Tag Archives: women’s professional transition

A new twist on being seen

Posted on September 13, 2019 | 3 comments

What does it mean to you to be seen? At first glance, ‘being seen’ might make you think about your presence or absence at something important. Were you at the right meeting? The right party? The right moment? What you recognize as ‘being seen’ will differ from what I recognize. That said, I am not sure this type of ‘being seen’ really captures it. What if ‘being seen’ is being acknowledged or affirmed for who you really are? Or even better. What if being seen is really about our willingness to be seen? Not the person you are supposed to be at work or at home or at the PTA meeting….You. Your essence. Your truth. How visible are you? Are you willing to be seen?

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Resolutions

Posted on January 12, 2017 | Leave a comment

“Can I finally start?”  It was a question that popped into my head unwittingly as I sat in my office last week.  I was trying to shake off the exhaustion from the holidays and begin an avalanche of work that I’d queued up for the New Year.  Start what?   In acknowledging the question, I felt as if I was on the edge of tears.  It took only an instant for this feeling to pass.  Even so I realized I’d crossed an important milestone for my transition, one that makes me think about New Year’s Resolutions and new beginnings a little differently. Continue reading →

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Strengthening Our Resolve

Posted on January 22, 2016 | 3 comments

“I can hear my voice,” shared a teary-eyed women who introduced herself to me last week at the conclusion of a seminar I conducted in a leafy suburb on the outskirts of Boston.  “It is screaming at me,”  she said.   She went on to tell me about how emotional she’d been throughout the seminar – a two-hour affair designed to let participants play with the concepts of transition.    She was clear about the action she needed to take.  She knew it.  It didn’t eliminate the sheer terror she felt as she contemplated taking that next step.   Her comment instantly deposited me at the doorstep of actions.  In this season of New Year’s resolutions and renewed personal commitments – are you readying to act? Continue reading →

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Our Script

Posted on December 7, 2015 | 1 comment

“What if I want to work at the cheese counter at Whole Foods?” asked a women of me earlier this week after a speaking engagement that I did to promote my book, Women & Transition.  She was the parent of a toddler and someone for whom Whole Foods would never have been an option prior to childbirth.   I’d describe her as a type-A achiever who was asking important questions of herself.  Did I hear frustration in her voice?  Resignation?  She seemed to be toggling back and forth between a new identity and one more firmly entrenched.  My suspicion was that the newer one had already introduced her to unfamiliar waypoints and some unusual reactions from others. Continue reading →

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Invisible Standards

Posted on October 6, 2015 | Leave a comment

“We need your voice,” I said in closing a workshop with about a dozen women on a Saturday in early September.  I was making a connection between an exercise we’d done on developing our own voices and the needs of our national economy.  I view the development & expression of women’s voices as fundamental to our country’s long-term economic well-being.   For me it’s an easy and obvious linkage – although I won’t bore you with the details here.  What surprised me in that Saturday moment was the reaction I got.  The attendees were honestly touched.  My comment seemed to elevate our work.  It connected every one of us to something greater.  Our voice work was instantly relevant.  Meaningful. Continue reading →

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Fear and Moving Forward

Posted on May 8, 2014 | 3 comments

“Have you ever been afraid?”  asked an incredibly articulate 7th grader from the Timilty Middle School in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.   The question came via a letter about a month ago as part of a pen pal program that I participate in between the school and Simmons College, my undergrad alma mater.   He went on to share that his fears were rooted in the violence that plagues his neighborhood.   How could he walk home alone?   Not long ago a classmate at the Timilty, an honor student, was gunned down on the basketball court.   Fear?  Continue reading →

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Transitions derailed….

Posted on March 28, 2014 | Leave a comment

“Oh, you’re dreaming,” shared Margot, a forty something Focus Group participant.  She was relating a conversation with a family member who wasn’t necessarily embracing her transitional aspirations.  Margot had exited a job that was a poor fit, pivoted to a new industry and added a husband and three children along the way.   “What I’m investigating might not lead to a direct result,” she said.   “Or it might happen down the line.  You have to be comfortable with that….”  Clearly her relatives were not.   That evening we threw the relatives and several other issues into a bucket called derailers, those events that can cause us to stall or head for the hills while in transition.  Have you ever encountered any? Continue reading →

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Transition through a techie lens

Posted on May 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

What’s your take on social media?  Earlier today I experienced social media deja vu for the first time.  Who knew?   A friend tagged a Forbes.com post on LinkedIn entitled,“The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)” by blogger Jessica Hagy.   The caption included a few little drawings.

https://i2.wp.com/blogs-images.forbes.com/jessicahagy/files/2012/02/IMAGE00021.jpg

The Six Enemies of Greatness ( and Happiness) by Jessica Hagy, Forbes.com 2/28/12

The drawings looked and felt like the illustrations that I’d been seeing all week in “The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter Senge.”   What can I say, the drawings spoke to me…. Continue reading →

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Knowing when to act…

Posted on April 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

“What if you did nothing for twenty-four hours?” said my friend Marla as I related to her an incident that had me close to coming undone.  Her calm advice couldn’t have been more foreign to me at that moment.  I was in a leadership role that I believed compelled me to act.  To address. To solve.  To direct.  What was this ‘stand down’ approach?  Could it possibly work? Continue reading →

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Curiosity & Transition: Are these related?

Posted on March 8, 2012 | 2 comments

“Our girls are all smiling,” I beamed as I turned to another chaperone last Friday evening well after 9:00pm.  The girls were 2nd and 3rd graders who were taking part in a Girl Scouts‘ Overnight at the Museum of Science, Boston.    My animated observation came during an interactive session at the Mathematica Exhibit; a project that involved blocks, a piece of paper and the challenge of making a bridge to support a large object.  Really?  Even late on a Friday evening after a week of school, countless after school activities, and hours-of-fun since our check-in for this incredible Overnight the girls had a curiosity and energy that I rarely witness…let alone live. Continue reading →

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