laura clydesdaleI recently had Laura Clydesdale come on the podcast to talk women’s leadership, her philosophy on failure, grit and teaching children how to take risks1. Laura speaks elequently on a variety of topics around parenting and it was a pleasure to explore strategies with her. Her main focus as a blogger is writing and teaching about girl’s leadership.

I knew we would have a great conversation when I read some of her thoughts on teaching leadership to girls and woman 2. Like it or not (I don’t) society teaches leadership differently to girls than boys.

Laura and I confabulate3 on how girls are taught to be assertive much differently than boys, girls tend to apologize even when they have done nothing wrong or as a disclaimer. When girls in leadership share their point of view it can be perceived as “bossy” instead of a leadership quality. And many other leadership issues from being “smart”, being assertive, showing confidence and avoiding conflict.

Raising daughters is as important as ever. Especially in this day and age. The world is at their fingertips and we need to make sure the playing field is level. If you have a daughter make sure to read Laura’s thoughts on teaching leadership. If nothing else, reading her words will reinforce and solidify your approach to parenting.

To learn more about Laura, follow her on Twitter @l_clydesdale or read her blog at <www.lauraclydesdale.com>.


  1. She is also Co-Chair of TEDxYouth@EB and Notes & Words for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. How awesome is that? 

  2. Plus she’s a Golden State Warriors fan…so we have kindered spirits on how to play team basketball. 

  3. I’ve always wanted to use that word in a post. Check. Done