Working to Be a Leader

“The Impact of Technology in the Workplace” is the topic of Written Assignment #3 for my summer students enrolled in “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior” or AMAOB.  Why?  Because technology changes behaviors.  And not always for the good.  Leaders, managers, and staff need to be smart on the how they use technology and the systems that they put in place.

The textbook I use in AMAOB is hot off the press.  Yet, there is little if anything of significance in the chapters of this latest edition that addresses how technology programs and devices change workplace behaviors.  When I looked up “Technology” in the Index, the definition was “The way in which an organization transfers its inputs into outputs” and mentions three pages where the topic can be found in the text.  The purpose of AMAOB’s written assignment is to help my students understand and manage the uses and/or abuses of technology by employees.

On July 26, 2010, Fortune Magazine published an article on “Ten Smartest People in Tech.”  What goes into being the smartest people in technology?  Fortune states that it’s, “An alchemy of intellect, ambition, and that uncanny ability to peer around corners.”

Not used in AMAOB

When looking through the list of the smartest people in tech, I started thinking about a guideline I have in my classroom.  That is, I do not allow the use of laptops and request that all technical devices such as cell phones are turned off—or on vibrate—and placed out sight.  It has taken a few class sessions to get full compliance.

Mine is a classroom based on experiential learning.  I want my 30 ambitious students each evening to have their full attention on listening to me and their classmates, contributing their thoughts and experiences, and being respectful of the sanctity of the classroom.  The classroom is where seeds are planted, ideas are generated, knowledge transferred, and invitations to “peer around corners” delivered.  It’s an opportunity to learn and grow from one another.  It is also a chance to be intellectually challenged.

If I had one thing to say to the smartest people in technology, it’s this:  “Technology is important.  I couldn’t communicate the way I am doing now without the use of technology.  Yet, there are limits when people need to take center stage and interact with one another.  A classroom on the topic of management is a time to unplug students from technology and allow them to relate to what they will be doing in their careers:  developing interpersonal skills and understanding workplace behaviors.

Okay, it’s now time to answer the question: Who are the smartest people in technology according to Fortune Magazine?  Here’s the list:

Smartest CEO:  Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple
Smartest Analyst:  Mary Meeker, Analyst, Morgan Stanley
Smartest Founder:  Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook
Smartest Engineer:  Christophe Biscigila, Co-Founder, Cloudera
Smartest Designer:  Jonathan Ive, Senior VP of Industrial Design, Apple
Smartest Investor:  Jim Breyer, Accel Partners
Smartest Hybrid:  James Cameron, Director, Avatar
Smartest Scientist:  Robert Morris, VP, Services Research, IBM Research
Smartest Academic:  Danah Boyd, Social Media Researcher, Microsoft Research
Smartest Executive:  Todd Bradley, EVP, HP Personal Systems Group

And I am going to be the smartest person in class this evening.  Why?  I’m going to use technology to transfer knowledge contained in a PowerPoint presentation to my class while interacting each one of my students, all of whom will be giving me their total attention since they are not using technology.

I’m not alone in saying that this is a busy summer.  Almost everyone I speak with state that they have been busier than usual during this summer.  Mine isn’t a complaint; I’m glad to be busy working and playing.

However, looking at the date of my last blog helped me realize how busy I’ve been; the last time I posted anything was Thursday, June 3^rd—over five weeks ago.  Where did June and the first half of July go?  It was a busy few weeks but I didn’t know that it was so busy that I wouldn’t have or take the time to write a blog.  I love to write blogs.  How and where did I invest my time doing other things?

One major investment I made was to begin a written project, specially a book—a term paper on steroids.  After positioning the book, I created the outline and drafted the preface and introduction.  Built around the experiences and results of teaching at CUNY, I will be the editor for contributions from my current and former students who are working to be leaders.  My return is not financial as much as how the book evolved to become a platform to share the insights and knowledge gained from my experiential approach to student learning.

Hendersons in the Merced River under El Capitan in Yosemite National Park

Another investment of time was spent at the Henderson Family Reunion in Tuolumne County, California.  My niece Dr. Tomi Sue Henderson hosted the event and prepared amazingly delicious food for our big family dinner in her backyard—as well as our picnic in Yosemite National Park.  It was great to get together with relatives, some of whom I hadn’t seen for a few years.  One of my nephews and his wife brought their four children who range in age from two- to eight-years-old.  We had a lot of fun together taking a train ride with an engine that used to pull passenger cars through the Gold Country in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Strolling for 1.5 miles through the Calaveras Big Trees, the Hendersons saw two groves of giant sequoia redwood trees, some of which are 2,000 to 3,000 years old, 250 to 300 feet high, and 25 to 30 feet across.

What else did I do?  Coach executives, meet with colleagues, manage administrative matters that include dealing with computer challenges that take days to resolve and taking more days to learn how to use my new iPad, and, at the same time, continue my professional development!  My “other career” is going to be as a Pilates instructor and, to formalize my seven years of taking over 1,000 classes, I participated in a 2.5 day Beginners Mat Certification Program last weekend (my results will be in the mail in a few weeks).

There’s been more.  Another five-session program of “Supercharge Your Career” at Zicklin just finished; it was a fabulous class because of the extraordinarily supportive, focused, and engaged participants.  Last week, I started teaching “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior” during Zicklin’s second summer session—a class that meets three nights a week!  The second summer session of “Supercharge Your Career” is set to start this Tuesday evening and end on August 17—adding a fourth night to my teaching.

“Firestorm on Wall Street” was the title of the second program in the “More than Money:  An Interview Series with Myron Kandel.”  Since the founding financial editor and economic commentator for over 25 years at CNN had stellar guests previously—Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine; and Joseph Stiglitz, an economist, professor at Columbia University, and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics (2001)—I knew that I didn’t want to miss this event.

After a brief overview of his program, Kandel introduced William D. Cohan, author of House of Cards:  A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street and a contributing writer for Fortune magazine; and Gregory Zukerman,  The Wall Street Journal reporter who writes the paper’s column “Heard on the Street” and author of The Greatest Trade Ever:  The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History.

Offering the background to the headlines, Kandel’s guests shared stories of the executives who individually and collectively ignored the indicators of a financial crisis.  According to his publisher Random House, Cohan’s book on Bear Stearns is “A blistering narrative account of the negligence and greed that pushed all of Wall Street into chaos and the country into a financial crisis.”  Zuckerman described in some detail how the risk-taking Paulson sought out and then earned billions by betting on the housing collapse others—including mortgage, real estate, and investing experts—had missed.  Since Paulson had created a market for his product by using Goldman Sachs as a salesman, the two brilliant business writers weighed in on the government investigation of Goldman.

Wikipedia’s definition of a firestorm “is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system.  It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires….Firestorms can also be deliberate effects of targeted explosives.”  A conflagration is defined as “an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, health, property or ecology.  A conflagration can be accidentally or intentionally created (arson).”  Kandel’s choice of the word firestorm for his event seems very appropriate.

The reason I attended the program was to further my education on the culture of Wall Street, and especially, to hear Cohan speak.  His previous book, The Last Tycoons: the Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co., spins “A tale of restrained ambition, billion-dollar fortunes, Byzantine power struggles, and hidden scandal.”  Cohan’s employment as a vice president at one of the world’s preeminent financial advisory and asset management firms coincided with mine.  However, he was involved in the business transactions while I was on the sidelines watching the action from my position as a temporary secretary.  In my over five years at the firm, I worked with a majority of partners, numerous vice presidents, and many other bankers.

When Zuckerman mentioned that Paulson’s analyst in creating his deals was Paolo Pellegrini, my ears perked up since he, too, was a former Lazard banker.  However, unlike Cohan who moved from Lazard to be a managing director of telecom mergers and acquisitions at JPMorgan Chase, Pellegrini according to Zuckerman in an article (“Profiting from the Crash,” WSJ, 10/31/09) had “a career of disappointments” and that “Paulson & Co. likely was his last stop on Wall Street.”  The disappointed analyst earned an estimated $45 million in his first year at his “last stop.”

What I took away from hearing the stories and learning more about Wall Street’s demeanor and greed was nothing new.  It was the same old story:  the behavior on Wall Street won’t change.

Specifically, words that I recorded in my notebook in the darkened auditorium include these thoughts from Cohan on proposed government regulation of Wall Street: “Wall Street buys the sort of regulation they want” … “Their actions are just smart enough not to go over the edge” … “We haven’t changed how Wall Street behaves not even in a small way” … “Goldman people don’t feel comfortable voicing dissent.” … “Nobody is blowing the whistle.”

Cohan made a very interesting statement: “There is no memory on Wall St.”  The younger people on Wall Street make decisions not knowing the history of the previous crisis—like the Internet IPOs in the late 90’s or the housing downturn in the early 90’s—and don’t take time to reflect on the consequences of their behaviors.  Instead, it seems clear, Wall Street moves from one crisis to another, like an addict who seems incapable of staying away from drink, drugs, or other substances to get a high, all the while knowing but not accepting that a big downer follows.  Rather, the user, when he needs it, seeks out another source to get high.

Zuckerman stated that, “We need the best and the brightest to be in financial services.”  To me, that seemed to affirm that what was going on within Wall Street firms was okay.  And that the results, although possibly catastrophic for the majority of America and a good part of the globe, are what matters.  It matters to those who profit from the results.  Do bankers stop to think about those who are negatively impacted by the results?

Last year, I wrote a special report entitled, “Temping with Tycoons:  Lessons from My Leadership Reinvention” —an account of what I learned at Lazard about the firm’s culture, group behavior, and individual actions. Documenting what I observed and reading about the firm, I used Lazard as the business school I could afford.  And it was during those years experiencing the hubris of bankers, the carelessness of analysts, and their overall ignorance of the real world that inspired me to teach future leaders about the human side of business.  “Temping with Tycoons” is required reading at the beginning of “A Management Approach to Organizational Behavior,” a course I teach to undergraduates at the Zicklin School of Business within Baruch College, the nation’s most ethnically diverse campus.  Primarily working class and first generation, the students are able to learn about some behaviors on Wall Street. They are also often aghast and angry at what they read.

One of my students put it very simply, “Why is there such a divide?”

I don’t know exactly.  Future posts will include notes from “M.B.A. Under Siege:  Reimagining Management Education,” an all-day conference held at Fordham University where business school educators from as far away as Kazakhstan in Eurasia listened to presentations from highly regarded business school professors and participated in discussions.  Especially of interest was the role that management—or lack of it—played in the collapse of the global economy.  Watch this space for more information on the culture and management of Wall Street.

What’s your recipe to be an effective manager?  Don’t know what I mean?  If not, you might find this post of interest in helping you create a new receipe or learning how to enhance the one you currently use.

Last August, my niece and I went to see “Julie & Julia”—a delightful movie about the life of Julia Child who, in 1948 and in her mid-thirties, discovered her career as a French chef and educator then evolved into a major cookbook author and television personality and making public appearances until her death in 1992.  The character “Julie Powell” was portrayed in the movie as a young writer whose job was to answer phones for those needing help after 9/11.  She felt frustrated at work and started a blog about Julia Child.  She also decided that she was going to cook 524 recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking co-authored by Julia Child in 365 days.

This spring, this same  niece lent me her copy of My Life in France, an autobiography of Julia Child written with Alex Prud’homme.  I started reading it at a pace of about 10 pages a day.  However, when I was about 100 pages into the book last weekend, I thought, “Why am I reading this?  I don’t really like French food!  I grew up on the basics, I cook the basics and I eat out to savor complicated dishes.”  Not one to give up on a book, however, I began to think about why I should continue reading and that brought me to remembering the first time I heard about Julia Child.

When I was a junior at the University of California at Berkeley, I had a part-time job as a work-study student in the Art & Music (A&M) Department at the Main Branch of the Berkeley Public Library.  As a Librarian’s Assistant, I helped patrons locate books, albums (!), and prints of major artists.  And I was also to report the behavior of a regular visitor—one of the many “characters” who at times put mirrors on the top of their shoes and stood very close to a female patron who was wearing a skirt.

Bruce Munly was the Librarian for A&M and manager of one full-time and many part-time employees.  Other part-time people included four middle-aged (and slightly older) women married to college professors and another Berkeley undergraduate student (he later became my husband).

“What did you think of Julia?” was Mr. Munly’s ritual greeting when one of the women arrived in the department.  They then would proceed to talk about the delicacy that Julia had prepared on the latest episode of “The French Chef” on our local public broadcasting station.  It was “all about Julia” for the first ten to fifteen minutes of a woman’s shift—and would often be revisited, many times when another gourmand arrived to talk about what Julia had prepared.

An effective manager who made the most of this diverse group, Mr. Munly organized a staff dinner once or twice a year.  This potluck supper was held at his or one of the women’s homes, often one in the Berkeley Hills with a spectacular view looking out beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.  When it came time to volunteer to bring food to the dinner, Mr. Munly and the women would decide which dish they would bring—usually a “Julia” dish.  The college students and the full-time employee would bring wine, bread, and possibly dessert—first asking the “elders” for specific instructions on what to buy.

Memories of one—if not the best—workplace experience of early career came flooding back to me last weekend as I turned each page of My Life in France.  Ignoring the world outside, I gave myself the afternoon to follow Julia’s journey through her writing career which she embraced enthusiastically and spent the evening learning how she had found her way to television.  Reading her book was like eating a good meal; I finished it feeling satisfied and satiated with good memories.

Looking back at his management style, I see how Mr. Munly maximized the talent he had in his small department.  He created a congenial atmosphere—based in part on Julia’s recipes—where he engaged and motivated his team to be productive through food, a love of the arts, and a great spirit.

At the close of each episode of “The French Chef”—and at the very end of her book—Julia wishes everyone a bon appétite!

As I asked at the beginning of this post, what is your recipe to be an effective manager?  No matter your “cuisine,” or your particular management style, I wish you time to think about how you manage.  Specifically, what is the thread of the conversations you have with your staff members and how do you connect with them on a regular basis?

While you are creating and enhancing your own recipe of effective management, I wish you bon appétite!

Which leader is more powerful:  Apple Co-Founder and CEO Steve Jobs or U. S. President Barack Obama?

I asked that question while subbing for an ill instructor during her two classes in, “A Management Approach to Organizational Beahvior” at Zicklin School of Business.  The chapter we were discussing was “Power and Politics” and on the first slide of the instructor’s PowerPoint was a picture of Steve Jobs and one of President Obama.  After I posed the question, I got very mixed results and push back from the students.

Vocal people in the classes said that there is no real comparison.  Jobs is a business man and Obama a politician.  The range of power and influence these leaders had was different and wasn’t equal in the students’ minds.  And I agreed with that.  I also confirmed that asking such a provocative question was a good way to break the ice with a new class.

 The students agreed to disagree on which leader was the most powerful.  Many felt Jobs was the most powerful because of his innovative ideas and the influence of the array of products he had introduced to a global market.  (Although I request that all cell phones are put on vibrate and put out of sight during class, I did see a few iPhones on desks.)

 Almost equal was the number of votes for the President because he was the first African-American to be elected to the highest office in the U.S., got health care legislation passed, was focused on reigning in Wall Street, etc.

 Then I posed another question:  who was the President of the United States 60 years ago?  Although Nixon, Carter, and Roosevelt were suggested, it was Harry S. Truman who led the country in 1950.  Not one student had heard of Truman.

 The point I was making was that legislation or being the first at something will be remembered.  For instance, John F. Kennedy is the first and only Catholic and the first Irish American president.  However, in my mind and those of about half the classes I taught, it was the products of the genius developer of technology who is the most powerful person in 2010.

 Jobs?  Obama?  Which one do you think is the most powerful leader today?  Please post your response below.

“It sounds like this trip is a soul refresher,” my niece Nancy wrote me after she learned of my vacation plans to visit her cousin Tomi Sue.  My week away from New York City was a refreshing and invigorating experience.  It was a time to put working to be a leader aside and focus on being surrounded by nature and enjoying my life.

 Tomi Sue lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, about 2½ hours due east of Oakland, California.  The population of the towns there are small by any—but especially NYC—standards:  150 to 1,000 to 6,000 (one of the largest) all nestled among oak, pine, and other trees.  It was just the locale I needed to get refreshment after a long, snowy, and busy winter in the big city.

 Spring had arrived and I basked in the sun while looking at the fields of wild flowers carpeting the five acres of Tomi Sue’s land—and beyond—such as goldfield, buttercup, etc.  What especially caught my attention were the poppies, the California state flower and a favorite since I was taught a poem in childhood, “Poppy golden poppy, shining in the sun….”

Golden Poppy

 The petals of poppies are closed in the morning and open as the sun rises.  While watching for the poppies to open, I could look out “across the street” and watch the cows and a bull or two begin their day feeding on the grass of a pasture.  A big ear jack rabbit caught my—and Tomi Sue’s dog’s—attention.  Birds were serenading the earth and calling me to get up and go for a walk on the grounds—which meant I had to say good-bye to the cat and could say hello to the resident horse.

 Later, sitting on the porch and basking in the sun, I felt the stress from the life of a New Yorker begin to gradually fade away.  It was helped to evaporate by a trip to Yosemite National Park, my favorite place to visit and explore.  My older sisters took their younger sisters on trips there when I was about eight or nine.  Through the years, I’ve returned to Yosemite with college friends, my husband, and even alone.  A car trip to the valley at 4,000 feet or Glacier Point at 7,200 feet or a strenuous backpacking trip close but not to the top of Half Dome at 8,800 feet brought a sense of peace and tranquility.

 “Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike,” John Muir is quoted in National Parks:  America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan, a book based on the Ken Burns’ six-part series for PBS.  Yosemite is my place of beauty. 

Me next to Merced River in Yosemite Valley

On a Sunday, Tomi Sue and I spent time in Yosemite to hike up part of a trail to see a waterfall she had heard about but not seen.  Although not in the shape I was when I could hike to the top of that trail and back down in one day, I nevertheless made it to the spot where we could see Illoyette Falls—and on our way look back to see Yosemite Falls.

 During the rest of my stay in the foothills, I was able to soak up the scenery and refresh my soul with the green of the land, the friendliness of the people, and the vistas of snow covered mountains.  My phone service only worked in a few areas and my data didn’t download—which was okay by me.  Only checking e-mail at Tomi Sue’s office a few times, I felt released and relaxed.

 Today, I’m sitting at my desk, looking at my computer screen, and writing this entry to share with you some details of my vacation while also preserving my memories.  Now, getting back to working to be a leader, I am putting on my coach’s hat to ask you:  Is it time for you to take a vacation?  If not poppies, what will you take time to watch?  And, most importantly, how will you refresh your soul?

If the city of New Orleans was to recover successfully after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it needed to depend on the heart and soul of the city:  its churches.

It wasn’t until April 2006, that I found the right opportunity to donate my services to the city.  That month, I read in an e-mail that Community Church Unitarian Universalist-New Orleans was seeking help with internal organization before taking the steps of rebuilding.  A smart strategy, I thought, one that could aid in the overall process of restoring their heavily damaged church, physically scattered and emotionally battered congregation, and the place it had earned in the community’s life.

My work in 2006 took place over two long weekends—one in June and one in December—during which I presented customized workshops for leaders and the entire congregation.  To reinforce and support their processes, I returned to NOLA a few times since then to lead groups.  Additionally, I provide coaching and consulting services for leaders via telephone and e-mail.

“It is really a time of hope here,” wrote Suzy Mague, former Chair of the Board of Directors of CCUU-NOLA and now friend, in the April 2010 update she sent out.  “The congregation has decided to rebuild on the site of the former structure and we have begun the process to clear the ground, hire an architect, and negotiate with a contractor to take on the work.”

Draft of Plans for New Church

What was exciting is that the city itself is alive in a way that it has not been since 2006.  Suzy writes, “…we are actually still savoring our football championship.  I was amused the other day to pick up some cleaning and find a fleur-de-lis and “Saints – World Champions” printed on the cleaner’s bag.  Of more long-term significance, the Super Bowl victory was followed by a real landmark election.  Mitch Landrieu won a landslide victory for Mayor, carrying all but one precinct in the City.  Although incumbent Mayor Nagin tried to play the race card, voters crossed color lines in droves–in both directions.  Citywide offices of Mayor and Councilmember were won by white candidates with strong black support, and important citywide offices were likewise won by black candidates with strong white support.  Mayor-elect Landrieu has appointed task forces during his transition to advise him on myriad issues, from hiring a new police chief to better customer service in city hall.  The display of energy and the citizen involvement across all neighborhoods has all of us feeling very hopeful that a new day is coming.”

Continuing her report, Suzy lets us know that, “In an odd sort of way, the activities of the federal prosecutor have also inspired hope.  Following confessions and/or convictions from several ‘political operatives’, including Congressman Bill Jefferson, he has broken a police cove-up of misconduct following Katrina, obtaining two confessions from police officers involved.  There is tremendous determination here that corruption will not be tolerated in our public life, and having an active, effective pursuit of wrongdoers is very heartening.  The new police chief will have a good basis to begin re-making the department.  The new city inspector general is also very well focused and presenting reports that are relevant and influential.  Feels like a new day–and it couldn’t come at a better time.”

I hope that the spring spirit of renewal and rebirth continues and flourishes for not just the congregation but for the entire city of New Orleans.

It is truly an honor to be able to be part of programs targeted to audiences that span the career cycle.  Last week, I moderated a panel during the “Pearls of Wisdom” Women in Business Conference at Baruch College where I teach.  On Tuesday, March 23, I moderated a panel of outstanding women in their fields for the Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA)-NYC monthly meeting.  Since March is Women’s History Month, the EAPA-Women’s Issues Committee is invited to develop the program and take center stage.  Lynda Johnson, my Co-Chair of the Committee, and I came up with the topic, “It’s Not Over Yet!  You Still Have a Chance:  Resilience and Reinvention in the Older Worker.”

The panelists addressed how to remain relevant, successful, and satisfied in an evolving career; investments in nips and tucks to stay looking young; and the legal implications of aging in the workplace.  And we had just the right professionals  on our panel to talk about these topics:  Jane Cranston, Managing Director, Executive Coach NY and Great Job in Tough Times; Wendy Lewis, President, Wendy Lewis & Co., a global aesthetics consultant who is popularly known in the media at “The Knife Coach” and is founder of a the popular website called BeautyintheBag.com; and Doris Traub, of Traub & Traub PC, Esquire, who has devoted her thirty-year career as a lawyer to advocating on behalf of employees who have faced workplace discrimination.

Leigh, Wendy Lewis, Jane Cranston, Doris Traub, Lynda Johnson

Before asking questions, I offered some background information on the need for this program.  As an Adjunct Lecturer in the Management Department at the Zicklin School of Business and an older worker, I am able to take the pulse of different groups and serve as a bridge to communicate effectively across the ages.   My “Pearls of Wisdom” to the group of around 40—only one woman was in her 20’s and one in her 30’s— served as a good introduction.

1.  Be Precise with Terminology:  This semester, one of my students wrote a paper on “The Elderly in the Workplace.”  Yipes!  Was my first reaction.  Wasn’t he in class the evening I gave “the lecture” that the term to use is “older” not ”elderly.”   The first request I had of Doris was to define the difference between “elderly” and “older.”  She was very definite in stating that the term elderly is not appropriate for any workplace, that the connotations are negative, and that the assumptions that go along with the word elderly are possibly discriminatory.   Jane gave a wonderful example of a woman who sought out her coaching services.  Her client was 80-years-old and wanted help to define her next career.  Some might call this woman “elderly.”  I’d call her resilient and resourceful.

2.  Understand the Statistics:  There has been a 134 percent increase in the number of workers over the age of 55 who are looking for work since December 2007.  Today, about 7% are over 55 and working.  Over 20% of the workforce is expected to be 55 and over by the year 2015.  Older workers want and, in many cases, need to work since many of their retirement investments disappeared during the worst economy since the Great Depression.   Workers 40 and older (even younger ones) are seeking some form of image enhancement to keep a youthful appearance.  Wendy said that though her business slacked off last year, she is doing better in 2010 in part because of the men who were formerly on Wall St.  Now looking for work, they want to look and feel younger to compete for positions that they used to have in the financial services industry.  The most popular enhancement for both women and men is to get rid of crows feet around the eyes.

3.  Performance Perception:  The number one consistent complaint I hear from my 20 something students is that the older worker is resistant to change.  And that they are reluctant and outright refuse to learn how to use computer programs.  In some cultures, older men and women are seen as wise because of their age.  In our culture, wisdom is to be acquired by learning how to navigate a keyboard to help them  send e-mails and manipulate databases.  Wendy is very well connected on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. and Jane is a great example of someone who knew that technology was part of building her business and has successfully taught herself.

After the program, one of the attendees came up and told me it was an excellent panel.  In fact, she told a lot of people she was so inspired to be, at 69, opened up to growing in new ways.  She wrote on her evaluation that she would no longer refer to herself as “this old gal” and that she would push herself to ask for and get training on the computer. 

Staying relevant and open to growth, it’s definitely not over for those 40…50…60…70…80!

On Thursday, March 18, I had the honor of being the moderator for the Women in Business (WIB) Fourth Annual Pearls of Wisdom Women’s Leadership Conference at Baruch College.  “Envision, Empower, Succeed” was the theme for the evening when close to 200 young women and men spent time listening to and interacting with inspiring speakers.

Sufia Farha, President of WIB,  and her team of dedicated, organized, and helpful students made the evening an enjoyable one for everyone.  I did not want to turn down the opportunity to be the moderator for the third year in a row but I also had a class in “Organizational Behavior” to teach during the exact time of the panel.  A resolution was to assign “Women in Leadership” as my students’ next written assignment, require my class to attend, and give these achievement oriented students the opportunity to be part of an event that evening students do not often get the chance to attend.

Leigh, Virginia McNeil Montague, Lenore Janis, Heather Maloney, Dr. Barbara Lawrence, Diane Garnick

One of my students came up to me at the close of the program and said, “I’m grateful that you required us to attend.”  Later that evening, another student wrote me an e-mail in which she said, “Thank you for inviting us to such an invigorating event.  It was way better than I thought it would be.”

Why was it ”way better”?  The inspirationalprofessional  knowledge the guests offered. 

The keynote address by Diane Garnick brought audience members—and panelists—to tears when hearing of the adversities she overcame and how she challenged herself to enter the world of finance.   One “Pearl of Wisdom” Diane shared was, ”If your palms aren’t sweating enough, your game isn’t big enough.”  Today, after sweating a lot, she is an investment strategist at Invesco, an investment management company.  To read more about Diane and her volunteer work, here’s a link to her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diane-Garnick/188133090053?v=info 

The WIB committee had developed a series of questions for the panelists and I had the opportunity to ask these inquiries (with a little embellishment) on behalf of the young women just starting their careers.

Panelists included Heather Maloney, Executive Director, Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund; Lenore Janis, President, Professional Women in Construction National; and Virginia McNeil Montague, President of The New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women.

Each response from the panel brought helpful insights into the lives of women who hold executive leadership positions.  One particular question from the audience brought this series of replies:  “Do whatever scares you.”  “Life is a series of trials and tests.”  “Go to the gym.”  What was the question?  I don’t remember.  What I do know is that the answers represent the ways that these women faced, managed, and overcame the obstacles in their careers.

Near the end of the question and answer period from the audience, I noted that about one-quarter to one-third of the audience were males.  Yet, not one male asked a question.  “Okay,” I said.  “It’s time for a man to ask a question.”  One of my students raised his asked and asked the panel, “What can men do to help women succeed?”  The overall answer from the panelists was, “Men need to talk to women to hear what they need.  And men need to talk to talk other men about what women need.  They also need to work with women so that they can understand and help women get the respect and acknowledgement they have earned in the workplace.”

Leigh with the wonderful Women in Business team

It was a great evening for so many reasons.  One of which is that after stepping off the dias at the end of the panel, I was invited to be the moderator for the Fifth Annual Pearls of Wisdom Women’s Leadership Conference.  I’m looking forward to the event already.

“How can I make sense of such a tumultuous evolution—and have a smile on my face today?”  

“The Bull Pissed in My Living Room:  Prof. Leigh’s Guide to Recession Resilience,” LTR’s latest level playing playing field special report, is my way of putting together the pieces of what I experienced and the process that brought me to a really good place in my life.

“Bull”  will be formally introduced at today’s meeting of the Employee Assistance Professionals Associaion (EAPA)-New York Chapter.  I chose this opportunity to let others know about my report because it explains the complex factors that can impact workplace intelligence.  It’s also a good venue  because I’ll be the moderator of a panel discussion on “It’s Not Over Yet!  You Still Have a Chance:  Resilience and Reinvention in the Older Worker.”

 Like others who have been dramatically impacted by the worst economy since the Great Depression, I wondered how I had the strength and resiliency to survive my “worst case”—the downturn of business and sale of sale of my recently renovated co-op apartment on Manhattan’s tony Upper West Side.  Using a format similar to that in “Temping with Tycoons” and my other well-received special reports, I tell the story of not just how I reinvented myself but what I learned during the process.  And how, now, I’m enjoying a “best case.”

A natural educator (strangers on the subway ask, “You’re a teacher, aren’t you?”), I use what I experienced as a platform from which to inform, inspire, and instill in readers greater awareness to face their own “bull.”  At the end of each chapter, I include “Resilience Guideposts”— helpful suggestions on how to navigate succesfully on your evolutionary highway.

To download your copy of “The Bull Pissed in My Living Room,” click on the link below.  After you read it, contact me with your feedback.

The Bull Pissed in My Living Room by Leigh Henderson