Seven years ago, I made the leap from traditional employment to running my own business. From the outside, you might be tempted to make up a story about how brave and confident I was to make this leap. But it definitely didn't feel that way at the time.

Let’s have a look at how a prop can give you the confidence to walk into a new space with your head held high, or help a gatekeeper take you seriously.

Seven years ago, when Penney Leadership launched, I set off in my little solo spacecraft. I exited my home planet on Nonprofit and began my journey across the vast solar system.

Thanks to so many of you for your kind and accepting responses to my essay last month about realizing that I'm Autistic at age 37. I can't begin to tell you what your reflections, stories, and feedback meant to me.

Some of you had follow up questions about particular words I used or how I see elements of Autism. Here are my answers to those questions in case you wondered, too.

Even as I start my seventh year as a fully-fledged business owner, the pressure is on to get to a certain place. I actively resist it every day, and remind myself that I'm right on time. Where I am is developmentally appropriate.

Around this time of year, I have a tradition of preparing an Annual Report. I brought the practice with me from my experience in nonprofit organizations: I'm a mission-driven individual. Even though I'm not an organization, I wonder what would it look like to create a report on my personal mission impact and growth?

This year's annual report looks a little different from years past…

This year, in my 38th trip around the sun, I learned something major about myself: I am Autistic.

My submersion into this new identity was guided by reading the stories of other women—some memoir, some nonfiction, some fiction. Now I'm writing my own story, in two parts: how I got here and what it means.

Thanksgiving is this week, and while the prospect of gathering around a table with family can be warm and cozy, it can also be a lot.
Because getting together means catching up, and catching up means answering questions about our lives.

Continuing work as usual when there are layers of unthinkable violence and grief playing out is weird at best and completely heartbreaking at worst. Here are two undervalued leadership skills that might be supportive right now, whether you're a formal leader, a parent, or leading yourself through this difficult time.

Many of us feel the discomfort of uncertainty in our work, daily.
There's a word that describes the state of insecurity we feel around employment and income: precarity.

Understanding and talking about your unique, marketable skill set with clarity and confidence is essential to successfully navigating your professional path. But what if no one has taught you how to do this?

I’ve been driving for 22 years and it’s become second nature. I’ve been navigating my career for almost as long and it still doesn’t feel effortless. Maybe this is something you recognize too?

Here's a roundup of 5 five-star books I've read so far this year, and 5 I have on my nightstand to dive into this summer.

Take a moment to step back from the given version of American success (grow forward & up!) and ask yourself: What truly feels like success to me?

Gentle encouragement to rediscover what lights you up.

“Professional Development” is a big umbrella. Let’s take a look underneath it in order to understand different types of learning and how they might serve you.

Sometimes people ask what it means when we say that we work with mission-driven professionals. It may not be what you think.

Here's what you need to know in order to truly understand psychological safety and what it means for you at work.

Being strategic means having a filter to assess opportunities for the right fit. Before I say yes to anything these days, I turn to my “Strategy Screener,” which lays out a set of questions that help me understand if this opportunity is something I can merely fit in or if it’s the right fit.

Our culture normalizes overextension, even though it’s anything but normal. Your margins are the border around your capacity. Just like on your resume, they leave blank space to breathe. You need that space in order to absorb things that come up in the moment, adapt plans, or to renew and sustain yourself.