Women in the LEAD

WOMEN in LEADERSHIP: In Gratitude

As the end of the year approaches, it is a time for remembrance...taking stock, looking for places that deserving of gratitude, and looking to the future...

Some time ago an intriguing invitation arrived. I was one of four seasoned women leaders who were invited to speak at a dialogue on women in leadership. We were each asked to share from personal experience and insight. The idea was that our individual messages would stimulate the thinking and dialogue among the women and men who would be in attendance. The topic was one I have long been passionate about, but what sparked my interest most were the two themes that came in the form of two questions that would frame the conversation:

What notable progress are women making in organizational leadership?

What qualities do women bring to the art and practice of leadership?

I accepted.

Some weeks before the dialogue, I began thinking about what message I would share. By chance one afternoon, I ran across some personal notes in a file. Among them, I had written down a quote from Sister Corita Kent, the well-known Carmelite Nun and artist. As I read her words once again, they took on a new meaning that began setting the stage in my mind for this special dialogue. My notes read:

“...sometime in your life, trying to be good may mean stopping — and taking time to be quiet to discover who you are and where you’ve been.”

It struck me that the unexpected invitation was presenting me with a unique opportunity to STOP… and reflect on how far women had come just in my lifetime. Admittedly, my vantage point was seemingly small, but I quickly decided, not insignificant. The opportunity also seemed to be a calling for me to recognize who I had become in the process and to think through for myself what I had learned about leadership.

In what now seems a lifetime ago, I spent twenty-one rewarding years of leadership with IBM Corporation. IBM was one of the early pioneers of women’s rights, equal pay and valuing diversity. I was actually hired by a powerful woman executive, who I always felt saw potential in my innocence. However, she was one of few women in leadership positions where I worked. What I remember as if it were yesterday is my uttering these words in many a coffee shop discussion, which by nearly any woman’s standards would be considered quite astounding today: “It doesn’t seem right that women are beginning to take jobs that men have held for so many years.” However,many things began to rapidly change for women in the next five years — and I woke up, finding myself accepting a position as one of IBM’s first women managers in the Northwest (Anchorage, Alaska, to be exact). Being willing to pioneer the unknown, taking what was noted as a big risk ended up being, professionally, one of my best moves. Anchorage became one of the largest revenue producing offices in the country, and I learned great things from the team of men who mentored and coached me into leadership. The opportunity translated into visibility and became a powerful catalyst for an exciting leadership journey in the years that followed — one that I could never have imagined would happen at one time. Many other women pioneered the early organizational leadership paths. The progress for women during the decades that followed bears a litany of courage, inspiring new generations of women leaders.

RESULTS ACHIEVED: Pioneering Paid Off!
"The women of today are the thoughts of their mothers and grandmothers, embodied, and made alive. They are active, capable, determined and bound to win. ... Millions of women, dead and gone are speaking through us today."  --- Matilda Joslyn Gage, Founder, National Citizen and Ballot Box (newspapers) 1889

Check out these amazing facts about our women's history.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
When I think of the qualities we bring to leadership as women, there is also a calling to consider what we need to BE to support and influence the emerging new world. I offer three thoughts to stimulate your thinking and perspectives:

1.  Faith and Belief.
We need to develop a practice of deep faith and belief in ourselves. As the well-quoted verse from Proverbs affirms, as we think, so we are.

2. Our Leadership Responsibilities.
We need to take our leadership responsibilities very seriously, remembering our actions, behaviors and results will pave the path for those who will follow us. As Mother Teresa mentored us, “Don’t wait for the leaders. Do it alone. Person to person. This is our strength as women. We know how to connect.”

3. Supporting Each Other.
We need to support each other faithfully in more ways than we have in the past. This may sometimes mean stepping aside to let someone else pass. As a practice, we need to be relentless in our efforts to reach out, expressing our joy in others’ achievements. We have to help each other keep focused on mastering the how to be a leader, encouraging each other at every turn to keep up the process of developing and renewing our commitment to character, values, principles, and courage.

What do you think we need to be as women leaders today?

What contribution will you make to this time in history as a woman leader in your own right?

I leave you to ponder these questions.

Warm regards...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter: @debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

Feminine Influence: Feminine Success-Watch Out World!!

The webinars that we have been hosting in The Living Room at The Essential Feminine™ Company have been looking at influence and success from the Feminine Perspective.  Influence and success are powerful qualities that women now need to confidently develop in order to have the voice and capability to contribute to the decisions that are critical in our world today.

When women gain a clear understanding that they hold natural attributes such as the ability to collaborate, care for others, the ability to build relationships, and the ability to work well with ambiguity – to name a few attributes of the feminine—we will move more confidently into the world.  Our ability to use our voice and our natural gifts will make a major differencing the direction that the world is now going in.  Never before has there been a more critical time for women to become comfortable with influence and success.  On December 2 and December 9 we will be moving to the next two webinars entitled Living with Influence and Success from the Feminine Perspective.  During these events we will be focusing on what women need in order to develop these skills and how to create the incoming new year with greater confidence clarity and success.  Contact us at info@theessentialfemininecompany.com for more details.

 

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

Solid Foundations are a Must When Creating Influence and Success in Life

It is important to look at the foundations or the supports of your life when creating a life of success and influence.  More and more women are interested in creating influence and success, but in order to create these qualities in our lives, in a sustainable way, we must really get to know ourselves—Socrates—said it well when he said “Know Thyself”.

Having a solid foundation in life includes:

·         Knowing what you believe

·         Knowing what you need

·         Knowing what you value

All of this may seem quite straight forward. You may feel that you have looked at these questions at different stages in life, but it is key to keep this inquiry open and alive at all stages of life. This inner inquiry is something that you never outgrow.  The answers that your inner voice will deliver are ever-changing and consistently build on the days and experiences of past.  In other words, our past continually informs our present and what we believe need and value in the past allow us to build on and develop stronger and richer foundations today.

Take a moment to evaluate what you believed to be true and important ten years ago.  How have you changed, how have you grown?  Do the same thing with what you needed and valued ten years ago.  How have you changed? How have you grown?  Our lives form a rich tapestry, it is up to us to see the weaving in the richness of the fabric.  Our history and past experiences are part of the foundation of the life we live today.  The art is in remembering to update them.  Join us at http://tinyurl.com/Register4InfluenceAndSuccess on Wednesday, November 18, for the first in a series of our webinars where you can learn to develop influence and success.

Success from the Feminine Perspective

 
Many women are exploring ways to create more success in their lives.  I think that’s great, but I think there’s more to life for women than just success.  So often we have been putting on the trousers, climbing the ladder, and doing things in a masculine way in all areas of our life.  The problem with this is that we inevitably leave an important part of our authentic self behind- our feminine self. It’s important to keep in mind that women are predisposed genetically and through socialization- to a whole series of unique assets talents and gifts that are special and sourced in our feminine nature. 

How can we begin to use these feminine gifts in a way that allows us to contribute at a high level, fully expressing our power and doing so from a feminine perspective? The answer to this could lead you to one of the most freeing revelations of your life. Every woman has a personal response to this question in my twenty-five years of working with women I have heard hundreds. What’s yours?

 We must first begin, by valuing our unique feminine gifts such as our verbal agility, our ability to give care and compassion, our natural gift to see and perceive the whole of a situation, work environment or even the whole needs of the world.  I believe these gifts come from having been the givers of birth and life since the beginning of time.   That’s quite a credential.  We need to claim this and live it in our work in corporations in our voice and concern in politics and through our unique and gentle care of our children and the planet.  Social researchers have put a price on the value that women add to the bottom line in corporations.  It’s time for us to value these gifts in all areas of our life.

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

  

We Attract Our Success

“You are a human magnet and you are constantly attracting to you people whose characters harmonize with your own.” -Napoleon Hill

Empowered successful alive women create their lives from their imagination. They attract the exact right people and the exact right experiences at the right time.  As women move into positions of greater success and influence we learn that within our imagination we hold the power to recreate our lives and manifest far more than we believe on a day-to-day basis. The art of manifesting for success includes one’s ability to clearly define a desired outcome or way of being and to believe and work towards this on a daily basis.  Setting a clear intention is the first step in designing the life that you desire.  Never be afraid to think big and design this new reality to include things that both feel good and provide you with opportunities for growth.  This will lead you to creating and living with influence and success. The next step is to learn to do this from the Feminine Perspective.  This will require us to have greater confidence and more ease with our personal power. We often beaver away in our own world, viewing life from a set of limited lenses.  It is now time for all women to expand our vision and to begin to see the world in a whole new way.  It is time for you to design life as you desire no more reacting to your environment.  On November 18 we will be hosting an amazing webinar series where we will look closely at specific ways that you can move strongly and gracefully into powerful success and influencing your life.  Join us on http://tinyurl.com/Register4InfluenceAndSuccess.

WOMEN: Origins of Self-Esteem and Self-Respect

Wouldn't you love to know that your face and sense of being always reflected the inner confidence and self-assuredness of this dear little face? How do we slip away from this at times in our lives as grown women?

Self-esteem and self-respect are influenced by so many things that have touched our lives. Interestingly, with all the discussions and realities of gender differences, Helen Fisher, anthropologist at Rutgers University and author of The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They are Changing the World, points out, "Men and women exhibit no difference in what psychologists call 'internal competitiveness,' the desire to meet personal goals and display excellence." YEAH! However, Helen does go on to tell us, "But men score much higher in 'external competitiveness,' the willingness to elbow others aside to get ahead." 

Within our circle of women, as well as within the relationships we build with men, we are challenged to appreciate one another across a wide spectrum of dimensions of our difference. Whether it is cultural, ethnic, experiences, thinking styles, ways of expression, religion, skills, family, country, language or an array of other possibilities, there is much for us to consider about one other in every interaction. When I wrote my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, I had an opportunity to graphically demonstrate what I felt for so many years --- that a single dimension of difference --- even that of WOMAN --- hardly described all that each of us brings to our lives and work. 

There have been several enduring influences as I've thought about our origins of self-esteem and self-respect and how we can re-shape them by broadening our perspectives. One came from Maya Angelou:
 
"I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." 

While we want to fully embrace the many dimensions of difference that make us who we are. Sometimes, unintentionally we end up focusing far too much on what separates us and makes us different in our approach to life, instead of remembering our sameness too --- that most of us want the same courtesies and appreciation for who we are. Misunderstanding between men and women --- and women and women --- and men and men, often seems to come up because we get so invested in our way, our point of view, or our own needs that we end up in a face-off that is uncomfortable and sometimes a silent, lonely place of being misunderstood.

It also seems more and more that what lurks around misunderstanding on all sides are issues of self-esteem and self-respect that seem to stand in the shadows of the human experience for most of us ---even for those who stand outwardly so tall and confident. Here I always remember the wisdom of Sadie Delaney, one of the treasured Centenarians in the United States [BOOK: On My Own at 107 by Sarah L. Delaney]:

"You hear all this talk about self-esteem or self-respect, as if it were something other people could give you. ...What it really means is knowing you're a person of value."

What this says to me is that when we grow enough to truly---and consistently live---with a constant knowing of our value and potential for greatness, we can be more accepting of others who may not yet be in that place themselves --- or perhaps slip now and then, as we all do. How great it is that we are given such a rich opportunity to practice, growing in our own sense of self-esteem and self-respect every day, so we can in turn bring moments of listening and understanding to all who cross our paths.

How will you move through your life day-to-day this week --- this year --- with a greater sense of appreciation for yourself and others?

I leave you pondering this question myself and welcome your thoughts in return.

Warm regards...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter: @debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

Success is Directly Related to How Peaceful You Are

Success is Directly Related to How Peaceful You Are

“True success is always accompanied by peace of mind.  As long as you express fear, resentment, criticism and other negative emotions—which result in a lack of peace—it is not possible to attain very much in life.  The act of blessing brings peace within and without.  You can be a peacemaker to any situation by blessing it, rather than condemning it.  So bless pain, financial problems, trouble-some personalities, or worrisome conditions with the thought, “Peace. Be still.””  Catherine Ponder

 Take a look at how you are living your life today.  Do you feel successful? Do you feel peaceful?  There is a correlation.  Does your life express fear and criticism or trust, promise, and hope?  When we create our businesses and our life from a place of peace rooted deep within—the world senses this.  We form an immediate attraction which draws people and experiences to us.  In order for us to create lives and businesses that make a contribution and bring happiness to our own lives we must be clear about our mission, our offer, and our desired outcome.  Only through clarity can we reach satisfaction in our life.  Peace is cultivated by conscious living and conscious decisions.  In November and December we will be focusing four webinars on this topic and on how to create success and live a life of influence from the inside out and from the feminine perspective http://tinyurl.com/Register4InfluenceAndSuccess.

Women have a natural ability to lead while they value peace.  We are most comfortable in environments of harmony and are often ones to create harmony and peace in our work environments and in life.  In no other time in history has it been as crucial for women to build businesses and live lives that reflect these very important core values and gifts of the feminine.

WOMEN: Learning to LISTEN

Learning to LISTEN...really listen without personal agenda...is a wonderful quality. The mystic Persian poet, Rumi helps us recognize that even in silence there is much to hear if we are still.

There is a way between voice and presence
where information flows.

In disciplined silence it opens.
With wandering talk it closes.

I've experienced Rumi's idea here on this blog. I hear you hovering---sense when you show-up to take-in, always leaving a special energy that speaks of your presence. One person, when I asked, "Why do you show up?" wrote me and I listened and remembered. "I come here, because in you I share my day." This listening inspired several years of writing for both Maureen and me.

Recently, I learned a whole new perspective on the art of LISTENING. A new friend in the distance from Mexico, shared a wonderful video with me. I wanted to share it with you... 

Evelyn Glennie lost nearly all of her hearing by age 12. Rather than isolating her, it has given her a unique connection to music. In turn, she teaches others to listen differently---giving us all a new vantage point from which to LISTEN to one another---escaping our limiting beliefs about who we are and what we can contribute.

What Evelyn also demonstrates is a resolute passion in her work---a confidence about her presence that is one we all could benefit from seeing and experiencing as she brings to her insightful, inspiring message.  (TED Talk: Ideas worth spreading)

What lessons are you taking away about LISTENING?

Warm regards to all,
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter: @debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author

YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Taking Charge by Making Conscious Decisions Regarding Your Life – First Steps

Life is fast and full for most of us!  We go through the days like ships at sea without a compass, seemingly at the mercy of everything around us.  That is when it is important to make a conscious decision to pause and realize that we are the ones responsible for our lives.  We can take charge.  We can find our compass, our direction, and make a difference in the world.  Three steps we can take to achieve our direction are to quiet the mind, connect with the body, and evaluate whether or not we are expressing our gifts fully in the world.  All three of these practical expressions can make a major difference in the quality of our lives!

The first step:

Quieting the mind

·         Set aside time in silence at least 3 days a week for 20 minutes where you can begin to get to know yourself, your needs, your desires and aspirations.  Learn to identify and trust your intuition and inner voice.  We all have an inner voice that guides and directs us. We just need to listen.

·         Question: Can you think of one way this week that you could actually create a period of calm and stillness for yourself? 

The second step:

Connecting with the body

·         Learn to become more aware of your body’s needs.

·         Listen more closely to the signs that your body gives you, i.e. where are there aches, sensations and areas of tightness? Is your body sending you a message?  What might the message be?

·         Explore these sensations through yoga & movement. Your body holds great information about its own healing needs and emotional state of being.

·         Question: What 2 things would you need to do differently to begin to honor and care for your body in a new way?

By taking these two steps, you start to walk on a path of self-exploration.  You begin to get a sense of who you are and how your life fits into the scheme of things.  Each of us is unique and each of us has a unique contribution to make in the world.  The world today needs the contributions that are born from the qualities and gifts embodied in women.  We as women need to discover these gifts and bring them forth.

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

WOMEN as Friends: Showing Up

Even in the distance, I continue to appreciate more fully how important we all are to one another. I've been asked many times why we continue to blog --- especially, when very few people post a comment. It is an interesting calling. Compelling in its own way. I've learned you have to think beyond what is visible to appreciate the connection we all have even in the silence, difference, and distance.

Hundreds of women and some men visit this blog. I imagine who you are and what you are doing...and why you showed up. Sometimes, someone writes back, but I've realized "getting something" isn't a good reason for showing up. What draws me here is I feel all of you. I sense if we sat down together, we would have much in common. I write in hopes that somehow between us sometimes there is a moment of meaning that made a difference. I know Maureen shares this view too.

Stay with friends that support you...

Talk with them...
How you're doing...
and how they're doing
and keep your practices together.

--Rumi

We are each important to the other in our strange way.

With gratitude...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
Women in the Lead
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

Stepping Up Into Leadership

It is amazing to think that we all live on the same planet.  The more research that I do on feminine attributes and the differences between masculine and feminine communication the more I realize that it is a miracle that the planet holds as much peace as it does. 

In the past twenty years or so, we have read many works telling us what we already knew.  Men and women communicate differently.  In her book, The Female Brain, Louann Brizendine cites very specific chemical and hormonal differences between men and women that specifically affect language and communication, giving us a scientific basis for this.  It is in these exciting times of change that we, as women, need to discover these specifically feminine qualities and attributes in ourselves and appreciate, develop and use them.  As recently stated by Susan Taylor, Editorial Director, Essence “There's a new world on the way, and it starts with equity: progressive people, women and men, coming to the table and making peace.”   Women cannot gain equity until they learn to appreciate and value what they and they alone can contribute to our world; contributions that have been in the background for too long. 

Faith Winter, Outreach and Training Director of The White House Project and Westminster City Councilmember put it succinctly when she said, “It is imperative that…women…step up into leadership at this moment in time,  Their input is critical in order for us to solve … pressing challenges, from the budget and economy to education and health care”  That input needs to come from our feminine gifts.  As women, our voices need to be heard.  The world is crying for what we have to offer.

How do we break the confines of the past?  By taking small steps, if necessary.

• Notice how you speak to the men in your life.
• Observe when you feel listened to and when you don’t.
• Speak up; be clear and work towards clear communication and speaking your needs. 

All this adds to the development of a harmonious world.

Maureen Simon Contributing Author
415-381-5115
maureen@maureensimon.com
www.theessentialfeminine.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.com
www.facebook.com/maureensimon

WOMEN: Time-Tested Leadership Advice

There is some advice and counsel that passes the test of time. Peter F. Drucker, well-known as the father of modern management, left a lasting influence on my development as a leader. Today, his wisdom continues to guide leaders all over the world. Harvard Business Review celebrates his contributions in their November 2009 edition: The Drucker Centennial: What Would Peter Do? How his wisdom can help you navigate turbulent times.

Personally, I always loved his straight way of talking. I saw him once look out at an audience of many hundreds of people, all clinging to each word he spoke. He gave us that message you never forget:

"Make your contribution. Everything else is a diversion."
-- Peter F. Drucker

He also was very clear on the FOUR COMPETENCIES he thought every leader needed:

1. The willingness, ability and self-discipline to LISTEN. "Listening is not a skill; it is a discipline. Anybody can do it. All you have to do is to keep your mouth shut."

2. The willingness to COMMUNICATE, to make yourself understood.

3. RE-ENGINEERING MISTAKES. Being able to say, "This doesn't work as well as it should. Let's take it back and re-engineer it."

4. The willingness to realize HOW UNIMPORTANT YOU ARE compared to the task. "Leaders subordinate themselves to the task."

He reminded us about how great leaders see their role, "When effective leaders have the capacity to maintain their personality and individuality, even though they are totally dedicated, the task will go on after them. ...Otherwise they do things for personal aggrandizement, in the belief that this furthers the cause. They become self-centered and vain."

These four competencies are ones every leader would benefit from. Using them as your "yardstick" for self-assessment and ongoing renewal is a great idea, especially in these turbulent times. Ask yourself often --- perhaps at the end of each week --- How did I do this week LISTENING, COMMUNICATING, RE-ENGINEERING MISTAKES and SUBORDINATING my ego to the task at hand. 

Warm regards to all,
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter: @debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author

YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

(Source: The Daily Drucker: ...Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done)

When True Passion Guides Our Life

When true passion guides our life, things feel good, stuff gets accomplished and our boat floats down the river.  We have to get real about this topic, because we often don’t have a good balance or discretion about what really feels good.  Women in particular-placate, please, and build peace—these are great attributes as long as we don’t lose ourself and what we love to be and do in the process. Passion is a huge indicator, if you know when your life is juiced alive and ignited you have reached a place where doors will fling open, opportunities will present themselves and you will live a life you truly desire. We need to place our attention on what feels good and right in life for this to happen.

I’ve been speaking to a number of people recently who said that they are just not clear on what feels right in life for them at this time.  I am convinced that we are at a point now where so many systems are being restructured that we ourselves don’t even know what feels right.  Now knowing is not good enough any longer.  Our personal responsibility to pay attention to what feels right and good in our life will lead us to answers that we thought we may never find.

I read a book once entitled, “You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought” I enjoyed the title more than the book as it inspired me at that time in my life that I was luxuriating in negativity – tossing my hands up to the skies and wondering what part of the challenges that I was living did I actually have a say in. Years later, I have come to realize that I have a say in a large portion of this life that I am co-creating. I am co-creating with you, with spirit, with nature and with this grand universe but at the end of the day my very thoughts lead me to the life that I live on a daily basis.  I have learned to look closely at what feels good to me as I use the most clearly defined moral code that I have a available to me I combine the two and live life to the fullest.

Today, take time to look around your world and identify what really feels good what do you look forward to spending time on. What do you need to eliminate that is taking up too much of your time and not serving you well. I truly believe now more than ever we are at a time in history where we need to take personal responsibility and make decisions about our lives that serve us based on what feels right. Don’t feel greedy; you are actually serving the betterment of all when you take time to create a better life.

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

WOMEN: Changing from Within

Today, I woke up once again realizing my role is not to take on the world. It is to remember I was put here do my part --- to contribute something significant in my own right. Significant has different definitions for each of us. However, once we have this realization of purpose, what we do is significant. Remembering this reality always leads me to a kind of perpetual self-examination. The great sages, scholars and doers passed on knowledge of this great human need:

Plato proclaimed, "A life unexamined is not worth living."

Lao Tze also urged us to spend time in reflection. "Turn inward and digest what has happened."

Gandhi told us that real education comes from continually "drawing the best out of yourself." These insights have led me to believe that self-assessment is a perpetual call-to-action to be keenly aware----always listening, thinking, reviewing, evaluating, interpreting, discerning, deciding, being---reaching toward a stronger understanding of our own values and intended purpose---discovering a deeper sense of meaning in our lives each time.

Changing from within...
Start with questions.
Be grateful for the strengths you find.
And for the honesty in the weaknesses you identify.
Be truthful about what is standing in the way.
Re-set you direction.
Walk boldly!
Repeat these steps often.

Warm regards to all who stop by...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter: @debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author

What Really Lights your Fire?

Each of us has the ability to make a huge difference in our world! As my favorite Irish poet John O’ Donohue has written in Anam Cara:

“… There is a unique destiny for each person. Each one of has something to do here that can be done by no one else. If someone else could fulfill your destiny then they would be in your place and you would not be here…”

Photo by: J Fouchaux

 Having grown up in an Irish family and community… I must admit I do love the directness of the Irish. John’s statement is direct and fairly opinionated but opens many questions in my own mind. I have always interpreted Johns words to mean that we are each unique and each hold an important part of the whole.  It has strongly led me to believe that the world needs our unique offering. This quote often guides me to look more deeply at what I believe and value; to look more closely at what really lights my fire. I have found it useful in my journey to ask myself:

•  What issues or causes on the planet do I feel most strongly about?
• What is my unique destiny?
• What are my greatest gifts, strengths and talents and where can they make the most contribution?
• Where do I experience the most joy and satisfaction?
• What do I want more of in my life (of the things that I most value)?

I believe that NOW is the time for us to share our uniqueness with the world.  We need to be "Women Influencing Now" to help bring a balance into the world.  For that we need to live dynamically.  It is clear to me that part of the art of alive and dynamic living is staying “awake at the wheel”.  These questions awaken me to stay on course, moving closer to my own unique contribution.

 What do you really believe in and value? What questions do you need to ask yourself right now to find your true beliefs and direction?

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

WOMEN: Moments in Your Day

In a powerful little book, How Full is Your Bucket?: Positive Strategies for Work and Life, it reminds us of how important all the moments in our lives can be --- each one with the capability to have an enduring influence. As a leader, co-worker, friend, mom, sister, wife or partner, it also reminds us how important our words and actions can be in influencing someone else's moments and experience:

"According to Nobel Prize-winning scientist Daniel Kahneman, we experience approximately 20,000 individual moments in a waking day. Each "moment" lasts a few seconds. If you consider any strong memory --- positive or negative --- you'll notice that the imagery in your mind is actually defined by your recollection of a precise point in time. Rarely does a neutral encounter stay in your mind --- memorable moments are almost always positive or negative. In some cases, a single encounter can change your life forever."

When I read this again, memories flashed through my mind. I remembered the moments of victory when I shared some wonderful success with someone. I also had a flashback of a dreadful moment many years ago when I was a new manager at IBM. My best employee put her head on her desk one time and said, "I wish I were a problem." I had been so consumed with other problem employees, I had unintentionally left her without the support she needed. In my personal life, both the joy and sorrow came back vividly. Nothing neutral came up in these instant reflections.

Just being reminded will make me more conscious tomorrow about the influences I have on others' moments ---- and also on my own.

How about YOU?
What influence will you have on the 20,000 opportunities in the days ahead?

Warm regards,
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter: @debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author

We Are a Part of a Much Greater Picture: Our Passion is an Indicator

 “Deep within every life, no matter how dull or ineffectual it may seem from the outside there is something eternal happening.” John O’Donohue

I’ve come to know that we are part of a much greater picture than we might believe when we sit stuck in a traffic jam or feel frustrated about a challenging communication in our day. These days I have been learning to take an aerial view and fly high above the simple challenges that take place in my day-to-day life. I have come to believe that each of our lives may sometimes feel ineffectual, but in reality something very major is happening. The real art is to learn how to tune in to what is most important in our life? How do we identify what our true passion is so that we can begin to move from ineffectual to fully alive and passionate.

I believe the answer to us finding our passion-lies in our ability to connect with what is deep in our life – what is significant and important to us. I believe that we have deep wells of joy that are waiting to erupt as a geyser or a spring. We must take time to listen and to allow the answers and information that we need to find us.

Silence is a natural way to connect with what we hold deep in our hearts. Trust that through silence signs that come into your daily life – trust and your ability to follow what feels good and right in your life will all serve as great resources on your journey to connecting with the bigger eternal aspects of your life.

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

WOMEN: "The Danger of a Single Story"

Tonight, by chance, I ran into this amazing message by Novelist Chimamanda Adichie filmed early this year at the TED Conference.

As "a red lacquer dish needs no decoration," this beautiful, heartfelt message from Chimamanda Adichie needs no written introduction. What it needs is for YOU to listen. To take it in what she has to share with us all.

Learn more about her wonderful writing and inspiring work.

May we all invest in ourselves and one another, listening and learning there is more to us than a single story.

Blessings to you all...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪  Hardcover
www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
Twitter:@debbekennedy

Returning to Wholeness

What kinds of risks can you to take that will bring you closer to the life you were meant for?  What is the conversation about your life that you most often return to that no longer serves you?  What would you like to be, do or have that you keep relegating to the domain of “someday”? What wakes you up in the wee hours of the morning, seeking your undivided attention? Is there a dream that you’ve given up on or a joy you’ve forgotten?

 

Remembering your destiny is so much more than simply recalling some ephemeral past memories. It is actually a returning to, a rediscovery of your whole self and a full realization of your extraordinary place in the tapestry of life.

 

In order to live a fully expressed and alive life, it is absolutely essential on a daily basis to stretch beyond your normal comfort zone. Try something you’ve never done before. Let yourself have the freedom to imagine new possibilities in the areas of career, finances, fitness, well-being, friendship and love.  Say “yes” to an opportunity that arises.  And practice being utterly fascinated with your own answers to these questions:

 

What innate talents do I possess?

What are my greatest gifts?

What do I enjoy doing so much that I lose track of time while I’m doing it?

What are the guiding principles of my life—what is my polestar?

What do I love the most about life?

How can I have powerful and on-going support for taking risks and living fully?

 

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

LEADERSHIP: Acknowledging Progress

Whether you are a leader in an organization, in your home, in your church or in your community, these times of turmoil in the world are asking much of those around us. It is easy to forget how valuable a regular moment of acknowledgment and recognition can be in keeping others going.

Several years ago, during a family visit, I was reminded. I was in the kitchen making breakfast and I noticed there was a big glass jar about half full of marbles. Austin, age 5 at the time, saw me admiring them and said with his face beaming, "Those are mine! I asked him to tell me about them. "Well, when I do something really nice, like .... (long pause while he was thinking) ... like help my sister and clean up my toys, my mom and dad put a marble in the jar. See how many I've earned so far?!" I said, "You must be a very nice person." "I am." he said still glowing with self-assurance.

As a leader, especially when times are stressful, it is easy to find fault with others or overlook their achievements and milestones of progress. These difficult times also make our acknowledgements even more important. One leader told me one time, "No one recognizes me, so I find it difficult to recognize others." How sad. If you want to build confidence, morale and momentum in a positive direction, there is nothing more effective than acknowledging what others are doing RIGHT.

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated"
--- William James

Five Ways to Show Support and Appreciation
Showing support and appreciation asks more of us, but the returns are invaluable to the receiver and the giver when it is genuine and meaningful. I am so grateful for a couple of mentors who helped me make acknowledgment and recognition a conscious leadership practice. Below are five ideas I learned from their example. Now, I share them with you:

1. Say thank you genuinely ... and often.
2. When you know someone has a big task ahead, leave a voicemail or email to express your support. It could be in advance or be timed to arrive to be there waiting for them when the work is done.
3. Pass along a personal achievement memento that belongs to you to commemorate a new generation of excellence. Include the story of how you received it and its relationship to their honor.
4. Call someone who has been making a real personal effort to change. Acknowledge  the difference you've noticed. Give some specific examples of your observations.
5. When your success has been influenced by someone else's example or advice, credit them. Also, take time to express your appreciation.

What other ideas come to mind?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪  Hardcover
www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
Twitter:@debbekennedy

Waking Up, Taking Risks

Have you long had the sense that you are here to live a big life? Perhaps you have already achieved great success in particular areas of your life but are certain there is something more—and that something “more” has little to do with quantity and everything to do with quality.  There is a life awaiting you that is profoundly beautiful and richly satisfying, and suddenly you are willing to cross any terrain in order to meet it.

 

Going to the Outer Edge

 

In seeking to find the unblurred truth of your purpose and destiny, you may feel at times as though you’re caught in a maze of cultural conditioning and familial influences, along with some of your own once-useful, now outdated attitudes and beliefs. You’re not alone. Most of us have, for varying periods of time, taken to hibernating in an attempt to protect ourselves from both real and imagined dangers. When the pressures of living in a fast-moving world have felt overwhelming, a long, deep “nap” has seemed to be a reasonable coping technique. Then comes a point—one you’ve undoubtedly reached—where the cost of missing the sheer grandeur of life’s depth and breadth is too high a price to pay.  Waking up becomes the imperative.

 

In a status quo culture, remembering what you’re here for and consciously choosing  the life you were meant to live is risky business. It makes skydiving and walking on hot coals seem rather tame, although there is a distinct similarity. Like most extreme sports, diving fully into life is a conscious act that requires an artful synthesis of calculated risks, preparation and skillful planning.  When you whole-heartedly embark on the “Hero’s Journey” (that solitary quest to discover your true life) and when you make an agreement with yourself to wake up and allow all that has stopped you in the past to drop away, you discover an amazing paradox: You actually do  have the assistance and support of your true friends, the world and the entire universe.

 

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

WOMEN: A Call to Greatness

It is remarkable how things escape your notice until a perfect moment. In recent months, so many of you have reported that you are in the continouous state of re-evaluation --- reassessing how you will bring your unique gifts to this new world --- one changing and in turmoil in every direction you look. For some of us, everything we've counted on has been stripped way, asking us to reach deep inside to rediscover our own greatness.

This morning quite by chance, I came across a poem that I found in my father's treasures after he passed away. My dad was an optimistic man. He carried his share of tragedy and triumphs, but from his what he valued and left behind, I have recognized more fully that he was a man with a capacity to find HOPE in tomorrow. He was a man always working to become more in his own way. 

This poem draws upon this quality that lies in us all...

a poem found in my father's treasures

CALL to GREATNESS

There is a call to greatness
for every soul on earth--
A call to rise to our full height,
Assert our finest worth.

There is a call to greatness
So often we ignore--
We can't believe that it is we
The awesome call is for.

We fail to measure up,
For in our deprecating eyes
We cannot see that in ourselves
Potential greatness lies.

...There is a call to greatness,
Sometime, somewhere for all---
And life's dimensions rest upon
Our answer to the call.

by Helen Lowry Marshall
Quiet Power  

How will you answer to the call?

What potential in you is still left to discover?

Warm regards...
Debbe

RELATED:  
ONLINE Professional Development Class
as the Global Dialogue Center
"HOW TO GET BUY-IN for NEW IDEAS"
Are you a NEW IDEA? An INNOVATION yourself with something new and different to offer. Futurist Joel Barker is joining me to teach a special ONLINE professional class on OCTOBER 15. It is focused on learning how to engage others in your great ideas at work, in your business, with customers, or even if YOU are the new idea that you're presenting to the world.
Women in the LEAD Blog Readers may enroll with STUDENT discount.
Learn more... http://tinyurl.com/y984hn2 

Debbe Kennedy

Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter:@debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ May 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future
www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Integrity Equals Clear Will & Right Action

Knowing what we value deeply-what we hold most dear, when in alignment with being of service to the greater will of all allows us to take right action in our personal and professional lives when the will and action are conscious and in alignment, integrity follows.  One of the greatest challenges is to be clear on what is most important to us and have the courage to act in a manner that is right. Some examples to look at are the whistleblowers that have uncovered deceptive actions that have caused great pain in the lives of many.  There is a voice within us that tells us when we are acting right and when we are not. Small children are taught this from a very small age in huts in Africa and India and mansions in the Riviera. 

One of the things that is most important is to take a regular inventory of how we feel about the decisions that we are making in our life day-to-day. Trust that inner voice; it carries the wisdom of the ages. For more information on this topic join me for the upcoming webinar Creating, Influence, Success, and Power from the Feminine e-mail me at Maureen@maureensimon.com.

Maureen Simon
Co-Contributor
www.maureensimon.com
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
www.theessentialfeminine.com
Join our Facebook Group "Women Influencing Now"
twitter@maureensimon

WOMEN: Saving some sunshine...

The Sun has always been my friend.
It seemed to work its way into many seasons of my life.

As a young girl, I wore it in my hair. ...often tied back with yellow ribbons enroute to the beach when I could get there. I read a book once...romantic poems...I found a phrase that defined the place I hoped to live some day. It said...

"I've saved some sunshine should you ever need a place away from darkness for you mind to rest."

This saying traveled with me through truimphs and tragedies in the years that followed...a vision bright in sometimes unexpected darkness.

As the Sun came in on this quiet morning, I smiled as I looked up at the muted words now engraved over the arch in the doorway in my living room... "I've saved some sunshine...".

I used to think of this saying as simply a physical place where I would live.
Now my striving has changed.
It is the Sunshine in my soul that matters most to me today.
For that I am still a work-in-progress.

It's interesting to reflect on happenings in your life.
To stop and discover how far... and how very blessed you are to be here and now.
I am.

What reflections on your life are most meaningful?

Debbe

Best wishes,

Debbe 

Debbe Kennedy

Founder, Global Dialogue Center
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
Home of Women in the Lead

Twitter:@debbekennedy

Author...
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ May 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future
www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com

Beyond Uncertainty

  More so than ever before in the last fifty years, uncertainty is a part of everyday life. We are living today in a time when a lack of economic security, stressed relationships, and world upheaval puts pressure on each of us.  To flourish in the face of this pressure, it is necessary to step back, take charge and consider what goal we want to move towards.  An important question to ask is:  What do I want to come of this?   Since doubt comes when we hold conflicting desires, being clear of our purpose is the first step in becoming free from our doubts and fears.  Knowing our purpose and holding it steadfastly allows the things we need to come towards us. 

 

By understanding our purpose and ourselves, we can be confident in the face of the world’s uncertainty.  If our purpose is aligned with hope and the highest possible good, it cannot fail.  So, ask yourself where your greatest bout of uncertainty lies.  Ask why it exists in your life at this time and what you can learn about yourself from it.  Ask what is the highest good that can come from it.  Let the answers come to you and you may be surprised at you inner strength and reserves.

 

Maureen Simon
Co-contributor, Women In The Lead
(415) 381-5115
Maureen@maureensimon.com
http://www.facebook.com/maureensimon
http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com http://www.theessentialfeminine.com