I took several personality and leadership assessments during my career sabbatical in 2023 as I contemplated my professional and life goals and plans. One of the assessments I worked on with a coach brought up an interesting insight. It suggested that I sometimes wait for an invitation to share my unique perspective or creative ideas, …
Revisiting My Top Leadership Lessons for 2020
A few years ago, I was interviewed by the national (U.S.) magazine for association professionals, Associations Now, about the most important lessons in my career so far.
At the time, I was leading a corporate education start-up team within a non-profit serving the...
International Women’s Day: 5 Things You Can Do to Keep the Momentum Alive
On March 8, International Women’s Day sparked events around the world, celebrations of women’s achievements, and inspiring posts on social media.
At the historic Carolina Theatre in Durham, I joined other women leaders on a panel about empowering women as part of ...
Recognizing Impostor Syndrome and Not Letting It Stop You
I’m preparing to give a talk on Thursday to nonprofit leaders about building self-awareness and emotional intelligence. These are vital skills many people have cultivated to some degree through personal development and professional experience. But our work building these skills is never complete. Every day presents a new opportunity to practice. I accepted the invitation …
Continue reading "Recognizing Impostor Syndrome and Not Letting It Stop You"
Books, Websites and Apps to Help in Your Quest for a Healthier Mind and Life
As a follow-up to my post on mindfulness last week, these are some of the resources and tools that have been vital in my quest for a healthier mind and life. I hope they're helpful to you as well. You can also view and/or print these resources as a...
VIDEO: A Conversation on Mindful Leadership
This week, I had the opportunity to discuss stress and mindfulness in a Facebook Live interview at work. In the video, I offer three tips anyone can use to become more mindful.
In countries around the world, work-related stress is cited as a leading cause of anxiety, mental distress, fatigue and even illness. The World Health Organization has called stress the "health epidemic of the 21st century."
How are we dealing with this as individuals, as leaders, as organizations? Check out the video.
3 Easy Ways to Grow More Mindful in 2018
Some people tune out when they hear the word “mindfulness.”
They may think it means meditating on a mountaintop or sitting cross-legged on the floor, squirming while a teacher chants mantras, burns incense and rings a soft bell.
But practicing mindfulness doesn’t require taking up meditation. Anyone can practice mindfulness -- from your desk at work, even.
How Silence Can Help You Be More Creative
In the final weeks of 2017, I did that thing many dream of: I navigated to my iPhone settings and tapped everything to off. Email, phone calls, news alerts, social media, calendar notifications. Everything. Off.
For two weeks, I hiked and cycled through the mountains of northern Thailand.
Several days into that journey, I realized I wasn’t thinking anymore, and I started to hear something else: ...
Heather Pownall 