Working to Be a Leader

In February 1982, I was working as the Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Public Affairs at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.  The job felt like a good fit for someone who wanted to use her writing skills and transition into a corporate job.  (A few years as an elementary school teacher taught me that the playground/playing field was not big enough for my skills and interests.)  My then husband was in a Ph.D. program on campus and that, too, made the position a good one.  (FYI:  Today my ex-husband is an esteemed professor of English Literature at a very good college.)

 “March is Women’s Month at Brandeis” was the headline on a brochure that caught my attention one day as I was going through the VP’s mail.  I carefully read the list of all the events being scheduled throughout the month and looked for one I could attend.  “What about a program for the women who work on campus!”  I thought after not finding even one program. “Don’t we exist?”

Leigh (l), Moderator, "9 to 5 The Brandeis Way"

 Taking the initiative, I met with a Women’s Studies professor and proposed a panel discussion called, “9 to 5 The Brandeis Way.”  We discussed my idea of having women I knew from different departments share their stories about job sharing, part-time work, and other experiences of being employed at the university.

 “If one person shows up for the program, consider yourself lucky,” the professor kindly cautioned.  Her words made me more determined to develop an audience.  I created a flyer and posted it around campus, submitted a news release to the local paper, contacted professors I knew, and tried to be positive that in addition to the panelists and my then husband, other people would attend the event.

 Seventy-five staff, students, and faculty showed up for “9 to 5 The Brandeis Way,” the first of what became a series of panel discussions on workplace issues.  The event was a success and, as my career evolved, a path I continued to travel.

 Thursday, March 18, 5:30p.m.-8:30p.m. The Fourth Annual “Pearls of Wisdom” Women’s Leadership Conference, Baruch College.

This is my third time as moderator of the panel and I’m very enthused about the executives that the “Women in Business” committee has selected. The keynote speaker is Diane Garnick, Investment Strategist, Invesco Ltd. Panelists include 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. The event is free to students (dinner with wine included). For more information, visit Baruch’s “Women in Business” website at http://baruchwib.webs.com/ or contact Sufia Farha, President, Women in Business, at sufia.farha@gmail.com

 Tuesday, March 23, 1:00p.m.-3:30p.m. “It’s Not Over: You Still Have a Chance! Reinvention and Resilience in the Older Worker” hosted by the Employee Assistance Professionals Association-New York City Chapter (EAPA-NYC).

As Co-Chair of the EAPA-Women’s Issues Committee, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on the multigenerational workplace last year. This year, the panel is focused on ways those 40 and over can remain positive and competitive in the job market. Lynda Johnson, my Co-Chair, will welcome the audience. The panel I’ll moderate includes Jane Cranston, Managing Director, Executive Coach NY; Doris Traub, Traub & Traub, P.C., attorney specializing in age discrimination in the workplace; and Wendy Lewis, President, Wendy Lewis & Co. Ltd, a Global Aesthetics Consultancy—an image enhancement consultant dubbed “The Knife Coach®” by the media. The fee for the event is $20 for a guest. To confirm times and get location, please contact Barbara Friesner at barbara@agewiseliving.com

Saturday, I was looking through the latest Dell catalog searching for a lightweight laptop with a screen larger than 10″.  Oh, and one that I could customize with a bright green or a rich blue color from Dell’s design studio.

“Get caught red-handed with NEW OPI designs” caught my attention on page 17.  OPI, as any woman would know if they get manicures, is the polish most often used in nail salons.  The company’s lucious and whimsical colors are six of “NEW Dell-exclusive OPI Design Studio laptop designs” that for $85 you can get applied on  select Dell laptops. 

Although I don’t get manicures in a salon, I do know something about OPI.  In 2006, I was a contributing writer for PINK Magazine, a monthly publication for professional women.   My role was to help identify a leading female executive then interview the woman and write up my notes for PINK’s monthly e-newsletter.  When I got the assignment to interview an executive at OPI, I was a little hesitant to take the assignment as I didn’t think the topic was, well serious enough.  During the interview, however, I remember sitting hunched over the desk where my telephone was located and frantically writing notes on this interesting field.  After my interview was published, the editor of PINK raved about the tone and thought it some of my best work.  You can be the judge as below is the article that appeared in PINK’s e-newsletter for August 2006.  You can also find a PDF of the article at my website:  http://www.ltr-nyc.com/Online_InPrint.html

Now I need to go to the Dell website and see if I want to apply one of the OPI colors to the laptop I just might buy.

THE CULTURE OF COLOR: Suzi Weiss Fischmann, OPI Products, Inc.  by Leigh Henderson

PINK: What was your career path?

SWF: “Bottom up.” I grew up working in the family clothing manufacturing business in New York City. In 1982, I move to Los Angeles to work in another family business, Odontorium Products Inc., that provided lotion, remover and implements for nails. We were successful and decided we wanted something for the customer to take home. In 1989, OPI rolled out 30 colorful shades of nail lacquer.

PINK: You are also Artistic Director. Why that additional title?

SWF: I design every color like an artist. The name comes first – six of us get together to brainstorm – and then we work on the ingredients to get the color to live up to the name.

PINK: What’s OPI’s growth secret?

SWF: Great marketing. The first time a customer buys our product is on impulse. The second time is because of quality. Madonna wore OPI’s Italian Love Affair when she married Guy Ritchie and sales soared for that color afterwards in London. Sharon Stone had on Innsbruck Bronze

PINK: What the biggest challenge are you facing today?

SWF: Pressure to be environmentally friendly. Regulatory agencies don’t do quantitative risk assessment and do not differentiate the potential risk of minute amounts of ingredients from two pounds. The European Union’s rules and regulations are a nightmare. Hopefully, in the next five years we’ll find a balance so that we’ll be approved to use very small amounts of ingredients in a safe way for our customers.

PINK: What’s your management style?

SWF: We have 350 employees in the Los Angeles office and my management approach is, “the door is open.” I’m very low key, I delegate, and work closely with the vice presidents of marketing and advertising. I want to provide inspiration and allow my employees creative freedom.

PINK: If you wanted to ask for a raise what color would you wear?

SWF: Red. It represents chic, Rita Hayworth, Hollywood. It’s also my favorite color to wear.

PINK: What’s the secret of your success?

SWF: I create every color collection as if I’d never done one before. The day I don’t, I won’t do it anymore. I get my inspiration every day from my husband and my daughter, 13, and a son who is 10.

PINK Points:  With every bottle of Red-y to Help purchased, $1.00 will be donated to the American Red Cross.

A leader’s position carries with it responsibility to inspire followers and use power wisely.  It also includes teaching others to jump barriers and give up their silo thinking in order to explore new possibilities.

A few years ago when I was at a friend’s apartment, I noticed that her dog, a big German Shepard that stood maybe 24” high, was confined to the living room by a piece of wood placed at each doorway.  The barrier was only 18” inches high – a height the dog could have walked or jumped over with ease.

I knew this because my dog Emelie, a mix of Border collie and Samoyed raised exploring beaches and mountain paths, easily jumped the piece of wood.  In fact, she roamed all over the house, jumping or knocking down the barrier if it got in her way.  The other dog, who only got out to a small yard three times a day, looked at Emelie, whined, and after a couple of times testing her freedom and being disciplined for doing so, was too afraid to venture forth into risking another jump.

An executive coaching client recently commented to me that she values my creative input because her staff can’t see or won’t speak up about the ‘possibilities’ of a situation.  She is a ‘roamer’ but her staff uses what I call ‘silo thinking’ – confining their perspective to a narrow column of influence.   A silo is a structure used to store materials, in this picture it is grain on a farm.

Grain silos on a farm

Silo thinking in followers means that instead of looking out to the horizon, employees see the walls of the job description, the risks of speaking up, and the fear of going out of their comfort zones to explore unknown territory.  They’ll share ideas with peers but won’t speak up at meetings or with their managers.

The influence of their corporate climate, consequences of making a mistake in front of others, and their own ‘mental training’ are just some reasons for their ‘silo’ thinking.  It could be age – never being asked before for creative ideas – or conditioning over the years by being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it instead of being empowered to individualize their work.  Or the fact that people don’t want to expand for fear of the repercussions of what new activities they might be asked to participant in or that they would have to move out of their usual role to take on leadership themselves of an initiative.

My client consistently strives to inspire, model creative thinking, and provide opportunities for staff input.  She is persistent in efforts to overcome her staff’s ‘silo thinking’ and resistance to jump barriers.  However, with each subtle shift in behavior from individuals, my client gains confidence to continue her efforts to engage her staff in barrier jumping behavior.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

How do you celebrate late fall holidays?  What memories do these celebrations evoke for you of holidays past?  How do you manage your energy when the season seems to be full of business parties, family gatherings, and year-end business (or semester-end) deadlines?

As students were leaving the management class I teach on Tuesday, November 24, I wished them a “Happy Thanksgiving”.  Based on my previous blog post “My Thanksgiving Ritual” it’s obvious that the holiday is important for me.  Giving thanks, being with family and friends, eating special foods around giving thanks is the most meaningful celebration of my year.  Yet, Thanksgiving the holiday is not that important for everyone.

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I asked a student intern in the Management Department, “How was your Thanksgiving?”  She told me that she and her family don’t celebrate Thanksgiving; they are Muslim and enjoyed a traditional feast on the following day.

As co-chair of the NYC Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA)-Women’s Issues Committee, I recently helped to facilitate a discussion on the many ways that the holidays are celebrated at this time of year.  We talked about Christmas and the joy of singing carols, we talked about Hanukkah and the meaning of gelt, we talked about Kawanzaa and the rituals that were developed in 1966 by Rod Karenga.

One of our members quietly spoke up to say that Christmas was a very special holiday for her family.  It wasn’t about a tree, the food, the presents.  Their marking of the holiday was spiritual and about the religious meaning and their being together as a family.

Memories both wonderful and traumatic surface at this time of year.  The time dad was drunk and knocked over the Christmas tree or hit a child, the times both your parents made spectacles of themselves at a party, the inability to get out of a truly dysfunctional home to be with neighbors in their peaceful home.  Memories that can fade when they are replaced with new memories by meaningful sharing with significant others.

We—well, I know I do—seem to travel at a faster pace during the holidays, moving around like the Energizer Bunny.  From Thanksgiving Eve watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade balloons get blown up to the time the ball drops in Time Square on New Year’s Eve, we are surrounded by a marketing assault to buy, buy, buy and special discount prices in ads that seem to be everywhere, music in lobbys and department stores that doesn’t always put you in the holiday mood because it’s not the holiday you celebrate, and the bills that come due for the gifts you charge.

My holiday shopping done when I was in Tuolumne County over Thanksgiving, my joy now is to celebrate the light I find in this season by giving final marks to my wonderful students who moved out of their comfort zones to learn about organizational behavior from me, getting together with friends to exchange thoughtful gifts,  baking of a carrot cake for the staff at my gym, and soaking in the bright lights of the breathtaking decorations all around Manhattan.

However you mark this season of holidays, I wish you a universal message of health, love, and peace.

As a young child, I’d get up on Thanksgiving morning with the smell and look of wonderful food filling my senses.  While Mom was busy cooking a 22 pound turkey, making homemade Parker House rolls (the best I ever tasted), and creating the rest of our traditional meal, I’d watch the Macy’s parade on the TV.  Later, I’d join my sisters in getting the table ready for dinner that could include seven or twelve or more family members and friends.

Mom was born in New York City and left in 1920—before the Macy’s parade started in 1924.  Living in Los Angeles on what could have been a pretty warm day, we watched the thematic floats roll by on the TV screen, marching bands from around the country perform, and large balloons guided by strong ropes and stronger Macy employees float along the parade route of onlookers looking as if they were freezing.

Maybe that’s the reason that a couple of years after I moved into an appartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan just two blocks from where the Macy’s balloons get blown up on Thanksgiving Eve, I was attracted to seeing the characters come to life.

Snoopy in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2008

Specifically, I began inviting friends over to share some food and drink then join me in walking over to see the ballons.  There was something magical about looking at flat pieces of heavy-duty plastic grow into a form that brought memories and a smile of delight to those watching.

The idea for having my ‘annual’ event was also routed in the Christmas Eve party that my sister-in-law Jean had every year.  It was a time to feast but also to join together to sing Christmas Carols and catch up with those that I hadn’t seen for a year.

Maybe it was 1991 when my annual Thanksgiving ritual became a part of my life.  Each year after that, the guest list got bigger and my home fuller with clients, friends, neighbors, and family.  In 2002, I didn’t have a party since I was getting ready to remodel my home; the following year, my sister Alice died a few days before Thanksgiving.  I was sick with exteme grief and loss when a friend called to tell me he had ticket to the reviewing stand of the parade. 

This year, I continue with my holiday ritual, remembering Mom and Jean, and their influence on my own Thanksgiving party, the many people who have shared the gathering with me, and the new generation of Hendersons who are now being educated on the magic of the balloons.

May the holiday be happy and your Thanksgiving meaningful.

On Monday evening, November 9, I attended the Mary Travers memorial service at Riverside Church near the Hudson River at 120th Street in Manhattan.

Mary Travers, the Mary in the Peter, Paul & Mary folksingers, activists, and life enrichers, died in September from complications of  leukemia.  However, her spirit was very much alive when Peter, Paul, and a host of celebrities, politicians, spiritual leaders, and friends spoke about her gifts as a singer but most of all her passion and dedication to helping others.

After a video montage was shown on a large screen above the altar of the gothic church, Peter and Paul took center stage to welcome over 1,200 in the audience who came to pay tribute to the role Mary had played in their own and others’ lives.  As the singers warmed up their guitars, they said how hard it was to sing without Mary’s voice and invited the audience to sing her part while they sang harmony.

The song they chose was quickly recognized and as I joined in singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” I felt chills go through my entire body.  I, like everyone else it seemed, knew every word in every verse from decades of hearing it sung in person or on the radio or through speakers.

The New York Choral Society

I first saw Peter, Paul & Mary in-person when I was a student at the University of California at Berkeley.  And their songs followed me through my career.  Mary with her singing partners had been performing for nearly 50 years at concerts throughout the world, fund-raisers for human rights causes and political candidates running for office, and gatherings on the Mall in Washington to lift their voices to support Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who brought light to areas of growth for America.

President Barack Obama sent a note that Peter read to the audience, former President Bill Clinton appeared in a video, and former presidential candidate and senator George McGovern got up to thank Mary for her role in his career.  Another former presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) also went to the podium and told us how a fund-raiser early in his political career where Peter, Paul & Mary sang was the turning point to staying in a political race and continuing on his path.

To see a full list of speakers and performers, click here.

The evening together lasted four hours, exhausting emotionally and physically since like others in the audience we were up and down to give  standing ovations, sing along, clap, and sway with the music.  Whoopi Goldberg offered moments of laughter when she went to speak and said to the effect, “Forget those serious tunes.  I like ‘Puff the Magic Dragon.’  That’s my favorite song!”  Also, near the end of the program when Peter noted that the potted plants on the altar could be taken by anyone in the audience (Mary would have liked that no cut flowers were used, he said), before Peter finished his speech Whoopi got up from the front row, walked to a ledge below the stage, and picked up a potted plant then returned to her seat as the laughter gently rolled back and up from those who could see what she had done to the back row of the balcony.

Toward the end, Judy Collins sang “Amazing Grace” and triggered my thinking about the role performers play in society and the larger culture.  Mary’s legacy lives on not just by the lives she changed but by her commitment to use her power and influence in causes that promoted justice and harmony.

A leader’s legacy is not built in a day.  It is earned over years of positive contributions to the greater good.  I can’t say that I supported every cause that Mary did.  But I can say that I know the legacy she leaves is one that will inspire me to make the most of the life that I have in using my gifts as an educator and coach to help others reach their full potential.

On Sunday, November 1, over 42,000 registered runners in the New York City Marathon sped, ran, walked, or limped through the streets of the five boroughs. As the premium runners raced their way through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan, the majority of runners ran at a slower pace.

Runners nearing the finish line

As in years past, I like to watch the runners as they near the finish line, specifically those who take four or more hours to finish the 26.2 mile course—a course the leaders had run in just over two hours.

This year, I found a place behind a barricade just past the 26 mile sign in Central Park.  That vantage point gave me the opportunity to slap hands with runners zooming with enthusiasm that they were close to reaching  their goal or dragging with focused determination that they would reach the finish line even if they had to crawl.

Many of those going past had their names on their t-shirts, a way to tell the total crowd of over a million cheerleaders along the route that they wanted a shout out of, “Hi, Amy (or Frances or Tim or…). Keep going. You’re doing great.”

One man was more direct with not just his want for a shout out but a need to be encouraged. On this man’s shirt was a directive, “Yell, Hi, Art!”

Of course, I, as did others around me, did yell, “Hi, Art!”

My working to be a leader lesson from Art:  identify what you need from others then make it clear how they can fill that need for you.

Keneth Chenault, CEO, American Express, was the subject of The Colvin Interview in the C-Suite Strategies series in Fortune Magazine’s October 26, 2009 edition.  Geoff Colvin, senior editor at the magazine, started his profile by writing, “American Express CEO Ken Chenault is one of the few Wall Street chiefs who have come through the financial meltdown and recession looking good.”

Colvin’s article describes how Chenault lead his company through the worst economy since the Great Depression when, in the CEO’s words, ”The reality is that we were on the verge of an absolute disaster and collapse.”

During his first year in the job, Chenault learned and used crisis management skills on and after 9/11 that he could apply to the economic crisis.  Although the article focused on the financial challenges he faced and his outlook for the new economy, it also includes insights from the CEO that other leaders might find of interest.

1.  Leaders should continue to deal with the basic issues of their companies while planning for long- and short-term growth based on future obstacles as well as opportunities.

2.  Chenault feels that “the hardest time to bring about change is in good times.”  In other words, leaders need to be focused and decisive in good times to be ready for the less-than-good times.

3.  Transparency.  The CEO used that word in reference to proposed new financial services regulation and the impact the government’s intentions could have on the economy.

4.  On the topic of executive pay, Chenault said that he believed not in short-term packages to compensate executives but multiyear packages.

5.  After the company and growth opportunities, his third reason for staying at AMEX even though he was considered for a leadership role at another financial services company was “I like the people.” 

I liked what I learned from this article and suggest you might find it of interest yourself.

On Monday, I had a two-hour dental appointment scheduled.  Going to the dentist is not my favorite thing to do and listening to the drill or the scraping of tartar not my favorite past-time.

Maybe that was the reason that I chose to wear an orange plaid shirt, orange pants, and my lime green faux seude jacket to the dentist.  To use colors to brighten my day.  To not be afraid of what others would think of me. 

Sitting down on a bench in a car on the R train at 9:30 a.m., I saw a few people noticing my color combination.  And, as usual, I looked around to see theirs.  In a car when all the seats were taken and many passengers were standing, I saw only one other person who was not wearing a solid black or dark colored jacket or coat.

The other person was a woman wearing a dark blue or black jacket covered with bright colored flowers.  Lovely, I thought.  And looking closer, I saw a few bright colored sweaters, shirts, and other clothing underneath the ’standard’ New York outer garmets.

Wearing black coats or clothes is standard for New Yorkers.  It’s a color that wears well (dirt and stains aren’t as obvious) and goes with almost anything.  Also, it’s the choice for the severe look popular in fashion, design, and other fields.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I remember that my mother didn’t want any of her four girls to wear black.  Since I was a size 18 when I just 12, I would go with my mom to Lane Bryant or the large size women’s section of department stores to try to find clothes that fit.  About 98% of those clothes were black.

 My older sister Alice made many of my clothes on a then old pedal powered Singer sewing machine.  Ten years older than me, she chose to work her magic with bright colored cloth, never black.  There was one exception.  One year I was a witch for Halloween and my sister Alice designed and created a fantastic costume for me complete with a homemade hat.  That costume won a prize at a competition held at our local park.  Alice created many costumes for me and another sister; we always won ribbons at local events.

A few years ago at the urging of a close friend, I went to a color consultant and was told that I should never wear black.  He said that my color was a ”bright spring” and that I could wear shades of brown but not black.  Going through my closet, I purged a lot of the dark clothes that I thought would slim me and help me fit in.  I kept one black 2-piece top and skirt for evening or special occasions.  One occasion was Alice’s funeral in 2003, when, over my mourning clothes, I wore a yellow jacket.

Writing this a few days after what turned out to be a pretty painless trip to the dentist, I realize that the colors on the subway car on Monday struck a memory chord.  The memories of the many homemade prize-winning Halloween costumes Alice created.  Memories of the choices my mother and sister made for me as a child.  Memories of the encouragement to not be like all the other girls but to be fearless about standing out by wearing a bright color combination, a combination I’ll wear as a leader in professinal groups, educator in front of audiences, coach who sits across a desk from her clients, passenger on a subway car.

Happy Halloween!  Hope your day is a bright one.  Now, I have to go and decide what I want to wear today.

Truth:  I resisted getting into social media for a long time.  Why?  I like in-person or telephone conversations so I can see and/hear the person.  And I don’t consider e-mail social media, although you can carry on long conversations that way.  Note:  I don’t text or IM.

This year, I’ve moved on to see the power of the connections social media facilitates through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and lots of other platforms.  Oh, I still see vultures out there mining my information and am aware of the addictive qualities.  But I had a moment during which I saw the power of social media.

In August, I co-led a presentation on “Social Media:  What’s the Return on Investment?” for the New York Providers Liaison Association (NYPLA), an organization of professionals who work at substance abuse and addiction rehabilitation centers.

When I displayed my LinkedIn profile on the screen, I went to the Recommendations section.  There was a recommendation from La Wanda Stewart, a student at the Zicklin School of Business who was in my “Employee Development and Training” class last spring.

“I know that person,” announced a member of the audience.  “She’s wonderful.  La Wanda worked for me at an earlier job.”

My co-presenter started to tear up.  She was deeply moved by the co-incidence but also the power of the tool that had facilitated this event.

In that moment, I, too, felt the power of social media. 

However, I, too, am one to raise caution about the addictive qualities of social media and to endorse the need to stay in touch by seeing people face-to-face.