It is important to keep this perspective front and center at all times. It is sometimes hard to express compassion in the face of negativity and a less than ideal situation, but the practice of it at all times, good or bad, I believe, will lead to a happier life and one with deeper meaning.

I do think that there are fundamental differences between woman and men’s managerial skills. Of the people I’ve worked for and worked with, when I have made a mistake, the men have generally stated, “You messed up. Do you know what you did wrong?” My response is yes and I’ve had meaningful dialogue with my male superior. I wish I could say the same thing about my female supervisors. Women with power (disclaimer: the ones I have worked for), have tended to infuse emotion into the dialogue. It makes things personal and bitter because usually when they are yelling it has nothing to do with the situation at hand; it is something else entirely different. I am certain there are positive experiences with women in roles of power and ultimately, I vote and root for the person who exhibits the strongest characteristics for the position, man or woman.

Intelligent and articulate post Belinda. Thanks.

I’m not sure how I feel about women’s leadership vs. men’s leadership. You could say women are more compassionate, intuitive, perceptive of other’s signals. You could say women are too emotional. And these arguments have been made. But ultimately I don’t know that female leaders would be that much different than male leaders. I would just love elections where we all vote for the best candidate with no thought given to their gender.

As for wisdom being what is lacking in leadership, I’m not sure that’s the case. I believe we are still an adolescent country, and like adolescents – some have innate wisdom; others are entirely “now” oriented. Individual leaders can’t do it all – wise or not – individual people must be willing to do more, particularly in that “practice compassion” department.

I was on the receiving end of a little of that compassion last night. A small thing, but not so small. A helping hand fixing something during the night. The kind of thing some do so easily, and others, not at all.

If we each did what we could, when we could, in small ways – practicing compassion – then those leaders with the wisdom and fairness to keep working to nudge the elephant might have a slightly easier time.

A wonderful post, Belinda. Beautifully crafted, and thoughtful.

Great topic again! It’s funny, just yesterday I said necessity is the mother of all invention. I was saying it relative to the fact that we seem decades behind in our willingness to adopt alternative energy sources.

Perhaps after being hit over the head for the millionth time we’ll truly consider going there. No worries, though, we do get there. I don’t subscribe to the doomsday prophecies.

I feel we make a mistake when we place our well being in the hands of government and like helpless children expect them to take care of us. And I’m not talking welfare programs, but rather what happened in New Orleans.

Hello. We need to create our lives in the best way possible and care for ourselves. Government can – or will – only do so much and especially in the event of major catastrophies.

So, politics…hmm…not my favorite, but I love the quote “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you are probably part of the menu”. It, too, is my favorite part of the article.

I do vote and I also will admit I’m discouraged by what I see in politics. An election in our own country, the presidency at that, was hijacked and stolen and no one did anything about it.

More recently, congress appears to have completely gone off course – wasn’t the intention to be for the betterment of our people and our country? I don’t see that intention being played out in any way, shape, or form.

Oh, I’m afraid I’ve gone on a tangent. Relative to women in politics, whether we “rule” differently depends upon the individual. If we remain connected to heart and not just worshipping the “rational” as if it’s a god, then perhaps.

The fact that sometimes women can tune into their emotions more can go both ways. If combined with the ability to appropriately manage those emotions – emotional sobriety if you will – then, yes, it can be very beneficial. Balancing both sides of the brain if you will.

Personally, I vote by who I think the best person is in any case (hmm…why have I NEVER voted Republican?).

Well, I’ve gone on long enough. I think we are totally ready for more women. Hillary could have easily become president. Yet, it is remarkable how many men can’t stand her.

Why, I ask myself? Maybe the same reason why Obama is so hated by bigots and hate mongers. Prejudice. Hillary is a strong woman and there are many whom that doesn’t sit well with. Well, they can be left behind!

Thanks for raising these important questions and issues.

Lauren