Reclaim your personal power to control stress.

Stress, whether good or bad, is ubiquitous in our daily lives. Good stress acts as a motivator, keeping us moving forward. Bad stress demotivates us, draining our energy and preventing us from reaching our full potential.

Because of their gender, women leaders encounter different stressors than do their male counterparts in the same job.

As a licensed psychologist in Kansas City MO, Dr. Linda L. Moore has worked extensively with people under stress. She heads Linda L. Moore and Associates, offering therapy, executive coaching and management consulting. Moore is also the author of the book, Release from Powerlessness: A guide for taking charge of your life. At the National Institute for Leadership Development (NILD) for community colleges conference held in Scotts-dale AZ in November, Moore provided help to identify and control stressors.

Making nice

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Because we're so relationship-oriented, women are most afraid of disapproval, criticism and anger. We also feel guilty and worry about being unloved or disliked. So we do things that aren't good for us: We relinquish our power, which, in turn, causes us stress.

From an early age, boys and men learn to push boundaries while women learn to be in control of themselves. "As a female, efforts to color outside the lines, to do something that's not in accord with the norms of growing up female, generally results in being punished," said Moore.