Working to be a Leader-Week of May 4, 2009
Working to be a leader means that you are always seeking out information to inspire and motivate yourself and enhance your performance.
For me, working to be a leader includes reading a variety of publications such as newspapers and magazine plus e-newsletters from organizations that specialize in leadership and workplace issues.
My daily source of information is The New York Times. Although I often print out an article, I’m most likely to tear out the piece so that I can read it again, place it in a pile on my desk so I can look up the research mentioned and use it to illustrate a point in my own compositions, file it in its appropriate folder that I’ll go to when asked to give a talk on ”cultural transformations of the workplace,” or leave it in my diary so that I am reminded to forward a link to this relevant article to a client.
This week’s clips were all from The New York Times. Reading through the list, you might find an article that catches your interest as you, too, are working to be a leader.
Monday, May 4: “Marilyn French, Novelist and Champion of Feminism, Dies at 79: Gaining controversial stardom in 1977 with ‘The Women’s Room.’” Note: French’s book was instrumental in helping women of my age cope with a major cultural transformation as we moved from housewives to career women.
Tuesday, May 5- “Waist Deep in a Big Birthday Party,” Music Review by Jon Caramanica on the front page of the Arts Section and ”Still Singing” Appreciations by Lawrence Downes on the Editorial Page. Note: These two articles were used to gather specific facts for my previous blog on “Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday.”
Thursday, May 7- “Facebook Status? In Town and Wondering What to Do: Social media offer benefits no travel agent, online tourist site or guidebook can match.” “All You Need to Know to Tweet on Twitter.” Note: On June 5, I’ll be co-presenting a program on social media and can use information in these articles as resources for those in attendance.
Saturday, May 9 – “At 8.9%, Unemployment Still Rises, but Pace Slows: 539,000 Jobs Were Lost in April, but Some Economists Say Worst May Be Over; ‘This isn’t recovery,’ an economist warns. ‘ It’s a slowing recession.’” ”Losing Job May Be Hazardous to Health.” Sunday, May 10 – “More Than a Numbers Game: Does being fired hurt any less if you’re just one of many?” Note: I continue to receive positive responses from those who have read LTR’s level playing field special report, ”Temping with Tycoons,” my educational and inspirational story about how I used an investment bank as the business school I could afford in the recession of the early 1990’s. Reading about the toll our economy is taking on individual careers reaffirms my commitment to offer my report free of charge and to continue to find ways to motivate and inspire others to stay engaged and optimistic through workshops, teleseminars, and organization-sponsored presentations.
Sunday, May 10 – “Backlash: Women Bullying Women.” Note: A very, very interesting article on many levels. There is a growing awareness about the different ways that women lead. I’ll use the information in the article in future presentations of the talk I’ve given to Women M.B.A.s and other college students on “The Fractured State of Women’s Leadership: Why That’s a Good Thing.”
Enjoy a good week of reading and working to be a leader.