Earlier in my career, I remember reporting to a new office after a promotion. One of the first things I noticed was that everyone had a manila folder with a smile drawn on it on their desk. Curious, I asked a friendly face what the folders were for, and her matter of fact response of “they’re our smile files” let me know I was missing something. Seeing my confusion, she…
In November 2017, Wall Street Journal magazine had a cover story about Reese Witherspoon. She has become a force in Hollywood creating movies and TV shows that are made by, star, and appeal to women. That this is a novel concept—despite the fact that 52% of moviegoers are women—is a testament to how far we’ve got to go. But her success is a testament to how far we’ve come and we…
There’s a lot of bad career advice in the world. But early in my career I read an article with this tip: Any time you get significant praise, drop it into a file marked “Hooray.” Then, when you have a bad day, pull out your hooray file and flip through it. It will remind you of all the great things you’ve done and all the great people you work with.…
The media narrative on working moms isn’t always pretty. Generally they seem to revolve around questions like: How do they do it? Can they have it all? There are many mornings that begin with #facepalm because of some story that seems to reinforce a tired narrative that doesn’t describe my life or the lives of many women I know. So it was with relief, amazement and joy that I read…
