Know Your Impact

One of the things I see consistently in my new clients is that we, women, don't know the value of our contribution. We take our impact at the office for granted and don't know how to articulate it, let alone get the proper compensation and acknowledgement for it. It is so heartbreaking to see women during a review process, who only ever get into talking about their improvement goals, without ever really discussing their wins and considerable contributions.

The key is to know your impact. Carla Harris, in Expect to Win, talks also about knowing what you are playing for. Too often women go in and just let the boss run the show. Instead we need to know our long term goals, know what we need to get there, know what the boss's expectations are and what we want from the upcoming year. Then we need to have a list of our wins for the year as well as a solid understanding of what that level of achievement is worth to the organization; meaning, how are our colleagues being rewarded for the same work.

It is only when we take the meta-view, redefine the conversation, that we can really begin to drive it.

Our Shifting Heroines

Today I went to the matinee of "I Don't Know How She Does It." Yes, I went to see a movie about an overworked working mom on a Monday, right after drop-off. And yes, the movie got one tomato on Rotten Tomatoes.

Mindless entertainment aside, what struck me as I came out was that Sarah Jessica Parker was such a different heroine from my all-time Go To favorite, Demi Moore in "A Few Good Men." There is no doubt that my life has changed. I saw "A Few Good Men" when I was in business school, and single. Now I am working, have two kids and am running a household with my husband. So perhaps these different heroines appeal to different life stages. That said, I also believe that they appeal to our evolving ideals for what it means to be a powerful woman.

In "A Few Good Men," Demi Moore is in full-on masculine energy. She is tough, much tougher than Tom Cruise or even Jack Nicholson. She is single minded and unwavering. She is also the woman behind the man. In "I Don't Know How She Does It," Sarah Jessica Parker is frantic and spread much too thin. She is also the woman in front of the man. Interesting evolution. What I noticed most in Sarah Jessica's character, is that women today are pushing hard to be in their full identity as women at the office, and not be penalized for it. Now that we are managing so much, the only way we can do it all is if we can really, truly be ourselves and bring it all to every role we play.

Love Your Job Before the Babies Come

For those who missed this New Yorker article about Sheryl Sandberg, I wanted to send it along. Her opinions are powerful and I am fascinated to see women articulating thoughts about the realities for companies when women slow down to care for families.

In particular, I was fascinated by a view I share, which is that if you don't love what you do when your children come, it will be so, so much harder to stay at your job. When my first child arrived, I was long overdue for a career change. Within a year and a half, I took my first course to become a coach and abruptly quit my job after that. Had I only pursued the coaching first, I could have started up my practice with a lot less stress.

Enjoy the article, and please let me know what you think!