I enjoyed Pat Gillette’s presentation this week at the Bar Association of San Francisco on “Staying on Track,” focusing on the tools that 4-8th year law firm associates (or comparable level in-house counsel) need to stay on track in their legal careers.  Pat used the analogy of pigeonholes to...

Ron Padgett’s book of poetry, How to Be Perfect, contains all kinds of nuggets that are worthy of sharing this morning: Get some sleep. Eat an orange every morning. Be friendly. It will help make you happy. Hope for everything. Expect nothing. Take care of things close to home...

A recent column in the New York Times by Jane Brody on the power of optimism brought me back to my training in appreciative inquiry and positive psychology at the College of Executive coaching.  Brody shared the research that optimists had lower death rates than pessimists over a 30-year...

I’ve been traveling quite a bit in the past month, and dealing with family illness, so it’s been a challenge keeping up with the email that lands in my in box every day. And truth be told, in the best of times I find efficiency with email to be...

If you want to become a better leader, the first thing you need to do is understand how you are currently leading.  How well do you know your leadership strengths and weaknesses?  What would others say about your leadership style, and how you go about leading your team?  If...

Want an easy way to improve your leadership?  Become one of those rare individuals who knows how to run a meeting, whether virtual or in person, for maximum effect, both in terms of outcomes as well as team development.  I’ve put together ten tips for Making Meetings Matter, or...

I’m off to Dallas today to speak to the Legal Marketing Association’s national conference on how mentoring can be used to teach business development skills to attorneys. Ever wonder where the term “mentor” originated?  As an engineering undergraduate student, I was required to take a few “social-humanistic” electives outside...

I did my part to commemorate International Women’s Day today by being sworn in as the newest member of Alameda’s Housing Commission.  Wait, you didn’t know today was International Women’s Day, or what it’s about?  I am here to help.  International Women’s Day occurs each year on March 8. ...

Thank you to the Society of Women Engineers Western Regions Joint Conference for a terrific event in Honolulu last week!  I enjoyed the opportunity to meet a spectacular group of women engineers, and connect with friends old and new.  The turnout at our workshop “Leaders Are Made, Not Born”...

Leaders set the tone for how the rest of the team behaves, and if this weekend’s performance by the team at Emeryville’s Best Buy store is any indication, the leadership at that store is in deep trouble.  It all started when I needed a back-up hard drive for my...