What Do You Need to Succeed?

[Rosetta Thurman]

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to attend a conference for young nonprofit leaders in Michigan called NP2020, which one of our group members, Tera, helped to organize. One of the sessions focused on finding resources that could help move us to the next levels within our jobs. Most people said mentoring was important, but I was more interested in how we could help ourselves climb up the ladder and support our own goals as a peer group. I left the conference convinced that young professionals really need to take responsibility for own own professional development and seek out the specific things we need if we want to get ahead.

What do you need to succeed? If you could have any tool at the ready to move your career goals forward, what would it be? Mentoring? A support network of like-minded folks? Leadership training? Practical workshops on specific topics? How might the retreat and/or this group help?

[Jen McCabe Gorman]

Rosetta - great post! You opened a whole can of worms with this one :)

There are several big tools I feel I need to succeed...and they certainly include both 'group' learning activities and individual development.

1. Mentor network for younger women professionals. I'd like to see more mentoring "pairs" (ie one male one female) and or mentoring "Boards" that meet 1-3x yearly to advise me on where I am and help keep me on track (read: accountable to myself!)
2. An informal female support network that does fun things. I don't have much time to go out and make friends, and am not interested in that many traditional social activities...I'd love more support in developing a group of women to meet 1x monthly on the weekends to go to dinner and a show or exhibit, do charity runs/walks, etc. This would help burn off steam in an atmosphere that's still interesting and engaging.
3. Leadership Training!!!!! Not one organization for whom I've worked has had a formal leadership development/management training program in place. I've worked for smaller orgs and startups, but I'm just not willing to trade the flexibility and adaptability I find at these jobs for a corporate punchcard at a multinational just for the 'leadership' benefit. Instead, I've sought programs on my own and do a lot of reading, but leadership theories are only as good as the opportunities I have to put them into action!
4. Practical workshops? Definitely! I want to be more financially astute and reading financial statements takes practice. I read annual reports and financial magazines on my own, but coursework in a team setting with case studies etc. would be extremely helpful. I'd also like to see more offerings of this type on managing as a younger woman and how to handle challenging situations like being the youngest management member of your team etc.

[Rosetta Thurman]

Jen, this is a great list! It's amazing to me that in the DC area, we don't have many resources like the ones you described. It's interesting that you describe your need for a "mentor network" instead of just one mentor like most people do. I have about 4 mentors that help guide me because I know that one isn't enough! I wonder if this group and the retreat could be a jump-off point for the support network you describe. I'm definitely in need of that myself.

Kudos for seeking out leadership development on your own! Have you found that the training you have been able to find has helped you as a manager?

[Hope L]

Great question I'd be interested in hearing more about how to balance family and work? When or can you ever set parameters and be successful?

[Rosetta Thurman]

This is a biggie. Work/life balance is so important to our mental health, yet so many of us allow our work ro dominate our personal lives! Especially for women, it is always hard to say no, but we have to find ways to do that. I'd love to hear best practices from others. One thing I did as I began my current job was to let my boss know up front how important life/work balance was to me before I could take the job. That made it easier to say no to late nights and weekends.

[Rosetta Thurman]

Hey Colleen,
It sounds like you have a great opportunity in front of you! I agree that it is always difficult to start the conversation, but I find that it helps to start early in terms of getting time with your boss for the two of you to talk BEFORE any of the major decisions get set in stone. I also have to have a script handy to remind me of all the things I want to say. It's funny, we are expanding a bit as well, and I want to change my entire job title! SO that is something I'm struggling with as well right now. But for me, I don't think it's so much a fear of the conversation, but of me having to negotiate the outcome. Is that the crux of it for you as well?