Attention Women: You are needed in the Fellowship
In her book, Climbing the Ladder in Stilettos, Lynette Lewis describes her own corporate ladder ascent as a woman and provides some wisdom for the rest of us. The struggle for women in corporate America is familiar, if not a bit worn – being passed over for promotions in companies dominated by the “old boy networks”, hit on by men in powerful positions promising favor, having to deal with nylons and heels on a construction site (or some other completely inappropriate location). While this behavior is inexcusable and is beginning to change widely, there are still challenges that our generation of women in business must face. How we as women choose to respond to these challenges can make all the difference in both our daily joy and our lifelong success. Ms. Lewis offers some advice for women – and we would be wise to listen to at least one thing she is saying – find mentors by organizing a personal board of directors.
This is what CEO Fellowship has provided to me – plenty of candidates for my own personal board of directors!
I moved to Nashville ten years ago to attend medical school after a career in finance at an “old-boy bank” in Chicago. I did not have family contacts or history here, making finding older, wiser men and women to provide guidance, feedback and encouragement difficult at first. I went to networking events, faithfully attended church, and reached out to those more successful in my own sphere of influence, the nonprofit world. While I gained great perspective and some good ideas from these venues, what the networking events and professional contacts lacked was the perspective of faith in the workplace. Thankfully, I have found this perspective and more at CEO Fellowship.
So why should women in particular join CEO Fellowship?
If you are a more experienced businesswoman, you should certainly consider the idea of energizing your own career by getting around younger women and men, trading ideas and strategies and providing mentorship. Even in the mentoring I have done of college aged women in our church, I have found that rarely am I the one giving everything in that relationship – I am often more significantly impacted by the women I mentor than what I sow into their life. Mentoring is always a two-way street in my experience. If you are a younger woman in the business world, like me, you should certainly consider how being around men and women of great experience, wisdom and faith could benefit your daily job as well as your long-term career. It is often difficult for young women with families especially to find balance between work and home. Having others around me to provide wise counsel in this area particularly has been a great blessing. And that does not include the amazing business ideas, creativity and wise counsel that I have also gained from this group.
One other major reason that most men or women might not understand or see to be part of CEO Fellowship is to fulfill our roles as leaders within our companies. Every one of us is a leader, whether we realize it or not. What is yet to be determined is the strength and quality of our leadership. And in the area of leadership, if you are not growing, you are falling behind. Do you have a systemic method of growing in the area of your leadership? I do and a main arm of that strategy consists of placing myself in proximity to men and women who are better leaders than I am. CEO Fellowship certainly provides the milieu for my growth as a leader.
So, what are you waiting for?
