“Take yourself out of autopilot,” encouraged Janice Marturano, a former executive at General Mills and now head of the Institute for Mindful Leadership. Her plea was part of an overall recommendation towards purposeful pauses featured in, In Mindfulness, a Method to Sharpen Focus and Open Minds (NY Times 3/23/2012). She reasoned that with mindfulness, “overtime you’ll feel more focused and connected to yourself and others.” Reverse autopilot. Could that concept benefit you? Continue reading…
A decade’s lesson: maintain relationships
“I figured out how the guys do it,” screeched an exasperated friend following a conversation with a former colleague. Over the course of the call my friend learned about a common practice in the financial services industry…parking certifications. It seems that if a person leaves a large firm to ‘work’ in a consulting capacity said professional can hold onto their certifications. Not so if that person simply becomes unemployed. ‘That’s how the old boys network does it,” she fumed. “They park someone’s certs and say they are ‘consulting.'” She was beside herself. From her perch….this ‘parking’ courtesy wasn’t often extended to women regardless of their vocation after leaving a large firm. Continue reading…
Transition’s initial step…..
“Don’t do that when I’m not around,” said my eight year old son. “I like to learn when you’re on the phone,” he continued. We were talking about what I do when he is at camp. I told him that I held conference calls almost constantly while he was gone. His comment surprised me. I always perceived my work as an imposition on our time. In fact I try desperately to manage work around my children’s schedules. In a million years I wouldn’t have guessed that he would arrive at such a place. Powerful concept. Learning. Continue reading…
Pivot Points…..
“I broke my rule only once,” shared coach Kelly Nicholson of the Orleans’ Firebirds. “I let a player have a cell phone on the field.” Every kid present, roughly thirty-five of them, had their eyes glued to this commanding gentleman. What could possibly drive such a rule departure? It seems a player, Greg A., was awaiting a call from the president of San Diego State University. Coach Kelly described Greg as a Rhodes Scholar finalist. The call would alert him to his standing and next steps. Lucky kid or something more? Continue reading…
Transition’s Winning Formula…
“It wasn’t me,” shared Carlos Kotkin as part of The Moth’s Radio Hour. “I felt like my spirit, my soul, was being stifled. I hated my shoes.” So went the conclusion of a story entitled The Accidental Executive. Carlos went from college drop out, to chauffeur, to studio executive at 20th Century Fox in what seemed like twenty-four months. Serendipity? Perhaps. His next move may surprise you. Continue reading…
Transition’s Trails….
“Go to Florence,” quipped an early Novofemina Research Jam participant. She was responding to a light-hearted question during a Focus Group. “If we could pack a magic bag for a woman just starting transition, what should we put in it?” I asked. The answers surprised me. Kleenex. Something warm. Armor. A friend. Nothing. What would you add? Plane tickets? Continue reading…
Marquee Moments….
“What are they going to ask me,” queried a former colleague as we were talking about her upcoming job interview. ‘Marquee projects,’ I responded without even thinking. She sought a new, expanded role in another company. When we worked together she led a huge enterprise-wide initiative. Yes, this was in addition to her day job. Sound familiar? Continue reading…
Transition Requirement: Progress?
“Let’s not measure something simply because we can… let’s measure something because it’s meaningful,” challenged a woman sitting next to me as she stood and spoke into a cordless microphone at a corporate dinner I attended earlier this week. She saw a gap between the items the company had the capability to measure versus the things that were perhaps more difficult to measure but really important indicators of the company’s future. I understood her cautionary remark. Can action feel like progress even if it isn’t progress at all? Continue reading…
Transition: The Path Forward….
“I’m going to quit and go to work for Crate and Barrel,” said a dear friend after a long day at her employer, a local technology super power. She is a senior level leader. Her company is heavy on politics. Add to that endless pressure on quarterly results. Get the picture? A bit far afield from large white boxes and beautifully displayed home goods. I wondered as I listened…is Crate and Barrel a day-dream for her or a legitimate path forward? Continue reading…
Transition: Embracing ‘New’
“That may be good science — but it is bad archaeology,” said anthropologist and archeologist Professor Rosemary Joyce in the Berkeley Blog last June. She was critiquing reports of archeological findings in Honduras. It seems that researchers, although not archeologists, used a plane outfitted with LIDAR, a laser detection technology, to map remote portions of the Honduran jungle rumored to house ‘lost cities.’ Joyce publicly maligned the findings. Was it simply the technology’s newness that upended her? Continue reading…