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
Counting the cost of childcare
In Europe parents spend an average of 13% of salaries on childcare costs; 5% in Sweden and 27% in the UK. We have a problem in the UK that needs remedying. We know that women’s careers are often stunted when they take part-time work after childbirth (and they get paid a whole lot less on average as part-time usually equates to lower status) and we also know there’s... Read More
Babies in the office
Good on Addison Lee for giving babies in the office a go. Or good on their PR team for spotting a great opportunity to flag their brand to millions of people via the BBC. “Special and unique” are the words Addison Lee’s (the largest private hire company in the UK) managing director Liam Griffin used to describe his one day ‘babies in the office’ experiment. Stressful... Read More
14 Shades of (flexible working) Grey
Huzzah! Those bright minds who study jet streams, cloud formations and precipitation patterns are talking about the bright, bold disc that’s usually on display at this time of year making a comeback. Sunshine, yellow, warmth, orange, yay! Yet for the last 6 weeks it’s been almost total overkill with the grey both in terms of the weather and THAT book. (Goodness knows... Read More
Expose Yourself
I was going to call this month’s Flourishing Female mailing “Put Yourself About” and then decided such slutty overtones would never do here. So Expose Yourself it is, although actually I’m writing on a rain-whipped day and the last thing I feel like doing is exposing anything to anyone. But of course you know I’m not here for bare bottom cheek, it’s your mind, your... Read More
Opportunities
Do you know how amazing your mind is? How awesome you are? Yes, you are astonishing. How about that as a welcome to January? (But no, this isn’t a celebration of how well you did managing all those people, presents, palaver and general overwhelm at Christmas – although I’m sure you’re very deserving of praise on that front too). It’s astounding what complex things... Read More
More Job Love
If you can’t be in the job you love; love the one you’re in so the song goes. Or something like that. I met a waitress in Belfast last week whose attitude to her work blew me away because she really wasn’t in the job she’d love but you’d never have known it. I was dining alone on an overnight stop for the second part of a behaviour change programme... Read More
Holiday Psychology
Do you know how to have a great holiday? I thought I did but given the number of letdowns we’ve had, our friends know there’s a fair chance they can bob round the day before we’re due back and be welcomed in for tea and cake – which makes me think I’ve definitely got a bit to learn. A number of psychologists have set about answering the question “are holidays worth... Read More
Coaching New Women Leaders
This is the first in a series of short, practical blogs to help you make a smooth transition from practitioner to people leader, be that in your own company or someone else’s. I’ve seen a number of good practitioners move into management and leadership without adequate support. Managing a team of people who do what you do (or did before your rose into the leadership... Read More
