Extraordinary Female Business Leaders Share their Advice & Expertise with Aspiring Future Leaders  

Educating, mentoring and inspiring young women is the most powerful and effective investment successful business leaders can make. Helping to shape young women’s lives – and to give them the commercial savvy they will need to create successful businesses — yields economic and social benefits for millions of people worldwide for many generations.

For most, it’s not a monetary investment that makes the biggest difference — it’s time, whose value is priceless. Unfortunately, for those who have reached the top of their careers, running large corporations, balancing their own personal and professional lives, and inspiring their own children, free time is (understandably) often the hardest thing to find. So it makes sense for women in business, recognizing this conundrum, to band together and form a solution.

Enter C200 (The Committee of 200), a women’s organization made up of some of the world’s most successful corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, dedicated to building a pipeline of future female leaders. “Success Shared” is the motto of this Chicago-based organization that places a huge emphasis on a “give-back” mentality, and its invitation-only membership of four hundred females — from companies ranging from AT&T and Estée Lauder to Jazzercise and TheStreet.com — ensures that the advice they dispense is absolutely top-quality.

C200 has several programs to put their “success shared” ideals into action: it administers scholarship funds to young women ($1.5 million so far), and provides an international spin on the idea of mentorship by overseeing a Reachout program – both in the U.S. and far-flung locales like Kuwait — that links up college and MBA students with their members for career advice. C200 representatives appear in-person at these events to present their ideas and mingle with future female leaders; C200 also sponsors an intense, for-serious-candidates-only Protégé Program aimed at female entrepreneurs who bring in annual revenues of $5 to $15 million to help get them to the $20 million qualification level for C200 membership consideration.

Sharing Success and Building a Pipeline of Future Leaders

One of C200’s recent Reachout events was in Austin, TX, at the headquarters of Intel, whose president, Renée James, is a C200 member. The afternoon spotlighted over eighty students from the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, TX. This was a particularly appropriate mix: Ann Richards, the famous 45^th governor of Texas (1991-1995) with a larger-than-life personality, was known for her dedication to empowering young women.

She once stated, after years of public service in the state government, “Teaching was the hardest work I had ever done, and it remains the hardest work I have done to date.” So, in 2004, two years before her passing, she founded a public, college preparatory school for young women with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) education. The school combines a high-level academic focus with the individualistic aura for which Austin is famous.

Following are some nuggets of wisdom, business savvy, and been-there-done-that advice from astute female business leaders, including those from the Food Network, HGTV, Citrix, and T3, who attended the March 27 event.

10 Lessons and Key Takeaways from Women Who Know: 

Dream Big – and Pick Yourself Up When Things Go Awry

• • • Don’t be Afraid to Fail. Here’s what Lynne Marie Finn, President and CEO, Superior Workforce Solutions, Inc. told the young ladies about the concept of failure, which can be one of the life experiences that younger people fear most: “Don’t be afraid to fail. And that doesn’t mean to go into something where you haven’t thought it through, or done the necessary preparation for it. In fact, if you haven’t done the necessary preparation for it, you’re probably going to fail! But if you’ve thought it through, and have a plan, and there’s still the risk that you might fail –because, logically, you might still fail — don’t be afraid of that. All of us here have failed along our careers and our lives, and you often learn more from failure than you do when everything goes smoothly for you; it makes you grow and it makes you better at what you do.  So just don’t be afraid to fail, because you’ll learn a lot from that.”
    • Just Work Through It, and Keep Going.  Laura Grondin, CEO and President of Virginia Industries, Inc. spoke about the virtues of resilience: “You’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to make disappointments and you’re going to have to deal with scary things.  The most important thing in the long run is to just work through it. Keep going.”

What to Learn from Life’s Meandering Route

• • • It’s Okay if You Don’t Know. After all, by trial and error, you might end up finding your passion. This is essentially what Larraine Segil, the CEO of Little Farm Company, explained via the  following observation: “You will likely change careers 7-10 times in your life. If you choose something and don’t like it, change. It’s not forever. So, don’t get anxious or nervous about what you’re “going to be when you grow up,” because if you don’t know yet, you will find out.  And then there’s  always the opportunity to be something different, anyway!” Judy Girard, President Emeritus of Food Network and HGTV, echoed a similar sentiment: “Whatever you enjoy doing and whatever makes you feel alive, that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s the direction you’re supposed to go.”
    • Everything Counts. Nothing is Wasted.  Susan Aselage, President, The Seabury Company, noted that you can pick up invaluable savvy along the way, even when your professional goals seem to be temporarily off-track: “So you may think you know where you’re going —  and then you may not like it and switch, but that doesn’t mean that that experience was wasted. It will all come back to you at some point. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, once observed, ‘Careers are jungle gyms, not ladders.’ It’s not like you see where you’re going, and you’re just going to get there; instead, it’s going to wind around. So enjoy the experience, and run for it.”  

Just Go For It

• • • Don’t Settle for the Status Quo. Roz Alford, Founder and Co-Principal, ASAP Staffing, LLC waxed lyrical about a reach-for-the-stars approach in business: “Don’t just be content. Challenge yourselves, and create your next opportunity. People get stuck or bogged-down because they’re either afraid to move to something else, or they don’t know what else is out there. So, challenge yourself, and don’t be content. You can do it.”
    • Take Risks. Kim Hibler, Global Vice President of Sales, Citrix spoke about having a fearless perspective: “When people ask me what I could have done differently, I say: I wish I had taken more risks. So, with this in mind, I ask you to think of baseball….it’s pretty hard to get on-base; sometimes you have to steal; and you never know if you’re going to make it if you don’t take your foot off the bag and try to make a run for the next one! The point is that you can always go back, you can always touch back on the base. So wear your seat belts, and wear your sunscreen — but take lots of risks.” 

Never Ignore the Power of Networking

• • • Use the Power of Your Network. Kris Manos, Partner, Sanderson Berry, spoke frankly about the thing that someone no longer just starting out finally realizes: “Don’t be afraid to use the power of the network and your connections to help yourself. I’ve seen a lot of people who have connections that can help them get a job, but somehow think using those connections means they’re not doing it themselves.  But the reality is that you still have to do it yourself; all you’re doing is using a connection to open the door, but you still have to prove yourself. It’s much easier if you use the power of the network.”
    • Always be Willing to Help Others. Mary McLean Evans, Managing Director of C200 noted that “Asking for help from your network and taking advantage of your connections is vital for success — but the flip side is when someone in your network asks something from you, a favor or assistance, start with the answer “YES” and begin with a platform of giving back. You should always be willing to help others, just as you’re asking for their help too. It’s an incredibly powerful thing.”

Just Really Good Life Advice

• • • If You’re Not Early, You’re Late. Evans also offered blunt wisdom about a sometimes overlooked aspect of business etiquette that can pay off big-time: “Be prompt. In fact, be early. A very good friend of mine once told me ‘if you’re not early, you’re late.’ So when you have to be at an interview, when you have to be at school, when you have to be at work, get there with enough time to collect your thoughts — and always allow yourself a little extra time.”
    • Be Curious and Ask Really Good Questions. Janet Muhleman, President of  re:group, inc., spoke about the never-goes-out-of-style quality of being a good listener: “I encourage all of you to be really curious, and ask really good questions. When you meet someone new, really look deep into that person, because you never know who could change your life. Ask them questions, who are they, and see how they can possibly influence your life at a later date.”
    • Choose Your Life Partner Wisely. Kris Manos and Gay Gaddis both spoke on this very personal and extremely important advice, of which Manos advises: “Whatever partner you choose as your life partner, choose wisely. Because it makes the biggest difference. It influences where you go and how supportive that person is of your aspirations. It is really important.”

“I have very strong feelings about how you lead your life. You always look ahead, you never look back.” – Ann Richards

Feature Photo: Gay Gaddis (left) and Kim Hibler (right) share their advice with a table of students from Ann Richards School