Your Own Board
Margaret M. Ballard, AICP, WTS-DC
Each of us is an amalgamation of all our past experiences. This year of COVID restrictions, social changes, and presidential politics has brought about upside-down lives and remarkable conversations. Let me suggest the need for more conversations.
As professionals, we all know the drill of work and the hierarchy within organizations. Sometimes we can get stuck in a routine. Sometimes we don’t know it, or see a way out. Perhaps it would be useful to call up others as a sounding board. Perhaps it would be useful to ask others their opinion before embarking on a course of action.
On a formal basis, WTS-DC has long provided mentoring programs, offering a great opportunity for pairing relative career rookies with more seasoned transportation professionals. On an informal basis, the chapter offers great personal networking amongst individuals in a variety of modes, fields, governments, and sectors. Our members are fabulous resources.
A common theme among all the WTS-DC coffee chat speaker series events this year, and in years past, is the importance of networking. The speakers specifically encourage women to reach out to others throughout their career. Networking is important even if only to gain different perspectives, which in turn offer strength in leadership. Recently, a speaker from a webinar from one of my alma maters further crystalized the concept. His suggestion: Create your own "board of directors."[i] How powerful is that? Develop a list of people who can give you candid advice. Some may delve into the weeds, some may look to the big picture, some may be touchy-feely, some may be cut and dry. Sure, it takes a little time to cultivate some relationships; others (say a favorite aunt or uncle) are already in your camp. Reach out. Perhaps develop a few questions to ask to steer the conversations. It also doesn’t take much effort to stay in touch, whether there is a dilemma to discuss or not.
A friend recently said the hardest thing about reaching out to her potential mentors (cum nascent Board) was getting over a slight sense of embarrassment. She said she resisted making those initial contacts, worried she might be regarded as uncertain about her field, or worse, appear unconfident. Fast forward a few weeks, and those contacts have propelled her to sift through her priorities and embark on exciting new avenues.
In other words, it is all in your hands to get ‘your Board’ to help you see yourself through many different lenses. Through them, you can then take on the responsibility of modeling yourself the way you want. A related pearl of recent webinar wisdom: “You are responsible for who you are and who you become.”[ii] That speaker is a German scholar who grew up in an orphanage and with foster/adoptive parents. At age 38, she discovered she’s the granddaughter of a Nazi concentration camp Kommandant. Her words convey that your parents and ancestors do not dictate your future; the words apply to your career path choices, also.
Sometimes we all simply need a re-charge. Perhaps chatting with a chapter member or two would help you re-think or re-focus on a problem, which just might be one they also are having. Taken a step further, what does “your” Board of Directors look like? As a chapter member, none of us are alone!
[i] Tony Wells, Chief Brand Officer, USAA, for JHU Carey Business School Zoom Speaker Series, November 6, 2020.
[ii] Jennifer Teege, author of “My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me,” for Birmingham Holocaust Education Center Zoom event, November 9, 2020.