February 6, 2018
My high profile interviewee this month is the inspirational change-maker Pinky Lilani CBE DL, who was a recent guest on BBC’s iconic interview programme Desert Island Discs. Pinky is an Asian businesswoman, a Muslim, a champion of women and the founder of the Women of the Future Awards – this was definitely a woman I wanted […]
January 25, 2018
I love writing and it gives me huge pleasure when one of my newsletter readers tells me “I don’t read many newsletters but I always read yours”. Sometimes they go on to say “You should write a book”. At this point I freeze like a rabbit in the headlights and my internal critic says “You […]
January 12, 2018
In recent months I’ve interviewed the CEO of Aston Martin and the Director of Sony Computer Games to find out what they are doing to champion women in their male-dominated sectors. I’m now putting the spotlight on the construction sector and had the pleasure of interviewing Gillian Charlesworth, Director of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs at […]
January 8, 2018
I remember when I was learning to be a mediator my mentor, Richard, gave me this advice: “You need to be your own harshest critic and your own best friend”. My immediate response to this was “I know how to be my own harshest critic!” And at that point I realised I had no clue how to be my own […]
December 21, 2017
I’ll never forget my choir’s first flash mob. I was sitting in an Italian restaurant on Valentine’s Day, surrounded by romantic couples, with a friend I had tricked into thinking he was just coming out for dinner. Little did he know that the opening bars of Love Shack were my cue to stand up and belt […]
July 21, 2017
I was brought up to think that crying at work is completely taboo and I’d lose all credibility if I let my emotions get the better of me. When I was working as a City lawyer in a global law firm sometimes I’d escape to the loo to have a private weep. Indeed, I remember […]
February 6, 2017
Liz Rivers, who specialises in coaching women, describes how you can help your women clients to become confident risk-takers. An article published in Coaching Perspectives, The Association for Coaching global magazine, Issue 12, January 2017 According to Harvard Business Review women when under pressure become more risk-averse than usual, whereas men will increase their risk-taking. […]
December 20, 2016
I’ve always admired Michelle Obama for her combination of warmth, intelligence, groundedness and courage. If you love her too the good news is that you can channel your Inner Michelle to be an influential woman and make a positive difference. I speak and coach all over Europe and the UK and here’s something I see […]
December 16, 2016
I was recently invited to be on the judging panel for the Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Award alongside Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin. I was impressed by what he told me about how Aston Martin are making women central to their strategy and asked if I could interview him for my readers. I was […]
December 13, 2016
The other week I had the good fortune to meet leading British artist (and notable transvestite) Grayson Perry, at a talk he gave on mental health for social enterprise Talk for Health. He came dressed as Clare, his transvestite alter ego, and spoke very candidly about his difficult childhood (his father left when he was […]