Practise makes polished
Under what circumstances do you practise or rehearse something you’ve got to ‘deliver’ at work? Perhaps part of your job involves pitching to win business and you prep for that or maybe there are times that you want to make a key point in a meeting, so you run through what you’re going to say and make sure it hits the right note? I’ve been reflecting on why something I... Read More
Boundaries are better than ‘balance’
Through my work I have the privilege of hearing other women’s aspirations, concerns and insights into the minutiae of what it takes to be at their best. One thing that comes up time and again is boundaries. Not the leylandii/neighbour dispute type, but the demarcations we use to ensure we spread our energy around a range of pursuits. In this post I’m offering boundaries... Read More
Flexing Your Assertiveness
Had it not been for commitments in both our diairies last Friday afternoon, the impromptu call I had with a radio producer on the psychology of failure could have been a pleasingly long and philosophical one. (My musing this month isn’t on the well-trodden path of fear of failure though). She’d been talking to a marine who’s bemused by civvy street’s emotional... Read More
8 steps to a smooth return to work
Had a master plan about what was going to happen, when and by whom, before you went on maternity leave? Not to worry. Here’s the eight step guide what to make your return as smooth as possible. Click on the take away icon at the bottom of the page to get the pdf version to do just that (take it away). And if you like what you read bagsy a copy on Amazon in paperback or kindle for... Read More
Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ Digested chapter by chapter
My first thoughts are “It’s slimmer than I thought it would be. How much of this did Sheryl write? How much effort did she really put in?” And then I ask myself ‘Why does it bother me that she didn’t do the actual bashing at the keyboard?’ (Because I DID slave away at a keyboard for several months whilst writing mine. So what?). Let’s get... Read More
Women at The Top
Hilary Devey is back in the media today (18/3/13) and so I re-publish this post that was first published on 7th September 2012. My back is up after three minutes of Hilary Devey on the BBC’s two-parter “Women at the Top” (whaaaaaat? I’m screeching in a restrained, forehead wrinkling kind of way when she makes a throw away comment about women not wanting the top jobs enough... Read More
Do you feel like an imposter?
The average senior professional woman experiences 19 episodes of imposter syndrome in the first two years following a promotion and 4.2 per year in a role she’s acclimatized to. Actually, I made that up but it sounds reassuring doesn’t it? Have you ever felt like an imposter? Believed you’re not really up to the role you’re in or the task that’s in front of you; that you’ve... Read More
Splitting the childcare and earning – Catherine’s Story
Thank you for your most recent newsletter about sex and domesticity, to which you invited comments and thoughts. I have thought about this topic a lot over the past few years. My husband and I are both professionals, educated at London and Cambridge universities respectively (he – a secondary school teacher with a PhD, me, a civil servant currently working in a middle management... Read More
Do domesticated daddies do it for you?
In my book Mothers Work! I made my position on domestic bliss clear: a ‘team’ attitude where both partners look to keep things on an even keel – not dividing every chore down the middle – is the way to go. ‘I put the bin out last time darling, can you do it today please’ and ‘It’s your turn to put the dishwasher on, I did it yesterday’ is tiresome... Read More
Power of voluntary work on CV attractiveness
A CV that is polished, to the point and relevant to the job you are applying for is likely to get picked out by a busy recruiter and research by academics Christa Wilkin and Catherine Connelly suggests voluntary work is beneficial, so long as it’s relevant. This is likely to be very good news for women and men who’ve taken a career break to raise children and have spent... Read More
