Recent studies have painted a gray picture of the American working world: longer days, moving through constant change, and less vacation time. Those lucky enough to have a job can expect to be asked to do more with less coworkers, time, and resources. There’s no doubt we are all feeling overwhelmed, overworked, stressed, and exhausted. How is that different for women than men? Is it possible to have a less harried life?...

Are you feeling stuck in your career? Have you been passed by for promotion or just trying to see the roads of opportunity ahead? We have felt this way at some time or other in our career. People are often led to believe that promotions come: to those who are lucky (just happened to be in the right place at the right time);to those who manage-up well (become their boss’s favorite);as part of the job (entitlement). The tru...

I’m always inspired by John C. Maxwell’s writing. If you don’t know who John Maxwell is—he’s a leadership expert, speaker, a best-selling author and founder of EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company which has trained more than 5 million leaders worldwide. One of my favorite John Maxwell quotes is this: “When you made the choice to start you made the choice to finish.”Everyday we make choices to either stretch or coast toward...

As I write this blog I’m traveling down Interstate 80 through Nebraska with my husband. I’m sixteen hours away from the start of my work week in Denver with a laptop on my lap. My husband is driving and as we get closer to the Colorado state line, my anxiety is increasing thinking about all I have to do before I walk into the workplace tomorrow morning. Meetings start at 7:00 a.m., followed by presentations, budget revie...

A great blog and website for women is called LeadingWomen.biz. I’m very excited to share their findings from a recent study titled: Closing the Leadership Gender Gap. I’m sure you’ve heard these statistics or something similar: 4.6% of Fortune 1000 CEOs are womenIn 1998, 11.2% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies were women. This percentage has risen to 15.7% and has not significantly changed since 2008. So what...

Not marketing. Not strategy. Not technology. It is building relationships that remains the ultimate competitive advantage in business today both because building relationships is powerful and yet so hard to start and sustain. I recently returned from a trip to Spain where I facilitated a team building workshop with participants from two beverage companies. They were holding an annual meeting in Madrid and the goal of the m...

You’ve heard it many times, the number one fear in life isn’t death—it’s public speaking, but what if by becoming a public speaker, you could reach your greatest potential? Breakthrough practices like learning to speak publicly can change your life. “If you can do well what so many others do marginally, then you will be more successful,” says Mark Tamer, author of Presentations A to Z, The Handbook for Presenters. Plenty...

I’ve often asked the question, how do I know what my purpose is? The best information I’ve ever come across is from the Proctor Gallagher Institute ‘s Six Minutes to Success. Here’s an excerpt. A key to career progression and development is to know your definite purpose; the reason why you’re here. It doesn’t matter how you were brought up or how you arrived here on this planet—the fact remains that each of us has specifi...

Every once in a while, I come across a quote that speaks to me ever so profoundly. The Optimist’s Creed is one of those quotes. It was first published in 1912 by Christian D. Larson, a highly influential early New Thought leader and author. Larson believed that people have tremendous dormant powers which could be harnessed for success with the proper attitude. I hope the Optimist’s Creed inspires you to be the best you --...

Abraham Lincoln once said “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Your happiness is determined not by what other people do but by what you do, just like your success. Why does happiness matter and what impact does it have on your career success? It has a much bigger impact on your success than you might think. Positive emotions such as optimism, cheerfulness, enthusiasm are positive emotions that dram...