Over the years, executives, entrepreneurs, and students have talked about the lasting value from Mary’s mentoring related to career strategy and approaches to building businesses.
Mary offers bespoke programs for individuals, corporations, partnerships, professional associations, educational institutions and not-for-profits that are tailored to the client’s goals and priorities. They take the form of:
- Confidential mentoring for individuals – individually or as part of an employer program
- Small-group interactive sessions on career strategy to provide peer-to-peer learning and/or to set the stage for individual mentoring; these can be part of single or multi-employer programs or programs convened by professional organizations or educational institutions
- Talks and webinars to groups of any size offering principles that have contributed to Mary’s success, inspiring stories and tips for putting strategy into action
Highly requested topics include:
YOUR CAREER IS YOUR STARTUP
Today’s world presents increasing levels of rapid change, paradigm shifts, uncertainty, and complexity as we navigate professional, family, and life priorities.
Transitions, pivots, and re-invention are the new normal.
A strategic approach to your career can help you:
Enhance your value over time
Choose a style to operate most effectively in a complex environment
Make every job count
Build a growing base of support over the long term
Overcome barriers to advancement
Branch out to do something new
Deal with the unforeseen in your business and your personal life
Incorporate how you want to be remembered
Wherever you are in your career, you will take away some refreshing ideas about charting your path, being alert to obstacles and their root causes and to possibilities you can create.
It’s never too late to take a strategic approach to your career!
BEING A GOOD BOSS
Every so often I get a call out of the blue.
You may not remember me. I’m XX. I worked for you at YY Bank. Of the 19 bosses I had at the Bank, you were the best. Now I’m CEO of ZZ Financial Services, and I feel you really helped me get there.”
Or “My boss told me that my best next step is to work for you - that I’d learn more from you than anyone.”
I love those moments! That’s how I like to be remembered.
How do you want to be remembered - in the short and longer term?
How can you use your distinctive talents to help your colleagues develop their best?
How do you provide feedback that is both frank in assessing performance and helpful to your colleagues’ career trajectories?
How to combine substantive conversation with active listening on both sides?
Explore what kind of leader you want to be.
Talk through situations where feel you could have done better, or that you will likely face in a new position.
There is nothing more important than developing talented people and providing opportunities for fulfilling careers in your organization.
WHAT IS SUCCESS?
My father was an entrepreneur, a visionary, passionate about his work and his family. He built a life in his fifth language and helped start an industry.
When I asked him “what is success”, his answer still resonates across the years: “Success is when your time is scarcer than your money – and you can look back at your life and be proud of what you did.”
High-performing people tend to achieve their goals, so the crucial question is “what are you solving for?” For example:
How much money do you need at various stages? How much is “enough”?
What if the most exciting opportunity requires working with people whose values or style is incompatible with yours?
What if a loved one needs you to take on a responsibility that could hurt your career?
How do you know when to let go of one stage of your life and move to the next?
Our life - who we are – is the sum of our choices.
Talking this through with an objective advisor can help you reach clarity, make good choices, and focus your energy on what matters most.
