As someone who takes goal-setting seriously, I enjoy looking back on the year, assessing progress I’ve made and looking ahead to all that I still want to do. While long lists of New Year’s resolutions often set you up for failure, I prefer to focus on one professional and one personal goal for the next year. I’m sharing mine below, but I’d also love to hear from you. Reading your comments helps me learn what’s important to you, and to get new ideas for topics to cover on this blog.
My 2020 Goals:
Personal: Take a few minutes each day to meditate.
Professional: Double my efforts to make connections with and listen to front-line staff.
My Favorite Posts from 2019:
Knowing Your Bandwidth
I began thinking about this post a few weeks ago, on a typical Sunday evening. My husband Lou and I had been traveling and we’d just returned home. I intended to use the evening to get the kitchen ready for our remodel that was about to begin, pack up everything that needed to be moved, complete the rest of my New Years cards and get ready for the week ahead. As I began this work, he became frustrated; “Madeline, you have an endless supply of bandwidth, and you have to remember that I do not.” READ MORE
2. The Upside of Vulnerability
We live in a culture with an ever-increasing focus on perfection. Whether it’s at home or in the workplace, we put so much pressure on ourselves to do everything, and do it perfectly. At work, the idea of always being over-prepared, with no question you can’t answer and nothing you haven’t thought of is likely appealing. However, this masks one of our most powerful tools as a leader – vulnerability. READ MORE
3. Developing Our Successors, Millennial Women in the Workplace
I am passionate about sharing advice for young women looking to advance their careers, especially for those looking towards the C-Suite. I offer suggestions on everything from taking stretch assignments and negotiating raises, to adjusting bad speech habits and dressing like a leader. However, I sometimes wonder if we’re expecting younger generations to conform to our workplace norms at the expense of truly letting their unique priorities and values shine through? READ MORE
4. Unlearning the Lessons of Charm School
There is nothing more rejuvenating than spending an evening out with close female friends. The camaraderie, support and laughter that accompanies these types of friendships is, in my opinion, an essential part of mental health. I recently had dinner with my two closest friends; women I can share anything and everything with, and with whom I can truly be myself. We talk about our common experience of having our children get married and laugh about how men (and specifically, our husbands!) need to find “man friends” (why do women seem to be so much better at recognizing the essential nature of supportive friendships!?) READ
5. Developing Helping Relationships, Making the Most of Your Networks
With the growth of social media platforms such as LinkedIn and endless other networking groups, we’ve seen a significant increase in our personal and professional networks. Just think about your connections. Now, think about how many of those people you actually know. How many of them could you help you advance your career or make a meaningful business connections? How many of them could you truly ask for a favor or an introduction? Probably not many. I think it’s important to learn how to develop more “surface-level relationships” into more meaningful relationships that can help us meet our personal and professional goals. READ MORE
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2020 – please leave me a comment below and tell me what you’d like to read on the blog on the next year.
Having women represented on corporate boards adds incredible value to a company yet it remains a big challenge. According to the Forum of Executive Women’s most recent research, from 2016 to 2017, overall board seats held by women in the Philadelphia region only grew from 16% to 17% and out of the 100 companies surveyed, 18 still did not have any women on their boards. While this issue is getting more attention (California recently passed a controversial law mandating that every publicly traded company based in the state will need at least one woman on the board by the end of 2019) we just aren’t seeing the advances we should be.
From my experience on the board on both corporate and non-profit boards, I’ve learned a great deal about board service, corporate governance, and why it’s so important to have women in the room. Recently, I’ve been asked by many women how they can prepare themselves to serve on a board, so I’m happy to share my advice here. I hope that I can play a small role in encouraging more women to stretch themselves and prepare for this next challenge in their professional lives.
Develop Your Relevant Experience
Currently, 43% of the 100 largest public companies in the region still conduct business with all-male leadership teams and out of 625 total executives, only 15% are women. Being able to operate at the executive level is probably the most important consideration for joining a corporate board, especially a Fortune 500 board. If serving on a board is a goal for you, advancing your career into the C-suite (CEO, CFO, COO) is a great way to prepare.
Focus on enhancing your leadership capabilities and scope of experience. Develop your skill sets to manage people, manage operations, make big decisions and especially have financial acumen, which is critical to understanding the finances of a company.
Understand Board Service
It’s really important to seek out opportunities to understand what board service means so that if you are approached — and oftentimes you’re going to be approached unexpectedly, as I was — you understand what it means to serve on a corporate board and what you would be expected to do. If you do your homework, you can give an answer in that moment versus saying, “let me go back and do some research.” I think the key is that you never really know when a conversation will lead to an opportunity, so be prepared in advance.
There are many resources for continuing education; such as Women Corporate Directors and universities that offer courses and conferences on corporate governance. I participated in a program called Women on Board in Philadelphia before I was approached by Comcast. I also took a three-day course at Stanford University, the Directors’ Consortium, that was incredibly helpful to me.
Position Yourself
It’s important to know what skills are most valued by boards, and then be able to articulate how your experience fills those needs. For me, it was my experience in Operations that attracted Comcast to me. Learn what sorts of challenges corporations are facing and position yourself to help solve them. For example, if you are a CIO, you can fill the gaps in a board’s understanding of the cyber security challenges their company faces. If you have served as a Chief Human Resources Officer, you can provide much needed guidance on succession planning and executive compensation. Be sure to create a Board Bio highlighting your relevant achievements and strategically emphasizing the experience that will be valuable to a board. Additionally, many boards are looking for prospective board members who are diverse. This is a bit of a problem since there is a lack of representation of women and other minorities in C-suite roles, especially CEO’s.
Tap into Your Network – Especially Your Female Network
If you have aspirations of joining a corporate board, tell another woman who is on a board. One thing I have noticed is that once you get on a corporate board, the flood gates open because they know you have experience. When I have to turn down an opportunity, I always recommend someone else – and always a woman who has told me that she’s interested in serving on a board. Make it a priority to network with board members, and put it out there that you’re looking.
How to Find Time
Many women I speak with often worry that board service will add too much to their plate. I have been clear that my day job as President and CEO at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is my absolute priority. I limit my board service to a reasonable number of boards and a reasonable time commitment without a lot of travel. For example, the meetings for the Federal Reserve Board of Philadelphia are within a mile or so of my office, and are limited to a few hours on a particular day. To serve on the Comcast board here in Philadelphia and the Children’s Hospital Association board in Washington, DC, as well as my other nonprofit boards, is similarly convenient. Choose a board that requires only what you can give.
Despite all of the benefits that board service brings for women, in my experience, when you’re the minority in the room you do have to work harder to prepare and be part of the conversation and to feel comfortable jumping in. I probably spend more time that I need to preparing for board meetings and reviewing materials. There have been times when the board has turned to me and asked how something might be viewed as a woman. While it does point out that you’re different than the others in the room and creates the added pressure of having to speak for half of the population, I think it’s great that corporate boards are asking for that advice and seeing the value diversity in the boardroom can bring for shareholders and corporate culture more broadly.
I recently had the pleasure of attending a Women’s Leadership Luncheon hosted by Jacobson Strategic Communications and the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. It was a wonderful afternoon connecting with other leaders, listening to a discussion with Secretary Leslie Richards, the first woman Secretary of PennDOT, and Secretary Robin Wiessmann, the Pennsylvania Secretary of Banking and Securities, moderated by Sara Lomax-Reese, President and CEO of WURD Radio, Pennsylvania’s only African- American-owned talk radio station. I left feeling incredibly motivated by the women I met, and was compelled to share some of what I took away from the event. All three women have different stories and perspectives, but are equally impressive not just in their ability to rise to the top of their fields, but to participate actively in public life. All three serve on boards (a topic I will give advice on in an upcoming post!) and spend time motivating and supporting other women.
photo courtesy of Robbin L. Wiessmann
I particularly enjoyed hearing about Secretary Richards’ career journey. She is responsible for leading 11,500 employees, yet spends a great deal of her time working to advance female leaders. In 2017, she was appointed the first female chair of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as well as the Public Private Partnership (P3) Board, and has won numerous awards (Female Innovator of the Year, Female Executive of the Year and the Women of Distinction award). In 2017, Secretary Richards and First Lady Frances Wolf launched the Moving Women Forward tour, a series of town-hall-style events held at institutions of higher learning across Pennsylvania. These gatherings encourage more young women and minorities to pursue careers and leadership positions in these fields. At the luncheon, she talked about what it was like to gain credibility with a workforce of men. She also talked about how she uses humor as a strategy to get a difficult message across, especially when she is the only woman in the room. She authors an inspiring blog on the PennDOT website. One line in a recent post stuck out to me,
“Before I was appointed to serve as Pennsylvania’s first female Secretary of Transportation, there were times in my career where I worked part-time and even was a stay-at-home mom for eight years. I never dreamed that I would hold this title. I have a technical background with a degree in economics and urban studies, and am not only the first woman, but also the first person with an urban planning background to lead the agency. I am proof that the traditional linear career path isn’t the only path that exists.”
This aspect of her journey really resonated with me. I too, could not have imaged holding the title of CEO when I was younger. When my second son was born, I pulled back from work and reduced my hours to part time for the first nine months of his life. He was not sleeping well, and the challenges of having two young children were taking a toll on me. At that moment in time, I was simply not able to give to my career what I had previously. However, that’s exactly what it was – a moment in time. Taking a step back at certain points to prioritize family, advancing your education or pivoting to a new path does not mean that you can’t excel and rise to the top of your chosen field later in life. With drive, motivation and help from others, anything is possible.
It is events like this luncheon that are critical for helping to advance more women into leadership positions. I was reminded after reading Secretary Richard’s blog, of a quote from one my personal heroes, Madeleine Albright, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” By gathering together, sharing our stories and learning from each other, I am hopeful that we can continue to see more women follow in the footsteps of Secretary Richards, Secretary Weismann and Sara Lomax-Reese.
I recently had the opportunity to meet two very impressive women at an event (as I often do!). During the course of the conversation we began to discuss the events surrounding the Presidential election. One of the women told me that she had the opportunity to follow the family member of a Presidential candidate on the campaign trail. When I asked her how she able to do that, she responded by telling me she was a producer for a major network. I again responded with great enthusiasm and she said, “oh it’s really not a big deal. I just do it part-time…I’m really just a warm body, a hired hand.”
I was so disappointed to hear her response. I was very honest and told her that she really needed to develop an elevator speech that was not so self-deprecating. Her friend replied, “You’re right, she has won two Emmy awards for her work on national news shows! ” Clearly, this woman was accomplished and had built an impressive career. I suggested a few key points to add to her elevator speech so that in similar situations she would be more prepared to respond with a few key points highlighting her competencies and accomplishments.
I often talk to mentees about how to construct and practice their elevator speech. The speech should be about 1-2 minutes, start with a clear articulation of name, your role and a bit about the company you represent. In this story, the women I met could have said:
“I’m Sue Jones, producer at _____ network, where I have worked for ____ years covering such stories as ______. I’ve had the pleasure of being called into action when needed for some of the most interesting stories such as _____.”
Now obviously that can be tailored to feel more off-the-cuff, casual or less structured. Just please be sure to steer clear of self-deprecation or minimizing your real accomplishments, as tempting as it may be to appear humble. If you don’t have an elevator speech, write one today and practice it in the car, or even in an elevator while alone!
[Photo courtesy of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia]
I’m on a train heading from Philadelphia to New York City for a meeting with a group of high-powered people in the healthcare industry. As usual, I’m taking time to review the attendee list and go over notes on their collective backgrounds. I just realized that I’ll be the only woman in the meeting.
Now I’m giving myself a mental pep talk,
“How do I position myself in the room, how will I get a word in edgewise with this group, will they simply dismiss me? Should I practice my power poses in the restroom to increase my testosterone? Remember, keep your voice directed, loud and low.”
Wow, it takes a lot of energy to do this. I’m sure the male attendees are not going through this exercise before entering the meeting.
I’ve always been drawn to the phrase, “chance favors the prepared,” and I’ve advised women many times on how to prepare for meetings such as this. Unfortunately, often times that means more than just doing the background work. For me I know it’s true, being a woman means spending a lot more of my energy on mental preparation for meetings. Who has felt the same way? What have you done to combat this imposter syndrome?
Sue Bell Yank is an arts organizer and writes about social practice in contemporary art. She has worked on the Watts House Project and was formerly the Assistant Director of Academic Programs at the Hammer Museum and the Director for Online Education at the Oprah Winfrey Network. She is currently the Director of Communications and Outreach at 18th Street Arts Center in Los Angeles.
Early on in my career in the arts, I worked at a small non-profit art gallery in Culver City for minimum wage, a couple of days a week. I was going to graduate school at the time, mostly to meet more people in the city and figure out where my place could be. One of my favorite professors was a New York transplant who had decided to make a go of it out west and start one of the most ambitious non-profit gallery programs in the city.
Working for her was not always easy – life is scrappy in a tiny arts non-profit. But the close quarters (literally – we were all squeezed into about 2 cubic yards of space in the “office”) gave me a front-row seat to how an arts organization can be run, and it was the best education I could have gotten. Artists screamed, curators cried, we laughed and drank (sometimes), we gossiped, and tried our very best to produce important contemporary art exhibitions.
But what she ultimately gave me was much more valuable than the 10 dollars an hour I was making. She was connected to a web of artists, students, and arts workers, and unconditionally generous with her contacts. Seeing any possible sparks of interest and commonality, she set about inserting me into this network so I could create threads of my own. One of these introductions was to Edgar Arceneaux, who was embarking on an ambitious community-engaged art project called Watts House Project, which combined arts, social justice, and community participation. Working on that project and all of its complications allowed me to find my place in the art world (supporting the work of socially-engaged artists), my own personal mission (access to arts education for all), and my next job at the Hammer Museum.
To be clear, I wish that I had been paid more, and I always have advocated (mostly unsuccessfully) for paying interns a living wage. However, it’s a sad reality that work in the arts thrives on unpaid or minimum wage entry level positions (a reality I have been complicit in), and this prevents many people who can’t otherwise afford to work for so little from rising up. But non-profits working on incredibly tight budgets have little choice – oftentimes free intern labor means the difference between creating world-class programs and closing up shop. So we trade on cultural capital – connections, community, reputation – in order to gain more clout and opportunity later in our careers.
Cultural capital worked for me, even through those lean years, because of the privileged position I was working from. I vowed I would mentor other young people rising up, connect them, and give them as much advice as I could – but also to advocate for more equity in the arts. I got the opportunity to do that at the Hammer, where much of my job included working with UCLA students as interns and Hammer Student Association members. It’s been one of my greatest pleasures to watch former students infiltrate the rest of the art world, spreading far and wide. Much of this was due to their own ingenuity and drive, but also to the professional opportunities they got at the Hammer. I also wrote more recommendation letters than I can count.
Early on, most of the questions I got were about how to meet people in the art world, how to get connected, how to get opportunities. But recently those questions have shifted a bit. As I grow older, the women I mentor have also grown older – in their mid to late twenties rather than just out of college. And these women are much more concerned about sustainability. How can a job in the art world actually pay enough money to live? How do I balance wanting to have children with a demanding career that more often than not invades your personal life?
I’m not sure what to tell them. The truth is, arts jobs do not pay well. I’m not sure they ever will. And things are not easy for a working mother of two young children in a field where trendsetters have little regard for the need to pick up your children from daycare, feed them, and kiss them goodnight.
The wonderful thing about the arts, though, is that in LA at least, it can be a rich community. There are ways to raise concerns with key members of your community and advocate for change. Many artists and arts administrators I have worked with are caring, thoughtful, social justice-minded people who are all in this together. They wrack their brains and argue about things like education equity, community cohesion, gentrification, gift-based economies…because oftentimes, the best art is about questioning the status quo and considering questions of equity. When I worked a brief stint in the entertainment industry, I missed that. I took a large pay cut to return to the arts, and I’m so much happier amongst my people. The line from the Metric song Other Side kept running through my head:
All we want is to feel like all we got didn’t cost us everything, even if we never win.”
I traded actual capital for social capital, and there found my way again. Forming, maintaining, and sharing a strong web of relationships, finding your community and your mission, and then advocating for yourself and your family in the midst of it is key to making it all work. Another wise former boss of mine told me to “Find your people, and bring new people in.” In any world, that’s possible.
Sue Bell Yank is an arts organizer and