Tag Archives: women’s transition issues

Holiday gifts….

Posted on December 5, 2013 | 4 comments

“What are you getting out of it?” offered a Focus Group participant.  She was describing her rubric, the screening technique that she’d adopted to view her options.  This slant was a new non-negotiable for her, designed specifically for her transition. “There was a time,” she said, “when I was getting divorced.  I had a serious financial situation.  I needed to keep the job.”  Now, years later, she described her quick decision to take a ‘package,’ ending a multi-decade marketing career inside a large employer.   Her adult siblings became thoroughly unglued by her decision.  To her it was an obvious choice.  The only choice.  Does her calculus hold true for you?  What are you getting – or giving this season? Continue reading →

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A Beginner’s Mind

Posted on November 30, 2013 | Leave a comment

“Katie’s Chinese?” said my nine-year old in a quizzical tone.   Total disbelief hung in the air.  “Adopted? Are you sure?”    He and my daughter were discussing a neighborhood playmate, a child that they’ve known for close to a decade.   Their exchange humbled me.   Could these two really have not seen any differences as they laughed & played with this beautiful little girl?    Their conversation got me thinking about the impact of what we see, and don’t see, in transition. Continue reading →

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Transition’s scope

Posted on November 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

“What kind of transition?  Career? Or a job?,” said a business acquaintance of mine during a conversation we had earlier this week.  I was giving him an update about my work.  He seemed genuinely interested in the blog.   But he couldn’t reconcile the notion of transition outside of job-related issues.   Ever notice how many people go there?  Maybe jobs are safe ground.   Objective.  Sometimes opaque.  I should mention that he is a marketer.    Market segmentation is his world.   Is transition only about jobs?   Or is it broader?  What exactly does transition entail?  Continue reading →

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Defining moments…

Posted on November 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

“Find a way,” shared Diana Nyad in a recent interview.  Nyad is the 60+ year old distance swimmer who recently completed a historic swim between Cuba and The United States.  The phrase, it seems, served as her mantra for close to 53 hours in the water.    She went on to offer that it allowed her to, “get through this one minute.”   A minute that could have held a cramp or a pain or an emotion.  Her swim was exactly that  – a series of minutes.  Could your transition benefit from such a simple perspective? Continue reading →

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Options?

Posted on November 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

‘It has a lot to do with how women see their options,’ observed a leader of gender studies at an esteemed Boston university.  She participated as an industry expert in last spring’s Research Jam.  This remark was in response to our discussion about when & why women choose to transition.  Her perspective was incredibly simple.   Do women perceive that they have options?  Some do.  Many others don’t.  In your world what role do options play?  What would happen if you expanded your aperture for options just a bit? Continue reading →

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Is anyone listening?

Posted on October 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

“I think I have more confidence in what I want for myself — instead of valuing what other people think of me,” shared an incredibly honest focus group participant.  She went on to describe this renewed perspective as a critical milestone in her transition.   The comment came amidst a discussion about the difficulty of declining job opportunities – and their accompanying salaries — despite the fact that the jobs no longer aligned with her personal requirements.   Her transition allowed her to arrive at, “No, that’s not what I want for myself, this is what I want for myself.”   You could hear the personal pep talk in her remark….she’d arrived but her status was tenuous at best. Continue reading →

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The Big Picture….

Posted on October 11, 2013 | 2 comments

Have you ever missed an opportunity to transition?   Knew that something wasn’t right but felt it wasn’t the right time to address it?  Or better yet, ignored the signs?  Or maybe you were oblivious to the signs entirely.  If I’m honest I completely missed an opportunity to transition about five years prior to my current one.  It wasn’t so much that I ignored the signs.   I was aware that I needed a change.  What I didn’t get was the enormity of the change required.  I can’t help but wonder if I’m not alone in this borderline clueless category.  Continue reading →

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Transition’s Required Armor

Posted on October 4, 2013 | 1 comment

“You just start thinking about other things that you can do. You think about your dreams and your goals.  You see it and it gives you hope.  And energy.  You feel energized,”  said Vicci Recckio, member of the Benson Babes.   The group, all participants in the Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, was featured on an NPR piece entitled, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Coat.   Their catalyst?  A coat purchased from a thrift shop for $10 and shared among participants who were undergoing cancer treatments.   A coat?  Could a coat really provide hope, energy? Continue reading →

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Bringing Transition Into Focus

Posted on September 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

“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 →

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A decade’s lesson: maintain relationships

Posted on August 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

“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 →

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