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Category: Women in Leadership

Delight Is Not a Distraction From Your Power. Successful Women Can Have Fun!

Delight Is Not a Distraction From Your Power. Successful Women Can Have Fun! Hardworking. Focused. Clawing your way to the top. Breaking ceilings. Fighting for your place in the sun. This is how success is often defined for women. Everything else? A distraction. There’s no time for anything but what matters. And certainly no time for something as frivolous as fun. But what if that’s exactly where we’ve misunderstood something essential? What if delight is not a distraction from your power, but a vital part of it?

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Rethinking Self Esteem in Women: Why They Still Feel “Not Enough”

“By today’s definition, self-esteem is a noun, a thing. I am purposefully removing the hyphen, so that self esteem in women becomes the action it deserves to be — we women actively valuing ourselves, not only what we achieve, but more importantly who we are being.” ~ Maria Connolly

Self esteem in women  doesn’t always look like insecurity.Self esteem in women doesn’t always look like insecurity. In fact, it often hides behind impressive résumés, packed calendars, and relentless competence. Many high-achieving women have learned how to succeed in nearly every area of life, yet still carry an underlying feeling that we must constantly prove our value. The question isn’t whether we’re capable. The question is why our worth still feels conditional.

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The Auto-Accommodating Reflex: How It Shows Up Even When You’re Confident

Auto-accommodating is an unconscious, compulsive habit of managing, fixing, or adjusting to the emotions and needs of people around you to avoid conflict or ensure your own safety and peace.

Auto-accommodating is an unconscious, compulsive habit of managing, fixing, or adjusting to the emotions and needs of people around you to avoid conflict or ensure your own safety and peace.I’ve discovered during the past 20 years… something about brilliant, professional women. There’s a pattern that quietly follows these capable, thoughtful women through their lives.

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Feed Your Ambition Without Losing Yourself: A Sustainable Approach to Leadership

Feed Your Ambition & Catapult Your Leadership Career to SuccessWanting to feed your ambition comes with a complicated emotional landscape, especially if you’re a woman. I believe what Anthony Trollope said, “It is a grand thing to rise in the world. The ambition to do so is the very salt of the earth.” Yet that ambition can feel surprisingly conflicted.

You may feel a deep pull to grow, lead, create something meaningful, or expand your influence. At the same time, you notice hesitation and doubts creeping in. Will people think I’m too much?  Am I ready for this level of responsibility?  What if I fail?

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It’s Vital to Stop Asking for Permission: Surprising Ways We Can Regain Power

How to Stop Asking for Permission: Take The Permission AuditAt first glance, permission seems harmless. It’s simply the courtesy we extend to others and expect in return, right? Actually, for many women, permission has become a quiet habit that restrains us. Before acting, we check in, explain, and wait for someone else to nod. That conditioning runs deep, and it often undermines our confidence. But now, in this next season of life, we can stop asking for permission. But first, it’s important to recognize how and when we seek permission.

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