Effortlessly Perfect
Free Time Not So RelaxingA new study suggests that women cannot relax on their free time. Either because the free time is spent fulfilling familial obligations or because they cannot stop worrying about the things they are leaving undone...
Newswise — While more free time sounds like a good thing for everyone, new research suggests it is a better deal for men than it is for women.
A study found that men who have more free time feel less rushed than men with less leisure time. But even when women have more time free from paid work and household tasks, they don’t feel less rushed.
The results suggest that women – particularly mothers – may feel the pressures of childcare and housework even when they have time for relaxation, said Liana Sayer, co-author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University.
“The meaning of free time for men’s and women’s lives are quite different,” Sayer said. “Especially for wives and mothers, it appears free time is still combined with other activities or responsibilities.”
Women, in effect, pay a “family penalty,” she said.
BEHAVIOR: BE OPTIMISTIC -- SAFEGUARD YOUR HEART THIS VALENTINE'S DAY. DANA LIGHTMAN, Ph.D., behavioral psychologist and author of
POWER Optimism: Enjoy the Life You Have... Create the Success You Want says:
"The research is piling up. Heart health is not only related to diet and exercise -- creating and maintaining an optimistic attitude is also key to cardiovascular health.
Since February is National Heart Month, it's the perfect time to look at how we can learn to be more optimistic using simple techniques, such as acting from our control zone, being a neutral observer and practicing appreciation. These components of optimism can be learned to help reduce stress and maintain both emotional and physical health."
For more on being positive, see my Squidoo Lens on
Positivity as a Success Skill.
Monday Morning Coffee Break: Paris Hilton DepositionCome on, relax a minute and enjoy this delightful legal interlude.
Read these quick
quips from Paris Hilton's
depositionI get hungry too!
WEEK IN REVIEW | January 15, 2006
Today, Some Feminists Hate the Word 'Choice'By PATRICIA COHEN (NYT)
"Choice feminism is suddenly gaining currency, while managing to annoy people on the left, right and just about everywhere in between..."
The New York Times is continuing the discussion about choice first raised by Linda Hirshman:
America's Stay-at-Home Feminists
By Linda Hirshman, The American Prospect. Posted November 24, 2005.
http://www.alternet.org/story/28621/
Post Santa BluesThis UK site has lots of tips to raise your spirits if you are tired and stuck in the January doldrums.
An Absolute Must-Read
Modern Love: Paradise Lost (Domestic Division) By TERRY MARTIN HEKKER
In the continuing case of Full-Time Homemaker vs. Working Mother, I offer
myself as Exhibit A.
Changing Focus of This BlogI started this blog to keep an archive of news reports of developments affecting women professionals, particularly women lawyers, but the news grew repetitive and I grew bored reporting the same stuff over and over.
It seems to me (and I will elaborate another time) that the things to do to improve the working lives of women and also their work/life balance are pretty simple and straight-forward. It has all been done before, and now the various states and companies within the United States are trying the same sort of programs that have been established in England, Australia, and other places.
The news reports are thus more frequent but less diverse.
For some time, I have been reporting only on NEW ideas but those reports are few and far between. So I am going to do more commentary in 2006, expressing my opinions for what they are worth.
Orientation to achieve, satisfy, learn drives success of women CEOshttp://business.bostonherald.com/womensBusiness/view.bg?articleid=119153&format=text
By Nan Langowitz and Aileen Gorman/ Research
Sunday, January 1, 2006
BostonHerald.com
"...Aileen Gorman, executive director of The Commonwealth Institute, notes, “Women CEOs are succeeding because they first and foremost value strong relationships with customers and employees. Their leadership focus engenders loyalty and productivity, and results in long-term business success.
“Additionally, the CEOs we studied value learning and continue to reach out to mentors and boards of advisors to further their knowledge. Their commitment to building their companies for the long-term and furthering their own expertise has been integral to their business growth.”
The full research report can be downloaded from www3.babson.edu/cwl/."
Leadership and Practice DevelopmentBy Cheryl Stephens
email@cherylstephens.com
Leadership in the Law FirmIt is probably obvious that developing leadership skills and practices will serve a woman well both in her career development and in her marketing efforts.
“Leadership is not magnetic personality – that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not ‘making friends and influencing people’ – that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, raising a person’s performance to a higher standard, building a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
Peter Drucker
Leadership is also about performance. Here are some tried-and-true principles of performance enhancement:
Upgrade your traditional skills Today’s environment requires continual development and diversification of knowledge and skills. Develop a “learning culture” for yourself and others.
Improve your interpersonal skills Do you know and understand your own behavioural assets/liabilities and how they affect your client relations and those with your colleagues? Do you know how to adapt to the behavioural differences of individual clients or co-workers?
Make a plan for career development Do you have a clear vision for your career path? Regardless of the requirements of your current position, you need to be preparing yourself to meet the needs of your next position or next firm. Have you surveyed the future opportunities available to you and planned for making yourself eligible for those opportunities? Without a sense of your own direction, it will be more difficult for you to perform well and excel at any stage.
Know how to lead teams Individuals differ according to their own history but differences in skills and knowledge stem from a person's style of learning and information processing. Prepare yourself to understand and manage such differences in order to avoid communication problems.
Enrich your world through diversity An open mind is fundamental to leadership. If your experience is limited to people just like you, reach out into your environment to get to know about people of other racial, ethnic, national, or religious communities.
Maintain your equilibrium with a balanced lifestyle
Time must be scheduled for rejuvenation and relaxation. Your inner life must be nurtured. Only a balanced person can give their full potential to their work.
Personal Excellence and Leadership
Successful women leaders practice the following behaviors:
- They make the effort to integrate personal and professional goals and to develop a clear director for their careers.
– They show compassion for others, trust in their intuition and generally excel in social skills. They value communication and conflict resolution as key to their own and the organization’s success.
– They value continuous learning for themselves and others. They view power as infinite – expanding when shared through collaboration and participation with co-workers and team members.
– They see leadership as cyclical not static and hierarchical, accomplished through relationships and networks. They are capable of giving voice to the corporate vision to inspire and empower others.
Develop your leadership ability
Developing the communication, teamwork, people skills associated with leadership is important but some of the best learning comes from associating with people who model leadership behaviour. Your best mentor may not work in the same firm nor even in the legal community. Participate in community groups, women's professional organizations, and the ABA and local bar groups. Attend conferences for networking purposes and make a special effort to connect with women who exhibit the skills you seek to master. Find people with similar interests and like minds then work together on common goals.
Impostor syndromeAre you suffering from impostor syndrome? These are some of the signs, according to York University instructor Diane Zorn as reported in the Globe and Mail:
· Feelings of incompetence.
· A belief that you don't deserve success.
· Feeling like a fraud.
· Fear of being "found out."
· Don't take credit for your own accomplishments.
It is common for high achievers to have fears of their own inadequacy. It is normal to have doubts.
But some workplaces are so competitive they make people feel unworthy of their success. The "impostor phenomenon" describes that fear of being exposed as a fraud despite a solid record of achievement.
The first step is to recognize whether you are suffering from a touch of impostor phenomenon.
The second step: find a mentor – inside or outside your firm. Join professional associations or informal support networks for honest feedback and collaboration.
Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome by Dr. Valerie Young is a website designed to help you succeed.
· Speak up, share your feelings. You will find you are not alone.
· Separate feelings from fact.
· Don't be such a perfectionist.
· Take some risks. Learn that we all have to wing it sometimes to meet our challenges.
The full
Globe and Mail article by Virginia Galt is available at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20051224.RCAREERCOACH24/TPStory
