Is Your Stress Real or Manufactured?

April is Stress Awareness Month (who knew?). I am a bit surprised that we need a special month to highlight stress. It seems like stress is front and center in our lives on a daily basis. In addition, there is a huge anti-stress industry out there that bombards us with options and products from massages to gyms to meditation to essential oils. There are many causes of stress — financial stress, relationship stress, and work stress are big ones. Often stress in one area compounds ... Read more

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Is Integrity Dead?

We witness more and more national events that lack integrity, that include cheating, untruths, and cover-ups. Even concepts like “fake news” and “alternative facts” have crept into our daily lexicon. We have experts denying the importance of climate change. We turn a blind eye toward starving children in Africa and other countries. We revise standards downward as opportune. What we see in the media makes us wonder if anything is real anymore. We see manufacturing ... Read more

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Expertise: Do You Really Have Any?

There’s a new book out called “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters” by Tom Nichols (2017). In it Nichols states: “These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had access to so much knowledge , and yet been so resistant to learning anything.” “That reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell’s book from a decade ago (2008) that dealt with becoming an expert. In “Outliers: The Story of ... Read more

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Don’t Create Your Own Crisis

Sometimes life seems like one crisis after another. Think of the phrases we commonly use when we are under stress: spinning out of control; falling to pieces; in over my head. Most of the problems we have to deal with on a daily basis are not actual crises. They may cause some stress, but a real crisis goes beyond that. By definition, a crisis is an upset in steady state or homeostasis. During a crisis, a person’s usual coping mechanisms fail. In fact, they don’t even know how ... Read more

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Finding Authenticity at Any Age

It must be a terrible burden to live “in the public eye.” Every time you leave the house, your appearance is noted and scrutinized. Every wrinkle and sign of aging is documented. Popular magazines have sections devoted to catching stars without make-up, or when they are wearing sweats, or when their hair is less than perfect—when they look like most of us do on the weekends and in our daily lives. This fits right in with our “gotcha” approach to celebrity. Given ... Read more

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It Was Your Idea. Why Is He Getting the Credit?

I recently saw a cartoon about a woman sitting at a conference table with a group of men. The caption said, “When will Lisa’s suggestion be heard?” The answer was, “When Jeff repeats it.” Does that happen in your workplace? Do you ever hear yourself saying (usually quietly), Didn’t I just say that?” Would it make any difference if your boss were a woman (or vice versa)? What can you do to be more of a force at a meeting? What would it take to be ... Read more

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Don’t Overlook Office History

You have just begun a new job. While it is new to you, several other individuals have held the position previously. All that’s left of their efforts and time of employment are a few file drawers of old documents and some files stored on the hard drive. You are anxious to get settled in and make the office space your own. You would like to get rid of the saved files. Can you just toss them, or can they be put in a file box and stored somewhere? The leftover files may be useless—or they ... Read more

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Wishing Won’t Make it So

For the next few days, count the number of times you hear others use the word “wish.” “I wish I could take tomorrow off.” “I wish I had time to go to the gym.” “I wish I had this report done.” “I wish I could take a really nice vacation to Europe.” “I wish my mom would stop harping about the way I dress.” Also make note of your own use of the word “wish” as well as what you are wishing for. Do you use ... Read more

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Joining a Board of Directors (Part 2)

You finally were asked to serve on a board of directors for your favorite cause. You are excited to have the opportunity, and you want to do a good job. What do you need to know and do to stand out. First of all, recognize that a board does not manage the day-to-day activities of the organization. That is the job of the staff. The Board’s role is governance (setting overall direction), fiscal oversight (are the donations being used for the proper purpose) and evaluating the executive. ... Read more

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Joining a Board May Advance Your Career (Part 1)

Many women volunteer for good causes. Perhaps you belong to a group that raises funds for a local food bank or women’s center. Maybe you help organize the winter coat collection for those in need, or head the group that will run in a mini-marathon to support cancer research. You may serve on a committee at your child’s school or help send packages to those serving in the military. There is no shortage of needed participation. Volunteer service is important to your career. When ... Read more

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