Great leaders make leadership look so easy.

Before negotiating a raise, start collecting a file of evidence showing how you've impacted the bottom line. ... Don't believe there's no money in the budget. Don't assume your boss knows how great you've been doing. Don't threaten to leave -- you may be given the opportunity.

Whether you're moving to a new company or a new department within your current organization, I believe you'll end up miles ahead if you shop for a boss, not a position. You may secure the greatest job in the world, but a miserable boss will turn gold into ashes. ... In many ways, your boss may be more important than the job.

Women also lose sight of their goals by taking on extra responsibilities. We are virtual responsibility magnets. We don't make these decisions consciously or deliberately, but out of the fear that if we don't act on a need, it will never get resolved. ... But we fail to realize that once we become responsible for something, we may be responsible to it forever.

Actually, power is like money; neither good nor bad. Its negative or positive spin depends upon how we use it.

A constant tension exists between an individual's interests, personal needs, and skills, and what the organization requires of her. We've all asked ourselves, How much of my own agenda should I sacrifice in order to help the rest of the staff meet the company's goals?

Studies have shown that the terms girl and lady have pejorative connotations: They conjure images of someone weaker and lazier; someone more nervous, afraid, dependent, immature, and inconsiderate; someone less sexy, intelligent, and certainly less charismatic than 'woman.' Indeed, the term woman is overwhelmingly interpreted as more favorable and is most often used to describe adult females who deserve respect.