Kamala and the tricky beast of authenticity
Authenticity in leadership is highly valued these days. It often comes up in the context of women leading. But how desirable is it really?
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#InnerConfidence
She took it out of me, but here’s what I learned
Last week, I have not been so well – sick in bed – and the reason is… no, it’s not my 4-year old (step)granddaughter in the picture above. But she taught me a life lesson I won’t forget. I had cleared my calendar for the week that she was here, to be sure that I
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Drive it like you stole it. Really?
Recently, I came across a post, expressing the widely felt frustration that the needle isn’t moving for women with leadership ambitions. But blaming men doesn’t solve it. What makes a woman successful is being herself. ‘Ladies, “they” don’t want us behind the wheel. So, we better drive it like we stole it,’ the author wrote. But
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Ever been told to be more assertive? Don’t listen. Read this:
‘What shall we do? ‘I don’t mind. Whatever you like.’ When I was younger, my conversations would often follow this pattern, me being the one not minding. One day, a friend gave me the well-meant advice to get some assertiveness training, because I seemed so insecure. But I didn’t feel like that at all. Nowadays, I sometimes
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Stereotypical Barbie is dead, long live the stereotype!
When I put a few pages about Barbie in my latest book – We-mind vs Me-mind, published in July – I wanted to illustrate how what we’ve learned to value in ourselves and others is making a lot of people deeply unhappy and perpetuates the very situation we want to change. Unfortunately, the latest Barbie
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Is the We-mind and the Me-mind a book for women?
The poll to choose a title for my book on the We-mind and the Me-mind is closed. Several people asked an important question: If this book is meant for women, why wasn’t that part of the titles to choose from? Before I answer that, I’d like to say a deep-felt thank you to all who
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Of bias and washing machines
After playing up for a while, my, no, our washing machine broke down. ‘I’ll take care of this,’ Hugh, my very supportive husband said. Within a few days a repairman showed up on our doorstep at 8 a.m.. Together they went to work. Half an hour later I was called to the scene. The moment
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My Dad’s old suitcase. Let go of it?
My Dad has been resisting moving into a care home for years. He couldn’t let go of the world he created, even if it was less and less comfortable to be in. Last summer he couldn’t look after himself anymore. We, his daughters, took the tough decision to overrule his judgment. My youngest sister moved
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‘Nobody could have done it but a woman’ — Lessons about leadership from a president
‘The thing about leadership is that you have to be prepared to fail and start again,’ says Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She is the living example of perseverance. She was jailed three times, had to flee the country and campaign more than once before becoming the first elected female head of state in Africa. For 12
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What gives life meaning? Find your Ultimate Why
Springtime. Stormy skies and sunshine. Sweet scenting flowers everywhere. Life is bursting from the earth. It makes me feel so alive, but exactly in this season we lost a dear member of my husband’s family. My husband and I had the privilege to be present at his deathbed. We were holding his hand while his
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Yet another set back for women? Please!
Gender stereotypes can kill a woman’s self-confidence, new research by Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Katherine Coffman shows. Oh no! Yet another reason why we can’t make it?! [Women] lack confidence in their ability to compete in fields that men are stereotypically believed to perform more strongly in, such as science, math, and technology. Women
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Leadership against victimhood
Domestic violence has struck about 750,000 adults in the Netherlands at least once in the last five years. 65% of these victims are women. 250,000 women experienced violence more than once and for 100,000 of them, the violence is routine. Between 90,000 and 120,000 children younger than 17 are experiencing abuse as well. Above age
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