Every business is essentially a people business and a marketing business. Dynamic, and often unpredictable. Many studies show that effective leaders are both humble and bold. They improve the performance of their companies in the short and long run because they create more collaborative environments where ideas are cultivated.
They have a balanced view of themselves – both their strengths and shortcomings — and a strong appreciation of others’ strengths and contributions. They are open to new ideas and feedback.
Do you understand the strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies that propel you in your work and life? As simple as it sounds, when you know yourself better, you will discover how to cultivate the best in yourself and others. You’ll know when to collaborate, delegate, and negotiate.
Here are strategies to grow your leadership acumen.
One of the most challenging, and often complex decisions I’ve had to make in my career is whether it’s time to move on from a job that is frustrating or to stay put. You’ve probably been at the same crossroad. The decision is even harder when you love some aspects of your job while others…
Gayle Wilson – A Passion for Science and Education From Community to the Boardroom. A lot has been written about the lack of women, and women leaders in the fields of science and technology. As many seek to address this problem, the question becomes, What are the critical factors that will unleash more roles for…
Want to know a powerful way to achieve your goals? Implement the best morning routine for your unique needs. It will transform everything. As we head into the last weeks of Summer here in the U.S., many of us are renewed and refreshed from either a vacation, break, or at least a relaxed routine. If…
“For too many women, the hardest part of being successful might be taking credit for the work that they do, especially when they work in groups.” – Kay Steiger, The Atlantic. We’re becoming mind numbingly familiar with study after study that highlights two facts about women in business: Companies with more women in leadership do…
“How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” – Ernest Hemingway Success happens the same way – gradually, then suddenly. There are no quick wins in your business or leadership development. It takes years of work, setbacks, and even reinventions to achieve the success you imagine. It happens one step and one day at…
Women’s History Month is an annual declared month (celebrated during March) that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Photo credit via Philadelphia University In 1980 President Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring that the week of March 8 be National Women’s History Week. This week is celebrated annually:…
To live the life we imagine, we are advised to find the courage to “dare greatly.” In one of the boldest moves of my life, I found courage from a quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world…indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”…
Kindness may be one of the least appreciated leadership qualities. Studies show that kindness benefits not only the receiver, but the giver, whether these are companies or people. Companies that value kindness have lower turnover on their teams, lower recruitment costs, and higher productivity. Kind people are healthier and happier. Kindness is expressed in compassion, generosity,…
Asking questions is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to advance your leadership skills and connect with your team. Questions challenge assumptions and encourage us to reach beyond what we think we already know. Good questions lead to innovative products and solutions. Questions build trust. As children, we ask questions easily and often.…
As a one-time customer of Yahoo!, I was staggered to learn that the biggest data breach in history occurred three years after 500 million to one billion Yahoo! customers had their information stolen. How could the company justify the delay in notification? What role did the board have in deciding when to communicate with customers,…
This post first appeared on Women 2.0, a community-driven media brand designed for aspiring and current innovators in technology. If one of your career goals is to serve on a board of directors, good for you! Board service is an exceptional opportunity to contribute your strengths to a worthy cause. It will allow you to grow…
Happy new year and I hope you are off to a wonderful and productive start! My goal has always been to provide you with valuable guidance on how to take small, incremental steps to advance in your career and achieve a life of success and happiness. As we jump into the new year, I’m eager…
This article was originally featured on Business Woman Media – The website for ambitious women who seriously want to succeed in business and the corporate world. Some business leaders seem to have a gift for continually generating creative ideas. Consider Sara Blakely, whose innovative, original Spanx product later spawned dozens of other products for her company (not…
With the holidays just around the corner, and Thanksgiving next week here in the U.S., this time of the year can be especially stressful. Your company aims to finish the final quarter of 2016 strong, you may be busy booking holiday travel and coordinating gatherings with friends and family, or spending time driving your kids…
This article was recently featured on Entrepreneur.com! At one time or another, every one of us will experience the aggravation of working with someone who should be fired. Often, the people in question are managers or co-workers who are apathetic and unmotivated, or perhaps they erode the culture through gossip or dishonesty. They complain instead of finding…
Are you looking for constant inspiration and daily, bite-sized doses of advice to help develop your leadership skills? Your Twitter feed can deliver that shot in the arm you need. If only there wasn’t so much content to scroll through! Well, not to worry. I’ve discovered a handful of leaders whose words will stoke the fires of…
Talent is the key element, because it solves all other problems. So observed Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach America and CEO of Teach For All. Throughout my career as an entrepreneur, I’ve seen this firsthand as I’ve worked side-by-side with talented professionals with excellent leadership skills. And my experience has been varied and extensive: I co-founded…
This was a guest post I recently wrote for Entrepreneur.com I was a veteran of several startups long before I became a parent. And I continued to invest in and found startups after I became a mother. It’s a different juggle now. Before I had kids, I could literally work nearly round the clock, seven days a…
This article is featured in the Pocket Mentor mobile app — Providing leaders with daily advice to grow themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Start your free one week trial today! Think about the people in your life that you truly admire, or people from your past that you have looked up to. Consider why you hold…
This article is featured in the Pocket Mentor mobile app — Providing leaders with daily advice to grow themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Start your free one week trial today! You are the most powerful influencer in your success. One summer, one of our teenage sons attended the 5-day Duke University basketball camp under the tutelage…
This article is featured in the Pocket Mentor mobile app — Providing leaders with daily advice to grow themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Start your free trial today! You are happier when you are making progress toward your career goals. You know this, and decades of research confirms it. Whether you are the CEO of a company, an…
This article is featured in the Pocket Mentor mobile app — Providing leaders with daily advice to grow themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Start your free trial today! In work and life, people are the most valuable, important, appreciable asset. Make the effort to get to know your team all along the career ladder – both…
This article is featured in the Pocket Mentor mobile app — Providing leaders with daily advice to grow themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Start your free trial today! Consider the people you admire. Without exception, they achieved their success by making daily choices. Some of those choices are extraordinary, but most of them are simple habits…
This article is featured in the Pocket Mentor mobile app — Providing leaders with daily advice to grow themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Start your free trial today! For even more tips on how to advance in your career and effectively communicate, download my free giveaway, 7 Secrets To Highly Effective Communications. “You gain strength, courage and confidence…
Recent research has shown that leaders are more successful when they get enough sleep. In fact, there’s a direct link between productivity, happiness, and adequate sleep. Are you getting enough? If not, find a routine that works for you. Some research suggests that 7 to 8 hours are healthy for most people. A few suggestions:…
Not all important things are created equally. When it comes to prioritization, some things are more important than others. You will be frustrated, discouraged, and ineffective if you try to do everything all at once. How can you ensure that you and your team are optimizing your time and getting the right things done every…
If you’re like most of the people who write to me from around the world, you aspire to excellence in your work and life and want to learn how to be successful. You recognize that you are a leader and you want to grow in your leadership roles. Many of the articles I write for…
(For even more tips on how to be successful and effectively communicate, download my free giveaway, 7 Secrets To Highly Effective Communications.) Unlike any Presidential campaign in my recent memory, this year’s election season has generated a lot of uncertainty about our future here in the good ol’ USA. Americans have long been known for our…
This post originally appeared on SUCCESS Magazine – I am delighted that my guest article received over 16,000 shares! There’s no such thing as an overnight success. All the successful people you admire achieved their success by making daily choices. Some of those choices are extraordinary, but most of them are simple habits that add up,…
Want to know the simple, most powerful way to achieve your goals? Tweak your morning routine. It will transform everything. I’m not talking about just getting things done. I’m saying you can have a morning routine that gives you energy, motivation, and momentum to achieve your goals and have the positive impact you want to have.…
You know more than you think, and can contribute more than you know. This is one of my favorite observations and a fact that people often forget, especially in the tough times of waiting for a successful outcome. In today’s weekly post, I’m sharing my recent articles (and several from some of my favorite authors)…
(This post originally appeared on Business Insider) Legendary CEO Lee Iacocca says, “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” Recently, Business Insider asked me to write an article with advice on how to solve this problem. This topic must have struck a chord, as my…
Welcome to the Mentoring Minute™ series. Each week, I’ll answer a reader question and provide at least one great idea on succeeding at work, winning at life, and enjoying it. Have you recently moved to a new level of leadership? Perhaps you’ve moved from the C-Suite to CEO, from CEO to board member, from director to VP, manager…
“For too many women, the hardest part of being successful might be taking credit for the work that they do, especially when they work in groups.” – Kay Steiger, The Atlantic. We’re becoming mind numbingly familiar with study after study that highlights two facts about women in business: Companies with more women in leadership do…
Have you recently moved to a new level of leadership? Perhaps you’ve moved from the C-Suite to CEO, from CEO to board member, from director to VP, manager to director, or from colleague to first-time supervisor. Or maybe you would dearly love to move to the next level of leadership and but are frustrated…
One of these will transform you today. In my mobile app, Pocket Mentor, a daily guide that helps leaders avoid pitfalls and seize opportunities, I share road-tested advice, been there done that expertise, and cutting edge research that helps leaders grow every day. Peppered throughout are quotations that have inspired me as I’ve launched my…
Recently, several readers have written in about challenges at work. Their team isn’t following through as they had hoped. Or their CEO is sending mixed messages. So many of our challenges boil down to communication failures or snafus. Misunderstandings fester and grow. And while many problems emerge from poor communications, many solutions are readily available…
For more tips on how to communicate effectively, download my free guide, 7 Secrets To Highly Effective Communications Have you noticed that most of the leaders who have influenced you and the ones you admire most are likable? I don’t mean likable in the sense of a high school popularity contest. I mean they have…
For more tips on how to communicate effectively, download my free guide, 7 Secrets To Highly Effective Communications It’s simply impossible to successfully lead – people, teams, or projects – without knowing how to communicate effectively. Some of the “problems” we continue to encounter as leaders day after day originate because of a failure in…
For more tips on how to communicate effectively, download my free guide, 7 Secrets To Highly Effective Communications When reflecting on your recent communications, have you experienced any of the following? There was disconnect between what you said you wanted from your team and what they delivered. You were denied a promotion that you deserved (and…
“How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” – Ernest Hemingway Success happens the same way – gradually, then suddenly. There are no quick wins in your business or career development. It takes years of work, setbacks, and even reinventions to achieve the success you imagine. It happens one step and one day…
You are the most powerful influencer in your success in work and life. As we head into the final weeks of this year, we inevitably think of successes and setbacks; of lessons learned in the previous twelve months. We consider these as we make plans and set goals for the coming year. As I look…
A Twitter follower recently asked, “Isn’t the point of mentorship personal interaction?” I’m glad she asked the question because she does have part of it right; having a mentor who interacts with you regularly through one-on-one meetings — where she or he listens and advises and where she or he offers to make introductions and…
This post first appeared on the Women 2.0, a community-driven media brand designed for aspiring and current innovators in technology. This article also appeared on Inc.com. What’s the secret to success? Sorry to break the news, but there’s no magic formula. Even so, you’ll find a few common leadership qualities the best leaders in any field share.…
“When is the last time you confronted someone at work or at home about his or her behavior and ended the conversation having enriched the relationship?” Communications expert Susan Scott asks this in her book, Fierce Conversations. This intriguing question suggests the very real notion that it is possible to both confront and enrich at…
Are you feeling stressed because there’s just too much on your plate? Do you wonder if you’ve taken on too many projects at work, home, in your community – or all of them combined? It’s flattering when new opportunities or requests for help come your way. It says a lot of good things about you…
How do I advance in my career and find work I love and am good at? More than that, as I advance in my career, how do I increase my impact, influence, and rewards? Those are among the most asked questions from professional women that I hear through my blog, speaking events, and mentoring.…
“Strive to be that rare individual who labors to serve others and what will you have? Little competition.” – Andrew Carnegie I didn’t always understand the importance of cultivating relationships at work. Although I love people and am extroverted, I was often found in the early days of my career giving into perfectionism. I was so focused…
If you are itching to move up, to take on more responsibility and earn more income, that says so many good things about you! You’re motivated, want to add value, want to learn, grow, and take some risks, make a greater impact, achieve more influence, and earn more rewards. You have already distinguished yourself from…
Success is 15 percent due to professional knowledge and 85 percent due to “the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people.” Dale Carnegie said this 78 years ago, yet all of us know what research reveals: That many leaders or aspiring leaders miss the mark on communicating ideas that…
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, your life has long been calibrated on the school year calendar – it jumpstarts in September. For millions of us, September has always been a time of new beginnings, new opportunities, new demands, and renewed energy. It’s the ideal time to take stock on what’s important to…
Ever wonder why some of your dreams go unfulfilled? Do you daydream about writing a book, taking an exotic trip, or starting a business, but stall out? Have you started a project that’s really important to you, but never finished? You may have hit a wall called Resistance – and learning to move past it…
This article was originally published on the Pocket Mentor mobile app – start your free trial today! When it comes to your personal development, one of the most important questions you can ask yourself is, “What are my strengths?” Knowing them is essential to satisfaction in your work and life, and to accelerating your success.…
This article I wrote was recently featured in Take the Lead – hope you enjoy it! We were born for reinvention—to remake our lives, to bring back and revive our true purpose and potential. We are here to be changed and to make change, not remain static. The path to reinvention can take many forms—from listening to an…
“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” – Napolean Hill, best-selling author, Presidential advisor Think about the power of your words today. In face-to-face conversations, on the phone, in emails, on social media, at meetings – what will your…
Questions are the secret sauce that lead to big and small successes in your career development. Asking questions can be a pivotal tool in accelerating your trajectory to achieve the impact, influence, and rewards you want. Questions ignite new paths of thinking, challenge assumptions, and encourage us to reach beyond what we think we already…
At one time or another, every one of us will know the burn of working with someone who should be fired. These are co-workers who are lazy or unmotivated. They erode the culture through gossip or dishonesty. They complain instead of finding solutions. They refuse to learn and don’t take direction well. They have anger…
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, … ‘I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Those powerful words of wisdom were written by…
It’s Commencement Season! You have friends or family who have achieved one huge goal and and are entering into the next big thing in their lives. Many of them will endure really dull commencement speeches. Others will hear powerful words they’ll never forget. I wish I could remember who gave the Commencement Speech or what…
A savvy young woman who is an ad agency video producer recently told me her boss’s management style and stress was negatively impacting her work. We’ve all had “bad” boss experiences – someone who is difficult or ineffective – occasionally, even abusive. Maybe you have one now. A lot has been written about “toxic” people. …
Shonda Rhimes recently challenged Dartmouth grads, “Dreams are for losers, be a doer not a dreamer – it’s hard work that makes things happen!” That sounds a bit harsh, but she got their attention! A lot of people get stuck not because they don’t dream – but because they don’t DO. Did you set audacious…
The impactful people we admire from business leaders like Sheryl Sandberg and Oprah Winfrey, to social entrepreneurs like Chris Underwood, founder of Basic Needs, owe as much of their success to “doing the ordinary thing extraordinarily well” than daring to have a big idea. One day at a time, they made simple, ordinary choices that…
Quick, tell me the top 5 things you’re good at. What are the 3 most valuable traits you bring to your company? Can’t do it? I’ll bet you can tell me what you’re not good at. Many of us spend more time focused on (and trying to fix) what we’re not good at, instead of…
To live the life we imagine, we are advised to find the courage to “dare greatly”. In one of the boldest moves of my life, I found courage from a quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world…indeed it is the only thing that ever has.…
It’s not supposed to be that hard to find out. And, our purpose isn’t always elsewhere – we may just need to dig deeper into the life we already have – the latter point wisely made recently by Glennon Doyle Melton. How many times have you, (or someone you know) said, “I don’t know what…
Suddenly, the “magic” of “tidying up” has struck a chord with millions. In just four months, 2 million copies of Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up have sold.
One thing is clear – many people long to do something that seems simple – de-clutter, get organized, and enjoy transformation.
It resonates because all of us know we have a constant need to de-clutter our external spaces.
But I believe that our internal spaces must be given the same level of respect and diligent attention as the external spaces. These include our perspectives, attitudes and personal direction at work and in our careers.
Questions are the secret sauce that leads to big and small successes. Over the years, I’ve led, advised, and mentored hundreds of people. Most of the time, people want to know how to wrestle with a challenge or perplexing problem at work. Often, they are in a hurry. That is how I spent a great…
Want to know the simple, most powerful way to achieve your goals and New Year’s resolutions? Tweak your morning routine. It will transform everything. I’m not talking about just getting things done. I’m saying you can have a morning routine that gives you energy, motivation, and momentum to achieve your goals, and have the positive impact you…
“When you write down a goal, you’ll observe things happening that will make that objective more likely to materialize.” – Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert What would you like to see happen in your career this year? What would you like to do; to accomplish? What good would you like to do in the…
As a working Mom whose job was to lead a global marketing group in a high growth tech company, I had a lot on my plate. It was a unique time – my husband (fellow co-founder, and CEO of the co) was traveling most of the time – we agreed this was manageable for awhile.
The emails you write are either helping you move forward and standout, tread water, or worse, an email can diminish your reputation, or embarass you, as the hacked emails from Sony Pictures revealed. Think about it. If you’re like most people you write hundreds (or more) emails each week. Yet most of us believe that…
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