The theme for International Women's Day 2017 is #BeBoldForChange. In preparation for a week of related events in Australia, I checked to see what Google could tell us about "bold women".
Apparently, Google assumed that I was looking for images of "bald" women, BUT it did give me intriguing other image options: Quotes, Self Confidence, Confident Women, Confident and Courageous women.
"What," I wondered as an aside, "did Google have to say about "bold men?'"
Two differences immediately stood out.
- Google assumed without question that I was looking for "bald" women - perhaps because the idea of bold women is unimagineable. Notice that the images returned for men, asks, "Did you mean: bald men."
- The return indicates that when it comes to "bold women" we require LOTS of quotes and advice on how to be bold, self-confident, courageous and confident. Men warrant none.
I thought that maybe among the served up quotes and advice I'd find inspiration beyond the messages I already had in mind for the business women and men who would be in my audiences. Then one of my own quotes popped into my head,
"Leadership is all about change all the time."
I say this in our leadership programs because one component of leadership in business includes achieving or exceeding goals. Goals are set to move away from the current state. So leadership is always about change.
Thinking of the theme in this context, I would say, Lead Boldly! And this is what leadership programs must prepare women to do. Here are 3 ways that Leading Women can help:
- Unique insights into leadership provide a touchstone for determining what bold daily actions need to be taken.
- Ground-breaking research on The Missing 33%® transforms conventional advice to "Speak up" into advice and skills on ways to "Speak up about something substantive."
- Actionable insights into how leadership differs by level informs the courageous identity changes that successful women make as they progress in their careers.
Lead ON!
