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"Networking puts eyes and ears in places where you yourself can't look and can't listen." ~Max Messmer

A client of mine was laid off after 15 years with the same company. One of her first realizations was that she wished she had networked more during that time to stay in contact with people she met in her industry and to make new contacts. This would have proved invaluable to her when she started to look for new work.

What is it about networking that's not working for you? I'm talking about t…

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask for once I know the proper questions, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” - Albert Einstein

In the work I do helping leaders learn more about conversational intelligence, I frequently get the question “Won’t asking questions at meetings make me look as if I don’t know what’s being discussed and make me look stupid?”

I always thou…

Inspire means to take it in, to inhale, to bring in that fresh new air.

The opposite is to expire which means to die, to end, to quit. You have a choice as to whether or not you want to inspire or expire.

Which one is it?

Do you want to bring in that fresh new air or end and quit and perhaps regret your decision. I know, sometimes we do want to expire. We do want it to end, we do want to quit and we do want to just get over it. But sometimes it’s not that easy to ‘just get over it’.

I find t…

"The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand" ~Joseph Campbell

I have recently been reflecting on my leadership journey and thinking about the pivotal moments in my life when I put the stake in the ground for my leadership; how I show up in the world; and the impact I have.

Several years ago, I participated in a Leadership Quest. This wonderful three and one-half day retreat was w…

"The value of compassion cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone can criticize. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no one cares or understands." ~Arthur H. Stainback

I spent a lot of my career in the business world working for someone as an employee. From the very beginning, I took great pride at being very professional. I was educated and programmed (yes, I said programmed), to always think and act like a "professional."

This w…

Most of us divide up our life experiences into those we like and those we don’t. But the Taoists masters teach us to look deeper. In the flow of yin and yang everything is constantly changing into its opposite. The more we live with awareness of the inevitable tides of Tao, the more it seems superficial and misguided to reject some experiences and try to hold onto others.

It is better to accept the wholeness of life. A traditional Taoist story illustrates these teachings. When an old farmer’s …

In 2015, Boyhood won the best motion picture Academy Award, Golden Globes, BAFTA, AFI and several others.

Photo by IFC Films - © IFC Films

What made this picture worthy of all these awards is that it was a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a young boy who literally grows up on screen. It was filmed over a 12-year period with the same cast. In my heading down a rabbit hole on the Internet, I recently watched a video interview of its director Richard Linklater with J…

There’s been an interesting conversation circling around me lately on what women want in their work environment that is an indicator of support from men.

With the #MeToo movement as well as the gender pay gap conversation shamefully still occurring, and the problem of like hires like, many organizations are looking at what do women want as support. In May, my friend and business associate, Linda Holroyd, of fountainblue and the “When She Speaks” leadership events, hosted an interesting panel di…

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum to the women and men to gather wood, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." - Antione De Saint-Exupery

What I get from these words is that leadership is an art. It's the art of inspiring and enrolling people to undertake an adventure for the sake of a common vision. Think about all the people who have had a significant impact in your life. Who is it that played a role of such significance that you felt changed for t…

When I first met Courtney Ruby she was the elected City Auditor of Oakland, California. She was confident, humble and very clear about her philosophy in life. She felt that in this journey of our lives “we either deal with our fears or they deal with us.” I just knew that I wanted to find out how she did what she did and asked her if I could interview her for consideration in my book, Gutsy Women Win. Without hesitation, she said yes.

When I asked her what it was she yearned for in her life and…