Posts in Ambition / Intention
Honor Your Authenticity: Power Up Award Winner Succeeds With Life Choices

Jenny Nguyen learned how to dribble a basketball at four years old. So, it’s little wonder that at 44, she is running the hugely successful enterprise, The Sports Bra, the first bar/restaurant ever to only show women’s sports on its large TV screens.

Winner of the Changemaker of the Year Award from Take The Lead, Nguyen will speak about her journey as a first-generation Viet Nam daughter who followed her dreams even as they shifted at the 2024 Power Up Concert & Conference on Women’s Equality Day in Washington, D.C.

Nine Power Tool Award winners will receive recognition at the event August 25-26– one for each of the 9 Leadership Power Tools in Take The Lead’s curriculum. The awards were created by Felicia Davis, Take The Lead Leadership Ambassador and Founder of the Black Women’s Collective.

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Unify Your Team: 10 Ways Great Leaders Move Forward From Discord

In a chaotic political campaign season, it’s all about having the right team, from candidates to social media message branding. Beyond the realm of politics and winning a single election, how do you as a leader in an industry or as an entrepreneur bring together a team of different intentions, skillsets, locations, identities, and career history to succeed for the present and future?

Perhaps you are in a new position as a leader, or you are a colleague and team member who is part of a shifting of titles and responsibilities. Holding it all together with purpose and transparency is the mark of a great leader. The puzzle pieces do not need to remain puzzling.

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"Don’t Underestimate Yourself”: Lynda Carter on Leadership, Success and The Power To Be Whomever You Dare

The wonder of her accomplishments never stops.

Lynda Carter, a Wonder Woman in real life who turns 73 this month, is a global performer, singer, producer, actress, philanthropist, leader and inspiration to women and men around the world for her ability to excel in multiple arenas.

“We know how to wear many hats because we are so busy. We collaborate,” says Carter, who will be honored with the Leading Woman Award at Take The Lead’s Power Up Concert and Conference August 25-26.

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Pursue Your Big Idea: 7 Best Tips For Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur

Anyone who watches the ABC-TV show, “Shark Tank,” can witness in just a few minutes how a great idea that someone believes in unequivocally can either get supported to the next level or attacked with keen criticism. They either leave elated or deflated, sent back to develop their business further.

So what is the best advice for women entrepreneurs? What strategies can you put into practice to see your side hustle or your business dream launch into reality?

Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference, “Together We Lead,” on Women’s Equality Day in Washington , D.C. August 26, features a roster of speakers including Daisy Auger-Dominguez, author of Inclusion Revolution, and artist and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, who excel as founders and entrepreneurs. There are also multiple networking opportunities at the conference to learn, connect and share your big ideas.

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Making History Known: Biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin on The Power of Story

History is personal.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer-Prize winning presidential historian and author of six other biographies, knows that well. She turns the spotlight on her own life, in her latest book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, underscoring the need for everyone to know and share their history.

“The power of that decade was that people were filled with the idea that they could make a difference,” says the 81-year-old at a recent Chicago Humanities Festival event. That sentiment  echoes again today.

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Prioritize Yourself: Why Conferences, Networking Matter Most Now

It may be way easier to stay home and stay quiet. But it is not in your best interest—not for your professional advancement or for your well-being.

Particularly in 2024, as post-pandemic realities set in at many organizations, staying lean and looking to retain and onboard top talent, and as many women entrepreneurs launch their drwam businesses, it is urgent to take advantage of conferences to learn and launch your best ideas.

With Take The Lead’s annual Power Up Conference on Women’s Equality Day on the calendar for August 25-26 in Washington, D.C., this year’s theme, “Together We Lead” addresses the importance of learning, networking and sharing experiences with others in-person as well as virtually.

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OK To Cry? Expressing Emotions and Vulnerability Is A New Wave At Work

Raise your hand if you have cried at work.

My hand is up. Once early in my career when a boss was cruel in her comments to me in front of the newsroom and later in my career when a boss viciously chastised me for calling attention to a problem in the organization. Both outbursts were confined to me standing alone at the sink in the ladies’ room.

While this has been a definitively banned reaction for what seems like forever especially for women, new research shows being emotionally vulnerable in the workplace is optimal not just for employees, but for leaders and management.

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Social Justice and Fairness: Author, Journalist on Journey to Tell Buried Truths

“You are your sibling’s keeper.”

Antonia Hylton says that growing up outside of Boston in Lincoln, Mass. (a half mile from where Paul Revere was arrested) as one of only a few Black families in a white town, her law school professor parents instilled in her and her six siblings a sense of responsibility, accountability and social justice.

Now an award-winning journalist, author, documentarian, podcaster and advocate, Hylton says, “I didn’t want to be a lawyer, but I was interested in justice and fairness. I feel I am responsible to those who come after me.”

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