Over the years when mentoring aspiring women, I’ve recommended humour to find common ground, create bonds and relieve tension after establishing a boundary or standing up for oneself. I’ve also discussed presence, belonging and resilience as the three major impacts for career success and humour helps there too. Laughter makes us more effective executives while … Read more
Albert Einstein said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”. I learned that lesson on my 6th birthday when I got my first two-wheeler. Sitting on the bike and putting my feet on the pedals was wobbly and scary, but I felt reassured because I knew that my … Read more
Each of us is wired to belong so having a community provides comfort and security, in addition to those life enhancing, feel-good endorphins! Finding community and establishing belonging doesn’t just happen; it is created and enhanced by practicing awareness and acceptance, both for ourselves and others. Our need for community started with our ancestors on … Read more
Harvard researchers studied the elements of a good life over the past 80 years and came up with one scientifically proven predictor of happiness: developing warmer relationships. Take note that this is not just relationships, but feelings of warmth between two people. In my opinion, one surefire way to develop warmth is to laugh together. … Read more
This year, feel the complete and utter goodness of the holiday season by forgiving others who have slighted or wronged you. It could be a co-worker or a family member but regardless, this one simple act will provide gratifying returns. When we forgive, we choose to see and accept the goodness in others. That allows … Read more
From a young age girls are told to sit quietly by and listen so it should be no surprise that listening skills are considered a feminine attribute. This subconscious programming can be to our advantage allowing us to gather information while gaining the favour of others. Yet, sometimes we are just going through the motions- … Read more
Recently, a thirty- something woman reached out to ask me how she could transition from a follower to a leader in her company. What she was really asking was, “how can I be perceived as a leader?” As a student of leadership I was delighted to discuss my thoughts with her and a summary of … Read more
The polar opposites emotional quotient (EQ) and intelligence quotient (IQ) both hold value on your leadership balance sheet, yet most leaders focus on IQ, underestimating the value of the intangible EQ. These leaders, enhance their financial skills and logical problem solving while employees say they are more motivated by a leader with high EQ. They … Read more
I recently heard from a young man who works in a start-up. He enthusiastically described the company’s free-form, conversational, and informal culture. However, despite everything that senior management was doing to achieve this creative atmosphere, he could see that they had blind spots that were preventing them from reaching their highest performance. And it revolved … Read more
There has been a lot of talk lately about toxic masculinity, that domineering bullying behaviour void of empathy or concern for others, which is exhibited by some (but not all) men. Now the focus is turning to women. People are starting to realize that if masculinity can be dialed up to the extreme and become … Read more
