Failure: The other "F" word

Failure. I’m not much of a fan. And, I defy anyone to put up a hand and volunteer if asked, “Okay, so who wants to fail today?”

The fact is though, unless we live in a bubble and do nothing, we are going to fail at something. Failure is part of living and, often, the very thing that makes success so exhilarating, if only by contrast.

So if you can agree with that, the next question might be, “When we fail, what can we do about it? Well, when it happens, I think we have two choices. We can make it a glorious failure or a pointless one.

Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, talked about glorious failure. As a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh PA, he regularly put out challenges to his students and then gave an award to the team of students that failed to meet their stated objectives. He gave the award in acknowledgement of their dedication to new ideas; their willingness to take risk and; the effort they made toward achieving something that no one else had dared to try.

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Gen Y: The Volunteer Workforce?

Unpaid

I graduated a few weeks ago and am currently amongst the mass of young people facing their uncertain futures.  I have experienced a range of feelings over the last few months from pure excitement and anticipation to sheer dread of the impending  9 to 5  life  that awaits me.

The most peculiar thing is the suddenness of leaving education, an institution that has guided me throughout my life. It has been constant and secure.  Now I must embark on adult life…alone. What if I get it wrong? I am, or have been until now, a wistful English student, with dreams of doing many different jobs throughout my life, and yes, a part of me does still want to be an astronaut, but to be completely truthful I feel I would be comfortable and work well in most environments. So where do I start?  How do I discover what I’m good at? These questions, paired with a feeling of paralysis from the enormous range of careers a modern woman can choose from, have left me stuck in some sort of real life ‘purgatory’. Read more »

Breaking Barriers in the Automotive Industry

The first female intern

A woman’s life in the professional world is fascinating! The wonder of it all is composed by simple actions. I didn’t realize this until I had the opportunity to share my past experiences with a new friend.

In my first job, about one year before graduating in electronic engineering,  I was accepted in the traditionally male dominated automotive industry in Brazil  and was hired to work in the After Sales department.  I didn’t realize then what a breakthrough it was for the company to hire a female intern for that particular function. I was the first one! And imagine that a few years later,  that group was 40% female, including the manager. The company finally noticed that women can be very good professionals in a field that was once dominated by men  and that we have qualities and strengths that are essential to complete the team.

Tested

A few months later I was promoted from intern to employee even though I had not yet graduated. At that time I was chosen to coordinate technical training , delivered to the dealers’ mechanics and electricians as well as the instructors. Having to trust a soon to be engineer was already difficult for them, imagine a woman! But everything changed a few weeks after I started there. During one of the training sessions, the instructor, the most experienced one, called me to help with a technical problem he was having. When I went to him, I noticed all the participants – who would never trust a woman for that specific subject- staring at me! I asked what the problem was and I was able to easily solve it… thank God! Now I have enough knowledge  and life experience to realize that I was being tested, which back then I ignored. Being young, I was also very naïve, not yet aware of the prejudice women can suffer in the workplace. And that was also my luck, since I just wanted to prove myself as a competent professional. Read more »

Encouraging Women MBAs – 3 stories

Welcome to my world. I’m Programme Lead in International Career Development and Lecturer in Diversity/Inclusion Management at Luiss Business School in the heart of Rome. The university is headed by Emma Marcegaglia who also leads the ‘Confindustria’, Italy’s largest organisation representing the industrial sector.  Luiss Business School has delivered MBA programmes for over 20 years and now has a highly successful International programme that will soon take ownership for all MBA programmes.

3 Stories

You are about to read a compilation of conversations with 3 women who are fellow-ettes in my MBA programme. My aim is to understand what business schools can do to support gender balance in their programmes. The three women represent different age groups, stages of life, and years of  work experience. One is Italian and two are from Brazil. Our MBA class is comprised of almost 30% women and about 50% non-Italians. Read more »

Women in Academia: How 3+ women make a difference!

Taking the Guesswork Out of Tenure

After spending many years as an 8^th grade language arts/social studies teacher, I learned a couple of things.  First, I learned that relationships are the cornerstone of teaching and learning.  Treat your students with respect and kindness, and that’s what you’ll get in return.  I also learned that the best-laid plans rarely play out that way.  I learned that flexibility is worth more than gold, and that getting enough sleep is next to godliness.  But, in terms of assessment, I learned very quickly that it was only fair and just that I informed my students ahead of time how I would be grading their assignments.  I provided rubrics that corresponded with specific criteria.  I provided checklists and exemplars and tried as hard as I could to avoid playing that age-old game of “guess-what’s-in-the-teacher’s-head.”  It’s a dumb game that nobody wins, yet it’s played out again and again, and not just in middle school classrooms. Read more »

Women and Bad Language

Actually this isn’t an article on swearing; more of a reflection that when it comes to talking we women are damned if we do and damned if we don’t (No pun intended with the 2 low level profanities!)

I work with professional women all over the world and have a particular interest in gender issues, or maybe that should more accurately read: how difficult it is for the average woman to have senior career success in a world of work designed by men for men- which means all types of business behaviour which are rewarded are male types of behaviour. I think it’s a primary reason why lack of confidence is frequently cited as a reason why women don’t climb the career ladder as fast as men.

It’s a Man’s World

I have an exercise on one of my courses which encourages women to imagine their professional world had only been designed by women for women. How different would it look? Once you let your imagination riot all sorts of things become possible and not just about flexible working. Go on; take a few minutes to imagine that we could design a working world that only suited us. It really brings home to you how ‘male’ business is. Read more »

EDITORIAL: The Future of Gender Equity: Will men be under-represented?

Late June 2011

All genders, a total of two at last count, will have at least 33% representation on bank boards if Michael Barnier, EU Commissioner, gets his way. He is proposing this exact legislation to radically change the banking industry. While the fact of the legislation is dramatic, what interests me more is the way Barnier positions this shift and the language he uses to do so. Why? Language is critical to successful change. Choose the right language and you have a chance at success. Choose the wrong language and you fail.

Empathic Bridge

The draft states, “representation of each gender shall not fall below one-third of membership of the management board.” Barnier makes no mention of “women.” In addition, one might read into his statement, or at least I did, that the day may arrive when men are under-represented and said legislation will prevent their numbers from falling below 1/3. Clever. Beyond clever. If men who do not currently favor quotas can imagine a day when they are underrepresented, they may view the proposed legislation in a more positive light, and vote “Yes”. Barnier suggests the shoe may soon be on the other foot. Walk each step in consideration of that foot and the shoe that may be upon it. Barnier creates a subtle bridge of empathy. Read more »

Jumping Ship: Unchartered Waters of a New Career

My decision to change careers was made quite literally at a crosswalk.

I had been hanging on to journalism like a child to a favorite, worn blanket.

But four years ago, I couldn’t shelve the feeling I needed to seek out something else.

I felt a little desperate. I had no idea what else I could do.

After surviving two newsroom reorganizations and layoffs, I was assigned a beat to cover higher education in Massachusetts’ busy “five college” area plus two city school districts – a job done by three people just one year previously.

The profession I loved was turning into a job I loathed.

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Speaking Up about Speaking Up

Numerous articles of late declare that women need to speak up more, be better salary negotiators and push for more promotions.

As generalities go, I think there’s truth within those statements. However, that doesn’t mean women bear the sole, nor even major, responsibility for the wage gap between men and women or for lack of women in executive roles.

But we do have the responsibility to raise our voices. It makes our hearts and souls reverberate with the sounds of connection. It impacts the world.

I’d like to share my experience with speaking up during meetings in the workplace and in sitting on NGO Boards. Although negotiating and influencing at meetings is not the same as negotiating one’s salary, such meetings are fertile ground for improving negotiating skills and persuading others to do what you want and what you think is right. Read more »

Relationships are Worth More than Money: Why Networking Matters

Relationships are more important than money.

They are more important than your degrees and qualifications.

They are even more important than the power you wield because of your position.

Relationships give you connection, belonging, support and potential.

All parents want to send their children to the best school; not just for the quality of the education but for the connections they can make and the relationships they can build.

When you climb a mountain or take on a difficult project, the love and support of friends and partners gives you more than a hand up, it give you extra energy and ability.

And on line, building relationships requires more skill because there is no way of “bodying-up”.

What is bodying up?

The term comes from a special connection, Bill Potter. Bill is a business maverick and a friend coach. Bodying-up means, not just meeting in person, but really seeing the other person, reading their energy and vibes. Read more »

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