Building on Carol’s blog this past Monday, Fortune magazine “Ask Annie” columnist, Anne Fisher, interviewed me for an article to coincide with their 50 Most Powerful Women issue.  Yes, we’ll know we’ve really come a long way when we no longer need such articles.  With that said, Anne Fisher’s article focuses on redefining power in a way that makes it more palatable for women to embrace it.  I hope you’ll take a minute to read the entire piece, but for now, let me make just three points to move you one step closer to being the leader you want to become:

• Leadership is not a title or a power bestowed on you.  It’s what you do every day to provide direction, make a difference, and add value.  Observe and give yourself credit for the ways in which you lead all the time.
• Power is not to be hoarded — it’s to be shared.  The most powerful people I know (many of them women) constantly share their power with the understanding that this creates synergies that yield exponentially more than doing things alone.  Sharing powering is not threatening to them because they understand that heros go it alone, leaders get the job done by influencing, understanding, and motivating others.
• Finish this sentence:  “I am a leader who…” .  Write it down.  What do you want people to be saying about you and your leadership style?  Now make that a reality by consistently acting in the way you want to be described. 

TAGS: Anne Fisher, Fortune magazine, powerful women, women and power