Tag Archives: women’s transition

Summer Book Review #18: Dancing on the Glass Ceiling…

Posted on July 6, 2012 | 1 comment

I got a terrible feeling as I extended my hand to introduce myself.  We were meeting at a hotel restaurant for breakfast.  It was St.  Louis or Atlanta.  I can’t  remember which.   I was screening him for a senior role on my team during my tenure at a large IT outsourcing company.   I had been coached not to make instant decisions about candidates.  We chatted.    ‘Let the data make the decision,’ I kept repeating to myself.   For some reason I was glad we were in a crowded hotel lobby.   I couldn’t put my finger on this feeling I had.   Ever been there?  Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in "Transition" Book Reviews

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

The universal barriers of transition…

Posted on June 7, 2012 | 2 comments

“I wish for my son the exact same thing that I wish for my daughter,” I said in response to a question posed by an audience member at a WITI event that I spoke at last spring.   The woman asked me ‘what I hoped for’ for my daughter.  “I want them to have the confidence to follow their heart, early.”   From the get go.  No deferrals. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Transition and Steve Jobs…shared learnings?

Posted on May 31, 2012 | 2 comments

Merriam Webster’s Online defines prolific as, “marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity <a prolific composer>.”  I turned to this query after completing Walter Isaacson’s, Steve Jobs (Thorndike Press, 2011).   Prolific, although not a descriptive used by Isaacson, came to mind as I finally closed the book.  Yes, I admit I read a physical version of the book despite the tech infused visionary at its core.   Prolific.  How else can you describe someone who served as the catalyst for a list that includes…the Macintosh, Pixar blockbusters like Toy Story, Apple Stores, iTunes, the iPod, the App Store, the iPad? Prolific? Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in "Transition" Book Reviews, Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Those elusive 21st century female role models

Posted on May 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

Is anyone else entertained?  Can you recall any male executive who was held accountable amidst all of the hoopla surrounding the global financial crisis in 2008?  We had a crisis that resulted in the collapse or near collapse of large financial institutions, like Lehman Brothers or AIG; the federal bailout of financial services and large industrial companies, recall TARP and GM; downturns in the global stock market and the housing market; and widespread unemployment that reached and still remains at historic highs.    Now answer this:  is there anyone in America who can’t tell you who Ina Drew is? Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Transition: Learnings and laughs one year in…

Posted on April 26, 2012 | 3 comments

I was in tears and, at the same moment, utterly surprised at my reaction.  Crying?  I was watching Iron Lady, Meryl Streep‘s Academy Award victory lap in which she portrays Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979-1990.  The movie caught me off guard.  The twist for me came in the movie’s lens into Mrs. Thatcher’s life; the view is of her nearing dementia with life ‘highlights‘ told in retrospect.   A wave to young children who were pleading with her not to go as she sped off to the Conservative Party‘s leadership.  An aging person alone washing out her tea cup in the sink of a lovely, closeted London home.   Adult children operating on the periphery.   Why did it hit me so? Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Transition’s detractor: ourselves?

Posted on April 19, 2012 | 1 comment

“You kept saying that you ‘didn’t want to go’ but you kept walking backwards so I didn’t stop you,” said an affable guide during a debrief session about my performance.   The event in question was rappelling down a sheer rock face during a 10-day Mountaineering Course with Colorado Outward Bound.   Did I mention that I had never camped before? Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Transition: Crafting an approach

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 1 comment

“I wasn’t interested in leading a double life,” said AJ a former colleague of mine who co-founded Infuse, a not-for-profit entrepreneurship program for inner-city high school students in Silicon Valley.   Her dual risk arose because she works as a program manager at Infinera, a publicly traded optical networking company.   It’s easy to get inspired when speaking with AJ.   She is a bundle of energy and passion.  Aside from being enthused about her work at Infuse I’m fascinated by her dual dilemma ‘approach.’  Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Observations on Transition, Voices of Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Risk and Failure

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 7 comments

“I finally got around to reading your interest card,” said Andrall Pearson former President and COO of Pepsi Co. and my professor during a second year course at the Harvard Business School.  His quip came as he leaned on my desk with hushed tones moments before class started.   The card, an arcane pre-Internet system – think index card – held a few sentences authored by students to convey our interests to professors.    On my card I’d divulged my dream of running an emerging business.  That day the class was scheduled to discuss a 1980’s-style emerging business, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT).   OAT was founded in 1978 by a high school anthropology teacher in her three-story house in Cambridge, Massachusetts.   My little visit from Andrall was my heads up, referred to as a soft-call, that I would be leading the class’ discussion that day.  I had about a minute and one-half to prepare. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in "Transition" Book Reviews

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Transition Approach: certain versus confident

Posted on February 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

I remember a great NPR piece from the summer of 2009.  I was driving in traffic, my typical  commute. Eight miles in 55 minutes.   The discussion’s topic was leadership.  The reason it caught me was that it described leadership in two simple yet separate buckets; certain or confident.  It hit me because I think that every leader I have ever worked under would think of herself or himself as confident when in fact they were more often certain.  I wonder if this simple dichotomy works in transition as well?  Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Valentine’s Day and Transition: A Common Link

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 5 comments

It hit me yesterday as I was fielding a call from a former colleague who happens to be in transition.  She was reeling from what sounded to me as a normal twist in a job pursuit cycle.   Maybe you’ve seen this movie too.  You finally find a target company or role that is perfect for you but the cavernous void created by online recruiting puts obstacles in your way.  My friend’s plight was amplified by a heaping tablespoon of self-criticism.  Even if it wasn’t Valentine’s Day one might suggest that there were two answers for her; networking and chocolate. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Observations on Transition

Tagged , , , , , ,