Have you ever noticed that men in business and women in business are often described with very different nouns, adjectives and verbs?

Perhaps, because I do a lot of writing and because gender differences are something I have spent a lifetime career paying attention to, I notice much more than I should. But recently I have begun asking the men and women in business that I work with and network with "What is your power?"

The men, generally, answer very quickly. They begin to list the many people that report to them and then go on to talk about their business success and, most importantly, their financial success. You got it - how much money they make.

Now, I realize this is no surprise to any woman reading this blog. Money and power is not just a male concept, but an American concept. Personally, I don't have a problem with this idea. There is no question that if you have enough money you can buy the power you need or want. All one needs to do is look at the current election process in our country. But I digress.

The answer to the "what is your power?" question for women in business rarely solicits the response - money. So, I set out to better understand WHY?

Women in business and women entrepreneurs answer the question very differently. Women working in a corporate role speak first about who they report to (just the opposite of men who, as mentioned above, say who reports to them). This difference speaks volumes about how hard the climb for women in corporate America has been fought to garner power and authority. To drill down on this point, visualize men's power as standing on top of the pile. Now, visualize women's power as standing next to the man standing on top of the pile.

Women entrepreneurs answer the question as how they see the size of their business compared to their competitors. Somehow power for these women is a constant daily fight for market share. They believe their power can be taken and gotten by keeping the gloves on at all times. A successful business, no doubt, means one has power in the marketplace.

But what astounds me about how women in business, women entrepreneurs and all women I asked this question of answered was that very few spoke of their personal power.

I'll define personal power as the influence we have over others regardless of the position we hold in or out of the workplace. This power comes from believing in yourself and everything you do. You bestow this power onto yourself. No one needs to grant it to you.

The most powerful women and men I know are people who demonstrate their inner and outer strength by sharing themselves with others openly and without fear of rebuke. When you own your power no can take it from you.

It is human to desire to reap the rewards of our work with money, responsiblity, authority and success...but true power is something each of us can and should gift ourselves.