Flummoxed. Befuddled. Speechless.
Why?
What words of introduction could do justice to this collection of entertaining intelligent and thought provoking contributions that include:
- Aubrey Hepburn and the Pied Piper on film
- Sexy Frenchmen ironing clothes while wearing none
- The music of Edith Piaf
- Tom Peters reading aloud
- The man behind the woman behind the man behind the woman named Dietrich
- and more
So please without further ado grab your favorite glasses – be they reading, wine, beer, martini, coffee, tea, water or otherwise. Climb into your most comfy chair and then indulge your mind, your heart and your senses. You may enjoy a chuckle or two as well.
When a French Man Explains Masculinity to Women
Do All French Men Iron in the Nude?
by Marion Chapsal at Geronimo Coaching
You won’t see this in English anywhere else. Marion provides a unique translation of highlights from “The Man Explained to Woman” by French author Vincent Espedes. Beware of bold language and racy pictures as Marion discusses “The Balls Philosophy” and explains why “The future of business belongs to the feminine archetype” and the men and women who adopt and embrace it. Link to post
The Little Big Things – Gender Section
by Tom Peters
Tom quotes a headline from The Economist “Forget China, India and the internet. Economic growth is driven by women.” as he reads 4 short pieces from his newest book. He tells us “The customer is She,” so “Knock off the football analogies.” Tom has been obsessed with this issue since 1966 and you get to hear what this obsession has produced.Click to hear Tom
25 Brain Tips
by Dr. Ellen Weber at Brain Leaders and Learners
Ellen explores how we can capitalize on the differences between the brainpower of men and women to raise our leadership and innovation IQs. Neuroscience research is cited to support the claim that big wins come from the brilliance of our blended masculine and feminine wisdom.Link to post
Sloshing the Coffee
by Jane Perdue at Get Your Leadership Big On
Here’s a bit of levity along with good advice to follow Ellen’s brain workout. Only the original HR Goddess could address stereotypes and instigate change by sloshing coffee. Jane shares her story with intelligence and humor.Link to post
Men in the Workplace: Power and Privilege
by Paul McConaughy at FURI – Focus Urgency Reach Impact
Very special thanks to Paul who wrote a wonderful article about those who are born to power and privilege and are blind to its effects. I asked Paul if he would write about this issue from his own perspective. Taking on this mission is to be the lone voice telling the emperor he has no clothes, when thousands tell a story he would much prefer to hear. Paul is a man of courage.Link to post
When Empathy Leaves the Room
by Gwyn Teatro at You’re Not the Boss of Me
In a previous NOW post Gwyn listed empathy among the critical attribute of 21st century leaders, and I agree..totally. Empathy cures. Empathy resolves problems. Empathy dissolves anger and addresses hurts. Empathy helps create products that fit. Gwyn shares a clip from an Audrey Hepburn movies and describes a real work environment devoid of empathy and full of dysfunction.Link to post
The Rise of the Feminine in Leadership
by Anna Smith at What Do You Want From Them
Anna Smith honors us with a post written specifically for NOW. It is laced with intelligence and “deathless inspiration” as she expands and deepens the definition and thinking behind NOW Leadership. I am also grateful for her list of men and women who write about leadership from the NOW and a balanced perspective. If for no other reason, and there are plenty of those, check out Anna’s post to add to your own list of NOWLeadership resources.Link to post
Redefining Greatness (It’s Complicated)
by Tony Schwartz at The Energy Project
After discovering Tony on Anna’s post (above) I contacted him and offered an invitation to write for NOWLeadership. He responded immediately with an email stating, “My mother, Felice Schwartz, who died in 1995, founded Catalyst in 1962, which has been fighting the battle for women in leadership now for nearly 50 years. So I’m honored to be thought of someone who supports women, and writes in ways that reflect masculine and feminine. I’ll await your invitation!” I hold Catalyst in high regard for the tremendous effect they have on the way women are valued in business, so I was especially thrilled to meet Tony and to hear about his mother. In this post Tony addresses the need to for leaders to integrate what may seem to us opposing qualities. I look forward to Tony’s future contributions written specifically for NOW. Link to post
Women Leaders: Not Seen, Not Heard, Not Utilized
That’s me at Germane Insights
“I am not fighting for women but for the future. What got us here won’t get us there and women are critical to the difference we need to create.” This post was written to engage conversation about and increase the inclusion of women on “Best Leadership” (blogger, writers, speakers, thinkers) lists. It worked. The conversation is, in part, here on this post and more diverse “Best” lists have been noted. The writing also represents my core thinking about why we need more women alongside men in leadership. A hat tip to Wally Bock who originally included this piece as a guest post on his Three Star Leadership Blog. Link to post
Is it Divisive to Talk about Gender in Leadership?
By Cherry Woodburn at Borderless Thinking
Cherry believes that questioning assumptions, being curious and inquisitive while discussing various sides of an issue are at the heart of learning. She chooses a point/counterpoint style in her post about whether it is helpful or not to identify gender as a leadership issue and leadership as a gender issue. She references comments from the previous post “Women Leaders: Not Seen…” in making her points and counterpoints.Link to post
Women and Soft Power in Business
By Vineet Nayar at Harvard Business Review
Speaking of gender and leadership, here is a post by Vineet Nayar CEO of HCL Teachnologies Ltd, a global IT services firm and author of Employees First Customers Second. He says we need more leadership by influence versus coercion. Some of NOW’s contibutors have taken this a step further by calling for power with to replace power over. Marion Chapsal co-creator of NOWLeadership kicks off a conversation with her comment on Vineet’s post. Link to post
Glass Ceilings for Women Entrepreneurs
by Gini Dietrich at Spin Sucks
Finally, Gini has a true story that might surprise those who think there is no longer a need to discuss issues of gender in doing business. Gini finds a very clever way to address the question, “When do we get to meet your husband?” and the underlying assumption that he must be the real business brain and the ultimate decision maker. Link to post