Not an April Fools’ Joke: 😇 Smell the Pivotal Blessing

The delicately sweet aroma of citrus blossoms brought back a powerful sensation as I stepped outside of my Arizona home this April Fools’ Day.

It was the scent I’d first experienced on this exact date: April 1, 1978.

I had taken a late evening flight from my Odessa, Texas home to Phoenix the night before, following a quick trip to a department store to buy a proper suit for an interview that had come a year sooner than my intentions.

On the morning of April 1, I stepped out into the bright Arizona sun.

The unfamiliar scent permeated the air. It wasn’t harsh or cloying, more like a softly perfumed pillow around me. I thought I had landed in some sort of paradise.

Little did I know my life would take a pivotal turn, which I have ever since associated with the aroma of citrus blossoms.

Courage to Lead: 3 Moves to Unlock Big Impact

Anxiety is in the air. You can feel it everywhere — layoffs, political uncertainty, the gnawing fear that the earth is shifting beneath our feet.

In times like these, leadership can feel impossible. How can you lead when you don’t even know what the next week will bring?

The truth is courage to lead isn’t knowing all the answers. It’s stepping forward even when you don’t.

Lilly and Judy ✴️ Historic Calls to Action

What an amazing International Women’s Day 2025 I was privileged to experience! It was equal measure inspiring celebrations of women’s progress and passionate calls to action to change the state of the world for women, where rights won are being lost and many protections of equal treatment are being erased a warp speed.

The two events I attended both received well deserved standing ovations.

That’s because of the way each exemplified progress is possible through struggle and movement building. And each illustrated a poignant reminder that no step forward is forever unless there is constant activism.

Happy Women’s History Month?

On the third day of #womenshistorymonth, I’m reflecting on promises fulfilled and unfulfilled of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. I attended it in Beijing in 1995.

I was in the room where it happened 30 years ago. Two rooms where it happened, actually.

The experience was life changing. World changing. But that was then.

Gender Parity, The SumGloria FeldtMarch 3, 2025womens leadership, womens history month, gender parity, diversity, leadershipComment

Action: Your Antidote to Anxiety and Other Ills

Madeleine moved to a new state with her husband who got a great job there, but she felt the loss of grounding without family and friends and the stimulation of a large city. She approached me to volunteer for Take The Lead and we began to work on a plan.

“I’m feeling alive again,” she said.

In our fast-paced, often overwhelming world, anxiety, fear, and depression can creep in like shadows at dusk — persistent, heavy, and seemingly insurmountable. Yet, hidden in the very act of taking a step forward is a powerful remedy. Action, even in its smallest form, can serve as the antidote to these pervasive feelings.

Know Your History: Kendrick Lamar Makes Legacy During Black History Month

It’s heresy, I know, but you don’t normally find me watching the Super Bowl.

However, dinner at a friend’s home during the annual Big Game was served around a television with the game on. It turns out I am glad.

Sorry, Kansas City Chiefs. Congratulations, Philadelphia Eagles. But thanks to you both for providing the perfect kickoff, as it were, for the connection to Black History Month.

The Sum, Change LeadershipGloria FeldtFebruary 11, 2025Black History Month, Leadership, Womens Leadership, Parity, Social JusticeComment

How to Unlock Potential: The Key to Thriving Business Success

You are incredibly, beautifully diverse.

Think about it. A friend once observed to me that we are all made up of many tribes, each of which brings a piece of our identity to life.

How many tribes do you belong to? What characteristics of yourself do you identify with?

I didn’t always appreciate the richness of this concept, but over time, I’ve come to love and embrace the reality of the multifaceted elements that form the whole of who I am.

Change LeadershipGloria FeldtFebruary 3, 2025Leadership, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, DEIComment

Equal Rights for All: On MLK Day, How RBG Logic Can Advance the ERA

On this long weekend when MLK day falls on inauguration day, and much of the country faces a big chill, a long overdue step forward for women’s rights was announced by President Biden: the ratification into the U.S. Constitution of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Sum, Community BuildingGloria FeldtJanuary 20, 2025MLK, Martin Luther King, Leadership Tools, Equal Rights Amendment, ERAComment

Want to Help LA? Resources for People Who Lost So Much and How We Can Support

“It’s about so much more than losing things and getting new things,” a friend said to me.

I’m rarely at a loss for words. But I’m struggling to express my feelings of shock, horror, and grief for the people of the Los Angeles area in the midst of the horrific fires that have devastated entire communities and robbed so many of their homes and all their physical possessions.

And my friend’s words have been occupying my mind.

Community BuildingGloria FeldtJanuary 13, 2025wildfire, fire relief, los angelesComment

New Year 🥳: Why 2025 Doesn’t Need a New You!

As the calendar turns to a new year, the phrase “new year, new you” inevitably surfaces in advertising campaigns, social media posts, and sales on clothing and cosmetics.

I’ll admit it: I have a negative reaction to that message.

Leadership Power ToolsGloria FeldtJanuary 6, 2025New Year, goals, Leadership Power ToolsComment

Subject: Today! You Can Lead the Change in 2025 (Let Me Explain)

A decade ago, after I found that despite being half the workforce, women held only 18% of senior leadership positions, I co-founded Take The Lead with a bold vision: to prepare, develop, inspire, and propel all women — of all diversities and intersectionalities — to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across every sector by 2025.

Thanks to supporters like you, we’ve moved the needle by 10 points, or 56%, in 10 years, despite the pandemic and a tsunami of political and economic challenges.

Gender Parity, ParityGloria FeldtDecember 31, 2024Donation, Female Leadership, New YearComment

🎁 Happy Holidays! THANKS for Your Gift of Impact!

We are so grateful for you, donors and supporters of women’s equality and leadership parity. We wish you a Happy Holiday, during this season when Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all spread their light and hope together.

Because of you, Take The Lead has accomplished so much this year. Your commitment to our shared mission of gender parity in leadership has transformed lives — make no mistake about it.

Movement BuildingGloria FeldtDecember 29, 2024Holidays, Women Leaders, DonationComment

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