Archive for category Women In Leadership
Activating The Woman Effect
Posted by Dana Theus in InPower Leadership, Reclaimed!, Women In Leadership on February 1, 2012
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
This last year blogging here on Reclaiming Leadership has been fun and fascinating. Along the way I found myself speaking to and with wonderful, powerful women. And I’ve also been having fun blogging on women’s web sites, like Blogher, The Glass Hammer, Success in the City and Owning Pink. But I wanted to have a place of my own to speak to women about the trends I see from reading the leadership research that many women – heads down in their career – don’t get a chance to see. So I’m starting a new leadership and professional development blog and website for powerful, high-achieving women.
Here’s my opening play: The Woman Effect (1:48 min video).
Thanks for all of you who have friended, followed, commented, discussed and debated with me over the last year. I’ve never had so much professional fun in my life and it’s only getting better!
What if Self-promotion is a Gender-Neutral Leadership Skill?
Posted by Dana Theus in InPower Leadership, Women In Leadership on January 11, 2012
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
Sometimes true wisdom hides behind sensational headlines. I often think this when I read gender wars articles; you know, the ones that toss the sexes in the ring?
Here’s my latest beef: Women need to self-promote to make more money. (Forbes Woman , Catalyst Inc.)
So apparently women suck at self-promotion. Is that the deepest wisdom here?
I’m not arguing the data, but rather the interpretation.
True Leadership is Gender Neutral Read the rest of this entry »
Work-Life Baloney
Posted by Dana Theus in InPower Leadership, Women In Leadership on November 10, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
A constant discussion topic among every professional woman I know – and no small number of men – used to be work-life balance. We judged ourselves and each other harshly when it came to our skill in balancing. In our 20’s it was secondary; in our 30’s it was a conundrum; and in our 40’s we made whatever adjustments were necessary and lived with the consequences as our careers developed and families expanded.
Most of us took on the leadership, entrepreneurial and volunteer challenges our choices left us with and succeeded. Somehow, most of us are still married and no one’s kids have gone to the dark side (though I suppose there is still time left;)
We survived and so did our families. This discussion is now old news. Read the rest of this entry »
Authenticity is Your Ticket To the Top
Posted by Dana Theus in Inspiration, Women In Leadership on October 26, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
I’m proud to share that I just had a major Op Ed piece posted to The Glass Hammer – a preeminent professional woman’s blog. Here’s a short summary and I encourage you to read the full article on The Glass Hammer for the executive coaching advice at the end.
Abstract:
There’s no snappy research study to prove that “just being yourself” is every woman’s ticket to upper management, but I believe it’s true. There’s a lot of research coming out that paints a dismal picture of women’s chances of getting into top leadership posts. This data, plus the ever present equal pay dilemma, makes it hard to find the silver lining in being a woman aspiring to leadership positions these days. However, there is a ton of evidence that women in leadership actually help companies perform better than those with fewer women up top.
Do you know what this means? This means we have it in us. We ARE the right stuff. We’re full of what our companies and economies need to succeed, and we balance the uber-testosterone leadership style that is currently responsible for putting our companies and economy at such risk.
I know this argument can be both terribly inspiring and a tad frightening. It’s easy to read the stats, but what do we DO? How do we “be authentic?” Isn’t that an oxymoron? Aren’t we already authentic? There are many ways to simply tap into your own power – your InPower – that’s already inside you. You don’t have to go anywhere to find it, all you have to do is confront a little fear, but there are techniques for doing that and it’s not nearly as hard as you think. Here are a few suggestions to get started. Read more…
The Girl Effect Is Everywhere
Posted by Dana Theus in Inspiration, Reclaimed!, Today's News, Women In Leadership on October 4, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
If you haven’t seen this video, watch it. Go ahead. I’ll wait. It’s amazing and inspiring.
The Girl Effect is a philanthropic movement to value girls and women in developing countries. Why girls? Because the stats show that when girls are valued by their culture poverty, illness and low education levels begin to recede – naturally – to be replaced by relative prosperity, health and education. (Watch the original Girl Effect video that makes this point and is equally inspiring.) Why? Because women invest their time, energy and resources differently than men – putting more energy into their families and their community, and this kind of energy investment pays off tangibly. Everyone benefits when women are supported – communities are transformed. NOT because men are evil, but because the value of men and women is out of whack in the developing world and when the balance is more equal, a strong women’s influence creates a healthier culture and economy. You can read some fascinating stats about this here on the Girl Effect site.
And guess what? This isn’t just a philanthropic effort anymore. The Girl Effect and others began to raise awareness on the impact of women a few years ago, and it got people’s attention. Just this month, the World Bank validated this way of looking at the economic benefits of valuing women in developing economies. All I can say is, it’s about damn time and GO GIRL EFFECT! Read the rest of this entry »
Men Are Rewarded More Often for Speaking their Truth? Really?
Posted by Dana Theus in Corporate Culture, Women In Leadership on September 29, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
I ran a survey last month asking people about their experiences with Speaking Truth to Power. One hundred and fifty five professionals – mostly women – responded and said loud and clear that:
- Almost half of them withheld their truth from their bosses a good deal of the time;
- 82% had been penalized in the past for speaking their truth; and
- 76% felt regret when they did not feel safe speaking their truth. Read the rest of this entry »
Want To Get Ahead in Your Career? Put Away the Pictures of Little Billy
Posted by Dana Theus in Women In Leadership on August 16, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
Nancy and I bonded in the late ’90′s workaholic days of an internet startup when our kids were little. More than a decade has passed and she’s VP of a growing company and I’m consulting and coaching, both of us busy as can be. We don’t see each other enough now, and the reason I know that is that at the end of every lunch that survives our schedules, we hug and say things like, “which college did Jeff decide to go to? Is Alex already graduated? Really!?” We’ve been so busy talking business, leadership challenges and career strategy that we don’t manage to squeeze the kids in until the end.
And this is so refreshing to me, and Nancy too. How many women’s networking lunches do we go to where everyone is so busy catching up on the personal stuff that we don’t get around to business? Another friend of mine recently complained about her women’s professional group, because the business issues she cares most about haven’t gotten a chance to surface due to others chatting up their family dramas. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Company – Right Now
Posted by Dana Theus in eCoaching, Women In Leadership on July 26, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
I’ve written a lot about how we’re leaving plentiful resources untapped by failing to adjust our business culture to invite more women into leadership roles and how we need to transform The System to take advantage of our talents. In recognition of the fact that a company with women in roughly 30% of its leadership tend to produce healthier and stronger performing companies, there are lots of good programs out there trying to help women. But should we really wait for HR to come up with a great program? Read the rest of this entry »
Forget The Gender Debate – Let’s Transform The System
Posted by Dana Theus in Reclaimed!, The PRIMES, Today's News, Women In Leadership on July 12, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
Ladies, why are we waiting for The System to recognize the overwhelming evidence that companies with women in leadership outperform those without? Corporate America is rife with women’s leadership development programs and excellent ideas about how to help women advance, but it’s not happening. The System – by which I mean our prevailing corporate and political culture – doesn’t know how to adjust. I believe it’s up to us. Read the rest of this entry »
In Power Women – Crossing Our Divides
Posted by Dana Theus in InPower Leadership, Women In Leadership on June 28, 2011
Follow The Woman Effect online - www.TheWomanEffect.com.
Women’s relationship to power is fascinating. I have instigated several discussions about this subject and find the subject rich and deep for women and men alike.
I see powerful women in the following very distinct categories viewing power, leadership and success very differently:
- corporate mountain climbers – working their way to the top
- entrepreneurial freedom fighters – bound and determined to stay free
- rock stars – self actualizing out loud and helping others along the way
- military pioneers – succeeding in the ultimate man’s world
I find these distinctions hopeful – for women and men. Read the rest of this entry »
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Dana Theus
Activate The Woman Effect
