Note from Susan and Lynn

Happy New Year!

With the new year comes the opportunity for new beginnings. New beginnings imply that something else has ended. We bring you news of both beginnings and endings in this newsletter.

During the past two plus years we have worked together with many wonderful women and seen tremendous progress and results in your careers. We have had a great time working together. Beginning in 2015, Lynn will focus on her executive coaching business with individuals. She is an excellent coach (this is Susan speaking!) and loves her coaching work. We have always taught that in making career choices, go with what most energizes you. When there are tradeoffs of time and resources, choose the one that most aligns with your Energy Gems. With Lynn’s thriving coaching business and the evolution of Women Leading Together, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for both. Thus we are ending our partnership. Lynn can be reached at Lynn@TheConsciousLeader.com.

Susan will carry on the business of Women Leading Together, which is a new beginning. Watch this space for programs and resources that will support you in creating a fulfilling career. Susan can be reached at Susan@WomenLeadingTogether.com.

This month’s article is about “Ending Well”. As we end our partnership, we remain friends and encouragers of each other and all women. When you find yourself in a career transition, it’s important not only to look ahead, but to “end well”.

All the best for a fulfilling and prosperous 2015!

Warm Regards,

Lynn and Susan

Feature Article

Ending Well

It’s a new year and most of you are looking ahead, setting goals for your job and thinking about what you’d like to do in the coming year. It’s natural to look ahead when there is a transition or milestone. Most commencement addresses talk about the future. Trinity University Professor David Crockett took a different tact in his Winter 2014 commencement address. He talked about the importance of “ending well”. If all our actions are carried out with the objective of “ending well”, life will be more purposeful and fulfilling.

The principle of “ending well” applies to changes in your career as well. Before one can move forward, you must acknowledge, appreciate and release the past. Organizational change theory recognizes this. Major change cannot be made until the past has been honored and released. When making a career change, especially if you are moving away from an undesirable situation, you will need to acknowledge, appreciate and release what has come before.

A mid-level business woman we know was “stuck” in her career. We’ll call her Emily (not her real name). Five years before we met Emily, she had been part of a mass layoff in her company. She found another job in another company, but missed her work, the culture and her colleagues from the previous company. A couple of years after the layoff, Emily was invited to come back to work for her original company. Since then, she had been “stuck” in the same job. She received good performance reviews and was highly regarded. She just couldn’t find her way forward to the next opportunity. Whenever Emily met someone new in the company, the first thing she would talk about was the layoff. She wasn’t angry about it, but she felt a sense of guilt. She felt that she had a label on her from having been laid off. She was running a story in her head that said “I’m not as good because I’ve been laid off.”

The reality was that no one knew or cared about the previous layoff. Emily was the one carrying the burden and in so doing, she was causing others to doubt her as she doubted herself. The first thing we coached Emily on was how to eliminate the conversation that minimized her abilities and her worth. She then worked to understand what she had learned from the layoff experience. Only then could she put it out of her mind and allow herself to focus on the opportunities in the present and ahead.

When you’re making a career transition, pleasant or otherwise, do these three things to allow you to move fully into your new future:

Acknowledge the Past: If it’s an unpleasant experience, don’t stuff it. Journal about it, talk to a trusted advisor or find some other way of clearing your emotions about the situation. Don’t overwork it either. Not everyone has to know if you’re coming off a rough experience. If you had a wonderful experience, be gracious as you talk about it, but avoid comparing to the present.

Appreciate the Experience: The best lessons are often learned from the toughest experiences. Consider how it has benefited you and contributed to the person you have become. Even if you’re moving from one good experience to another, take a minute to reflect on what you learned and what you are taking with you into the next chapter of your life and career.

Release and Move On: At some point, you just have to stop referring to the “old”. No one is going to listen for long about how successful you were or how difficult the former job was. You’ll wear them out.

Take a few moments to reflect on what you learned in 2014. Then move fully into the New Year!

About Susan and Lynn

Susan Hodge and Lynn Rousseau created Women Leading Together in order to provide seminars, workshops, and coaching circles to help career women move forward to create fulfilling careers. Visit our website at www.WomenLeadingTogether.com.

Copyright © 2014 Women Leading Together, LLC

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