Memphis — Lord of the Flies Redux And Why the Power Paradigm Must Change

Issue 220 — January 30, 2023

I recall a car ride where a male professional colleague and I bantered about our different perspectives on a serious issue. I don’t remember what we were arguing about, but I can’t forget his closing argument. “Estrogen logic!” he declared, as a way of diminishing me and my point of view.

Read More
Trust Is The Best Currency: CEO, Founder Stamps Approval on Products for Parents

 Sharon Vinderine has a big mission for her company and her life, and it is founded on trust.

As the founder and CEO of Parent Tested Parent Approved, an awards-based platform with 200,000 community members in the U.S.  and across the globe, Vinderine has a long history of intention and entrepreneurship, but one first met with skepticism.

Read More
What Is Your Life’s Blueprint? Dr. Martin Luther 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 More
Not So: Bad: How Shifting From Negative Information Changes How We Work, Live

Do the negative news stories, content and information we consume affect who we are, our state of mind, and how we work and move in the world?

Emma Varvaloucas, executive director of The Progress Network, believes that is the case. In her role of providing content, podcasts, newsletters and more in this “network of ideas,” she is helping to shift the concentration on extreme, volatile opinions to a more positive gathering of news and facts based on progress.

Read More
Real Threat? How AI, Gender Bias, Skills Focus Changing Workplaces Now

“They have skills.”

That statement has been universally and historically viewed as a compliment to an employee, colleague or leader.

It still is, but now there is an asterisk to the statement. Looking forward with the influx of artificial intelligence and automation in the workplace, it may precede a path to worker replacement. Individuals need to know the value they offer beyond their skills, and that those skills are not automatically generated cheaper and more easily. And they need to surpass the AI gatekeepers and algorithms steeped in gender and racial bias.

Read More
23 & You: 12 Monthly Lessons To Make This Your Best Year Ever

It seems everyone starts the new year with a sterling list of goals aimed at making this a shiny year of professional successes. Some are reachable, some are aspirational, all seem plausible in theory.

To make this year 2023 truly monumental and to zero in on actively achieving the goals you assign yourself, it is important to be realistic about where you are in your career, who you are and what skills and resources you have at your disposable—and can acquire.

Take The Lead has a bounty of instructive and inspiring content, resources and courses available for you and your team to make these goals a reality and to see that 2023 is your best year ever in terms of reaching your heights as an entrepreneur, leader, innovator, manager and colleague.

Read More
Tis The Season To Be Reading: 18 of The Best 2022 Books For You

If you’re like me, and have a pile of books you are aiming to complete before the end of the year yet are still craving to know what is new and not to be missed, this list is for you. This is also a list for amazing gifts for the friends and colleagues in your life hungry for the best and brightest in nonfiction written by women who tackle workplace issues, personal struggles, strategies and insights to being your best self.

Read More