A co-worker emailed me this past week and said “I think this is you (copied from Wikipedia)”: Employee Intrapreneur “Intrapreneurship refers to employee initiatives in organizations to undertake something new, without being asked to do so.” [5] Hence, the intrapreneur focuses on innovation and creativity, and transforms an idea into a profitable venture, while operating […]
Me, Impostor?
I’ve been reading about Portlandia a lot lately and have been utterly inspired. This quote had my wheels turning about a few things and I want to share them with you. Carrie Brownstein, in an interview on NPR, was explaining how they got their start. Two friends with imagination, creativity (not to mention past success) […]
When Knowing Too Much Can Create Doubt
I used to run a company – about 10 years ago. I worked for bazillion-aires as the CEO, but ended up the ‘doer’ whilst these big dreamers would endlessly throw out ideas. It was exhausting. But I learned so much about leadership and expectations and limitations. I learned quickly how to hire and fire, become […]
What are you doing over there?
When your boss asks you, “So, what are you working on?” or “What are you doing over there?” – implying that he or she sits close by, how does it make you feel? This is something that is such a sore subject for me. It’s right up there on the ingredient list of my Recipe […]
“I” Versus “We”: Is it a Gender Thing?
A friend of mine recently came back from a retreat for her firm’s women partners and shared some things she’d learned with me. One of the things she mentioned is that women often use the word “we” in describing accomplishments where men use the word “I”. I thought about this, and thought about myself. True […]
Colleagues Seeking Advice
When a valuable employee approaches you (as an indirect manager) about leaving with no definitive timeline, what do you do? Help them put their exit plan in place? Tell their manager? As an outspoken advocate of freedom (flexibity) at work and employee empowerment, I suppose it’s no wonder why employees have sought my advice on […]
A Journey of Leadership – What does it mean?
When I took a course on Leadership at Harvard, I was like most of my student peers. THRILLED to be going to Boston. ELATED about having the Harvard experience (and on our resumes). EXCITED about the journey of leadership. But many of us were wondering what it really meant to spend a full week with […]
Management Feedback for the Worst Job Ever
When I was 25 or so, I had my worst job ever. I was a corporate trainer (not bad) — it was my job to train people how to use their voicemail. Yeah, really. (’nuff said) As inane as it sounds, training people how to use voicemail systems (“Press 3 to delete your message, then […]
Fierce or Chicken?
How often do you have extremely polite conversations with someone at work about a controversial topic, that then turns into email-war? There are two words that come to mind: chicken shit. I realize that this falls under the “emotional honesty” category of trends in 2011 and 2012. So here I am, calling a spade a […]
When Am I the Mentor?
Do you have someone you look up to, a role model or mentor, who is a woman? Who is it, and why? As a woman in our society, I often look around me and wonder how many female leaders I can count in this country or in the world? Personally, I’d like to step into […]
