Watching the wonderful images on social media on International Women’s Day, I can’t help but step back with reflection and deep gratitude for all of the incredible mentors that I have had throughout my career. I am reminded of great female trailblazers I had the honor to work with – Judy D, Beth A, Teresa C, Corliss M, Laurie H, and countless others who were generous with their time and support, coaching me early in my career. I also had dedicated, challenging, and supportive male bosses and mentors who opened doors for me (and pushed me through them on some occasions!), and whose confidence in me appeared long before I had it in myself. So, on International Women’s Day, I would like to thank all of my coaches and mentors – male and female – who challenged me to be better, graded hard, and made the journey a little bit of fun along the way.
The messages across my mentors, female and male were very similar – do the work, be prepared for the next challenge, build your network, and be the most positive qualified person for the next opportunity.
We are responsible for building our personal brand, and we reinforce it every day in our work. Early in my career, I read a speech “Keys to Corporate Lock” that George David (then CEO of UTC) made at Yale University and the very first thing he spoke of was staff work. Do the work, be prepared, provide accurate and thorough data, and build a brand of personal excellence.
Be ready for the next hill. My dear dad once said to me, “this hill is just to prepare you for the one you don’t even see yet which is going to be higher.” My dad exemplified a commitment to personal excellence and continuous improvement. He was always reading, listening to audiotapes, attending trainings and lectures. I believe it is our responsibility to continually develop our craft – learn new skills, read new methodologies, learn new approaches, and listen to new leaders. Dedicate yourself to continuous development.
Our network speaks volumes about us, and it is noticed. I am lucky to have worked at a busy growing company, and I built my network in late meetings, weekend “EOQ parties”, and impossible challenges that tend to bring people together to reach their personal best; and as a result, we are permanently bound together by these shared experiences. We care about one another, we cheer each other on, and we have fond memories of the hills we took together. Your network should challenge you, demand you to be better, do better, and show up every time you are needed. Your network should help you to be brave and confident, but also humble and malleable.
Take the stretch assignment. Work out of your comfort zone, and expand your skill set. Develop your skills and grow your tool box to ensure that you are the obvious choice for the next assignment. Stretch assignments are accurately named – you will use new muscles. I worked with a great leader once who said he hired when people were “70% ready for the next role.” It isn’t meant to be a layup, but your leaders come to you because they have confidence in your ability to stretch and grow. Stretch assignments usually mean you will work across functions, working with influence rather than authority, and to be successful, you will need to build a coalition. Leaders are not only responsible for their own work, we are responsible for the work of our team. Taking these assignments not only builds our skill set and tool box, but it lets our leaders know they can count on us to get things done, get results, and contribute to the company’s success. Build your brand of personal excellence so that you are the most qualified person for the next opportunity.
On this International Women’s Day, I thank every mentor who helped me along the way, and who taught me how to now be a positive force in other people’s careers. The most meaningful mark we can make is in achieving results for the company and coaching and developing the next leaders along the way.
Leave a Reply