Leadership

When news of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer’s pregnancy broke, I tweeted that I too had been appointed to a new role when I was six months pregnant.

Anyone whose been lucky enough to hear or learn from women with compelling careers will know this: mentors are frequently cited as playing a part in their overall success.

Women are constantly being told ways to ‘work smarter’ so that you can get more done without having to ‘work harder’ – with helpful suggestions around time management and process streamlining that are supposed to assist.

Desperate to extract herself from a toxic workplace, a client recently told me, “I’ve applied for so many jobs over the past three years with no response at all.

I am 45 years old and own three businesses; yet I’ve had three mentors in the past three months.

Many women – myself included – have the tendency to shy away from the spotlight.

Stephen Covey describes the difference between management and leadership beautifully: “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

There was a time when businesses big and small avoided re-hiring ex-employees.

Time and time again we hear business leaders, career advisors and academics wax lyrical about the benefits of mentoring.

Are you juggling multiple priorities, faultlessly delivering? Your children are doing well at school; your partner is always there sharing tasks? Are you organised to the hilt? It’s a constant challenge to keep the oil slick of work and achievements under control.

Work-related stress — and this includes the important work performed by stay-at-home mums and dads – can have a significant impact on one’s life.

I have a secret weapon for career success and I’m willing to let you in on it.