PPB April 2015

—“Power Up! Three Ways to Build

Credibility and Make Yourself Heard” by

Claire Damken Brown, PhD

Leverage your feminine skills.

As the world grows ever more

complex and connected, there is a

growing need for “feminine” skills, such as

relational intelligence, emotional intelli-

gence, inclusion and empathy. Be clear

about the skills you have to offer. Embrace

them. They define a new kind of

leadership

―

a more collaborative and

interactive leadership.

—“Soft Is the New Hard: The Hidden Power

of Feminine Skills” by Birute Regine, EdD

Practice self-compassion.

Ask

yourself daily,

“’What’s the most lov-

ing thing I can do for myself right

now?”

Sometimes it means forgiving yourself

for mistakes or simply lightening up on your-

self; other times it means taking a walk or a

hot bath or calling a good friend. When you

love and take care of yourself, you will find it

inevitably serves everyone.

—“Do You Need a Reason to Love?” by

Marci Shimoff

Strive to carry yourself with

poise.

Poise is usually defined as

dignity, ease of manner or compo-

sure. It also reflects wisdom, an acceptance

that things do not happen overnight and that

there are certain things we cannot transform.

It reflects the knowledge that life is not

always fair and it’s nobody’s fault. Poise is an

understanding that putting one foot in front

of the other is part of the power we have as

human beings, as women.

—“Poise, The Final Ingredient” by Linda

Rendleman

Realize that who you are is

different from what you can

accomplish.

Many of today’s

women feel we must do something amazing

before we die, but amazing is never defined.

As a result, we are in constant pursuit, wan-

dering from job to job, goal to goal and rela-

tionship to relationship. Ask yourself:

Who am

I beyond my skills and knowledge? If I did not

have to be great, what path would I take? What

is my highest potential?

—“The Burden of Greatness” by Marcia

Reynolds, PsyD

Find a healthy balance

between feminism and narcis-

sism.

True beauty is a combination

of what’s inside and what’s outside. We need

to connect the two. Don’t waste time trying

to stop the inevitable. Our clocks tick on no

matter what we do—or do not do—to our

faces and bodies. Finally, stop judging your-

self regarding your appearance. Look in the

mirror and talk to yourself like you would a

good friend.

—“The New Beauty Paradox” by Vivian

Diller, PhD, with Michele Willens

Brand your daughter with

words of strength.

Do you want

to brand your daughter as a princess

waiting to be rescued or do you want to

brand her as a hard worker, good problem

solver, smart or willing to try new things?

Take every opportunity you can to notice, to

praise and to strengthen those genuine skills

and talents you want to foster. She will

believe you and these traits will grow.

—“Seven Keys to Unlocking Female

Leadership” by Janet Rose Wojtalik, EdD

Don’t let the divisive label of

“feminism” stop you from sup-

porting women’s equality.

Give yourself a gift by attending this summer’s PPAI Women’s Leadership

Conference. It’s an annual, three-day event open to all women in the promo-

tional products industry with a

focus on professional and personal

development, leadership training

and networking specifically for

women. For the past 11 years, WLC

has been the event where industry

women come to learn, share their knowledge and expand their networks.

Check out the agenda and register at

www.ppai.org/wlc.

PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference

Date:

July 27-29, 2015

Location:

New Orleans, Louisiana

Registration Fees:

Members:

$729

Nonmembers:

$1,049

66 •

PPB

• APRIL 2015

THINK

Nancy Jolly; Kim Reinecker, MAS, and Patricia Dugan, MAS, were among the

attendees at the 2014 Women’s Leadership Conference.