That was all.
She knew exactly where the cards were, just past the front entrance on the right, which meant there was absolutely no reason for her to be standing twenty minutes later in an aisle labeled Travel & Adventure holding a book about Italy.
She wasn’t planning a trip to Italy.
She had no idea where she was going. That was unusual. She was good at know where she was going.
She made reservations. Checked directions. Looked at reviews. Knew what time things opened and approximately how long it would take to get there. She wasn’t obsessive about it. At least she didn’t think she was. She just liked having a plan.
But on this particular Saturday morning, she had none.
She had driven about forty minutes out of town to visit a little shop someone had mentioned weeks earlier. It turned out to be closed. Normally that would have irritated her. Forty minutes there. Forty minutes back. Nothing accomplished. A wasted morning.
A few days ago, someone shared a video with me of a young valedictorian named Kyle Martin standing at a graduation podium.
He had accomplished exactly what he set out to accomplish. He had worked relentlessly, earned extraordinary grades, and reached the top of his class. When he learned that he had been named valedictorian, the feeling was everything he imagined it would be.
For about fifteen seconds.
Then came the sixteenth second.
There’s another shift happening for women in leadership…and it’s showing up in a very different way.
More women are beginning to take their physical strength seriously…and it’s not a side goal or something separate from their work….but it’s part of how they lead.
This is the week when the world traditionally rushes toward “New Year energy.” That means fresh goals, big declarations, more commitments and new expectations layered on top of an already full life.
But this year…something different is happening among women in leadership.
Instead of pushing forward faster, they’re choosing to pause…not out of exhaustion, but out of wisdom. They’re doing something powerful, intentional and deeply strategic
This year’s “Bro IPO Summer” headlines tell us something we can’t ignore…despite decades of progress, when companies prepare to go public, women are still being left out of the most visible leadership seats.
A recent study of tech IPOs revealed that 88% had only zero or one woman on their boards and 93% had similar gps in their executive teams. That’s not just a disappointing statistic…it’s a flashing red signal.
If you’ve ever felt like the demands of leadership are pulling you in a hundred directions, you’re not alone. The higher you rise, the more blurred the lines become between your professional responsibilities and your personal life. And while many people talk about “work-life balance,” I prefer a different approach…work-life harmony.
Let’s face it: in today’s fast-paced, hyperconnected world, it’s easy to feel like we’re always falling behind. Someone else seems to have it all together—the perfect career, the perfect life, the perfect everything. And as leaders, especially as executive women, the weight of comparison and expectations can feel even heavier.
Finding your own time is not being selfish, and it should not have any cause for guilt. With the crazy, busy world we live in, finding time for yourself can be a huge challenge. As women we do experience guilt when we manage to find a few moments of time for ourselves and sometimes, we give up before we do because it doesn’t feel that it’s worth the effort. But…it is.
I always have interesting conversations and incredible people watching episodes when I’m at the airport. I listen and observe, I engage and I observe some more. At one airport, I was waiting for a flight and we were delayed so many times that it was almost a game to see when the app and the […]
Isn’t it funny that when you make the decision to be an entrepreneur your rationalization for situations is not always “smart”? Let’s take me for instance,the first thing everyone tells you to do is to have a business plan….but, why would I need a business plan? I was in business for myself. I was never […]
How many times have we talked about what motivates people? Is it money? Is it prizes? Is it a trip? Is it recognition? Throughout my career, I have won so many contests and I was the proud recipient of fishing poles, tackle boxes, golf clubs, tickets to The Masters, tickets to Nascar and the list […]