Rebecca Traister, author of the Big Girls Don’t Cry, warmed things up quickly inside.
Read MoreIn AZ? Get All 9 Ways at Once at Valley Leadership/ASU Event!
I’m excited to turn No Excuses into a whole workshop that will inspire and give participants a power tune up. Chock full of practical tips and tools for leaders, “Unlock Your Unlimited Potential” on Thursday, February 9, at ASU Sky Song is sponsored by Valley Leadership and the ASU Alumni Association, and cosponsored by a whole raft of community leader businesses and nonprofit organizations. Check out the full program below and sign up to attend here:
Women, Power & Politics at 92nd Street Y
On January 23, 2011, I moderated a panel discussion about “Women, Power and Politics” at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. The panelists included Katha Pollitt, Nita Lowey and Rebecca Traister.
For more audience reactions to the event, check out these stories from Huffington Post, Jezebel, and Feministing.
Read More5 Tips to Carpe the Chaos and Thrive
NAFE, the National Association of Female Executives asked me to write a “Five Tips” article for their latest newsletter.
I chose to write about 5 tips for using chaos as opportunity, or as I’ve put it in No Excuses power tool #5: Carpe the Chaos. I recently spoke on this topic to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Women’s Roundtable and the International Museum of Women. In my experience as a leader, it’s a useful concept that got me through tough times when many people thought there was no way to succeed.
There IS always a way, and it really helps to see the opportunity when others see only negativity in change and chaos! Here’s the post:
Gloria Feldt’s No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power has stood near the top of Amazon’s leadership booklist since it was published last October. A teen mom who became CEO of the world’s largest reproductive health provider and advocacy organization, Gloria learned leadership on the job. Now she’s a sought-after speaker, author, and consultant. Here are her tips on how to turn chaos into opportunity:
1. Think positive. Be like Monty Python: Always look at the bright side of life. You might as well. Chaos is inevitable because change is inevitable. And whoever is most comfortable with the ambiguity change creates is most likely to thrive, not just survive.
Read MoreHow Can Women Reach Political Parity in a Chaotic Time?
You know I believe chaos is opportunity. But are women carpe-ing the chaos? With all those groups helping women run for office, why aren’t we moving the dial toward political parity faster? At the rate we’re going, it’ll take us 70 years to get there. And even if we do, will it be a plus or a cruel joke if, say, Michelle Bachmann becomes the first woman president? Isn’t it time for progressive women to come out of the closet and acknowledge that a women’s agenda is more important than her gender?
I’m excited to have a chance to ask questions like these about women, power, media, and politics of three of the most politically savvy women I know at the 92Y in New York this coming Sunday night 1/23, at 7:30 pm. You are most cordially invited.
Read MoreWomen, Power, Media and Political Leadership at American University
My speaking engagement at American University on January 13, 2011 featured a powerhouse panel of women: Journalist, Amanda Hess; Political Strategist, Karen Finney; Women & Politics Institute Director, Jennifer L. Lawless; and Congresswoman Terri Sewell joined me in a discussion about women, power, the media, and political leadership. A full transcript of the event, including the question and answer session, is available at Sociable Susan Magazine. Photo credits: Susan Majek.
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| Introducing the panel and providing a context for our discussion. | Congresswoman Terri Sewell as Jennifer Lawless tells her story. |
Power Tool #9: Tell Your Story
“Stories are medicine for our false isolation. A way to forge connection and community and help shift our course . . . the seed forms of culture we carry around within us.” ~Nina Simons, founder of Bioneers
Your story is your power and your truth.
My friend, the master storyteller and storytelling teacher Laura Simms, sees stories as a path to healing oneself and the world. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, told a story that changed how Americans thought about slavery and intensified support for abolition. It became the second best-selling book of the Nineteenth Century, behind only the Bible, itself a collection of stories.
In fact, throughout the writing of No Excuses and on the 9 Ways Blog, I’ve been most inspired by the stories of women, and men. They have moved me, mentored me, and taught me. I hopes their stories do the same for you when you read them.
Read MorePower Tool #9: Tell Your Story
“Stories are medicine for our false isolation. A way to forge connection and community and help shift our course . . . the seed forms of culture we carry around within us.” ~Nina Simons, founder of Bioneers
Your story is your power and your truth.
My friend, the master storyteller and storytelling teacher Laura Simms, sees stories as a path to healing oneself and the world. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, told a story that changed how Americans thought about slavery and intensified support for abolition. It became the second best-selling book of the Nineteenth Century, behind only the Bible, itself a collection of stories.
In fact, throughout the writing of No Excuses and on the 9 Ways Blog, I’ve been most inspired by the stories of women, and men. They have moved me, mentored me, and taught me. I hopes their stories do the same for you when you read them.
I’ve told my own life story so often I am sometimes bored with it, but it is always what people are most interested in, no matter what other substantive content I might think I prefer to impart.
- What stories do you tell yourself about yourself? How do they enhance or limit you?
- What story would you like to share with us today? Please do!
- How have stories moved you to take action at work, in politics, or in your personal life?
Wear the Shirt Contest Winner!
Shannon Drury of The Radical Housewife is the lucky winner of my Wear the Shirt contest. Thanks to my stellar team of interns, Gabrielle Korn and Dior Vargas for making the selection, because I love all of the photos. But I guess the rule that one should never try to compete against a small child still holds, and Shannon’s exuberant daughter Miriam in her shirt proclaiming “Feminism runs in our family” won the day.
Shannon is a writer, an at-home parent, and a community activist who has been blogging about parenthood and politics since 2006. She is a prime example of Power Tool #8: Employ Every Medium. The accessibility of blogging and social media has truly changed the political landscape by making it possible for everyone to speak at the same decibel level. Shannon writes about gender, politics, and parenting, among other topics. I’ll be sending a set of my four signed books to Shannon, and maybe Miriam will read them, too, in a few years.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. You can view the complete slide show of all the entries here.
And by the way, though this contest is over, don’t hesitate to send me more photos of you in shirts that proclaim your convictions. I’ll keep posting them and I am sure readers of this blog will keep enjoying them. Most important, keep wearing them!
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