RESOURCES from 4word

4word Blog

The Church's Muddled Approach to Singles

Single working women in the church face pressures, anxieties, and possibilities that are endless. They have important stories to share with the church about God’s grace in the midst of conflicting and disempowering messages about stereotypical measurements of women's success: beauty, youthfulness, marital status, and bearing children. Today we… Read More

5 Lessons Learned Since Quitting My Job

Making decisions about your family and children is never easy. With so many options and possibilities, choosing the right one can seem overwhelming. For Sonya Crawford Bearson and her husband, the challenge wasn’t in making the choice for Sonya to stay home- it came after. Sonya shares her story… Read More

Ahhh, You're Wearing THAT?

My friend and fellow executive looked slightly sheepish as he came into my office and closed the door. As soon as I saw him, I knew what was coming. “Diane,” he said with a pained expression. “I have to ask you to talk to one of my people.”… Read More

My Plan Got Scrapped

We often speak with women who tell us that life took an unexpected turn and is now much different than they imagined. Today, we are speaking with Kelly McDermott, whose career has had some unexpected twists and turns. Through it all, she sees God’s hand at work, directing… Read More

Want a Promotion? LinkedIn Says "Get a Mentor"

At 4word, we believe that one of the best investments you can make in yourself and your career comes through a mentoring relationship. As you are navigating and evaluating life and career goals, the advice and guidance of someone who has been on the same path as you… Read More

How to Mind Your Own (Family) Business

Working wives and moms have enough on their plates. As all of us can attest to, balancing family, faith, and our careers is hard work that takes constant effort. What happens when you blend family and career together? We asked that question to Christin McClave, founder of Unifi… Read More

So You Messed Up At Work. Now What?

Uh-oh. Did anyone see that? Can I just pretend it didn’t happen? Maybe no one will notice. It’s more Susie’s fault than mine anyway, she should be the one to take the blame.   It’s one thing to talk about ways to put your best foot forward at… Read More

Why Women Need a Work Sponsor

With 4word’s next mentor match session about to launch, I’ve been thinking a lot about the critical role that mentoring and sponsorship have played in my life and career. I feel so blessed to have had the kinds of mentors that I have. It’s no mistake that we… Read More

Celebrating You :: International Women's Day

Happy International Women’s Day! Never heard of it? International Women’s Day is a special day set aside to celebrate the accomplishments of women, while identifying areas of needed improvement in opportunity and equality. Here’s what the United Nations has to say about this special day. To celebrate, we… Read More

Don't Call Me Mr. Mom

Parenthood and decisions- there’s no escaping it. Once a couple receives the news that they will be parents, the countless decisions begin. One of the most pressing decisions is probably deciding who will watch the child during the day. Did you know that in the past 10 years,… Read More

Secretary to Senior Vice President in 20 Years

Meet Jeanette Flory, a portfolio manager at Bentall Kennedy in charge of $7.2 billion in assets. She’s had an amazing career trajectory: twenty years ago, she had just started in real estate as an administrative assistant. -------------------- 4word: Tell us about the span of your career, and what… Read More

The Importance of So-Called "Soft" Skills

Crysta Pikes and her mother, Fritzi, have been a team since she was a girl. Now that she’s grown up, they’re still a team at Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), where Fritzi works as President and CEO and Crysta now works as Manager of Marketing and Communications. Read along… Read More

Advice to My Younger Self

As part of an ongoing series, NPR has been asking working women to offer advice to their “younger selves.” It’s great to look back and really think about what kinds of things I could have done differently or realized earlier. If I could go back to when I… Read More

Women Who Work, Love and Pray

Diane with 4word Portland leaders Maria (left) and Katie (right) at the Portland Good Friday Breakfast last month. It's been a little more than a year and a half since Diane's book "Work, Love, Pray" was published. Since then, the topic of working mothers and working women has… Read More

Leaning In, Together

I’ve been reading Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In.  For the most part I like it very much, with one caveat.  For me, no discussion of work life balance is complete without faith. I believe that work and family are best served through a relationship with one God,… Read More

Does Working Mom = Massive Guilt?

Meet Tracy Thomas, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Bright Hope, wife of Tojy and mother to Soraya, Caleb and Zachary. Tracy has been a working woman since her teens – she paid for college working at carnivals every summer (as a “carnie” she likes to call it), selling… Read More

Mentoring Can Be a Two-Way Street

Can you believe how quickly our technology gets labeled obsolete? I just replaced the Blackberry I got in 2010 when I joined Cassidy Turley with a new one last week. To me, a three-year hold was no big deal, but everyone else thought I was crazy not to… Read More

Feeling Isolated in the Workplace

Do you have any friends at work? I’ve noticed that, even though more women are in the workplace now than ever before, many of us still eat our lunches alone. The guys have their little clubs that hold “official” meetings during their lunch breaks, but we women still… Read More