The Giver of Stars isn’t a business book, it’s fiction, it’s a storybook and this story is just reeling me in one page at a time. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic-- a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.

We obsess over the content, the what and how and why of the situation rather than the patterns in the relationship, what’s not being called out, why do we insist on feeling only select parts of the elephant?

Women undermine each other, but not any more or less than a person might do in a competitive situation. The old boys’ club I assure you is not run purely on benevolence and generosity. Just like in any other institution, women run/ led establishments too manage their own politics, insecurities, angst, competition and rivalries.

As the world becomes more and more unpredictable, the best leaders are those who have innately feminine leadership attributes. It has nothing to do with their gender and everything to do with who they choose to be as leaders.

We realised how atomised our culture is becoming, starting with the individual as a unit. We expect a ton of different things from ourselves and beat ourselves up when we don’t live upto these. The objective of seeking mentors or coaches or even therapists for that matter is about seeking connection. Nothing connects people better than shared experiences.

When you do chance upon an opinion that is different from yours - it is the most important thing in the world to remain in conversation. Conversation that builds on the heart of the matter, not on the mind/ language/ ethnicity of the speaker.

I have come across many such stories in my life, many as an executive coach. Imposter syndrome – that’s what this is. A feeling of perceiving ourselves to be less of who we are and what we are. Women have been victims of imposter syndrome for a very long time. It’s time to change that.

When women are better represented in leadership roles, the percentage of women participation in workforce increases by huge margins. And this holds true for organizations across countries.

The doubts, the resistance and the fears are understandable but there is also a need to stand up to those fears for what comes next, for a tomorrow where no other woman is told ‘Chup’. And if she is, then there are many more standing up around her to tell her otherwise.

People of all ages, of all genders, races, cultures are to be given space to think about themselves, their career, their passion and speak about them.

Take time every night to jot down three things that you were grateful for that day and the one thing that you were absolutely amazing at that day. There is no genre to these entries.

Globalisation is not only spreading the disease, but economies of most countries are tanking. We reacted this time, the next time probably we will be more proactive.

A mentoring relationship starts with an implicit power context. The mentor, who usually brings more work and life experience, is assumed to have the upper hand. Mentors may also find themselves in the situation that a mentee is seeking lots of advice, and it might seem easy to be the problem solver.

Most women are in denial about how much power they wield in any situation. Some think it’s inappropriate and unnatural to acknowledge clearly what’s a matter of perception. So they tend to downplay that power play with trying to be humane by showing more base human emotions- anger, disappointment, sorrow, and the works.

Women to women mentoring has the power to change all that you and I are feeling right now. When you connect with high potential, high power women, who guide you through this muck, you know that this isn’t how your life was planned out.

Research shows that 45% of female leaders attest that “it’s difficult for women to speak up in virtual meetings.” This observation has been agreed to by 42% of male leaders. The problem is not just the existence of conscious and unconscious bias.

Leadership is a journey for all of us. And there’s a magic that comes with taking time out to reflect on the things that will make a difference.

These are the top 5 tenets of the Code of Honour that help both the mentee and the mentor feel comfortable with and also challenged by No real transformations have ever happened if people have continued to be merely comfortable with all around them.

Kara had been with the organization for almost a decade now. But with ailing parents at home and a partner who was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness, she found it difficult to manage her kids, home, and work at the same time.