It’s a little late, but if you can get your hands on a copy of the October 24th edition of Newsweek, it’s worth a read.  The cover features Oprah Winfrey and the headline, “How Women Lead.”  It’s a top-notch look at a number of female leaders – in entertainment, business, government, education – and offers gems of wisdom by the handful. 

Here are some characteristics that shine through these leaders:

Intuition
“I am almost completely intuitive.  The only time I’ve made a bad business decision is when I didn’t follow my instinct.  My favorite phrase is: “Let me pray on it.”  Sometimes I literally do pray, but sometimes I just wait to see if I wake up and feel the same way in the morning.”      
- Oprah Winfrey

Mentorship
“My battalion commander was Lt. Col. Robert Bowles.  He called me in one day and he said, ‘Lieutenant Baxter, I want you to give me your 20-year plan.’  And I said, ‘Sir, I don’t even know what I want to do in 20 minutes.’  But it focused me.  I came back to him and said, ‘Sir, I want to be like you.  You are a battalion commander in a medical unit and that’s my goal.’ He said, ‘OK, we’re going to map it out…’”    
- Brigadier General Sheila Baxter

Recognizing the Fork in the Road
“I went through a period of desperately wanting to be an acress and then had the very good fortune to have a friend who was a casting director.  He had me audition for a commercial and after the audition, I went into his office and I saw stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of head shots.  I realized I didn’t want to be a picture on the floor.  I wanted to be involved in television, but not waiting to be called.  I wanted to be engaged every day.”    
- Anne Sweeney, television executive

Tenacity
“I applied to audition for Tanglewood five times before I got an audition… One day they called me in and said, ‘We’ve decided that you’re going to conduct the concert with Leonard Bernstein.’ I was stunned.  Bernstein came to the conducting class.  He said hello to all his friends and then he said, ‘Where’s Marin?’ I felt like the clouds parted and God was speaking to me.”    
- Marin Alsop, conductor and music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

There’s too much to share here.  Get your copy or read it online if you can.  It’s perfect food for thought whether you’re just starting out or need a refresher in the inspiration department.