Why It’s the Moment to “Carpe the Chaos”
Issue 268 —August 5, 2024
Call me crazy, but I say there’s nothing better than a big disruption to rupture the membranes that have kept the status quo contained and make way for progress.
Dramatic change sparks more dramatic change.
“Carpe the Chaos” is #5, of the 9 Leadership Power Tools.
This play on words bring a smile, but the intent is serious.
We are in that moment where we can accelerate progress beyond our wildest imagination — if we see the opportunity and seize it. (Learn more about this and be part of making it happen at the Power Up Concert and Conference).
And that’s why in spite of the naysayers and those who would like to take us back to 1963 when the term “keep them barefoot and pregnant” got laughs in a then all-male club, this is a fortuitous moment when we can move farther and faster to gender parity in all areas.
If we take the energy of the chaos and use it to fuel our highest intentions. If we allow it to let us see with different eyes and be optimistic about what we can accomplish together.
Look, for the first time, 50% of the Olympic athletes are women. For just the second time, the U.S. has a female major party presidential candidate. The Business Insider headline predicts that Kamala Harris’s candidacy will be a game changer for women in business, while McKinsey research finds women in leadership boost profits by 50%. And the Center for Venture Research’s 2023 analysis found a game-changing rise in female angel investors (46.7% of angels) and female entrepreneurs seeking funding (now 46.3%).
And while women still get a smaller share of actual angel funding, my daddy always told me: “She who asks gets.” You can’t get funded if you don’t ask, and the more we ask, the greater the likelihood of getting.
The conference panel titled “Together We Lead for Wealth” will be facilitated by Loretta McCarthy, co-CEO and Managing Director of one of the largest and oldest angel investing companies that invests in women-owned or run companies, Golden Seeds.
Other panelists include Staria Williams, SVP of Industrial Bank, the only Black-owned bank in the nation’s capital; Anu Bhardwaj, Founder of Women Investing in Women, The State of Women and SheQonomi; and Hyacinth Tucker, owner of The Laundry Basket and Take The Lead Power Tools champion.
Take The Lead planted a stake in the ground 10 years ago, to achieve parity by 2025. It was a bold statement then, made further challenging by the pandemic and assaults on fundamental women’s rights. Most people said it couldn’t be done.
But this is our moment if we choose to take it, precisely because the chaos of our world today is disrupting old paradigms.
Come to the Power Up Concert and Conference August 25/26 (Women’s Equality Day) in DC or virtually and let’s make it happen together.
Because the conference theme, Together We Lead, is true. Here’s just a sampling of the outstanding, inspiring speakers and performers.
Lynda Carter, the iconic Wonder Woman will be honored with the Leading Woman Award.
Sweet Honey in the Rock, BETTY, and Marina Arsenijevic will get you in the mindset for taking on challenges with a joyful concert.
Jenny Nguyen, founder of The Sports Bra will be there to receive the Changemaker award.
You will learn about self-branding from the leading expert, Felicia Davis, make commitments for your life and career, and honor the ERA Coalition because it’s past time to put women into the Constitution.
Panels themed to Together We Lead will inspire and inform you about your health, wealth, impact and thought leadership.
You’ll meet other extraordinary women and form relationships for mutual support, business ventures, and mentorship.
9 participants in Take The Lead programs will be recognized for how each uses one of those 9 Leadership Power Tools. Angilee Shah, who was in our journalism cohort of 50 Women Can Change the World, chose to represent Carpe the Chaos. Come find out why and how she is doing just that, and how you can apply the tool to your own life and work.
Register here. Hurry though, we’ve just extended the LeadHer discount for both in-person and virtual registration that includes the full program to August 10. Full price after that.
GLORIA FELDT is the Cofounder and President of Take The Lead, a motivational speaker, a global expert in women’s leadership development and DEI for individuals and companies that want to build gender balance. She is a bestselling author of five books, most recently Intentioning: Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good. Honored as Forbes 50 Over 50, and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she is a frequent media commentator. Learn more at www.gloriafeldt.com and www.taketheleadwomen.com. Find her @GloriaFeldt on all social media.