The Great “Exhale of Relief”.
Hi There,
If you haven’t heard the big news, DRIVEN Professionals has officially crossed the 10-year mark! And as one of my first acts of Reflection (My 2023 Word of the Year), I began thinking back to the lead-up to our epic May 2013 launch event in NYC.
A different event then came to mind— one that took place when DRIVEN (then called Women’s Advancement Compact) was just a seedling of an idea. The BIG takeaway from that gathering is still applicable today and worthy of considering.
Let me set the scene: It was Autumn of 2012, and Anne Marie Slaughter’s life-changing article Can Women Really Have It All? had just been published. It was also 6 months before Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In emerged.
As part of an ongoing discovery project, I had invited a dozen women, from different industries and at different stages in their careers, to my NYC home/office. During such meetings, safe space was created to discuss their real-time workplace struggles, challenges and aspirations.
As these facilitated discussions evolved, we tracked a few themes that surprised no one, even now. Challenges navigating office politics, frustrations with managing up, and struggles with being nice vs being respected remain coaching topics to this day.
But one constancy truly surprised me. Each woman entered the room believing her challenges were unique to her. And yet, we all shared in these challenges to some degree. At the time, this created a sense of bonding, unity and relief that “We’re not crazy.”
I hadn’t realized until this week that the group epiphany of feeling alone has informed a powerful aspect of my coaching. As clients share their unspoken fears, challenges and aspirations, I often reflect back on how they are not alone in their struggles. Their “exhale of relief” has the same impact today as it did during those nights, more than a decade ago.
So, in a time when loneliness has become an epidemic and businesses are still massaging their hybrid work strategies, consider the opportunity to better connect with career and network colleagues. While this year is still young, commit to initiating a coffee date with someone you aspire to be like. Get curious and invite conversation. Ask about their proudest moments of 2022. Inquire about their challenges and career aspirations.
Then, get ready to feel connection, validation and inspiration!
Cheers!
-Deborah
Deborah Goldstein
DRIVEN Professionals / Forbes / Linkedin
info@drivenpros.com | LinkedIn
DRIVEN Professionals, 35 Adrienne Lane, Garrison, NY 10524