by Madeline Bell | Dec 10, 2018 | Mentoring, Professional Growth, Skills, Women in the Workplace
I often tell women I’m mentoring that doing A+ work is simply not enough.
If someone is excellent in their role but keeps their head down and doesn’t stretch themselves, their hard work can go unrecognized. Successful careers, promotions, and the type of recognition I hear women say they’re striving for comes from putting yourself in the position to take on an extra challenge. Beyond that, it takes finding the opportunity to let people know about your achievements and contributions. I see two common scenarios: either women worry about being perceived as arrogant, pushy or difficult if they ask for more, or they feel lucky to have the position or salary they currently have. Alternatively, I see men truly believing they add value and deserve more. Sadly, we are also still combating attitudes of some executives who don’t believe women “need” to make more money if they have a spouse with a successful career.
With end of year performance reviews around the corner, I’m sharing advice that can help women know how to prepare themselves to either negotiate a raise or a promotion confidently. Below are a few tips.
- Having your talents and abilities noticed requires intentionality. If you want to be elevated in a company or an organization, you need to have accomplished something above and beyond your job description. Schedule a meeting with your boss and let them know you are looking for opportunities to help you stretch yourself. Even better if you come prepared with an idea for what that opportunity could be, and how it will help the organization. Say yes to opportunities or projects that you feel “unqualified” to take on – they are what will give you the credibility to ask for more.
- Do your homework on what you should be getting paid. There are plenty of places to research typical salaries. In the corporate world there is actually a lot of transparency – many companies are required to disclose the salaries of their top executives. For the nonprofit world, you can use The GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report, a nonprofit compensation analysis based entirely on IRS data. Be sure that what you’re asking for isn’t unreasonable for the industry, region, and role.
- One of the most important things you can do is frame your argument by emphasizing what it will do for your organization or department. The key is to be confident without entitlement. What will you bring to the role that will add value? What changes can you make and how will they benefit your company? What will you be taking on in exchange for a higher salary? Of course you need to focus on what you have already done, but it’s important to remember that you’re not entitled to more responsibility or more money – it needs to continually be earned.
- For almost every speech, meeting or important conversation I have, I practice out loud first. Ask your partner, your friend or your colleague to role play with you, and run through the conversation. Have them tell you areas where you need to clarify. Make sure you’re comfortable enough with what you’re saying that you’re not speeding through it or talking too quietly.
- Make a habit of taking credit for your work. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a woman give a presentation and there is a slide that lists 50 people who helped contribute to the success of the project she led. Additionally, I hear women say “we” instead of “I” when they very much should be saying “I.” Learn to feel comfortable owning your achievements, and find appropriate ways to let others know about what you’ve done.
What do you find most difficult in preparing to ask for a raise or a promotion? Do you have tips to share? I’d love to hear from you as well. It can be easy to simply accept what you are given, but then privately harbor resentment over not earning what you think you deserve. However, I always say, you can’t get what you don’t ask for.
by Madeline Bell | Nov 13, 2018 | Challenges, Motherhood, Women in the Workplace, Work-Family Balance
With one in four women having to return to work less than 10 days after giving birth, we have a real problem in this country when it comes to giving women the time they need to recover and bond with their babies. However, even for those who are able to take 12 weeks off, there are huge challenges that are often not recognized by many employers. Sometimes referred to as the “fifth trimester,” the first three months of work after a maternity leave has the potential to make or break a woman’s commitment to her career.
I knew I wanted to keep working after having my daughter. However, when the time came to get back to work, it was extraordinarily difficult. I was not getting any sleep, my brain felt in a fog and I worried over her childcare. During days I was on the road, I pumped in my car between meetings (not uncommon – my sister-in-law uses her 1.5 hour commute to pump each day!). I felt overwhelmed by the demands of running a start-up business and learning how to be a mother, and I worried that maybe I couldn’t handle doing both (of course, this is a privileged viewpoint to even be able to consider what that would look like.) I discovered after talking with so many of my peers that this anxiety, fear and stress over learning to balance both new motherhood and career was nearly universal.
Excerpt from The Costs of Motherhood Are Rising, and Catching Women Off Guard in the NYT written by Claire Cain Miller.
A recent New York Times article called, “The Costs of Motherhood Are Rising, and Catching Women Off Guard,” discusses new research showing college-educated women in particular underestimate the demands of parenthood and the difficulties of combining working and parenting. It states, “The researchers documented a sharp decline in employment for women after their first children were born.” Additionally, it shows that for most of these women, stopping work was unplanned. I began to wonder if employers were aware of these challenges, and what companies are doing to help employees transition during the “fifth trimester.”
One of my closest friends had been back at work for about three months after a 12-week maternity leave, when she confided in me how miserable she was. She even considered quitting, or at least looking for something part-time, despite having worked hard for so many years to get where she was in her career. She eventually decided to approach her employer and laid out what she needed: more money, to leave an hour early a few days per week, and the ability to work from home on occasion. Happily, they gave her everything she asked for, and avoided losing a high-performing employee.
Two months postpartum. Hazel’s first business meeting with Gram!
Realizing just how common this struggle is, I asked Madeline (my mother-in-law & someone who employs over 13,000 people) what advice she would give as an employer to women struggling in their return to work. She advised, “Don’t hold it in. Rather than feel frustrated and resentful, I’d prefer for someone come and talk to me about it, especially if they are considering leaving their position. If they’re the right person for the job they have, I’d rather have half of them than none of them. I’d tell someone to come to their boss with a plan for what they need, how can they can make that work for the organization, and set a time to revisit the plan. If the answer is no, consider your options and decide if that’s the right place for you to work.”
If businesses can be more open to this type of a dialogue with their female employees during this life-changing, but temporary, phase, perhaps we can see more women continue on in their roles.
by Madeline Bell | Nov 1, 2018 | Leadership, Mentoring, Networking, Women in the Workplace, Work-Family Balance
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.
by Madeline Bell | Sep 11, 2018 | Career Change, Confidence, Leadership, Mentoring, Professional Growth, Women in the Workplace
I’m in the privileged position of being able to share advice and mentor other women. It’s something I love doing; something I think is so important to help ensure there are more women leaders. While I enjoy being in this role, it’s so nice when the tables are turned, when I get to meet women who have helped paved the roads to equality before me.
A few weeks ago, I was able to sit down with two local women who inspire me – Suzanne Roberts, an award-winning actress, director, producer and television host, and Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams, a pioneer in the field of neuropathology. These two women have had extraordinarily different career paths and life stories, but I discovered a common thread that I felt compelled to write about: let’s call it relentless curiosity. Both are going strong at ages 97 and 89 respectively, continuing to pursue passions and contribute to the world.
Suzanne Roberts, who was married to the late Ralph Roberts (founder and CEO of Comcast), has reinvented herself over and over again. Beginning her career as an actress, Suzanne went on to create groundbreaking political television programming which resulted in her book, The Candidate and Television, a guide on how both political parties could utilize the new medium of television. This was during a time when few women were working outside the home, much less leading the way in a new field of communication. She received international recognition for her landmark psychotherapy work with Navajo children, which led to a documentary film, Discoveries in Communication, and worldwide lectures to governmental and medical institutions. For the past 15 years, Suzanne has served as an Emmy Award-winning creator and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, a nationally broadcast weekly informational show targeted to an older adult audience (to reiterate: she decided to create, produce and host a weekly television show when she was 80-years-old!). 
I was recently interviewed for her show, and was in awe of this woman; 97-years-old and she sat in front of me, beautifully dressed, thoroughly prepared for the interview, and never missed a beat as she worked with her production staff to create a compelling episode of television. After she interviewed me, I reversed our roles and asked her a few questions of my own. I wanted to know what motivated her, how she was able to stay so driven in her later years. She seemed almost perplexed by the question, seemingly unaware that how she spends her days is not typical for a woman of her age. After a moment she replied, “Well what else would I do? Sit at home and lunch with the ladies? That’s never been my interest.” When I asked her what advice she would give younger women who hope to be as engaged and passionate as she is in their nineties, she spoke about desire. She knew what she wanted, and simply followed those desires. She described what stood out to me as an insatiable interest in the world – an ambition to meet new people and learn new things every day. She knew what she wanted, and she didn’t let anything stand in her way; not her gender, her age nor expectations of what she should be doing with her time. I couldn’t help but leave the interview feeling hopeful and optimistic for what life may hold for me in my next chapters.
I’ve known Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams for many years and she’s always been a hero of mine. As a colleague at CHOP (she retired after 50 years with the hospital at age 86), I’ve been aware of her innumerable contributions to the field of pediatric neuropathology. I’ve also gotten to know her as a person, and been inspired by her innate leadership abilities. I saw down with her last month for my podcast, Breaking Through with Madeline Bell, to dig a little deeper into what has motivated her all of these years. Much to my surprise, there were many similarities to what I heard from Suzanne Roberts the day before.
Lucy originally wanted to be an opera singer until her out-of-town audition with a Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano was cancelled when the singer took sick. Shifting gears, she started as a clinical psychologist and worked evenings in a psychology clinic while earning her medical degree from the University of Minnesota. There were ten women in her cohort, with five making it through the entire program. While Lucy is adamant that her gender never held her back, she did recall going to meet with the Chief of Neurosurgery during her residency, expressing an interest in the specialty. He told her, “You’ll starve to death if you follow that course. No one will send a patient to a woman neurosurgeon.”
She landed on the subspecialty of neuropathology – a relatively under-researched field at the time. She read the available literature on the malformations of children’s brains (most of which was in German – but surprise, surprise, she just happened to be able to read German!) and found little answers to the causes of these malformations. Her work now informs everything we do today in our research on the brains of babies and children. It is no understatement to call her a living legend. She has held various leadership roles, including being the first female president of Philadelphia General Hospital’s medical staff, acting chair of Pathology at CHOP, president of the American Association of Neuropathology, president of the medical staff at CHOP, and unexpectedly helped run the Hospital for 18 months starting in 1986 during an extended search for a chief executive officer. These were not positions Lucy sought out, but fell into because those around her saw her leadership qualities, her extreme capabilities and her brilliance.
There is one anecdote about Lucy that I think aptly describes just why I admire her so much. After her retirement at age 86, she thought a nice post-career hobby was studying Astronomy –not knitting, not playing cards, not even traveling, but learning a new, complex field of science. When the light pollution near her home threated her new passion, she quickly shifted gears. Since then she has poured all of her energy into a foundation that her husband established in 1999, focused on training high school teachers and students in math, physics, chemistry and biology. She recognizes that Americans are falling behind in science, and is laser-focused on improving the education in these STEM subjects.
In an era when we are (rightfully) hyper-aware of the lingering inequalities between men and women, it’s both refreshing and inspiring to see two women who never let their gender hold them back. Both Suzanne and Lucy developed their own unique passions and simply forged ahead despite not having many other women’s examples to follow. I believe their relentless curiosity is a quality we can all cultivate. If we stay open to the world, to ourselves and what we want to accomplish, our lives don’t have to end after retirement. This is a skill I will continue to build, so that when the day comes to reinvent myself, my next passion will be clear.
by Madeline Bell | Aug 5, 2018 | Leadership, Women in the Workplace
I define myself in many ways – a former nurse, an advocate for children, a mother, a grandmother, a female executive and a mentor. I feel that my life experiences have given me a unique perspective that can inspire others. My goal with this blog has always been to share my experiences in the hopes that other women will identify with me and learn from my career path. I also know men who follow my blog to learn leadership tips and hopefully better understand women’s unique workplace challenges. Despite the challenges women still face in the workplace, I’m continually inspired by those who work alongside me at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The work that comes out of our organization continually leads to breakthroughs in pediatric medicine, making children and families safer, healthier and happier. So much of that work is done by women; women who have found success in the traditionally male-dominated fields of scientific research and medicine. These stories are compelling and are not often celebrated enough.
I am very excited to share a new podcast I’ve been working on called Breaking Through with Madeline Bell, where I conduct interviews with the brilliant people, both men and women, who are making – and supporting – incredible breakthroughs in pediatric medicine. I truly believe that hearing from these individuals will help more people understand just how important this work is, while also providing hope that each and every day we are learning more to improve that state of children’s healthcare. Not every episode is focused on breakthroughs from our female researchers, physicians and donors. However, as I come across interesting stories that relate to the Heels of Success mission, I will be diving deeper behind-the-scenes on the blog with women whose career accomplishments can help elevate and inspire other women. I’d love to encourage you to listen to our first three episodes of Breaking Through. You can subscribe and download them here, and we will release a new episode every month.
As always, thank you for your support and interest in the conversations I’m hoping to start. I hope you enjoy the podcast!
Madeline
by Madeline Bell | Nov 3, 2017 | Challenges, Women in the Workplace
This is an interesting question to ask in the midst of so many women coming forward with stories of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment and sexual assault is a huge problem in our society, and it is interconnected with so many other instances of degradation, dismissive behavior and deeply ingrained attitudes about women who seek equal opportunity and power. I started to write this particular blog post before the #MeToo movement – I planned on simply recounting a recent situation where I was among a few women in a group full of more than 70 male leaders. A very prominent male business leader made a presentation to the group, and afterwards opened the room up for questions. The first hand raised was that of a woman. The presenter proceeded to call on 4 men, all of whom had their hands up after the woman. Finally, when prompted by a woman who was with him, the presenter finally called on the woman who had first raised her hand.
Unfortunately, this is not an unusual story, but it reminded me how often women are still invisible. Yes, it is not as serious as experiencing sexual harassment, but it is never-the-less a symptom of women not being seen as powerful as men. I had a conversation with my step-daughter about this topic and her perspective was that it’s all behavior that falls on the same continuum. It may not be sexual harassment, but to the women in the room, including me, it still felt demoralizing and degrading.
I knew after the meeting that I needed to say something. I pointed out the behavior to the facilitator and reminded him that he needs to be aware of the dynamic in the room. He had not noticed, and was thankful that I had made him aware of the situation. As women, we need to come forward to point out behavior that creates the dynamic that positions women as invisible.
