The Q&A—On Better Goal-Setting
With GLG’s Catrina Harding
One of my favorite phrases is: ‘Don’t boil the ocean.’ It means don’t set yourself an impossible objective.
Q: As much as we love New Year’s resolutions, most of us are notoriously bad at following through on them throughout the year. What’s your approach to goal-setting at the beginning of this year?
My philosophy is that it’s important to set goals at the beginning of the year – but it’s just as important to be flexible as circumstances change.
Every January I ask myself: What are the top two to three things I need to execute this year? And I keep those in mind as my North Star. But life is unpredictable, and work is unpredictable, so I make sure I maintain a reasonable level of flexibility with the goals I establish. If business conditions or strategies change, or something changes personally that makes my goals obsolete or not as relevant, I allow myself room to change them. It’s important to be OK with adjusting your goals when it makes sense. It’s when you don’t give yourself permission to make changes that you get stuck or boxed in. Read More
The Q&A—Navigating Change in Your Career
With Liberty Mutual’s Dr. Tiffany Dotson
“Focus on improving instead of proving.”
Q: You talk about people finding their “true north” — or confidence in their ability to successfully lead and inspire change in themselves and others. How did you go about finding your true north?”
Given my multiple interests, I have tried many different things. It was important for me to get clear on what I do well with minimal preparation versus what gives me trouble (even if I am drawn to it.) Finally, I became OK with not being great at everything and instead I worked more towards amplifying my natural strengths and talents. Read More
The Q&A—on Career Advancement
With CORT’s Lisa Woodworth
“I think the biggest myth women have about how to advance in their careers is to keep their head down, work hard, play nice, get along and don’t make waves.”
Q: What was your dream job as a child, and why? (If it relates to what you do now, please include that.)
As a child, I wanted to travel, experience new places and see what was over the next horizon. I loved where I grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York and I love going home to visit. I still feel connected and at peace when I go home. But as a child and teenager, I wanted to spread my wings and experience other places.
In my career, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to travel for work, and meet interesting people along the way. I’ve moved a few times over the years, and have made some incredible friends. Now I’m excited about staying put in one place and just traveling for work.
Q: You have advanced in your career from being a Field Sales Manager to a Senior Vice President. What are some of the most important things you did that helped you advance? Read More
Amanda Southworth—Take Action Even When You’re Scared
“If we avoided doing things because we’re scared, we would never get anything done,” iOS developer, and mental health and human rights activist Amanda Southworth said at the 2019 Texas Conference for Women.
She should know.
As someone who suffered from anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, she recognized something important in 2015: “I could continue on my current path and probably die before I turned 40. Or, I could take what I was given and use it as a force to make things better.” Read More
10 Pearls of Wisdom—from One of the Nation’s Top Investment Bankers
People don’t get to the top of their game on Wall Street without knowing something about the secrets of success. But not everyone can share their wisdom with as much clarity, power and inspiration as Carla Harris, vice chairman and managing director at Morgan Stanley and former chair of the National Women’s Business Council.
Here’s are 10 lessons—“Carla’s Pearls” she calls them—that she shared at the 2019 Texas Conference for Women. Read More
Tracee Ellis Ross Shares How She Found Her Confidence—and Keeps Growing
Tracee Ellis Ross has a talent for making us laugh—and for breaking boundaries. On screen, as the star of the popular sitcom, Black-ish, she is helping tell a new story about black families.
Off-screen, she is breaking boundaries for women as an outspoken voice on sexual harassment and someone willing to challenge the expectation that all women must marry and have children.
Now, also an entrepreneur, one could ask: How has she found the confidence to take all of this on? Read More
Megan Rapinoe on Fighting Like Hell for Equal Pay
At the 2019 Texas Conference for Women, U.S. women’s soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe was asked to respond to the suggestion some people have made that she should be grateful for the opportunity to play on the world stage—and perhaps not make such a big deal out of the whole equal pay thing.
Here was her reply:
“I think the idea that being paid equally and knowing what you deserve and also being grateful are not mutually exclusive. That doesn’t compute for me or anyone on the team,” she said to applause from the audience of 7,500.
Known for her candor, the pink-purple-haired co-captain of the world’s greatest women’s team added: “I think that we can be proud and grateful to represent our country; and to me, pulling on that shirt doesn’t mean just being grateful for wearing the stars and stripes. It means fighting like hell every day to ensure that every person is afforded the same opportunities as everyone else—and that women get paid equally.” Read More
Elizabeth Gilbert: On the Three Most Powerful Words a Woman Can Say
When she was 25 and had moved to New York City to pursue a career as a writer, Elizabeth Gilbert saw a woman in her neighborhood who seemed to be living her dream life: one of creativity that was not taken up by other day jobs.
“She became my mentor. She didn’t know. We didn’t have the conversation. I just decided. And, what that meant in my world was that I would semi-talk to her,” Gilbert told 7,500 women at the 2019 Texas Conference for Women. “My plan for this mentorship relationship was to be in her presence and what would happen is all that [she had] would migrate to me.”
Then, one night, Gilbert saw her at a party, where the woman politely asked how her writing was going. Gilbert responded: not very well. The woman asked why. Gilbert said she had too much work, and was busy with a boyfriend, and her roommates were very distracting. In short, she didn’t have time, and she didn’t have privacy. Read More
The Q&A—On Mentors and Role Models in STEM Fields
With Arm’s Liana Nicklaus
With Arm’s Liana Nicklaus“If you care deeply about an issue and want to see it improve, whether that’s women’s professional development or something completely different, it’s time to get to work, because it’s not going to happen without you.”
Q: Which people have been your most important mentors and role models throughout your life?
As a kid, my most important role models were my parents. I learned how to advocate for myself and speak in a professional manner by overhearing my mom’s conference calls and having long talks with her in the car while she drove me around to after-school activities. My dad passed down his passion for science and engineering through many evenings and weekends spent running experiments with my sister and I in the kitchen sink, taking us to science camp, and helping us with math homework. Read More
The Q&A—On Striking a Healthy Work-Life Balance
With Liberty Mutual’s Amy O’Neill
With Liberty Mutual’s Amy O’Neill“Looking back, I would want a mentor to tell me that there is no magic formula to the work-life balance. The key is to find a healthy balance that enables you to be your best at work and at home, which will allow you to experience a fulfilling career.”
Q: What was your dream job as a kid and why?
I wanted to be a teacher. Growing up with nine siblings, I remember playing “school” with my younger brothers and creating tests and homework assignments; I loved the idea of running my own classroom (or bossing my brothers around!)
Q: Today, you have an enormous job—being someone who is responsible for driving strategy and the execution of health and welfare benefits and well-being programs for nearly 50,000 people. What is one of the most valuable and perhaps surprising lessons in leadership that has enabled you to do what you do? Read More