|
|
|
|
|
|
Control Your Narrative: Ann Patchett Shares Power of Storytelling To Change The World
“You can’t save the world, but you can take care of the postage stamp in your yard.”
Ann Patchett, 62, best-selling author of 17 books, winner of the PEN/Faulkner award, Pulitzer Prize finalist, winner of the Women’s Prize For Fiction in the UK, the President’s National Humanities Medal, named Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the world, and owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, told a crowd recently as part of the Chicago Humanities, that stories frame everything. And stories connect is to the world.
And when you collaborate and take action with others, you can create movements.
In an on-stage conversation with Lisa Lucas, former senior vice president at Knopf Doubleday, and former executive director of the National Book Foundation, Patchett says, “What we all need is a sense of community, something we feel good about; that is something I am thrilled to be a part of.”
Her mission to use storytelling for leadership and change is aligned with the work of Kendall Cherry, Founder and Chief Storyteller at The Candid Collective, who is leading a Storytelling workshop at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference August 26.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What I'd Be Thinking at Taylor Swift's Wedding
Note: I wrote this on July 3, prior to the wedding, and some of you might have seen it on social media. I’m including it here ICYMI because of what we can learn from how Taylor Swift has evolved to embrace her power. Hit reply to share your own observations—I’d love to know.
Tonight, approximately 1,000 people are walking into Madison Square Garden for what is being called the American royal wedding. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are getting married. In New York City. On the Fourth of July weekend. Because why not now and why not there?
I wasn't invited. You probably weren't either. But I've been thinking about Taylor Swift for over a decade now, and tonight feels like a moment worth marking — not just for the celebrity spectacle of it, but for what this woman's arc actually means.
We've been paying attention at Take The Lead since 2013 (the year we were born), when our blog pointed to a Twitter account called @feministtswift — a Brown University student reworking Taylor's lyrics into feminist messages because she couldn't quite reconcile loving the music with cringing at the message. Back then, Taylor Swift famously declined to call herself a feminist. She said she didn't think of things as "guys versus girls." We noted it. We hoped she'd come around.
She came around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Would you like an experience that will transform the way you lead, the way you think, and the way you show up in the world?
Join hundreds of women and men for the Power Up Conference. The theme, "Audacity: Leadership in Action” is a movement that welcomes you this August 25–26 in Washington, D.C. You’ll learn from and be inspired by bold, brilliant, and boundary-breaking speakers you need to hear right now, whether you are in a career pivot, aiming for a promotion, starting a business, or are in public service.
The conference keynote on the 26th, which happens to be Women’s Equality Day, will be the award winning author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” “Testaments” and dozens more books Margaret Atwood. Award winning multimedia journalist and entrepreneur Kelsey Nicole Nelson will be your host.
But we won’t focus on the dystopian world of Gilead. Instead we will together focus on how we solve the problems that make women’s lives difficult and often set us back at work. You will join women and leaders to shape solutions. Here’s just a sampling:
- Minda Harts, author most recently of Talk to Me Nice, on how to build trust and make the workplace work better for everyone
- Gloria Feldt, co-founder of Take The Lead, on building the courage to lead with audacity.
- Dr. Sophia Yen, founder of Pandia Health, Heather Florio, CEO of Desert Harvest, Jane Delgado CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health on the impact of culture around sex and gender on leadership advancement
- Brad Johnson and David Smith tackle men’s role as well as company responsibility to support caregiving in their new book Fair Share
- Author, editor, and activist Jamia Wilson, Dream for America founder William He, attorney Cheyenne Hunt, and journalist/author Alice Miranda Ollstein representing audacious young leaders
You’ll be inspired by Take The Lead board chair, formerly the first female president of Tuskegee University, Dr. Lily McNair. You’ll cheer our 9 Leadership Power Tool Champions who will share their challenges and successes, You’ll connect with other smart, accomplished women like yourself. You’ll dance to BETTY. And so much more.
Every session, every panel, and every conversation has been built with one goal in mind: to move you forward.
And that’s just the conference day! You can consider upgrading to the full experience August 25 evening, with the VIP reception, dinner, entertainment, and an exclusive pre-launch peek at an exciting Femme Art Fair.
This event will transform the way you lead, the way you connect, and the way you show up in the world that is waiting for you to “take the lead.".
Power Up 2026: Audacity: Leadership in Action
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
🏆 Power Tool Champion Spotlight: Veronica Lynn Clark
We are thrilled to honor nine of the women who have benefitted from Take The Lead’s programs. Incredible women like Veronica Lynn Clark — 2026 Power Tool Champion for Power Tool #9: Tell Your Story (The Activator). An international speaker, author, and leadership educator, Veronica has spent nearly two decades using the power of personal storytelling to help people better understand themselves, trust themselves, and create meaningful change. Join us in celebrating her at the Power Up Conference in Washington, DC on August 25–26! 🏆
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lessons on Getting To The C-Suite
In this recent Training Journal, two female leaders demonstrate how they went from "the only" to a 70% female C-suite. "How we ‘show up’ at work is seen as equal importance to the work we do. Men, on the other hand, receive performance-based feedback. The same assertiveness that makes a male leader ‘decisive’ can make a female leader ‘difficult.
Push your coworkers to think in diverse ways, no matter their gender. Question the assumptions behind the feedback and hold each other accountable to fair standards."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Take The Lead prepares, develops, inspires, and propels all women of all diversities and intersectionalities to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors.
Learn more at www.taketheleadwomen.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We'd love to hear from you! Reply and let us know how we can help you at Take The Lead!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
