A Shot of Inspiration

Go ahead, accuse me of drinking the corporate punch but I love my firm and learn so much from firm events. Today, there was a lunch time discussion with the senior vice president of Philanthropy who is also part of the firm's executive committee.

She was amazing. She talked honestly about balancing raising two children, a marriage to a busy and successful lawyer who is a true partner (which she said was one model, that there were many models like the model of her mother who raised 3 children when her father died in Vietnam when she was 5), and a varied and rising career. She talked about women giving themselves permission to not be perfect and to do the best that they can. Focusing on perfection and over-analysing can lead to paralysis and sometimes, by the time you get to a decision, the opportunity has passed.

Secondly, she also said to stay relevant. To read 4-5 newspapers and magazines a week. They don't always have to be business related - she gave People magazine as an example! You need to know what is going on around you, in your industry, in your country, in the world. You never know when you will have the opportunity to contribute to a discussion or when something will add to the way you think about something.

Thirdly, she said to have the courage to take risks. She had focused on building competencies not specific job roles and that has led her to new and varied opportunities. She took the risk of moving from the revenue side to the support side, from managing a team in the U.S. to also taking on a team in Latin America, and to me most impressively, asking for a year long sabbatical to build the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement at Spelman in order to increase the preparedness and presence of women of color leaders. Further, the firm felt that this was such a critical initiative for the firm and the world that they continued to pay her during that time.

She is on the advisory boards of the University of Virginia/Darden Business School, the London Business School, and is on the board of trustees of the Kenan Institute (University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill). She is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), Jack and Jill of America, and The Links, Inc. She has set up programs to mentor teenage mothers and support them through getting a college degree.

I don't know how she is able to do it all - she says you can do it all, just not at the same time.