Choosing to Shine Amidst a Crisis at Work

I was SO lucky to get this job straight out of college. It's at an amazing and world-renowned zoo (and non-profit), the staff are fun to work with, and the perks of the job (feeding elephants?!) are unlike any other. Once I finally got my feet planted any established myself amongst my peers, I started working on 2 major projects: a brand-spanking-new discounted student membership program and a total re-design of the corporate membership program. However, all of this was put on hold before I could really nail down the details.

I've been doing customer service for months and it's been difficult, to say the least. I'm not cut out for customer service. I do not have patience for answering the same questions over and over and over again. I don't like it that I have to return 40+ voicemails and emails a day from angry members. Long story short, it's tried my patience. Since I don't have time to do my actual job at work, I've been logging work hours on the weekends. I usually bus it up to Ladro on Upper Queen Anne and work on the student membership or corporate membership program, in the hopes that they will both be ready for launching in a few months.

Have you ever been in a situation where you've had an expectation for your job and because of some twist of fate (or a broken down database) you've ended up having to do something completely different? How long do you stick it out before you start looking for something else?

I was getting especially frustrated and confused, so I e-mailed my good friend and mentor Margo Myers to see if she would come meet me for coffee and advice. She graciously agreed and joined me at work for a much-needed chat. She gave me some great advice about the things that I can do to build up my resume while I'm waiting for this crisis to blow over, so that I'll be ready if a better position opens up. She made me realize that even though I don't like where I'm at in this moment, it's not the right time to change jobs and that I can make the best of the situation by making myself shine.

For now, I'm choosing to shine. I'm treating every member's question like it's the first time I've heard it. I'm making it a personal challenge to clear the voicemail mailbox by the end of each day, and I reward myself when I do. I devote a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday to working on my student membership program and corporate membership re-design. Oh, and I do all the other "regular duties" like overseeing all our acquisition/lapsed/renewal mailings. Not to mention volunteering for other Devo (Development) events so that everyone knows how dedicated I am to our team. (Plus, the goal is to move over to the Wild at Heart team and work with the major donors. Volunteering for their events is a great way to start networking with them now!)

I'll conclude with one of my very favorite quotes.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson

2010's Top Movers and Shakers

Here is my list of 2010's top movers and shakers! (Or 2010's coolest people.)

1. Michelle Millman

I have volunteered with the Puget Sound affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for many years. A year ago, they came to Seattle University, where I was a senior, to have a booth at the breast cancer awareness women's basketball game. That's where I was introduced to Michelle Millman.

Michelle's day job is being an anchor and reporter for KIRO 7 Eyewitness News here in Seattle. By night, she puts on her sparkly pink cape and fights breast cancer. From the first time we met, I knew that she was a fighter.

I have heard many stories of women battling this disease, but I found Michelle's particularly interesting, as it was her job to be on television in front of millions of people. (Yup, you have MILLIONS of fans, Michelle!) I have had the honor of watching Michelle (both on television, over twitter, and the occasional in-person chat) as she has rocked radiation, conquered chemo, and mastered a double mastectomy!

She's been back on television for a while now, rocking the cutest short hair I've ever seen!

2. Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker

Nancy Goodman Brinker is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. An excerpt from her biography on the Komen website:

In 2010, Brinker released her New York Times best-selling memoir Promise Me, an inspirational story of her transformation from bereaved sister to the undisputed leader of the ongoing international movement to end brease cancer. She was named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2008. From 2001-2003, she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary and most recently served as U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007-2009 where she was responsible for overseeing all protocol matters for visiting heads of state and presidential travel abroad. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed her to The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.

She has received numerous accolades for her work, including the prestigious Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Trumpet Foundation’s President’s Award, the Independent Women’s Forum Barbara K. Olson Woman of Valor Award, the Champions of Excellence Award presented by the Centers for Disease Control, the Porter Prize presented by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, the Forbes Trailblazer Award, Ladies Home Journal's 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century andBiography Magazine's 25 Most Powerful Women in America.

As a soon-to-be 7-time participant in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure event, Ambassador Brinker is a true inspiration to me. I am very involved with the Puget Sound affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and I am very blessed to have had the staff there give me a copy of Ambassador Brinker's book, Promise Me. She even personalized it and signed it for me!

To be continued...

The First GoGirl: Jenni Hogan

**The GoGirl Academy was co-founded by two amazing women: Suzanne Keel-Eckmann and Jenni Hogan. Since Jenni is my GoGirl coach, I've gotten to know just how amazing she is! This blog post is all about Jenni! (Or J, as I so affectionately call her.)**

Jenni was born in Adelaide, Australia. (Or "Austr-aya" as you might here J pronounce it.) She has a pretty thick Australian accent, which only grows stronger when her mum comes to visit!

Jenni wandered over to the United States as a member of the Australian National rowing team to race in the Windermere Cup. This trip changed her life, as she was offered a rowing scholarship at the University of Washington. Two years later, she started school and joined the Husky crew team. During her 4 years on the team, they won two national championships, with her final race being one of them. She was captain of the crew team that won the biggest race of her life! Not too shabby for a husky. ;)

Can you spot Jenni?

National champs!

Jenni graduated from the University of Washington in 2002 with a double degree in Communications and Economics. After working in smaller markets in places such as Idaho, Jenni made her way back "home" to Seattle and worked her way to the morning traffic anchor desk at KIRO TV. A self proclaimed traffoxy (a traffic anchor that is female and has an Aussie accent), Jenni brings Seattle the most entertaining traffic reports "every 10 minutes!" on the morning news, starting at 4:30am.

Fellow KIRO morning anchor Sam and Jenni. Something you may not guess about J? She's 6 feet tall!

The biggest thing that sets Jenni apart from the rest is her dedication to her BTFs (Best Twitter Friends). Jenni has over 17,600 followers on twitter, and makes a conscious effort to give everyone a shout-out every now and then! Twitter is actually where J and I had our first "conversation":

It was a dark and cold night. I lay awake in my bed, unable to sleep. I turn and look at the clock: 4:30am. I groan and pull the covers over my head. Frustrated, I hopped out of bed and went out to the living room and turned on the television. I flipped through various infomercials and evangelical church services before settling on the KIRO 7 morning news. I watched as Julie Francavilla and Chris Egert talked about the latest headlines, before deferring to Jenni Hogan for an update on local traffic conditions. And there she was, Jenni Hogan in all her glory. She said something about Twitter, and I immediately grabbed my computer and started following her. I sent her a tweet; something to the effect of "it's so early and I can't sleep, so I'm watching KIRO!" To my surprise, she almost immediately tweeted back a friendly "Good morning!" and said that she would point to me during her next on-camera time. Once it was time for a traffic report (every 10 minutes on KIRO 7!), Jenni pointed out the spots to avoid and then pointed at the camera and flashed a big smile.

Another GoGirl trait: J started Fashion Fridays when she had an outfit she wasn't too sure about and decided to ask her Facebook friends what they thought about it. After she found out that she was pregnant with her first baby, Fashion Friday evolved into watching Jenni as the baby bump grew and grew. Check out Lil Pookette's Fashion Friday evolution:

Josh and Jenni Hogan. Could they be any cuter?

On May 20th, 2010 at 4:48pm, Siena Hogan made her world debut:

Siena only a few hours old!

Siena at 8 weeks. I dare you to find a cuter baby.

A day in the life of Siena Hogan

All in all, Jenni is one amazing woman. I can only hope to be as confident, talented, and successful as she is a few years from now! It's truly an honor to be able to learn from J, and I'm so excited to see where this friendship/mentorship/cheerleadership goes!

Honorary GoGirl: Ivanka Trump (Part 2)

I wanted to share some more insights that I gleaned from the rest of Ivanka Trump's book, The Trump Card.

For a lot of us, there's a weird stretch of time between college and career when our head is focused in one area and our feet are planted firmly in another, with our heart torn right down the middle. (p. 102)

...when you bring your heart and soul to a job, you can't lose...(p. 107)

A word of advice: your interview is about you. It's not about the school you went to, what you majored in, what your GPA was, or who your parents happen to be or know. Most of that stuff is right on your resume, and it might even have gotten you into the room, but it won't get you much farther. Once you land an interview, you must light it up with your knowledge, confidence, and enthusiasm. With you. (p. 108)

Don't go rushing after your career, because you might look up one day and realize you've been going through the motions on a misplaced passion. Your post-college yearrs should be an exploratory time in your professional life. From your early twenties and on into your early thirties, you should feel free to explore your professional prospects. Keep an open mind, and don't expect to get everything right straight out of the gate. Be prepared to start over once or twice. Learn to find excitement in the new opportunities that present themselves instead of bemoaning the things that didn't quite work out for you on your previous course. (p. 119)

The easiest, most cost-effective way to keep abreast of the trends and developments shaping your world is to read as many newspapers and magazines as you can. I mean really read the newspaper. In depth. (p. 131)

The lesson: be willing to slog through all the stuff at the bottom, at the first opportunity, if you want to make it to the top. (p. 136)

Showing up is half the battle. Showing up early, staying late, or working weekends can make up a big chunk of the other half. (p. 144)

There are roadblocks to our success at every turn, and it's up to each of us to find the resiliency and strength of character to get past them. (p. 197)

Timing is everything. Now, when you're just starting out, is the time to build a strong foundation. Be patient, and keep your eyes open for new opportunities. (p. 198)

We're free to pick and choose a path that works, to turn away from what doesn't, and to borrow liberally from mentors and role models who are kind enough to offer direction along the way. (p. 203)