Covering the 2008 National Democratic Convention as a tv reporter stays engraved in my mind for one reason, I knew history was being made and couldn’t help but wonder how Hillary Clinton was going to handle it.

Barack Obama was on track to be the first black democratic presidential candidate, but all eyes in the newsroom were glued to the screen when Clinton took the stage. She was gracious, even after failing to get the democratic nod. It was resiliency at work, manifest for the world to see.

Author Rebecca Shambaugh chronicles Clinton’s resiliency factor in her new book Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton (McGraw-Hill 2010). I’m currently reading the book and find it to be an incredible look back at history and in depth psychological profile of a woman who continually broke the glass ceiling, while taking plenty of hits along the way.

Here at WorkLife Nation, I often write about resilience in our new economy. We’re living in times that call for nothing less to be successful. Cultivating resilience is not an overnight process, it’s a journey of exploring who we are at our best when chaos slams us with curve balls. I’ve written about the Well of Resilience that we have to dip into when the going gets tough. Check out my post WorkLife Detox Helps to Cultivate Resilience.

Meantime, here’s a guest post from Rebecca Shambaugh where she focuses on the resilient nature of Hillary Clinton:

Are You As Resilient As Hillary Clinton?

We all get discouraged at some point in our lives. We reach a point when we wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to just give up. We begin to doubt our own abilities and lose faith in others. The “thrill of victory” is no longer so sweet, and the “agony of defeat” doesn’t seem so bad. Our energy is drained, and we’ve stopped having fun. This is when you need to dig deep inside yourself and find that well of determination and inner strength that will help you face your fears, counter the ensuing complacency, and keep you committed to reaching your goals.

Sheer Determination

Having this sheer determination is one of Hillary’s keys to success. Never being a quitter was wired into her DNA early on and was reinforced while she was still in college. When she first arrived at Wellesley, she struggled academically. She called her parents, hoping that they would tell her to come home. She told them that she didn’t feel that she was bright enough or up for the academic challenge. Dorothy Rodham, her mother, told her that she had not raised a quitter and that dropping out of Wellesley would be a catastrophic mistake. Hillary stayed in school and, with her incredible work ethic, keen organizational skills, and sheer determination, stayed on top of her grades. In fact, she gained enough confidence in her scholastic abilities to take on political leadership roles and was elected president of the Young Republicans. Pretty impressive for someone who wanted to drop out of school!

Sticking it out till the end

And if you followed the 2008 presidential campaign, you know that Hillary stayed in the race to the very end. And yet this particular defeat is perhaps the greatest example of her being resilient. While Hillary failed to get the nomination, she showed up at the 2008 Democratic National Convention with a sense of inner confidence and strength and gave an inspirational speech in which she declared her support for the nomination of Barack Obama. She said, “I am here as a proud mother, as a proud Democrat, a proud Senator, a proud American, and a proud supporter of Barack Obama.” She followed with, “Whether you voted for me or for Obama, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose.” Toward the end of her speech, she shared with the audience that even in the darkest moments, Americans are known for their ability to keep going. She said, “We’re Americans, we’re not big on quitting. . . . In America, there is no chasm too deep, no ceiling too high, for all who work hard, have faith in God and our country, and each other.”

Hillary’s Resiliency

Hillary’s resiliency — her unique ability to face adversity and bounce back, as she did in this recent presidential campaign — has won her the respect and admiration of people from all political parties in the United States. And her decision to continue to make a difference by taking on a global leadership role in lieu of being president has impressed people around the world. Truly there are many leadership lessons to be learned from this outstanding woman.

(McGraw Hill-2010).

Oprah, Madonna, Hillary Clinton. These female icons carry immeasurable marketing weight. The voices of these women are written in stone, as their personal brands have permeated the Internet and beyond. Even as they have evolved, these brands have been concretized in the consciousness of society in general, let alone their contributions to the historic implications of the feminine brand – and the power of the female voice.

The web is the vehicle, but the portals and organizations working toward boosting the feminine brand and voice are exponentially growing. For example, The Women’s Media Center which is working toward making women more visible and powerful in the media. It’s backed by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Carol Jenkins – solid brands. Certainly the Huffington Post, while offering up a mixture of male and female voices has put some heavy hitting female brands on the map. BlogHer.com was one of the first out of the gate making such contributions. Now look to Slate’s new venture The XX Factor: What Women Really Think to do the same.

The theme of personal branding has been a consistent thread of discussion here at WorkLife Nation. In a time when many are struggling to keep their jobs, are looking for one, or are starting their own businesses, some career experts are touting the benefit of boosting one’s personal brand to stay competitive. 

Personal branding is not a new concept, but the Internet has changed the landscape. For women in particular, perhaps the web and social media in general have leveled the playing field.  That’s why I was happy to write the following article for Personal Branding Magazine. You can learn more about the on-line magazine by clicking here.

The Evolution of the Feminine Brand

Legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith fell victim to the budgetary ax at The New York Post in February. The 86-year old continues to write her nationally syndicated column and has a substantial web presence.  Smith has lent her name or “personal brand”  to  Women on the Web  (WoW) as one of its founders. The popular site tackles everything from fashion to politics through the female lens.

Smith is practically an institution. At WoW, she is joined by the likes (and brands) of Lesley Stahl, Whoopi Goldberg (also of ABC’s The View) and Miss Manners – Judith Martin. Their voices are respected and ideals transparent. There’s a page on the site entitled, Change the World. And that, says branding expert Elsie Maio, is just one illustration of how the power of the feminine brand has evolved through the Internet.

“The feminization of business is upon us. I don’t mean womanization, but the ascendance of values that our culture has associated with the Feminine,” says the Founder and President of Maio & Company, a business strategy and branding company which coined the term, “soulbranding.” “The Feminine’s natural impulse is to nurture, care for and include the collective,” says Maio, adding that women are no longer afraid to publically embrace those values, talk about them and associate them with their brand.  “Compartmentalizing our humanity is what got us into trouble, integration is the key and you see it in women’s branding trends.”

Eileen Tanne of WomensEducationCenter.com agrees that the strategic branding of women is evolving. Tanne has marketed to women for more than 16 years and has worked with Ms. Magazine and Gloria Steinem. “Generations ago, professional women had a very tough time branding themselves partly because they were uncomfortable with self-promotion,” Tanne says, adding that the male dominated media venues made it difficult to have a strong voice; not so any longer. “The internet offers women the opportunity  to control how we want to be perceived and how our voices are heard.”    

The female brand in particular, is getting a jolt from the increase in women owned businesses, says Barbara Litrell, former publisher of Working Mother magazine. “Women have been running businesses in great numbers since the 1970’s,  but they are branding themselves more confidently now, as they support one another in partnerships,  thus enhancing their own brands.”

Ultimately, branding is now about presence, platform and personality, says Kim Weiss, the Communications Director for book publisher Health Communications Inc. “Women tend to be personality driven and appeal to the personal part of their audience,” says Weiss who says women are taking their personal stories to the internet generating  more interaction. 

Case in point, the use of strategic social media fueled by a dynamic heart wrenching story lead to the successful branding of  HCI author Laurie Perri, who blogs at the highly popular CrazyAuntPurl.com. “Everyone is hanging their shingle out, but no ones going to click on you unless you give them a good reason to,” says Weiss.

In her first official campaign stop on Long Island, Senator Hillary Clinton addressed an audience of more than a thousand people speaking not only of “bringing the troops home” but also, ” universal health care and some childhood and family issues. Her visit this week coincided with the introduction of the Working Families Felxibility Act, which she along with other democratic colleagues, including Barak Obama, presented this week.

This is a first step to introduce the issue, but by no means addresses the worklife issues that families face. And while the legislation is hot off the press, we have yet to hear in depth what the candidates really think about improvements, or proposed changes in law, that might better worklife culture in general for workers and employers.

In seven weeks New York Democrats will head to the polls for the February 5th primary. Might this new agenda creeping its way into the race and the political talk show circuit? A new survey suggests as much.

Nearly 60% of those surveyed in the 2007 Annual Work+Life Fit Reality Check are looking for the presidential candidates to put worklife flexibility on their radar. The telephone survey was sponsored by Work+Life Fit, Inc. and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.

WorkLife strategist and author Cali Yost Williams is the pioneer who started this survey last year. Head to the following links to read more about her findings.

Click here for Cali’s blog on the presidential race and workplace flexibility:  Cali Yost at FastCompany.com

Click here for more on the 2007 Annual Work+Life Fit Reality Check