Nov 30
3

Tell Us How You Managed!

By | Executive Coaching, Gender issues in work, Leadership, Management | One Comment

You can’t watch TV, go online or read the news right now without hearing about another man in power being accused of sexual harassment. From learning that even the mighty Harvey Weinstein could be exposed (irony intended) to the solidarity offered by #metoo, which garnered millions of supporters within hours of Alyssa Milano’s Twitter post, many women in the business world are deciding that they will no longer tolerate the unwelcome advances, pressure for sex or the retaliation when they refuse. However, the title of this essay is dripping with sarcasm, in case you missed it. I couldn’t quite believe what I was reading in an article in The New York Times in which men indicated “… they planned to be…

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Nov 16
0

Fear and Blindness

By | Executive Coaching, Leadership, Management | 2 Comments

A portion of my coaching practice focuses on individuals who engage me to assist them in taking the next step in their career. Sometimes they want to change industries or change positions. Sometimes they are looking for a job and want some help with interview practice or resume review. And sometimes they’re stymied, ready for the next big promotion and not sure why they haven’t received it. I recently had a call with a man who was ready for the next big jump in his career but senior management didn’t agree. What was going on? He was currently a sales executive in a Fortune 500 company with a 10+ year sterling track record. In his early 40’s, he had been with…

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Nov 02
0

Never A Down Moment

By | Executive Coaching, Gender issues in work | 5 Comments

I have trouble relaxing. I really don’t have difficulty sitting and doing something mindless but I never turn off my mind. It is always racing around to some worry or another, reminding me of something I should be doing, something that would make me healthier or smarter or richer or thinner or just a better person. My dear husband never quite understood and used to tell me I needed a hobby, an activity that would allow me to lose myself for the sheer pleasure of it. Over our years together he’s dabbled in a few hobbies; he tried his hand growing bonsai trees. On Sundays we scouted flea markets and sidewalks sales, looking for unopened Avon men’s cologne bottles. He has…

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Oct 19
1

Dinner with Fabulous Women

By | Executive Coaching, Gender issues in work, Leadership, Management | 7 Comments

Two experiences happened recently that inspired today’s essay. My husband and I were sitting in the lobby bar at the Hotel Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, waiting to meet friends, and were admiring the scores of photos of famous people that adorned the walls. Deliberately nursing our drinks before dinner, we started a game, guessing for one another which of those famous former patrons we’d choose as dinner companions. After bemoaning how few women were on the walls – at least compared to men – I silently made my choices and then my husband astounded me by guessing every one correctly! I can never really claim to be misunderstood. A few months later, spending a day in NYC before an evening at the…

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Oct 05
1

Backwards and In High Heels

By | Executive Coaching, Gender issues in work | One Comment

My writing is about management and NOT about politics but I must admit that I was taken aback by a recent Washington Post article on Melania Trump’s shoes. Now I am as liberal as they come. My grandmother, who died when I was fifteen, made me promise to never cross a picket line, a promise that caused me some anxiety during my years at The New York Times. I was lucky. The strike that was always threatening never came during my decade plus tenure. My first vote was cast, albeit illegally, for Adelaide Stevenson, when my grandmother cajoled the poll worker into letting me go into the booth with her and pull the lever. I am not a fan of the…

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Sep 21
0

Ready for My Closeup

By | Executive Coaching, Gender issues in work, Leadership | 2 Comments

The bottom fell out of the U.S. economy in the fall of 2008 and most businesses – and individuals – didn’t quite know what hit them. The business I ran was heavily dependent on the consumer magazine industry, which was already beginning to feel the effects of consumers’ move to the Internet. We had begun to shift our strategic direction earlier, paying even more attention to the treasure trove of data that we collected each year and mining it for broader use and additional revenue streams. Our head of marketing, a smart and hard-working woman who had created a smoothly functioning and strategically focused department from not much more than shoe strings and tape, was releasing data nuggets to the press…

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Sep 07
0

The Dark Corners of Polite Society

By | Executive Coaching, Gender issues in work, Leadership | 2 Comments

The business section of The New York Times on Sunday, August 20, 2017, contained an article, “Exposing a Toxic Milieu for Women in Economics,” by Justin Wolfers, that, for me, added one more brick to the wall of an already awful week. We saw clansman and neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville, resulting in violence and death. We saw terrorism attacks in Spain and Finland. We saw our national leaders respond inconsistently, offering little moral or ethical leadership designed to bring us together. I wanted nothing more this beautiful Sunday morning than to curl up with good coffee and read The New York Times. Then I came across this article and was smacked in the face with the reminder that there remain many…

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Jun 29
0

“Cover Bands Don’t Change the World”

By | Executive Coaching, Leadership | 2 Comments

The rest of that wonderful quote, which closes the Accidental Creative podcast, is “you need to find your unique voice if you want to thrive.” The Crone in the Corner Office is one year old this week. When I started writing I made a commitment to myself that I would complete fifty blog posts and post one each week (allowing for a vacation with My Most Wonderful Husband). The first nine were torture, but I knew they would be. Each, less than 1000 words, was created over hours, and often included tears, laugh-out-loud memories and the occasional pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby. I had nine in my back pocket before I posted the first, preparing beforehand for the writer’s…

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Jun 22
0

Career Leaps of Faith

By | Executive Coaching | One Comment

Changing careers at any age requires a leap of faith. Sometimes we do it because we are bored or frustrated or reaching for a dream. Sometimes we do it because we have to – industries are fluid, technological changes happen rapidly, not allowing for anyone to ably predict their career path very far ahead. Our careers, our very selves, have to shuffle and dance and change all the time and few of us do that easily. Why is change so hard? How do we overcome our fear and inertia and make the changes necessary for reinvention at every stage of our lives? So many potential clients come to me saying that they want to change their careers but don’t know what…

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