Tag Archives: Sarah Palin

5 Tips to Thrive in Chaos (or What Good Is Vision When You’re up to Your A** in Alligators?)

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I knew there’d be pushback the minute I dubbed vision the #1 leadership characteristic.

“Get real,” several readers e-mailed. It reminded me of the cartoon a colleague once gave me, bearing the caption: “When you’re up to your a** in alligators, it’s hard to remember your goal was to drain the swamp.”

In a time of economic chaos, when many people are desperately trying to keep those writhing reptiles from nipping off their knees, lofty vision talk sounds unrealistic.

It’s difficult to keep your eyes on the prize, your focus on the vision, your hand steady to the wheel when the assumptions you thought were well grounded turn out to be quicksand. But a counterintuitive skill that can help you thrive in times of change and disruption is to embrace chaos as opportunity…

Posted in 9 Ways Blog, Carpe the Chaos, Heartfeldt Leadership Advice, Inspiration, Leadership, No Excuses, Power Tools, Workplace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Women’s History Open Thread: Infamous Women

In No Excuses, not all of the women I talk about have had a positive impact on women’s lives. In fact, I share a quote from Madeleine Albright that says “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” But should women support women like Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin, who oppose policies that help women, such as reproductive rights, fair pay legislation, and social programs that are most likely to help women and children who constitute the majority of those living in poverty?

Posted in Inspiration, Know Your History, Leadership, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

5 Tips to Carpe the Chaos and Thrive

NAFE, the National Association of Female Executives asked me to write a “Five Tips” article for their latest newsletter.

I chose to write about 5 tips for using chaos as opportunity, or as I’ve put it in No Excuses power tool #5: Carpe the Chaos. I recently spoke on this topic to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Women’s Roundtable and the International Museum of Women. In my experience as a leader, it’s a useful concept that got me through tough times when many people thought there was no way to succeed.

There IS always a way, and it really helps to see the opportunity when others see only negativity in change and chaos! Here’s the post:

Gloria Feldt’s No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power has stood near the top of Amazon’s leadership booklist since it was published last October. A teen mom who became CEO of the world’s largest reproductive health provider and advocacy organization, Gloria learned leadership on the job. Now she’s a sought-after speaker, author, and consultant. Here are her tips on how to turn chaos into opportunity:

1. Think positive. Be like Monty Python: Always look at the bright side of life. You might as well. Chaos is inevitable because change is inevitable. And whoever is most comfortable with the ambiguity change creates is most likely to thrive, not just survive.

Posted in Carpe the Chaos, Power Tools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments
 
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Copyright 2010 Gloria Feldt