April 15th was tax day for most, but for women leaders in construction, architecture and engineering, it was day 1 of Groundbreaking Women in Construction, a conference sponsored by the Women Builders Council and McGraw Hill. I had the pleasure of leading the first event of the day, a workshop on Visionary Leaders, the New Champions in Business. Here’s what I did and what I learned.
My premise was simple: 1. Visionary leaders, the New Leader in business, will be the most successful executives in the next decade. 2. There are major differences in the way these new leaders operate to create their unique approach. 3. Once leaders embrace the hallmarks of this new paradigm, they have a clear vision of success and a way to get there. 4. As soon as we begin to shift our mindset and expose our organizations to the hallmarks of the new leader, we go beyond hierarchy and power to unleash the real potential of our businesses, colleagues, and leaders. Continue reading…
I rarely read Vogue magazine, but I was eager to see what they had to say about Sheryl Sandberg, the highly successful COO of Facebook. The story is part of a new dialogue about women leaders – a focus on their leadership, accomplishments, and style. Let me quote directly from Kevin Conley’s piece:
“It’s tempting to see Sandberg’s managerial style… as an example of practical third-wave feminism hitting the workplace. But this interpretation does her a disservice. Sandberg’s policies aren’t rare because there are so few women executives. They’re rare because there aren’t many executives, male or female, with her skills and abilities.”
Vogue’s feature “What she saw at the revolution” is different from the conventional themes about women in business. It does not assert how business life is so different and hard for women who have both careers and families. Continue reading…
Hardly a day goes by without reading strong commentary about the important but insufficient contribution of women in business and government. Joanne Lipman proclaims in an op-ed in the New York Times, 10/23 that women have not come as far as we would have expected 25 years ago, “and attitudes have taken a giant leap backward.” Lipman, a former deputy managing editor at The Wall Street Journal, was founding editor of Conde Nast’s Portfolio magazine. She notes that “progress for women has stalled” in partner positions at law firms, on corporate boards or in corporate officer positions. Continue reading…
