Women and power: how to act powerfully

Power is in an ability to be strategic about time, and to make other people respect your choices about how you spend it. You set the meetings. You decide who is to come to them. Take the initiative. Get out of the passive-aggressive routine. The people who feel they have no power often feel they have no time. If you sense you are constantly rushed, the problem may not be a lack of time but a lack of power.

Build a working day that respects your needs.

Remember to say no. It takes years to learn to say no and mean it. It takes a lot of experiments drawing the line, stopping people from taking advantage of you, your competence or your commitment to getting the job done. Saying no is powerful.

But even more powerful is saying yes. Saying yes requires courage. It means putting yourself on the line. Saying no will not make you a woman of great accomplishment. Yes will.