Sometimes as I scroll through social media, I wonder how on earth the algorithms thought I would be interested in a particular ad. When I saw the title of this book in my news feed, however, I stopped in my tracks. I’m a recovering people-pleaser. It’s a trait that manifests in many good ways- caring for others, working hard, pursuing excellence- but that at its worst leaves you feeling anxious and frustrated. With a title like this, and that seemed to addr...
Are you looking for a way to stand out in your field, deepen relationships, or develop habits of gratitude? When was the last time you stopped to write a thank you note?
Given our busy schedules and all the technology at our disposal, handwritten notes have become a lost art. However, it really only takes a few minutes to stop and express your gratitude and can easily be worked into your daily routine. Do you work best first thing in the morning when the off...
After several years of professional coaching and much longer collaborating with women in the workplace, I've noticed a trend where we tend to burn ourselves out without knowing exactly why. Usually the default explanation for this behavior assumes that women just don't know how to set boundaries, or are uncomfortable with saying "no." While this may be the case in some situations, perhaps it's also because we haven't taught women how to filter the many requ...
A topic we women don't talk about enough is feeling unqualified. The mental burden we carry by self-imposing impossible standards keeps us stuck in the status quo and limits our potential to grow. We talked about this issue recently at the Power to Exhale brunch, and you can catch that conversation on our podcast.
One of the most challenging projects of my professional career was rooted in the area of workforce development. While the program we were develop...
Big things take time. Whether it’s a challenging project at work, weight loss, getting your degree, or a job search, generally the more transformative the change, the longer it will take. The reason many people give up or settle isn’t that they lack passion for their goal, it’s because of how hard it can be to stay committed when you don’t see change happening. Add in obstacles and rejection and it’s easy to see how people can give up. So how do you maintai...
"I can do anything you need, just don't make me ask for money."
As a nonprofit and fundraising professional, I can't tell you how many incredibly brilliant people I've met who were terrified to ask others for donations. I was recently compiling a report of how much our team had raised for the year compared to how much we'd requested. Despite having raised millions for worthy causes over my career, it dawned on me that I've inadvertently become an expert in b...
As you may have noticed by the date of our last blog post, I've been battling a bout of writer's block. I've had plenty of ideas for posts and even got halfway through a few drafts, but nothing has felt quite right to publish. Since I started blogging years ago, I promised myself I would be patient for the right inspiration to come rather than forcing it. Although I felt some doubts trickle in as the days passed by, I'm glad I waited and stuck to my rule.
Knowing I'm a feminist, you may be surprised to learn that I'm conflicted about Women's History Month. I'm grateful that we have dedicated a time to focus on celebrating women's accomplishments, but are 31 days enough to feature the success stories of 50% of our population? While we should continue to highlight the stories of remarkable women like the Notorious RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) or Amelia Earhart, aren't we forgetting the women who challenge the sys...
Kayla wrote this blog in response to questions asked by local girls who participated in She Started It 2019. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, help is available through the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or any of the resources listed here.
The lonely girl sits and stares at the bathroom scale. The same girl who once was not lonely, who once was not afraid of food or failure, was now afraid of...
This may be the worst-kept secret in the world, but I'm a big nerd. I fly my geek flag proudly, among my collection of Star Wars toys and past experience publishing economic research. I'm one of those people who will answer a question with a question and enjoys debating just for the sake of examining issues from all sides. So when I was recently selected to serve on jury duty, found myself appointed to a grand jury, and randomly assigned as our foreman, of...
