The Umbrella Effect,
A journey of self-mastery for women leaders.
Introduction – Women with Purpose.
My mission in life is not merely to survive,
But to thrive,
And to do so with some passion,
Some compassion,
Some humor,
And some style.
Maya Angelou.
Some stories speak to the mind,
But the best stories speak to the heart.
Here is one of those stories.
The land was parched.
For months on end,
The sun blazed down,
And there was not a single raindrop.
The once lush green hills had faded to a lifeless brown,
And the crops in the fields that fed mouths of all sizes withered under the relentless heat.
As the village wells ran dry,
A feeling of despair crept over the community.
Finally,
A group of concerned elders approached their chief.
Great Chief,
They implored,
We are in dire need of relief from this drought.
Our livestock has begun to perish,
And our children cry out from thirst.
We beg you to guide us toward a solution.
The chief considered this,
His fingers steepled under his chin before replying,
This drought afflicts more than just our village.
We must come together as a people and appeal to the heavens for rain through a sacred ceremony.
He designated the following Sunday as the day when the villagers would gather to pray,
For this would allow even those working in the distant fields the opportunity to attend.
As the days passed,
The anticipation grew.
By Sunday,
Practically the whole village had converged under the great tree.
They wore their finest traditional dress with bright colors in honor of both their chief and the skies from which they needed deliverance.
They brought the best offerings they had.
The villagers' rainbow dress contrasted with the pale dust that swirled around their feet.
The chief arrived,
Adorned in intricately beaded lion pelts.
Let us bow our heads and lift our voices to request relief from this merciless drought,
His voice boomed out.
The villagers knelt reverently as they prayed for rain.
When the chief considered the kneeling crowd,
He saw young Abeba,
A girl not older than ten,
Holding an open umbrella over her head.
She was the only one who came fully prepared to receive the gift of grace.
That is faith.
Our true feelings and beliefs are hidden in our actions,
Often unbeknownst to us.
As you listen to this audiobook,
I urge you to bring your umbrella and expect a storm of changes.
Over more than 30 years of working with people in business,
Education,
And their personal lives,
I have met many amazing,
Talented women whose struggles may be familiar to you.
They have found themselves afraid,
Tired,
Discouraged,
And debating whether they should follow their career and ambition or settle for lesser roles.
This has been an issue for hundreds of years.
Women have come a long way in leadership roles in business,
Politics,
Academia,
And other spheres of influence at a cost that is too high for some.
Not too long ago,
They were not allowed to vote or to work after marriage.
Yet,
Outdated gender biases and double standards still impose unfair expectations,
Criticisms,
And discrimination on the gender.
For example,
Margaret,
A high performer and dedicated young sales assistant who worked full-time while putting herself through college,
Was passed up for promotion right after getting engaged.
Her manager assumed she would be distracted by the wedding plans,
So an older woman was hired from outside the company to replace her.
Virginia,
A standout manager who delivered excellent results across locations,
Exceeded in a rigorous interview process for her promotion.
But when asked,
She attributed her success to her bubbly personality.
Bubbly was mocked by the executive to one of her managers.
What did it even mean?
The role went to a not-bubbly man instead,
Whose results were less impressive than Virginia's.
Amanda,
A bright young professional in her fourth year working in a not-for-profit role after finishing college,
Sat in an important meeting to discuss possibly renewing the contract with an outside contractor for another year.
In the meeting,
She shared with the team that the individual in consideration was sexist.
Amanda described how this contractor constantly talked over her,
Ignored her input,
Addressed other employees next to her instead,
And dropped the ball repeatedly,
Assuming she would pick up the slack.
He wasn't pleasant to work with either.
Another colleague confirmed Amanda's critiques were valid.
Despite this feedback,
The group decided that the difficult male contractor was coachable and warranted renewing his contract for another year.
When Amanda returned to the office,
Her boss lashed out at her for making the inappropriate complaint about the contractor's sexism.
Her boss concluded his reprimand by saying,
When your personal life is in shambles,
You bring it into the office.
He said this because Amanda's husband was hospitalized for four days for an autoimmune disease while she kept working,
Seeming to suggest that even mentioning her troubles was a flaw.
The boss chose to focus on Amanda's private life rather than the contractor's issues.
Christine was a veteran manager with over 13 years of experience.
She maintained excellent performance for a decade,
Becoming the go-to person for fixing performance issues and filling needed roles across locations.
Christine was successful despite not having full management training.
Over the years,
Different senior leaders continually offered Christine promotions,
Yet she turned them all down.
Finally,
Her boss's boss visited her office,
Urging Christine to accept a promotion.
But instead,
She requested to step down to a team member position.
After watching the pressure her past bosses endured,
She knew she didn't want to be a senior manager,
Even though she was fully capable and had already done some of the work required by the senior position.
Studies show that women in leadership often face a double bind where they are criticized for being either too soft or too aggressive.
If they lead in a stereotypically feminine manner,
They are dismissed as weak or emotional.
But if they exhibit more authoritative traits,
They are labeled bossy or called unpleasant names.
This puts women in an impossible position where they cannot lead authentically without facing backlash.
It's time for women to become holistic leaders.
Holistic leadership integrates the physical,
Mental,
Emotional,
And spiritual dimensions of the self.
It enables women to lead from a place of authenticity without leaving behind essential aspects of themselves.
Primarily,
Holistic leadership teaches women that providing outstanding leadership doesn't come from stepping up,
But by letting go of the thoughts and behaviors holding them back.
In this audiobook,
We'll explore the common misconceptions women face,
The frequent setbacks they experience,
And successful remedies to help them own their brilliance and thrive in leadership as authentic,
Empowered,
Holistic leaders.
After years of observing qualified women being overlooked,
Misunderstood,
Or more slowly promoted compared to male peers,
I decided to stop complaining and take action.
In 2018,
I created a development program with support from Human Resources to advance high-potential women leaders in the company where I worked at the time.
We assembled a cohort of 26 accomplished women managers recommended by their bosses,
Who were mostly male.
23 women finished the program,
And 65% of those were promoted within a year,
Even though some of the women needed convincing to take the promotion.
It was good progress,
But more was needed.
You possess a wellspring of inner wisdom.
Often,
Outdated expectations can cloud it from view.
This audiobook guides you to look deep within and boldly bring your gifts into the world through your leadership at home,
Work,
And in the community.
No more fragmentation or self-doubt.
The research-based framework and practices will help you align all aspects of your identity to shape an authentic,
Holistic leader.
This audiobook also provides the compass for the internal journey of owning your worth and arriving at your destination as yourself,
And not what someone else thinks you should be.
You'll master management fundamentals and reflect on your passions,
Strengths,
Values,
And visions.
You'll build emotional intelligence,
Mindfulness,
Stress resilience,
And collaborative skills.
You will learn the three most common mistakes women make in business and their personal lives,
And learn how to correct them.
It's time to stop self-sabotaging and follow this holistic approach to leadership in behaviors,
Body,
Thoughts,
Mind,
And meaning,
Spirit.
This way,
Every woman knows that they deserve to own their seat at any table.
Throughout this audiobook,
You'll find exercises and reflective practices designed to deepen your understanding and apply these concepts to your own life.
To complete these exercises and access additional bonus materials,
Please refer to the PDF that accompanies this audiobook.
The journey begins within.
Being a holistic leader requires defining success on your terms.
Fulfillment flows from purpose-driven efforts,
Not a checklist of achievements.
You'll learn to align your career with conviction and see that work should fuel your spirit,
Not drain it.
I hope that by revealing the outdated biases and barriers that have long obstructed and discouraged qualified,
Talented women from advancing,
We can dismantle them altogether.
With the right skills and support,
Women can shatter glass ceilings and fulfill their immense potential as transformative leaders without compromising their values and ambitions.
Your time is now.
Journey on.
