Choice is a good thing, right? I’ve built my entire life around keeping my options open, in the name of “freedom.” Recently I’ve been reminded that too many options can be as bad – maybe worse – as no choices. So what brought this insight into sharp awareness? Mahjong. So how the heck did […]
Given that Waterski Magazine recently ran a story titled “Why Don’t More Women Ski?”, the topic naturally came up at Coble Women’s Week. I would like to report that we have that question figured out – however, for this particular group of skiers, we are stumped. Every single woman in this week’s camp has in some way arranged her
Sitting amongst the 40-60 something women skiers this morning, one of the instructors, a young woman in her 20’s said “We all (speaking of the other young women instructors) hope we can be as fit as you all are when we are your age.” I have to admit, it’s pretty impressive to look around and
It started at dinner with eight of us discussing stories of fixing a starter relay, or how we always make sure we have an extra impeller in the boathouse, or sharing challenges we have had trailering our boats. Eight WOMEN talking about the normal things that happen when water skiing is your addiction. It’s Women’s
“If you want to be a leader, you have to learn to accept help.” Those words hit me square between the eyes. Spoken by a coach soon after I had assumed the biggest leadership role in my career, I wanted to deny the truth of it: Leadership means asking for – and accepting – help.
It happened again. There I am, in the middle of a 19 second, six ball pass through the ski course, and at the 4th ball, my intensity went down. Letting up was not a conscious decision – it’s such an old habit, that it’s almost “natural”. Too natural. This time, the coach watching in the
Sitting in a high school graduation ceremony recently, I found myself in tears from beginning to end. Was it because I was proud of my child walking across the stage? Nope, she’s 34, and while I was quite emotional (relief mostly) 16 years ago when she crossed the stage, it didn’t compare to the emotions
When giving a, TED or TEDx speech on anything, you can expect people to watch you to see if you are actually living your subject. So was the case with me last week. I was doing a short workshop with a group of Women in IT (Information Technology) at a Fortune 50 company. First, I
He turned to me and asked “Do you think I am too vague when giving someone an assignment?” Just as I started to answer we got interrupted, so it was the next day when I brought up his question, with a question of my own. “What are you hoping to learn by asking that question?”
When he knocked at my door asking for a few minutes, the resentment rushed from head to toe. I was gleefully buried in a budget spreadsheet, playing the annual game to beat the system, keep everyone on staff and avoid layoffs. “Can’t he see I’m busy?” I thought while slowly turning a fragment of my