Meek and mild is not how I’d describe Lynn Ralph, board performance specialist with Cameron Ralph and non-executive director of the Sydney Swans and The Sydney Institute.  In past lives she was also a successful investment manager and ran the Sydney Dance Company.  And those in attendance at Ascend in Sydney on Friday would agree: this is a woman who pulls no punches, makes no apologies for her successful career and yet doesn’t take herself too seriously.   Read More

When was the last time you spend a day focused just on you and what you want to achieve from work and life? If you're in Melbourne next Friday 19th November, I'd love to see you at the Ascend career development day where you'll have the chance to do just that.  Here's what one of our recent participants had to say about how much she loved the program: Read More

A new study into the flexibility practices of the accounting sector has been undertaken to determine why this profession - in which women have long dominated at the graduate level - is still failing to attain significant female representation at partnership ranks. The study was undertaken by the New Zealand Ministry for Women and reviewed workplace practices of twelve public practice accounting firms using some form of flexibility, ranging in size from four staff to 900. Read More

I think sometimes we get so much advice, so many insiders tips and tricks for how to get that job that we get over stimulated and ruin our focus. This is a recognised phenomenon in elite athlete training – if your focusing on kicking perfectly and swift arm movements entering the water expertly and keeping your overall body tension perfect, chances are the actual swimming won’t be outstanding. Read More

Pretty much every opportunity worth pursuing won’t be failure proof. And if you’re ready to try something brave, or are reeling from a cherished idea gone wrong, then this article is for you.  How can you assess the risk of making mistakes with new ideas before you launch the project, and how can you learn best from those mistakes, and communicate these to risk-wary executives? This article explores these questions. Read More

For our readers in Adelaide... now is your last chance to register for our final Ascend career development day for 2010 - which is all about career develoment and the things women can do to position themselves for career advancement and success in 2011.  Would you, your colleagues or team members benefit from attending?  Or is there someone you could forward this email to, who may benefit from spending a day reflecting and refocusing on their career success? Read More

I’m a big fan of the Professionelle blog, and this article is no exception to their high standard of career advice. Here they address a question from a business analyst in management consulting about to step into a lead analyst role. She is the only female in the team, and has less experience in the industry then the two analysts she’ll be leading. Read More

I don’t think anyone walks into a 360 review comfortable with the process; the idea of a range of people anonymously commenting on you in a setting that affects you career is nerve racking! But the results are usually very useful for developing your leadership, even if they’re not a lot of fun to get. This article promotes the idea (which I wholeheartedly agree with) that the best leaders don’t get the lowest score on the 360, but they have stand out strengths. With that in mind, knowing you can’t be perfect, this article is a great resource for reading in preparation to receiving your feedback.  Read More

Over the past months I’ve read a number of engaging SheEO blogs on women in leadership roles and moving into the boardroom.  Those are aspirational goals and ones that every little girl should have in her toy garage or dollhouse at the ready.  But, what about those women who are more than competent, but for whom corporate Australia is largely out of reach?  What about those of us with mobility issues who are dealing with lockout and who can’t even get through the front door of the building? Read More

When I ask people what they do, most say, “I am electrician”, I am a cleaner” or “I am and accountant”.  Many people identify themselves with their profession or their job title. But there is a lot more to a job than that.  Research has shown that the way we feel about what we do, not surprisingly has a significant impact on our level of happiness.  If we can start thinking differently about what we do, perhaps we can come to appreciate and enjoy it more, contribute more, be more productive, or at the very least work out what else we should be doing instead. Read More