EXECUTIVE WOMEN NETWORKING

Happy New Year!! Similar to Mike, I am ready to blog again. Hope you are all ready to read and comment.

Last week, I went out to dinner and to see a play with a group of 25 business women. We had a great time and I made several good contacts. This evening of fun came about as a plan one night while I was out to dinner. Anita, Cindy and I were having dinner to discuss some Shelter Our Sisters business. Anita began to recommend a play to us that she had recently seen. Cindy made the comment that it would be a fun girls night out to go see the play. We each began to ask friends if they were interested and the next thing we knew it had grown to 25 women. Thank goodness Anita was willing to do all the coordination. Since every woman was invited, there was a level of trust that does not exist when you attend a formal "networking" event. I made three very good contacts that I believe can help me in my business and two contacts that I believe I can help in their business. That is a very successful night especially when you consider I was only there to have fun and see a great show. By the way, dinner and the show were great.

For those of you that have been following the blog for some time, you know that I am a recent convert to the idea that women should network to create the "old girls club". I am not suggesting that women should exclude men from their networks or in anyway be unfair or biased. However, I have recently come to realize that women should add networking with other women to their other connections. However, I have been struggling with how to do this in a way that works for me. Personally, I find formal networking organizations too forced and artificial for my taste. The other night, I found what works for me. Small, personal, social events that assist in connecting some of the women in each of three women's networks to one another. It was great!

While I am writing about women networks, this can be applied to any group. So get a friend or two and plan a social evening doing something you enjoy. Then each of you invites a few of your friends and the group grows. The night of the event, just let everyone meet one another! Simple but effective.

Until Next Time,
Gail

A WOMAN'S NATION

This month a new book was released The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything and the Time Magazine cover story is The State of the American Woman. The impetus for the press coverage about women is that it is expected that by the end of the year, for the first time in history, the majority of American workers will be women. Now this is being driven by advances of women in the workplace but unfortunately also largely by the economic downturn which has hit men harder than it hit women.

I have not yet read the Shriver Report so I will let you know my thoughts after I read it. But I have heard her in various interviews about the book. I have read the various articles and polls within Time Magazine. As you would expect there are several interesting statistics on the progress made over the last 40 years. In 1972, only 7% of students playing high school sports were girls; now the number is six times as high. Close to half of all law and medical degrees go to women, up from fewer than 10% in 1970. But there are also statistics on challenges that remain. Women are only about 10% of civil engineers and a third of physicians and surgeons. We have previously discussed on this blog that boardrooms and corner offices are still filled mainly by men. The detail in the magazine on the polls and the different answers based on demographics is worth reading. The overall conclusion is clear, the roles of men and women have changed dramatically in the last 40 years.

To me, the most interesting part of all of this has been that men and women agree on a major remaining challenge. They agree that government and businesses have failed to adjust enough to the changes in the family. Has your company changed enough? The statistics would suggest a dramatic shift in reality happened slowly over the last 40 years. Should we stop and re-evaluate top to bottom what needs to change in business to address the new reality? Last week's post was on Corporate Cultures, do they reflect the new reality of the American workforce?

Until Next Time,
Gail

STAYING CONNECTED

Today's post is about staying connected to people and to new ideas. Over the past two weeks, I have had conversations with several successful people about the challenge of maintaining their network of friends and colleagues. They all know the value of staying connected but the challenge is finding the available time.

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that the most valuable assets we have in life is the relationships we develop with people and the experiences and knowledge we gain throughout our lives. These assets are ours for life. They are not dependant on the job we have, or more frequently in today's world, the job we do not have at the time. However, we have more and more demands made on our time so we have less and less available time. But remember, that our days still consist of 24 hours. We do not have less time, we just have less available time. So how do we make time for staying connected not only to people but to new, fresh, and different ideas?

Well, in my opinion the first step is to reevaluate your priorities. Are you spending your time on the things you value most? Mike does a great discussion in our workshops about treating your family as your number one client. That technique is really about aligning your priorities with your allocation of time. But after you have done that, it is also about find effective and efficient ways to use your time.

Let's start with staying connected to people. In the discussions I have had recently, I mentioned that just sending a quick email that states you were thinking about the person and hope they are doing well. To each person that I suggested this their response was, "I do not want to send such a trite email to anyone." My response, "So you think it is better to not contact them at all? How will they even know you are thinking of them?" A quick email or quick call is better then no contact at all. Remember, they are just as busy and pressed for time as you are, so quick is good. The second thing I would mention is that people remember the smallest kindness. Be nice and caring to everyone and it will come back to you when you least expect it.

Now let's talk about staying connected to ideas and creative thinking. There are so many ways to stay connected to world and business events today that I could not list them all. The trick though is to see out ideas and thoughts that are different than yours. Instead of selecting a news channel or newspaper columnist because you usually agree with them, choose one because you usually disagree with them. One of two things will happen. You may find that you agree with them on more than you originally thought or even if it confirms your suspicion that you will disagree, you will understand the oppositions point of view better and can better prepare yourself to successfully debate the issue. Your brain can handle an infinite amount of information. Allow yourself access to dissenting views, expand your horizons and make your own decisions. You will be wiser and a more interesting individual, which will assist with the first point of connecting with people.

Relationships are not only fun but are vital to your career success. Invest in yourself and make the effort to stay connected to people and to new ideas. Share with us your ideas on how to use your time efficiently and effectively to stay connected.

Until Next Time,
Gail

WOMEN IN POLITICS

Women now drive the global economy controlling $20 trillion in annual consumer spending is the conclusion in an article in this month's Harvard Business Review entitled The Female Economy.

That global economic power should also mean increased opportunities for women in business and politics when we begin to come out of this global recession. There is a survey being conducted by The Boston Consulting Group on what women want and early results of the survey can be viewed at http://womenspeakworldwide.com/.

Specifically, given the amount of government influence today and in the future around the world, women will need to hold a larger percentage of elected positions in order to have their voice and views influence legislation. In the USA, there is a group focused on helping women prepare for political office. Check out this website http://thewhitehouseproject.org/.

Finally, check out this Forbes article You Want To Run For Office. Now What? The article is the story of a woman with no previous interest in politics that made the decision to run and won a seat in her state assembly.

Do you agree that more women need to run for public office?

Great to be back at the blog the day after Labor Day! Until Next Time,
Gail

WELCH: "NO SUCH THING AS WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Once again, Jack Welch proves to be an expert at the blunt sound bite. He was a speaker at the Society for Human Resource Management and told them that women climbing the corporate ladder need to choose between taking time off to raise their children and reaching the corner office.

Read the article and of course there are those who agree and disagree with him. Unfortunately, there is not a transcript of his exact words. Some people interviewed agreed with him and others said that companies need to change to accommodate a diverse workforce.

Welch is quoted in the article as saying their are work-life choices and they have consequences. This is a true statement and men and women both make these choices all day long, every day. We all deal with these challenges differently and some do a better job than others. I have worked with men that worked crazy hours but whenever they were not out of town, they went home to have dinner and tuck the kids into bed, then they worked late into the night to make up the time. I have worked with others who came in after taking the kids to school. I do not have children, so I would work till I dropped during the week but look to get the weekends off. We all do it differently and we may not do it great.

It is important though to remember why we are doing "it" at all. Whatever your career goals, which may or may not be the corner office, remember that we work to live not live to work. Therefore, we all need to find the balance that works for us. I remember reading an interview that Jack Welch gave when he first retired. In the interview, he said that he was completely unprepared to stop working and it was very hard on him. Sounds like he had not found balance.

But let's get back to women and specifically having children. For the most part, I think companies and women have figured this all out and women are very successful even after taking maternity leaves. However, time off does have a price. In my experience, I have seen women achieve great positions but slower then they would have without extended periods of time off.

But, I do think the corner office is different. I believe that what Jack Welch said is often true when boards are selecting CEO candidates. I think women should be proactively educating boards and CEO search firms that select CEO candidates and look at career timelines. Timelines are meaningless. Results are what matters.

What are your thoughts and experinces? How do you achieve work-life balance?
Until Next Time,
Gail

IF WE WANT FUTURE WOMEN LEADERS, LET'S TEACH OUR DAUGHTERS MATH

There is an interesting article in Forbes Women How to Raise a Rich Daughter. The article covers the fact that women hold 43% of the investable wealth in America, only 10% of Asset Managers are women. There are many other statistics of how quickly females drop out of interest in math at the various education levels. Even if a woman does not become an asset manager, she will need math and some accounting knowledge to succeed in running a business.

So let's get our daughters, nieces, mentees and proteges focused on math! Maybe there is a business opportunity for someone here. The article highlights that most computer games with math as a basis are the "shoot em up" variety that appeals more to boys than girls. Maybe one of our readers will create a computer game based in math that appeals to girls.

Until Next Time,
Gail

THE 5 C's of LEADERSHIP- CONCLUSION

Thank you for following the series on the 5 C's of Leadership. We received a few posted comments on the blog and several emails sent directly to me. As always, your comments and questions are very helpful.
Just as a reminder the 5 C's of Leadership are as follows:

• Compelling Vision


• Competence and Common Sense


• Communication and Collaboration


• Creation of Leaders and Teams


• Character and Integrity

One of the first comments I received was a reader that pointed out that these are interdependent and all 5 must be addressed by a leader. I completely agree. A compelling vision without the competence or people to execute the vision will not change the organization or achieve your goals. Similarly, great communication skills without content is hollow and again will fail. So thanks again to our blog followers.

Several others wrote to me that the 5 C's were simple, clear and right on point. Another wrote that, as always, the devil is in the detail. They pointed out that it was the detail and description within each of the 5 C's that made them useful.

Another reader pointed me to a Harvard Business Review article from January 2009 entitled Women and the Vision Thing. I read the article and recommend it to all of you. If you are an HBR online subscriber you can read the entire article. If not, you can read a recap by going to hbr.harvardbusiness.org and go to back issues under January 2009 and you will find the article. The authors address a study that showed women were judged to be less visionary than men in 360 degree feedback and although it may be a matter of perception, it stops women from getting to the top. Our blog reader asked if I had any thoughts on how women could change this perception. The authors of the article put forth three theories for this perception: 1) women are equally visionary but in a different way; 2) women hesitate to go out on a limb; and 3) women don't put much stock in vision. I would like to put forth a fourth theory. In the article they show graphs of the vision question differences between men and women. The women scored higher on vision from subordinates and slightly lower on vision from their superiors. The big difference was with peers, particularly male peers, which scored women much lower on vision. While I think all three of the theories in the article are important for women leaders to be aware of and careful to overcome and for men to be aware of so they judge on content as well as perception. But what I would like to add is that I think women do not always think of their peers as stakeholders, which is a mistake. ALL stakeholders need to be considered when introducing change. Peers are stakeholders and often enablers (such as support groups) but if not on board can also be serious roadblocks to achieving the goals. Anyone else have any ideas?

In summary, Mike and I are using the 5 C's in our workshops and are glad they were interesting and helpful to you. As always, we welcome your comments and ideas. I would like to leave you with two thoughts. First, remember that we should all be lifelong learners and none of us are perfect. So give yourself a break if you don't meet all 5 C's everyday. But never give up on improving and striving to be the best leader you can become. Second, leadership is a great responsibility. Your actions impact people's lives and livelihood. But leadership is also a great privilege. You can really make a difference. Make it a positive difference.

Until Next Time,

Gail

POSITIVE CHANGE REQUIRES LEARNING

I received the article Going Dutch subtitled How an American living in Holland learned to love the European welfare state from a friend that is currently living in Holland. The article is a good read and explores some of the socialism versus capitalism issues. It is timely for Americans discussing universal health care.

However, there is a broader reason that I am posting this article. To me, when we come out of this global recession, we will all need to re-evaluate the way we did things before the economy crashed. Governments and companies around the world will need to change. But change for change sake is not the goal. The goal is improvement.

To achieve that goal of positive change, we will all need to learn from others and adapt good ideas for our businesses. Using this article as an example, it is not helpful to just say you are for or against socialism or capitalism. You have to learn what those words mean and most importantly is there a middle ground?

My mother always taught me that extremes were usually bad and it was in finding balance that we usually found the right answer. Since yesterday was Mothers' Day, it seems fitting for me to acknowledge this insight as one of many smart things my mother taught me.

Thanks Mom for everything especially for inspiring me.
Until Next Time,
Gail

SUSAN BOYLE AND LEADERSHIP

Have you seen some of the YouTube postings on Susan Boyle? View this now! You won't be able to watch it only once and you will search YouTube for the follow-on press reports and interviews.

There is so much in this video, I don't know where to start and I certainly don't know where to end. It was inspirational. It was courageous. It was a lesson for leaders to judge people on what they bring to the table, not how they look or dress. It was about giving people a chance. It was about being yourself not anyone else. It was about the purposelessness of being cynical.

Gail and I were recently questioned about 'fear' at a recent conference. One of the attendees spoke of the fear of doing something. We responded that all humans, and therefore all leaders, have fears. Leaders acknowledge the fears and move ahead to achieve their goals. Susan Boyle moved ahead to achieve her goal.

By the way, were you able to keep a dry eye viewing the video?

Cheers, Mike

WOMEN'S BUSINESS NETWORKS

For those of you that have been following the posts under Women Leaders, I have some interesting news.

On 4/1/09 Forbes magazine launched Forbes Woman. Read the welcome letter from publisher Moira Forbes.Let's all follow it and see how it progresses.

One of the first articles by Sylvia Ann Hewlett is consistent with many of our posts in the Women Leaders category.

Ding, Dong, The Witch is Dead covers several topics we have all discussed such as Personal Advisory Boards, the Old Girl's Club, and the fact that women should help other qualified women the way they would any other affinity group in which they participate.

Let's follow this new Forbes Woman and see where it goes.

By the way, I had lunch last week with the CEO and Founder of Girls For a Change. She has dedicated her career to helping young girls build the necessary self esteem to succeed in the future.

We discussed possible ways to link professional women's networking and leadership development with her organization. Maybe there is a way to help a girl and a professional woman at the same time. Stay tuned.

Until Next Time,
Gail

LEADERS DO THE RIGHT THING, EVEN AT PERSONAL RISK

Iris Mack was an analyst with the Harvard Management Company that managed Harvard's endowment. According to this article in The Harvard Crimson, Iris, who was formerly an analyst at Enron, wrote an email to one of the leaders of the endowment pointing out that she believed that certain managers were trading derivative contracts without understanding the amount of risk involved.

It was a brave thing for Iris to do. It was the right thing to do. It is what Leaders do. Unfortunately, as you might suspect, Iris's comments were not well received. She was in fact let go. As the article goes on to point out, she was right of course.

I will say the following often for the foreseeable future. Leadership is about doing the right thing over making money. Look at the crisis we are in now. It was caused by a lack of leadership where making money was more valued than doing the right thing.

Now what is required is that Leaders must rise in this crisis and do so by doing the right thing. People are looking for leadership in every corner of the world right now. They are there, but they must have the courage of their convictions to step up. As you evaluate leaders going forward, look first are they doing the right thing? The right thing may not always be clear. But the wrong thing is often black and white.

Cheers, Mike

WOMEN: IT IS NOT JUST THE GLASS CEILING

There is an excellent article in the archives of the Harvard Business Review on the challenges facing women leaders. Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership by Alice H. Eagly & Linda L. Carli.

First, let's start with some sobering statistics:

• Only 1% of CEO's in the Fortune Global 500 are women
• Only 2% of CEO's in the US Fortune 500 are women
• Only 4% of the CEO's and Heads of Boards in the EU Fortune 500 are women
• Only 15% of board seats of public companies are held by women

The article elaborates on the point that when you put all the pieces together a new picture emerges for why women do not make it to the C-suite. It is not only the glass ceiling but the sum of many obstacles along the way.

In fact women do not rise through the ranks the same as men and then all of a sudden hit their heads on the glass ceiling. They disappear in varying numbers at many points in their careers leading up to the glass celing stage. I have seen the same studies done throughout the professional services industry that proves that women in essence leak out of the system slowly and methodically at every stage of the ladder of "success".

The conclusion is that it is due to conscious and unconscious mental associations about women and men as leaders. The double bind that women find themselves in is if they demonstrate too many characteristics that people associate with women, they are not tough enough and do not have the "right stuff". But if they show too much of the tough, aggessive style thought to be a good leader, they are demonized as pushy , bitchy or worse. Again, they do not have the "right stuff".

I was at a leadership development workshop last week with 100 participants. The women in the group (about 10%) asked me at the end of the session, if I would work with them to create a network in which we could all help one another to succeed and if I would assist as a mentor.

If you have read my earlier posts under the "Women Leaders" category, you will know that I am now very passionate on this subject so of course I agreed.

As we began to talk, we discussed this issue of the double bind before a professor from Yale, Victor Vroom, suggested I read this article.

I was telling him that a boss of mine once said that the secret to my success was that I had an iron fist inside a silk glove. At the time, I thought it was just one of those odd things men sometimes say to women in business settings. However, I have since realized that he was spot on! I now realize he was saying I had found a way to navigate the labyrinth.

It is funny that Mike would post today quoting Ann Mulcahy on leadership. I have had the opportunity to meet her a few times at the Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business Summit and hear her address large groups. She is a perfect example of someone who has navigated the labyrinth. She combines the traits many of us think of feminine and masculine all into one great leader.




Note: You can read the entire article by going to HBR.harvardbusiness.org and putting the title of the article into search.

ANN MULCAHY ON LEADERSHIP

Ann Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, was interviewed by a reporter from the NY Times. She made a number of good points including these on leadership.

She points out that not everyone is created equal when it comes to leadership. Some people are more advanced as leaders than others. It is important for leaders to identify those that have the talent to become leaders in the organization. She continues by saying that those people should be trained differently, compensated more and given more and a wider array of experiences.

She also said that "creating followship" is the most important thing that a leader can do. As Gail and I often say, "turn around and see if you have any followers, not those who have to be there. Look for those who could be anywhere and they choose to follow you."

Cheers, Mike

CANDID FEEDBACK AND COACHING- ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN

Calling all leaders! You can not develop talent without candid feedback and coaching.

An anonymous but wise individual once said, "Good management is not only the gift of identifying talent, but the art of selective recognition of strengths and weaknesses, and the proper encouragement of the best in any man or woman."

One of the stories in our book is Spend More Time with Your Stars, Not Your Duds. This entire post is about the time you spend with your stars. You can help them develop and be even better then they thought possible, if you give them candid feedback and coaching.

Let's start with the feedback:

• Feedback must be VERY candid and honest. Do not sugar coat. Be straight forward.
• Feedback should be timely. On your way back from the sales call, not 3 months later.
• Informal and formal feedback are both required and should be consistent.
• Tell them what YOU think, don't pass the buck by saying this is what others are saying.
• Be specific. 'You were great' is just as useless as 'you were awful'. Instead, you were great can be followed by- when you answered the client's question because you were confident and spelled out the three things we would do for them that was different from our competitor. 'You were awful' can be followed by, 'I was so surprised when you hesitated when the client asked that question. You knew the answers, why were you so hesitant? It made us seem unsure of our action plan'.
• Provide positive feedback as well as constructive criticisms
  

Now, let's move on to coaching:

The best feedback still needs to be backed up by coaching. So now, I know what I did wrong but how can I fix it? Or, thanks for the positive feedback. How can my strengths be leveraged for even better results? How can I advance my career?

• Candidness is required here as well. What do they need to do to improve? How can they leverage their strengths to continue to succeed? What else do they need in their skills portfolio to achieve their goals?
• Make sure you know what are THEIR goals- not yours projected on to them.
• Make a specific plan of action
• What are you as the leader willing to do to help?

There is an article on the subject How to Provide Feedback That Has an Impact.

Leaders need to provide candid feedback and coaching to ALL employees.

Leaders need to provide more feedback and coaching to their stars. The ROI is better then when done with under performers.

Now, why is this especially true for women as the title of this post asserts? In my experience, this is often one of the unintentional disservices done to women in business. The feedback is sugar coated. The coaching is often superficial.

Over the years, when I was the leader reviewing the overall ratings and promotion recommendations, I noticed that sometimes the verbal comments I was told did not coincide with the written evaluations. The written was more positive then the verbal. As I asked more questions and eventually asked why didn't you tell them that, the answer was "I didn't want to be too hard on them". I also noted that while not done exclusively to women it was done more often to them.

On coaching I noticed that too often the women were not given some of the casual and informal feedback that the men were given simply because they were not driving to and from the golf course or softball field together. Again, not a plot against women, but still unfortunate.

So we need candid feedback and quality coaching for all employees. If my experience is indicative of the business world, then we need to be even more careful to make sure we do this for the women on our teams.

What can we all do?

Be great leaders and give candid feedback and coaching to all your employees.

Women, demand candid feedback and coaching! Keep pushing until you get it. Tell your boss you can handle it and want to hear every little thing and then, act on the feedback.

Until next time,
Gail

WOMEN LEADERS: LET'S CREATE THE OLD GIRL'S CLUB

Last week I posted about Women Leaders and Networks. We have received many calls about the post and thank Erin for her posted comments.



Since then I read an amazing report from the Catalyst group. A census of the Fortune 500 Reveals Women Gained Little Ground Advancing to Business Leadership Positions. Bottom line the news is not good for women and even worse for women of color. The report covers boards of directors and executive positions.

There is also an article in Consultant News regarding an E&Y white paper issued during the World Economic Forum. E&Y: Women Bring Strength to Rebuilding the World Economy. At a time when fresh perspectives are needed and we need all the leadership strength we can muster, it is time to place renewed emphasis on the advancement of women.

So put these two articles together and here is the result- we need renewed emphasis on the advancement of women leaders just when the advancement has stagnated. Great!

To top it all off, I have had occasion over the last six months to speak to several groups of high performing business people in their early 30's. In EVERY case, after the speech several women came up to me to discuss the need for initiatives to help young women succeed in business.

At first, I was shocked and then dismayed. I responded that those were the issues of my generation and the ones before me. Certainly, they were working in a more receptive environment. Their response was a loud- no. The issues they raised were eerily familiar to me. Especially, that the old boys network was alive and well but that my generation had not created an "old girls club".

The "Old Girls Club". Ughhh, I hate the name! Ooops, I digress. Specifically, here are a few actions we (let's make this an equal opportunity initiative and include the men) can all take today.

1) Women on Boards of Directors
The Catalyst organization already has some programs focused on getting more women on boards. What can you do to support this effort? Recommend women for boards. Ask members of boards you know how many women they have on boards and in particular ask about women of color. Let's all push together!

2) Networking Our Networks
Erin made a great comment post to my original post- let's all agree to introduce one of our networks to someone else's network. We can expand our networks very quickly.

3) Ask Something Specific of Your Networks
This gets back to the original discussion that women don't like to "use" their networks. But that is why they exist. Ask for referrals, ask for business, ask for something. We all love to help but we don't like to ask. So think of it as enabling someone else to help.

4) Become the "Old Girls Network" for a High Potential Woman
This is mentoring on steroids. At the end of this year be able to say you provided the network for a deserving young woman.

Okay, so that is as far as I am on a plan. It needs more but it is a start.

Thoughts? Ideas? I need your help.

Until next time,
Gail

WOMEN LEADERS AND NETWORKS

This morning I watched a video clip on the WSJ online. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright discussing women and leadership, finding her voice and the current state of women leaders around the world.

In the interview she makes a point about women needing to support other women. She mentioned that when she was in the UN there were only 7 women as permanent members.

They started a network group and agreed to take each others calls before any others.

Last week, I had the opportunity to hear Mary O'Hara- Devereaux speak at a women in business leadership forum. She was outstanding. In her speech she mentioned that women needed to start "power networks". I really missed the boat here.

Throughout my career, I stayed away from women's networks completely. This was driven by the misguided notion that if I shunned these groups I would be a leader not a woman leader.

Earth to Gail- you are a woman!

When I did participate, I saw them as social networks. Fun to be with people with similar interests. And yes, at times, I even whined with my female friends. This is hard for me to admit as I have always had a "no whining rule".

But I never used these networks as power networks. The reason? Well, after much soul searching, I realize it is the word used that bothered me. I did not want to use my friends. I did not want to use the fact that I was a woman.

Now what is really shocking about this is that I realized very early in my career that business was all about relationships. I believe companies do not sell to other companies but rather people sell to other people. In fact, I believe my interpersonal skills- building and earning trust, building relationships- were key to whatever success I attained.

So why then did I shun a natural connection such as other women? I have also spent much of my career focused and committed to developing others, especially those who worked for me. Yet, I was very careful not to favor the women.

Well today all that changes. I am publicly declaring my new commitments.

I am committed to building power networks.
I am committed to leveraging my relationships with other women leaders.
I am committed to helping less experienced women succeed.

Now, this does not mean I will do any less then I have been doing for the men I know. There are great male leaders out there. Although these days we are hearing more about the leadership failures.

Bring it on! I am ready to go!

Oh, by the way, I do not have a plan so I do not know exactly where I am going with this yet. Thoughts? Ideas?

Until next time,
Gail