Q: What was your first professional job?
A: My first professional job was at Biddle & Associates, a consulting firm in Sacramento, California. I worked full-time at Biddle while also finishing up my graduate work. Working full-time and going to school full-time was not always easy, but it taught me a lot about the importance of time management and organization – two things that have served me well throughout my career.
Q: How do you currently define success in your career?
A: I feel most successful when I am working at a job that challenges me and provides me opportunities to learn, grow and advance. Material success is not a primary motivation for me (though supporting my family is certainly important). I cannot feel successful if the job that I am doing doesn’t impact society in a positive way.
Q: What's one of your most tried-and-true secrets for maintaining or re-gaining your sanity?
A: I am very fortunate to have a spouse that is extremely supportive of my career and who helps ground me in the important aspects of our lives. Good work is fantastic, but it’s not enough. Good love, good music, and good food are the things that we enjoy as a family. We come home, put on some good music, gather in the kitchen (three kids, two dogs, and us), and make our meals together almost every night. My husband and I also take time together to go out on dates and listen to live music and eat some good food WITHOUT the kids (that definitely helps with the sanity).
Q: What's one piece of career advice that was given to you when you were an emerging leader that you'd like to pass along to other emerging women leaders?
A: One of the most influential female mentors that I have ever had gave me some advice that has always stuck with me: If you cannot keep your mouth shut, you are not long for the business world. As you advance up the corporate ladder you often become privy to information that has to be kept private (e.g., upcoming layoffs, mergers and acquisitions, changes in structure, promotions, demotions, etc.). Often, private information has substantial impact on those people that you work with on a day-to-day basis and it can be difficult to deal with the knowledge that you wish you could share. However, your boss and your senior management team have to have the confidence that you will treat confidential information as confidential EVERY TIME. If they cannot trust you, they cannot include you as a key member of the team.
Q: What would your totally decadent day-off look like? (Think fairy-tale)
A: My fairy tale day off would start with myself and my family waking up at a luxury hotel. After sleeping in and being served a decadent (but somehow calorie-free) breakfast in bed, my family would be chauffeured backstage to the Crossroads Guitar Festival in which we would watch the show and receive signed guitars from Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, Derek Truck, and John Mayer. At the conclusion of the show we would take a private jet back to our home in Minnesota (while watching a good movie and being served a gourmet meal on board, of course). Ahhhhh, one can dream.
