How I help smart, courageous women build careers they love

I’m walking home from the bus.  I realize I’m about to do something radical. I’m going to leave my cushy change consultant job and start a non-profit. I want to do something that makes a real difference for women. I need to, and now. “I have no idea what I’m doing” I tell my husband, “but don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”

You know how you always read these walk-away stories where people leave their corporate 9 to 5 and stumble into humongous success and change the world? This is not one of those stories. I did start the non-profit though, and based on what the women who went through our programs have told me, we did have an impact. And it was an amazing, life-changing adventure.

What I got out of it was that I love working with women and helping them to step boldly into their future. And I have something valuable to offer them. All these years later, this possibility still lights me up.

How my work experience informs what we can accomplish together

Besides those seven years running the non-profit, I spent twenty-five years in both cinder block and marble corporates exploring a few key questions about how to help individuals and teams optimize their performance. These questions will give you a sense of where I’m coming from and how that will matter to you.  

How to best help people learn?

My first job was to design and lead training programs for couriers, people who load airplanes, customer service agents, and new managers. I got that I am happiest when I’m learning and interacting with people while they are learning, and I consider this to be my core skill set. I’m always looking at how I can effectively support participants to get what they came to get.

I will ask you to consider which types of work experiences provide you the most joy, and to figure out how to incorporate those experiences into your work roles. I’ll be doing the same.

How to identify and develop great leaders at all levels?

I’ve had a few cool chances to design and facilitate systems for companies to pick the people they think have the most potential to grow and succeed -- those they are willing to invest in to build their capabilities. And then I helped the companies develop those people.

This is useful in our conversation because I can tell you exactly why some people were selected over others, and how those people were developed. I can help you use these methods to differentiate yourself and build your own capacity to succeed. I will connect you with a community of women who, like you, are up to something -- women who can share lessons learned and help you push forward and overcome any challenges with grace.

How to shape the workplace so everyone feels like they belong and can do their best work?

Diversity and Inclusion work showed up quite a few times on my path and this work is my heart. Maybe because sometimes while working in a conservative corporate environment I was not quite sure that I belonged, or was quite sure that I didn’t.  Working with senior leaders to develop a culture where ALL my teammates felt included and valued was the most challenging and fulfilling thing I did. I got that making a difference for other people feels good in a way that nothing else does.

Besides fueling my intention to make a significant positive difference for you, this experience can help you because it uncovered for me how inclusive leaders work and how some women are able to succeed without sacrificing who they really are in a workplace that seems to have been set up around male norms.

At the bottom of all of this is the question of how to transform beliefs, ways of being and habits so that individuals and teams can reach their full potential. I’m still curious as ever about this and I look forward to us mutually benefiting from exploring it together.