I get daily updates on any news that comes out related to leadership and women. Today, this release caused more than a pause. According to research from Opportunity Now, balancing work and family responsibilities is the biggest barrier women face to getting senior jobs. The study, which questioned over 850 line managers about female progression in the workplace, found that 82% of women believe combining work and family life is their biggest barrier, with childcare listed as another key obstacle. Male line managers are far less likely to recognize any barriers to gender diversity and women's progression, according to the study. The organization has found little change in perceptions since similar research was carried out in 2005. Based in the UK, Opportunity Now is a membership organization of employers committed to creating an inclusive workplace for women. My question about this appalling statistic is this: What does research in the United States say is the biggest barrier for entry for women in senior level job? According to Catalyst in a 2009 article, the women respondents in a survey stated that the top five barriers to advancement are: Lack of significant general management or line experience (47%) Exclusion from informal networks (41%) Stereotyping and preconceptions of women’s roles and abilities (33%) Failure of senior leadership to assume accountability for women’s advancement (29%) Commitment to personal/family responsibilities (26%) This report indicates that mentoring, sponsorship, stretch assignments, and ability to penetrate male networks are potential solutions for advancement. Thankfully, we will not have to forgo our families. What have been your observations regarding the inclusion of women in senior roles?

Dr. Richard Carlson hit international fame with his Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff series. But on December 13, 2006, a pulmonary embolism took Richard’s life and plunged his wife Kristine and two daughters into shock, heartbreak and a journey through grief. Not everything is small stuff. Kristine Carlson’s new book, Heartbroken Open, sits on my desk, waiting for my review. I glance at the pages and what jumps out—even in a cursory fashion—is the value of  the small stuff that connects us to life. It is the small things that friends do when we are  in pain. Small gestures. Small rituals that comfort through their familiar patterns. Small signs of promise--like wedding candles that remain lit when winds off the Columbia Gorge suddenly stop. I already know this book channels raw emotion, brutal honesty, and poignant navigation through the swollen, muddy rivers of grief. I need to read this book-- first and foremost to understand the little things I can do to support friends going through such intense periods. But the other reason I will read this book-and keep it in my library is that I sense Kristine will show me small steps that can help in many other kinds of losses. At the start of another decade, surrounded by disasters, tragedies, downturns,  economic pressure, and unimaginable violence like that which claimed innocent  lives in Tucson, our hearts will break many times.  But it we learn to keep our hearts open, I believe we  can grow to become more authentic and caring people.

A group of neighborhood women gathered last night at my house.  In traveling so much, I hardly see folks that are literally close to me. So, a Christmas tradition has been to come to my house, bring an unwrapped present for a child or a teen, and some small gift to exchange. We gathered around the kitchen island, held hands and I made an announcement. "I am wearing Ginny Arthur's sweater. She is here with us." As tears filled our eyes, words of thanks came out about this amazing 88 year old, tiny sprite of a woman a masters from Stanford in Political Science--the daily swimmer who put on a white plastic swim cap and jumped in the community pool to do her regime of laps her infectious laughter and her intense interest in everyone and everything her willingness to suspend judgment and listen her avid cheering of Stanford football and basketball. (Oh that she could see them this coming year in the Orange Bowl!) Ginny died in her sleep almost 12 months ago. Her daughter called and asked me if I would consider taking some things that might fit me. I opted for this sweater.  No one could wear it like her. But for one night at least--we all loved Ginny again through her sweater.

The Remembrance Study recently asked 600 people to select their top  life values from a list of 110 options. Each was asked to choose the  top six values for which he or she would like to be remembered. What came to the top?  Being a good friend was the number one choice of all age groups except men over 65. Males in this group chose honesty as their number-one value. Having observed my husband in  retirement, my suspicion is that without work where men might encounter friends, the retirement phase can be more self-absorbed rather than other-oriented. Despite the recent election that revolved around the economy, making a lot of money was dead last. Less than one percent of women and men wanted to be remembered for their financial prowess.   On a sad note—considering the men and women who are giving their lives and futures  in Afghanistan and other places around the globe, only 3% of women and  12% of men wanted to be remembered for their patriotism. Maybe we might consider the 2nd highest value (care of family) and begin to bring these families back home again. Your thoughts?

“A community first and a company second.”  Not words you’d expect to hear from an organization that ten years ago was bankrupt, being sued, and losing more than 40% of its employees every year. But in the mind of Kent Thiry, Chairman and CEO of DaVita, that’s exactly what it took to turn a losing enterprise into a $6 billion company with 35,000 teammates across the United States. DaVita (which is Italian for “giving life”) is one of the largest kidney dialysis companies in the nation. According to the November issue of T+D Magazine, Thiry began with the end in mind: not profit but rather a community.  He stated a dream and then enrolled each employee into articulating what it means to be a healthy community that not only has a social contract with each other but also is a place where an individual’s dreams of a special place to work can be realized. In fact, in the middle of the dramatic business turn-around, the company’s name was conceived in a democratic process by teammates who rallied together to create a shared mission and core values. As someone who passionately believes that great leadership comes from recognizing and engaging the heart, mind and spirit of every stakeholder, I found myself silently cheering as I discovered more about DaVita. Steve Priest, the chief wisdom officer and senior vice president of operations at DaVita, writes “DaVita does dialysis but we are not about dialysis. We are about the lives of our teammates, our patients, our physicians, and our communities. If we add value to their lives, they will add value to the lives of others…when this happens, the DaVita Village lives.” For more information, visit astd.org/TD/eprints and reference the November issue.

I am so furious I could spit. I need a printer that can be networked via wireless. I USED to have good luck with HP. However, after less than a year, the HP LaserJet P1505n put out lousy copies--even with a new ink cartridge. I called, bought a replacement and now-2 months later-there's a white stripe running down each page. Today-Sunday-it took FIVE times to get into HP support.  I kept getting disconnected.  One of the questions in the voice mail doom loop was: "Are you using a MAC computer?"  When I FINALLY got a human being, I was informed that MAC support is ONLY AVAILABLE MONDAY - FRIDAY.  Huh?!?  You mean I could have hung up after the first call had the doom loop even bothered to include that "small detail". I think HP is about to lose a customer. Call your customer service department. Pretend you need help. You might discover a world you didn't even know existed. Hopefully, it will be heavenly instead of hellacious.

When someone interviews the highest-ranking woman in the history of the big four accounting firms, I sit up and take notice. Since few of my readers will see the interview that appeared in yesterday’s LA TIMES, here are the five insights that jumped out for me: In a male-dominated profession, don’t mimic the men. Do things your own way. Remember, as my twin brother point out to me, “We enter the world as originals. Don’t die a copy”. Promote yourself at work. Don’t assume that others know what you have done. Keep people well informed and talk about your contributions. (Very hard for women to do!) Find a mentor and be a mentor. Remember, people throughout the organization can be mentors for different things. Ask for help.Find something you are passionate and do it. It’s the only way you will have energy to stay the course. Know what is the non-negotiable in the rest of your life – whether it is a once-a-week date night with your best beloved or making 50% of your child’s ball games. As I embark on a series of leadership programs for high potential women in both the public and private sector, the advice of this 57 year-old executive rings solid with my research. Putting it in action is what takes skill and courage!

The Tall Ships entered Dana Point this weekend. How fun to see adults get into character and become heroes and villains from another era. The romance of sailing vessels sparks the day--until one recalls the incredible hardships endured tot trade, to flee a country, to explore. We have it so easy today. A click on my finger and I can buy goods from a world away.  No scurvy on my plate.

(Normally, I would write my own piece. However, Joan has produced something so eloquent, it must be shared--Eileen) “Work,” the Persian poet Gibran writes, “is love made visible.” A spirituality of work is based on a heightened sense of sacramentality, of the idea that everything that is, is holy and that our hands consecrate it to the service of God. When we grow radishes in a small container in a city apartment, we participate in creation. When we sweep the street in front of a house, we bring new order to the universe. When we repair what has been broken or paint what is old or give away what we have earned that is above and beyond our own sustenance, we stoop down and scoop up the earth and breathe into it new life again. When we compost garbage and recycle cans, when we clean a room and put coasters under glasses, when we care for everything we touch and touch it reverently, we become the creators of a new universe. Then we sanctify our work and our work sanctifies us. A spirituality of work puts us in touch with our own creativity. Making a salad for supper becomes a work of art. Planting another evergreen tree becomes our contribution to the health of the world. Organizing a good meeting with important questions for the sake of preserving the best in human values enhances humanity. Work enables us to put our personal stamp of approval, our own watermark, the autograph of our souls on the development of the world. In fact, to do less is to do nothing at all. A spirituality of work draws us out of ourselves and, at the same time, makes us more of what we are meant to be. Good work — work done with good intentions and good effects, work that up builds the human race rather than reduces it to the monstrous or risks its destruction — develops qualities of compassion and character in me. My work also develops everything around it. There is nothing I do that does not affect the world in which I live. In developing a spirituality of work, I learn to trust beyond reason that good work will gain good things for the world, even when I don’t expect them and I can’t see them. In that way, I gain myself. Literally. I come into possession of a me that is worthwhile, whose life has not been in vain, who has been a valuable member of the human race. Finally, a spirituality of work immerses me in the search for human community. I begin to see that everything I do, everything, has some effect on someone somewhere. I begin to see my life tied up in theirs. I begin to see that the starving starve because someone is not working hard enough to feed them. And so I do. It becomes obvious, then, that the poor are poor because someone is not intent on the just distribution of goods of the earth. And so I am. I begin to realize that work is the lifelong process of personal sanctification that is satisfied only for the globe. I finally come to know that my work is God’s work, unfinished by God because God meant it to be finished by me

Just landed in Minneapolis for the connection to Duluth and a week canoeing portions of the Boundary Waters, a vast connection of lakes and waterways between the U.S. and Canada. The pocket of the airplane seat in front of me now bulges with newspapers I have read and magazines I devoured. The flight attendants will have a heyday trying to psychoanalyze just who sat in 12-B: I left behind Fast Company Magazine with pages ripped out about NIKE’s CEO and TED conferences. T&D Journal will help anyone who wants to know what ROE vs ROI means in leadership development terms. Bloomberg’s Business Week contains a fascinating account of what is popular in the consumer market. And oh my gosh—the tale of resigning CEOs. SELF magazine only holds interest to anyone interested in health, exercise, and how to get fit without a gym. Spirituality & Healthoffers a rather confusing array of meditation, native Indian wisdom, Episcopalian insights, Thomas Moore philosophy, and a grand discourse from a wise rabbi. Makes me laugh to think what a puzzlement I must be to folks. Then again, in a complex world, there is so much to learn and more than one right answer. What would you leave behind in your airplane seat pocket?

Not a misspelling. I do mean “maid”. You know—a housekeeper. Leadership is what I see in the three times now that Angelica has come to our house to clean. I hope she stays on my payroll until one of us retires! All leadership starts with self-leadership as serving as a role model for others. If I had a team of cleaners I would make her the Queen of the crew! Here’s why: She calls before coming to confirm the time and date. She takes initiative and sees what needs to be done—finding more than I ever thought possible. She literally takes off her shoes to feel for dirt on the floor. Last week, she cleaned my office first—while I was gone—so that I could jump back in it as soon as I returned. I didn’t ASK her to do it. She just made a smart choice. She pulled everything out of the china closet, telling me that last month she did the other cabinet and this month, she’d tackle the closet. I believe she would alphabetize my spice drawer and pantry if she had more time! And when she leaves six hours later—my not-very-large house sparkles along with her good-by grin. Share Angelica’s story with your team. How do they measure up? In fact, makes me wonder if I need to sharpen my client service. I won’t take off my shoes and skate across your floor… but I will help you dust off your leadership skills and tackle whatever lurks in a closet that might hold your team back. Call me at 949-496-8640 to discuss.

What brings you to joy? What are you good at? Does anyone need you to do it? For some reason, I found myself reflecting this Holiday on a weekend spent with my twin brother as he facilitated a Boston College tradition called Halftime. This free, elective weekend is for sophomore or junior year students to step away from campus life and reflect on where they have been, where they are, and where they are going.  It's all about journey, callings and decisions. As we sit in the middle of this summer what would happen if you gave yourself a Halftime? It is so easy to become  caught up in the 24/7 frenzy and the depressing headlines, we can miss the real essence of work and life that revolves around these three questions. Break them down into their most simple elements and you find: JOY.  TALENT. SERVICE. Spontaneous laughter. Constant learning.  Teaching. Hugs. Children. Hands digging in the garden.  AH that's joy to me! Making the complex simple. Crafting written and spoken words. Listening. Relating. Finding humor and story in the ordinary. These are my talents. Service? It depends. Might be the fellow residents at Mom's assisted living facility. Could be corporate teams trying to forge through the morass of a work load. It might be women gathering to become better leaders and support each other in that journey. This area seems wide open. Perhaps you will refine it for me? Please write. I'd love to hear your answers to these critical three questions.