Safe At Work: How To Lead During Election Season With Fairness and Civility

In this highly fractious and divisive political culture, as a leader, it is essential to create a workplace environment that is absent of negativity and hate that exist outside the organization surrounding the election.

Guaranteeing that the workplace culture is safe physically and emotionally not just on voting day, but in upcoming weeks and months over a possibly contested outcome is a top priority. And one that exists whether the workplace is virtual or in-person. Decreasing political anxiety at work is the goal.

Read More
Scary, But Worth The Risk: 10 Leaders Share Why & How You Risk To Win

Some may find the scary business of Halloween entertaining, but in real life, entrepreneurship and business shifts are also scary and risky-- and maybe not so fun. Here 10 top leaders share how the discomfort of risk is worth it all and why.

For Take The Lead’s 10-year anniversary, we are offering a treasure chest of insights and strategies from Take The Lead’s co-founder, allies, colleagues, friends and business associates in an array of fields and disciplines. With the latest research and data on how women value risk and how that impacts financial behaviors, we can hopefully and helpfully deliver a path to turning risk into reality.   

Read More
Many Possible Futures: 10 Ways To Use Your Power To Change The World Now

Change is going to come --not by itself but when you take action.

Looking to the upcoming close of the calendar year, the end of the quarter and what you have the capacity and intention to do now to make changes professionally and personally is worth your time.

As Take The Lead celebrates 10 years of successful and meaningful work toward the mission of achieving gender and racial parity across multiple sectors, through a wide variety of platforms, programs and events, it is appropriate to apply the finite measure of 10 to strategies you can use today for yourself.

Read More
Be The Best Leader Following Disasters: Strategies To Rebuild Workplaces For Recovery

Hurricane Helene last month and Hurricane Milton this month serve as reminders to every American just how much climate change and natural disasters affect  lives—work lives as well as home lives. In many cases, everything must be rebuilt.

Beyond hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and earthquakes also disrupt and destroy businesses and workplaces forcing leaders to have a plan ready for emergencies that benefit employees hit by these disasters.

So how can you be a great leader following devastation so your employees, colleagues, managers, clients, suppliers and administrators can press restart?

Read More
Beyond Bias: Women Journos Lead With Innovation, Inclusion And Storytelling

“There is a tension around the topic of the subjectivity of objectivity,” said Felicia Henderson, director of cultural competency at the Maynard Institute.

Speaking at the recent Journalism & Women Symposium annual CAMP (Conference and Mentoring Project) in New Orleans, with the theme, Resilience and Reinvention, Henderson joined a panel along with Jean Marie Brown, The Pivot Fund’s director of research, and Mary Irby-Jones, executive editor at  the Louisville Courier Journal.

Read More
How Kamala Harris Aces the 9 Leadership Power Tools (Even if She Doesn’t Know It)

Love politics? Hate it? Whatever your POV is, in today’s chaotic political landscape, people are yearning for effective leaders.

I began this 3-part series last week with a look at the difference between Power Over and Power TO leadership styles. I called it “Hammering Power” to reflect the metaphor I use to explain that power is merely energy. Like a hammer, you can break something apart or build with it.

In sum, Power is what you do with it. What you make of it.

Read More
Make It Happen: Women Designing and Achieving Wealth, Entrepreneurship, Success

“As women, we are often the architects of our dreams,” said Hyacinth Tucker, founder and owner of Laundry Basket Delivery at the recent Take The Lead Power Up Conference on Women’s Equality Day in Washington, D.C. “So let’s share our stories, struggles and triumphs knowing together we are stronger.”

The winner of the Visionary Award exemplifying the Know Your History Power Tool, Tucker told the Together We Lead conference participants, ”We carry the weight of our aspirations. This is a testament to the power of perseverance, even when the world may not yet see it.”

Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead echoed the sentiment, reminding the participants, “You are the CEO of your own life.”

Read More
Pivot to Purpose: Kathleen Turner Defines A Career of Risk and Service at Power Up

Kathleen Turner did this on purpose. There’s a reason you can’t limit her to memory for just one role.

“If you look over my history of film, my stage history, every role I have done is done in direct contrast to another,” Turner said to a rapt audience at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference on Women’s Equality Day in Washington, D.C.

“I have found over the years it is difficult to put my body of work together, as there is no one role for me to ever be known by,” said Turner, the iconic actress who has been engaging audiences for more than 46 years. Speaking on the careers panel at the “Together We Lead” themed conference, Golden Globe winner Turner spoke of her intentional career agility, longevity and powerful choices.

Read More
Hammering Power: Part 1 of 3 Part Series on How Kamala Harris Uses the 9 Leadership Power Tools

Issue 273 — September 16, 2024

“When the only tool you have is a hammer, you are likely to treat everything you see as a nail.”

The hammer is a metaphor I use to deconstruct and reconstruct the meaning of power, so that women will embrace their hammer of power with confidence, authenticity, and joy (yes, there’s that word “joy,” and I’ve been saying it in this phrase for years).

Read More