Not Done Yet! How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence & Claim Workplace Power by Author Bonnie Marcus

A few months ago, I had a friend that starting looking for a job to escape a toxic work environment. As she searched, she was astounded at the blatant ageism that still exists. She is only 46. In one interview, they asked if she would have a problem working with much younger staff. The company was worried that the younger crowd would be intimidated by her experience and age. Wow! Welcome to reality! Even I was shocked. Unfortunately, this is what so many “experienced” women deal with every day. 

Traditionally women have suffered the brunt of both work and family responsibilities. We know the challenges that are thrown at us almost daily. In addition, we “age” more than men and are frequently excluded from promotions, achievements, and opportunities well before men. It is real, it hurts, we have to acknowledge it and reclaim our power. Sound familiar? The new book Not Done Yet! How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence & Claim Workplace Power by Bonnie Marcus is a necessary read for women of all ages. 

Admittedly, I am a Bonnie Marcus fan. Her first book The Politics of Promotion is a phenomenal road map to guiding women through the perils of all the politics at work that most of us run from. The articles she writes for Forbes speak to me. Bonnie has experienced what so many of us have in the workplace. It is endearing to read what she and so many other women have experienced and continue to go up against as we age. In this book, Bonnie throws out the truth and the obstacles that we face as we age. Her solution? Become a Badass and live it every day to reclaim your confidence, power, recognition, and show them what you’ve got!

 Are you ready? A Badass “means owning who you are, owning your experience, your wisdom, your talent, your age”. Sign me up! So many women hold themselves back by beliefs. If we remain positive, our beliefs become our rock. If they are negative, we will never show up, own our talent, or be authentic in everything that we do.

 I admire how Bonnie lays it all out for us. The book is divided into three parts. Each chapter gave me chills because I can see myself in every single one. It was also a bit unsettling that I realized how I have just sat back.

1.  Assumptions, fears, and all the crap about aging that holds you back

1. Stop playing small, and do what it takes to stay in the game

2. Be your BADASS self

 Despite all of the gains women have made in the workplace issues such as pay inequity, lack of promotional opportunities, respect for wisdom, few women at the helm of companies, the situation is worse for women over 50. Bonnie shares all of the fears, assumptions, and reality that hold women back. She then grabs us and shares how we should stop holding ourselves back AND stop those who try to stop us. Bonnie offers strategies, advice, life experiences, and candor with a sense of humor while cheering us on. Don’t have a success journal? Get one. Don’t know how to gracefully push back on age comments? She has us covered. Unsure how to move up in your career despite roadblocks? You can become a tactful bulldozer.

 Not Done Yet! is a book that resides next to my bed along with my journal. It will pick me up when I feel defeated. It will inspire me to be authentic and lift other women up. It will be a reminder of how much I still have to give. I will remain in control, visible, relevant, and wise. Join me and pick up Bonnie Marcus’s book Not Done Yet! today.

The American spirit strives to win whether it is in our personal or professional lives. In these trying times, companies will feel the need to step up initiatives to bring back jobs, production, and sales. Winning does not just pertain to coming out on top regardless of how our teams are treated.  

Mark Miller is one of my favorite authors. I have read every one of his books and he just published his fifth installment of books in his High-Performance series. His latest book Win Every Day – Proven Practices for Extraordinary Results focuses on execution to create a remarkable organization. Mark’s books are business parables where the reader becomes a part of the story and engages with teams every day as they identify and tackle organizational problems.

Our business parable focuses on CEO Blake Brown who learns how to consistently cheer his team on to excel at execution after identifying some internal customer service issues. Coincidently, he receives ideas and leadership from an unexpected source, his son’s new high school coach who is working with the team to bring up their performance and teaching them how to win every day in one form or another. The coach uses a variety of approaches and field trips to teach valuable lessons to the team that brings results where everyone wins. Blake takes these same strategies and applies them to his company to win every day in a variety of areas, not just increasing profits.

High performing organizations do four things that create excellence:

1. Bet on leadership

2. Act as one

3. Win the heart

4. Excel at execution

Obviously, every organization must agree that they aim to be great, excel, and unique. Moreover, leaders need to be sincere in doing their best, encourage others to be the best for families, customers, vendors, and ultimately the world. Teams need to sincerely buy-in. Teams should pursue mastery, own the numbers, and help others to win. On the other hand, leaders should coach for life, focus on processes, and communicate.

Mark offers some key takeaways from Blake’s journey. Most importantly, Black acknowledges that he is the root cause of how the company experienced some failures and he is the key to encouraging everyone to win.

1. The past does not determine the future

2. Communication is the oxygen of execution

3. Our competition is our own arrogance and complacency

4. When you win every day, you can live a life with no regrets

5. Execution is not one more thing – it is THE thing

6. We cannot win every day without everyone

7. If I do not make the right choices, my team never will

8. We want to measure activities that actually help us win more “games”

9. If we own the numbers, we can hold each other accountable. More importantly, we can hold ourselves accountable

10. Mastery is a level of skill in which three things are true: the desired behavior is consistent, execution is flawless, and the behavior is second nature.

I love nothing more than a good story and Mark Miller is a master parable writer. I learned lessons that “stuck” in my mind because I was learning from a story and the ideas flowed in order and made sense. In particular, I was fascinated by how Blake learned so much from his son and his son’s coach. They learned how to teach teams new ways of growing, supporting each other, and how everyone could win. So often we see how sports analogies and business strategies are the same, we just use different terms.

If you love easy reading stories that teach you lessons as you grow in your career and influence your teams then Win Every Day is a must-read. You will find yourself lost in the book eager to see how the lessons from a high school sports team and those of a successful company seeking a new status are entwined.

Outward Bound Lessons of Leadership

I have always been an avid reader – a book nerd. Ever since my boys were little I would tell them that “Readers are Leaders”. Wouldn’t it be great if this were true? However, it takes more than reading to become a true servant leader. It also takes grit, experience, uncomfortable confrontation, and throwing yourself into situations where you are scared, challenged, and willing to do what others shy away from. 

Some of the strongest leaders in the world have grown through fear, challenge and jumping into the unknown. The new book Outward Bound Lessons to Live a Life of Leadership – To Serve, To Strive, and Not to Yield by Mark Michaux Brown along with Outward Bound USA tells the story of how experienced-based learning is how leaders are made. 

Outward Bound is a learning and leadership based program for youth and adults. The core of the program leads people into the wilderness (hiking, biking, desert/jungle trips) and throwing them out of their comfort zone. Those who are fortunate enough to build their skills and enhance relationships become some of our strongest leaders. Outward Bound Lessons shares powerful personal stories, ideas, and real-world success traits that Outward Bound leaders bring as change agents to companies and communities around the world. Being thrown into unknown situations transforms people into “Expeditionary Leaders”. 

There are three key factors to being an Expeditionary leader. The motto is simple: 

· To Serve: Focus on employees, customers, communities, and the greater good

· To Strive: See challenges as opportunities to grow, value your learning and how to offer it to the greater good

· Not to Yield: Leaders learn that the “finish line” is forever and the best is always to come. Leaders should always stick to their principles under pressure. Never yield to weakness and always put others first. That means playing the long game, foregoing short term profits, and having the true moral courage 

The Outward Bound program has changed lives. It has pushed people to the edge of their humanity. As a result, they impact those around them and share the lessons they learned. The principles that we need to develop include effectively serving, striving, and not yielding. I was immersed in the numerous stories that people shared during the trips that they experienced in the book as well as the awe and courage they felt when they beat the odds. They had to live the “pages” of a leadership book to truly become leaders. 

Here are some common themes that the Outward Bound leaders experienced: 

· A yearning to serve a higher calling by taking risks and trying new paths to pave the way for others

· Problems are what spark leaders to jump into action

· Become core connectors and foster community interaction to build stronger communities

· Take advantage of teachable moments and reflect on learning’s

· Continually use uncertainty, adversity, and challenge for personal development

· Always be curious, never settle

· Relay on compassion for others no matter what the challenge

· Mentor and tech others the three Expeditionary Leadership qualities

· Go with your gut in situations while holding to your values

· Develop grit and stand up for yourself so that you can support others

· Know that you will need to continually take more risks and stay out of your comfort zone or your growth will diminish 

Outward Bound Lessons is a fascinating book. It is more than just getting teams together to experience zip lining or trust games for a day. It’s about people being with one another on a long and perhaps dangerous journey. Growth requires time and true reliance on others. Not only are the stories and lessons engaging, but at the end of each chapter, there are reflection questions to ask yourself and challenge what your notions of leadership are and what true leadership is. 

If you are looking for a fresh book on leadership where you can share the adventures of others and learn from the experiences that they had, this is a must-read. Learn how YOU should climb out of your skin once in a while and face the unknown for eye-opening lessons and personal growth

Knowing That Leadership Has a Rhythm of Growth and Loss Holds One to Hope By Dr. Jeanie Cockell and Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair

How is your leadership journey going? In our ever changing world being an effective leader is a daily challenge. Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry by Dr. Jeanie Cockwell and Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair is a new book that speaks to leadership journeys with hope, during despair, and with forgiveness. Here is an some insightful information from the authors to help you become the leader that you were meant to be.

By Dr. Jeanie Cockell and Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair

The hope of the gardener described in the next story is a wonderful metaphor for the place that hope dwells—a place that enables and encourages leaders to sow the earth knowing that some things will grow and some will flounder. Leaders repeatedly begin again and resow, knowing that the wind, rain, and sun can be nurturing friends or destructive foes. Sometimes leaders retrace their steps to find things they should have understood, and other times they strike out in new directions. In the garden, there is both hope and its shadow. Hope holds in its hands the soft earth as it readies it for planting; hope is open to the possible and deeply feels the moment of beginning, not the prediction of the end state. A leader described her leadership life as a gardener this way:

I am a gardener—one who nurtures, tends, plants, cultivates, and harvests. I am a leader who inspires, creates, celebrates, encourages, and invests. Gardeners and leaders have many skills and talents and values in common. Great gardeners are full of hope. It is genuine and considered hope that is the essence of how I see myself as a gardener and a leader. This is a hope that is based in reverence for life in its deepest and most profound meaning.

Some of my earliest memories of hope involve planting radish seeds as a small girl and waiting impatiently for them to sprout. I can still feel and smell the soil and relive the joy of the first shoots. In a similar manner, I can still visualize my first formal leadership role in my Brownie pack. The possibilities of making a difference, of helping others with their badges, of teaching them the rituals, of being there for them when they forgot their tams or scarves. Hope for the future was the essence of these early experiences.

The lessons of the gardener inform me in the lessons of leadership. Sometimes, despite all the necessary prep of soil, nutrients, seed selection, etc., the seeds blow away, the plant withers, and the bugs attack or the bloom fades before it flowers. The ground is fallow for periods of time and only a few stalks blow in the wind. I prepare again, gather more information, and make selections, try different nutrients, check the weather, except that for me roses do not do well—concentrate on daisies. This is hope. Next time, the garden will be great, it will be different, and it will grow.

My leadership is embedded in the hope of the gardener—learning to accept, to rethink, to reimagine, to redo, to undo, knowing that tomorrow is another opportunity full of possibilities and potential to discover and celebrate.

I have loved every job I have ever had—some lasted longer than others. In some positions there was more to plant, more to nurture, and more learning to be had. I have chosen to change jobs based on my assessment of the possibilities for growth for myself and others.

Much as a gardener decides their type of garden. All my life, I have been associated with some aspect of education, whether it be teaching pottery, swimming, or anthropology, or facilitating teams, or teaching others to teach and be leaders. For me, education is all about hope—for oneself, for others, and for a different world. It is the hope that sees me through to more possibilities and to uncovering the potential in others and providing me the opportunity to be a small part in realizing the possibility. Finding the seeds, nurturing their beginnings, tending the fragile shoots, staking their stems, and admiring their unique blooming beauty is the gift of hope and the reason to be. I will always be a gardener and revel in the possible, despite stormy weather, dry seasons, scattered seeds, and invasive pests. In leadership, I cherish the hope of the gardener, and this hope inspires my leadership and sees me through the tough times.

The practice of hope in all the multiple tasks of leadership is the recognition that hope can be nurtured in the early stages when the outcome is not known; in the journey along the way, where already some things have floundered and some have grown; and in the final outcome, which might be different than planned. It is undertaking leadership in all of these places with the heart of the gardener that can help sustain hope as the rhythms of growth and loss and the seasons change.

About the authors

Dr. Jeanie Cockell and Dr. Joan McArthur-Blair, co-presidents of leadership consulting firmCockell McArthur-Blair Consulting, are the co-authors ofBuilding Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry. The veteran consultants’ latest book explores how leaders can use the practice of Appreciative Inquiry to weather the storms they'll inevitably encounter and be resilient.

Is This The End? By Dr. Dawn Graham

Fewer of us are staying at our jobs for decades like our parents. People are less likely to tolerate toxic work cultures, no advancement, poor leadership, and want more out of life than just work. Are you ready for a change? Pick up Dr. Dawn Graham's book Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers - and Seize Success. Here is some advice or perhaps the kick in the behind that you may have been needing to make changes in your own career. 

While it’s not unusual to have bad days at work (and some that even lead to dreams of quitting and retiring to a sunny island), deciding to actually resign is a big deal. How can you tell if you’re just going through a tough phase in your job or if it’s time to explore new opportunities? Consider these:

1.    Identify the root of the problem: Is the boss hindering your professional growth or maybe the culture isn’t a great match? Is your work environment toxic or maybe your daily commute or travel schedule is slowly killing you? Some things can be changed. Other problems will follow you. Either way, when you can pinpoint the major hurdle, you’ll be more equipped to overcome it.

2.    Craft an experiment: If the company is interested in retaining you and the root of your problem is boredom, they may be open to you taking on special projects or transitioning to a different department to learn a new function. Think about your longer-term career goals and identify skill gaps you’d like to close. Even if you plan to leave the company down the road, you can use your remaining time wisely by building up your resume and relationships.

3.    Know where you’re going:  You’ll always be more successful when you run TOWARD an exciting opportunity versus running AWAY from a bad situation. Once you identify the problem (see #1), next map out what your ideal situation looks like so that you can aim for that target. Even the least skilled interviewers can recognize the difference between motivation and desperation, so clarify your goal and communicate why you’re excited about it.

4.    Evaluate the landscape: If it’s been a while since you’ve changed roles, the market and skill sets may have shifted. Take time to understand your current value in the industry you’re targeting and be able to relay how the problems you solve contribute positively to a company’s bottom line. Reconnect with your network and get feedback on your candidacy. Also, get up to speed on the latest hiring trends. You don’t want to be blindsided by a request for a one-way video interview or miss a job opening because you’re not on social media.

5.    Look before you leap:  Unemployment bias is real, therefore, it’s easier to land a new role while still employed since you’ll seem more attractive as a candidate. Sometimes a workplace is so toxic that it’s not possible to stay a moment longer, but if that’s not the case, continue to deliver your best work while engaging in a stealth job search after hours.

6.    Get creative: If you’re not able to change jobs now or the job search is taking longer than anticipated, keep your energy and motivation high by finding career fulfillment in other ways. Join a nonprofit board, take on a mentee, or enroll in continuing education courses. A positive attitude will be your best friend in an interview, so avoid feeling “stuck” by taking action. Bonus: These actions are great for networking, which may ultimately lead to your next opportunity!

7.    Don’t look back. Trust your gut to tell you when it’s time to move on. Most jobs have difficult periods, but if you constantly feel stressed, are getting physically ill (e.g., headaches, etc.), or if your relationships are suffering, it’s time to go.

Happy hunting!

Dr. Dawn Graham, PhD is one of the nation's leading career coaches. She is the Career Director for the MBA Program for Executives at The Wharton School, where she counsels business leaders on making strategic career choices. A licensed psychologist and former corporate recruiter, she hosts SiriusXM Radio's popular weekly call-in show Career Talk and is a regular contributor to Forbes.

Her latest book, Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers - and Seize Success is written specifically for people thinking about changing career paths. Packed with psychological insights, practical exercises, and inspiring success stories, Switchers helps these individuals leap over obstacles and into a whole new field.

Differentiation Increases Complexity By Sunnie Giles

I'm honored to share a guest post from Sunnie Giles author of the new book The New Science of Radical Innovation - The Six Competencies Leaders Need to Win in a Complex World. Her insights and big-picture thinking focusing on the complexity around us is fascinating. 

According to complex systems theory, differentiation increases positive (internal) complexity. By allowing more variation, each differentiated agent in a system can make different connections with other agents and systems, which adds more variety and strength to the quality of connection. This additional connection increases the probability of natural selection and evolution because the organism’s variations (i.e., mutations) facilitate better adaptation to the environment. Complexity increases when differentiated parts are connected. This increased internal complexity, in turn, enables an organism to respond even more effectively to unexpected challenges from the environment and increases its chances of survival.

My church choir provides a simple example of how differentiation increases complexity. When we learn a new song, the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices practice their parts by themselves. When each part is sung in unison, the resulting music doesn’t sound very rich or complex. When the four parts are finally combined, they produce a rich tapestry of beautiful, complex music.

Let’s take another example. Fruit flies and humans share 60 percent of their DNA—a surprisingly high number. One would be right to question how the remaining 40 percent could account for the much higher complexity of humans. The key is in the number of interactions in many-to-many networks among the genes. Humans have about twenty-five thousand unique genes; fruit flies, about fourteen thousand. The number of protein interactions among the genes in humans is about 650,000—ten times as many as that of fruit flies. Each additional differentiated gene produces exponential growth in the number of genetic interactions. The network effect, which we discussed in chapter 2, resulting from the interaction among genes explains how a small difference in the number of genes can create an enormous difference in the complexity level between humans and fruit flies. The same pattern of exponential growth we see in the relationship between the number of genes and the gene interactions.

The highest level of internal complexity can be achieved by developing optimal differentiation, connecting the differentiated parts, and replicating that connection on multiple levels. If you have just undifferentiated parts, there is nothing to integrate, which results in suboptimal complexity. Once the foundation of safety is in place, Quantum Leaders facilitate differentiation in each of their team members, as well as the whole team as a unit, maximizing each member’s unique talents, skills, and perspectives.

Differentiation is so important to the optimal functioning of the human race that a differentiation mechanism is inherently built into the human development phase—it’s called pruning, and it takes place in the teenage brain. At birth, neuronal synapses in a child’s brain are more numerous than in an adult’s. Synapses multiply rapidly during childhood, soaking up knowledge like a sponge. This is why it’s much easier for children to learn foreign languages, musical instruments, and sports. As a child matures into a teenager, the brain prunes away underutilized synapses, so the synapses used most often can work more efficiently. The long body of the retained neurons get myelinated in a myelin sheath, which accelerates the conduction speed of the ions between neurons a hundredfold. This increased speed is made possible through the process of saltatory conduction, in which ions jump between nodes instead of steadily traveling along the axonal length of the neuron. In addition, myelination accelerates the resting period between neuronal firings—the refractory period—thirtyfold. The combination of these functions makes pruned synapses three thousand times more efficient than unpruned ones.

The pruning process produces unique patterns of neuronal synapses manifested into unique strengths and talents. This evolutionary mechanism highlights the importance of differentiating individuation before integrating with another differentiated person (e.g., a spouse or a team). Once parts are fully differentiated, connecting differentiated parts and replicating these connections to the next level (in this case, raising the next generation of children or leaders) increases internal complexity. All complex systems strive to increase internal complexity by nature because higher complexity means better chances of natural selection.

About Dr. Sunnie Giles:

Dr. Sunnie Giles is a new generation expert who catalyzes organizations to produce radical innovation by harnessing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA).

Her research reveals that applying concepts from neuroscience, complex systems approach, and quantum mechanics can produce radical innovation consistently. Her expertise is based on years as an executive with Accenture, IBM and Samsung. Her profound, science-backed insight is encapsulated in her leadership development program, Quantum Leadership.

An advisor to the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, she also is a sought-after speaker and expert source, having been quoted in Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Forbes, and Inc.

Dr. Giles’ latest book, The New Science of Radical Innovation, provides a clear process for radical innovation that produces 10x improvements and has been endorsed prominent industry leaders such as Jonathan Rosenberg, Daniel Pink, Marshall Goldsmith and Sean Covey.