Ann Quasman's WomanTalkLive A more conscious conversation

WTL Wrap-Up – “Giving Back: Make It a Family Affair”

Molly Shattuck

This past weekend, Molly Shattuck joined me in the studio.  She’s a woman on a mission.   Several missions, in fact.

Not only does Molly believe that living a vibrant life involves giving back, she’s a big believer in teaching kids to give back.  And her own family practices what she preaches and she wants to encourage other families to join in.

Besides the obvious benefits of helping the community and having a tangible impact on another individual’s life, family volunteering can be fun; it can be a real bonding experience for family, friends or colleagues; and, it can be a child’s first lesson in charity.

As the founder and leader of the United Way of Central Maryland’s Families Living  United program and the Healthy Food Ambassador for UWCM, Molly helps coordinate many activities such as the Stone Soup Gatherings and the Harvest Helper events – perfect events for the whole family to support.  In four Stone Soup Gatherings over the past year, more than 460 volunteers of all ages have fed 4,000+ hungry people in Baltimore more than 550 casseroles and 3,200 sandwiches.  It’s amazing what can get done in these two-hour events!

If you missed the show or want to share it with a friend, it will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  Listen in and find out how you, your family and friends can come together for the good.

WTL Wrap-Up “The Company of Women – How Women are Influencing Change at Work”

by Susan Bishop, Guest Host on WomanTalk Live 05/05/12

Susan Bishop, Amy Connolly, Jodi Hume & Beth Terrence

Since before my 20s, I’ve longed for what I term the “Star Trek World.” For those of you familiar with that show – specifically Next Generation – you know exactly what I mean. For those of you who aren’t, Star Trek Next Generation painted an inspiring picture of what organizational culture could be – a space for creativity; time for reflection; care of self; acceptance and honoring of others – and, especially, acceptance and honoring of what we in the U.S. refer to as traditionally female traits: Empathy, Receiving, Openness and much more.

And just a HUGE SIDE NOTE HERE that Feminine/Masculine are just easy ways to categorize traits – yin/yang is another – and these traits are in ALL OF US – men and women. HISTORICALLY, though, “masculine” traits were thought to be the most effective for productivity, profit and success at work – and that the “feminine” side of each of us needed to be kept in check.

Anyway, this past Saturday night, I had the pleasure of interviewing three women who are making my Star Trek World a reality in the workplace: Amy Bloom Connolly, Jodi Hume and Beth Terrence. I’ve known each of these women for quite some time, so I knew going into the show that they were involved in amazing work that was transforming organizations and that their work was part of a larger effort and movement in our country to honor and even accentuate “feminine” traits in organizations for the purpose of greater effectiveness and success. From practices such as Talking Circles and Mindfulness and to concepts like Emotional Intelligence and Peace-Making, organizations everywhere are recognizing the value of the “female” side of the equation and making a shift to a wholly new way of leading and working together – one in which wholeness and humanity are highly honored and in which we can all be more fulfilled and engaged.

What I did not realize before the interview was how incredibly far organizations have come since I first became interested in this topic. When Amy Connolly gave her list of where Mindfulness is being taught and practiced in the working world, I nearly fell off my chair. If the U.S. Army has found value in reflection, receptivity, taking our time, then, well, my Star Trek World is more than well on its way to becoming a reality – it happening RIGHT NOW. In fact, when I asked directly, “Why now? What has made organizations finally open their eyes to the power of the “feminine?” Jodi Hume’s response further verified that this new thinking is not just some woo-woo idea being forwarded and adopted by “granola-y” experts in California, it’s everywhere because we now have the science to back it up. So while I went in thinking how difficult it might be for organizations to adopt practices such as those Beth Terrence shared (which as she stated are designed to enable wholeness and authenticity for individuals, as well as for the organization overall), I left understanding that, very soon, the only people on the fringe will those organizational leaders who refuse to budge from the old model.

I’m never going to do justice to all my three guests shared on Saturday’s show in this post – and I don’t want to slaughter what they said. I encourage anyone who missed the show to check out the podcast as soon as it goes up. If you’ve ever felt that there is something just not right about the way we work – if you’ve ever longed for a Star Trek World -  I think listening will leave you as inspired as I am. And if you are one of those people who knew it was already here, I think you’re going to be interested in some of the studies, books and resources mentioned on the show.

I’m starting this work week heartened by how open to change the world is. Anyone going to work today who thinks their organization is stuck in dysfunction can be assured that thought leaders like my guests are doing more than talking. They have taken action – perhaps action that’s coming soon to a workplace near you.

WTL Wrap-Up – “Writing to Heal”

Ellen Koronet, Ann, Andrea Hylen & Lisa Stearns

For twenty women who participated in the very first Heal My Voice Book Circle Project, the past year has brought much awareness and growth.  Committing to write their stories of “fearlessness” to help heal an old wound brought unexpected gifts.  Their stories were compiled in a heart-touching book,  Fearless Voices: True Stories by Courageous Women

Joining me in the studio this past week to discuss the book and the gifts it brought were:

Andrea Hylen, the founder of Heal My Voice;

Ellen Koronet, who owns and operates a full service marketing research and creativity firm, LNK Creative: Focus Groups & Surveys for the Entrepreneurial Spirit; and,

Lisa Stearns, a successful coach, athlete, teacher, author, wife, other and friend, and the creator and coach of the Finding Your Voice™ Program, providing women the tools they need to express themselves with confidence and clarity.

If you missed the show or want to share it with a friend, it will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  Listen in and find out how writing, sharing and being supported by others can transform your story.

WTL Wrap-Up – “Women Entrepreneurs Partnering for Profit”

Barbara Holt Streeter, Ann, Cheryl Wood & Sonya Smith-Valentine

For all sorts of reasons, women are starting businesses more than in the past.   Whether they’ve lost a traditional job or are following a dream, it’s happening and the goal is once they’ve started the business, to get it going and growing.

My guests this past week have all done that.  They are following their dreams to run businesses they are passionate about.  However, one thing they know for sure is that support from other women can make all the difference in the world.

Cheryl Wood, award-winning author, speaker and Empowerment Coach and the founder of Women Entrepreneurs Partnering for Profit (WEPP), joined me along with two members of WEPP, Sonya Smith-Valentine, CPA, Esq., and CEO of Financially Fierce, LLC and Barbara Holt Streeter, founder of The PR & Protocol Group.

Being involved with a group of 50 women entrepreneurs involved in the WEPP program since September 1, 2011, has taught all of the women something about the power of real networking, real relationship building and real collaboration.

If you’re thinking about starting your own business and/or know that good, solid support from other women is just exactly what you need to soar, then listen in to these amazing women who are doing it.

If you missed the show or want to share it with a friend, it will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  Listen in and see how you can support your own entrepreneurial dreams.

WTL Wrap-up – “The 5 Biggest Stumbling Blocks to Communication (and What to Do About Them)”

Lori Hollander

Bob Hollander

Whenever the WomanTalk Live Relationship Experts show up in the studio, I know that Tori (the WTL Producer) and I will have lots of “Oh, yeahs”, lots of eye rolling, and lots of explaining to do.  And, if you listened to the show, you’d know exactly what I mean by that.

That’s because when Lori and Bob Hollander of Relationships Work show up, they ALWAYS hit the nail right on the head.  And, this past week was no different. We talked about the five biggest stumbling blocks to communication and, trust me, you know them and you’ve probably done every one of them.

Not only did Lori and Bob talk about these blocks, they also left us with some things to do to keep them from getting in the way of having a loving and open relationship.

If you missed the show or want to share it with a friend, it will be posted in the podcast archive later on this week – around Wednesday or Thursday.  Listen in and see how you can change some of the dynamics in your own relationship.