For Women: How to Succeed with Business and Family

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a book-signing event sponsored by Georgetown Career Services and the Georetown Women in Business Club of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown. The speaker was Christine Brown-Quinn, who has authored a new book, Step Aside Super Woman.

Christine gave a wonderful talk about her experiences in banking while being happily married and raising three children, and specifically about the challenges she faced. This is an all-important subject, for sure.

The title of the book intends to make the point that a woman who has a family and a business career does not have to be perfect; she does not have to do it all. This is actually a good message for all women, regardless of having a family. There is no need to feel guilty about having a career outside the home. What is important is to be a great teammate. Just as it is a goal in business to be a great teammate for men and women, the same holds with supporting spouses and children.

Balance is required: a balance between work, family, fitness and spiritual lives. The balance will naturally change because of circumstances, such as an important project at work or an illness of a family member. The key to change is to stay in touch with the balance we’d like and readjust back when we can.

Actually, Christine said a secret to her success in business and as a wife and mom is her ability to focus. And focus she must! The demands of work and family made her concentrate, be diligent at the bank, try to get all her work done between 8am and 6pm, say, rather than needing even longer hours to complete her tasks. She definitely feels her ability to focused enabled her to become a managing director, having earned the title by contributing to the bank’s success by working long hours certainly, but not ridiculously long hours, and not giving up her family life.

Christine mentioned demanding work schedules, which most are in today’s world of down-sized organizations and heavy workloads, requires assuring that when one is home, it must be quality time. And it definitely can be just that. She said when her children were young, it was often time spent as a group, she, her husband and their children together. As her children became teenagers, it was more one on one time with each daughter and son, so that they had a good chance to talk. Often the conversations took place when out for a long run, or during a drive to the health club, or maybe over a meal. And family vacations are sacred!

In her book, Christine also mentions the skills that she feels enabled her to succeed – an unwavering commitment to succeed in both lives, her awareness of her sense of values, good communication, conflict management, and integrity. She really was guided by the mantra, “I am going to make this work!” And she did. It is critically important to do what we say we’re going to do, or we lose credibility. And, of course, setting and repeating our goals is always important!

Regarding success in business, Christine references a quote by Calvin Coolidge’ “Nothing in the world takes the place of persistence – talent will not.” Believe me, there is a lot of truth to that. Being smart is a given, as there are lots of smart people in every organization. But it’s persistence and determination that can make the difference, and our “soft” skills, e.g., being a great teammate, being likable, caring for others, remembering names and other qualities. I will be writing more about our “soft” skills in a future post.

A great question was asked and a great answer given. “What one piece of advice would you offer to those of us interested in success in business and in our family life? Christine thought and then responded, “Pick the right guy!” So true, we need the right spouse or partner.

Looking back on her demanding business career, Christine said a regret is that she wished she could have been more helpful to her colleagues, maybe as a mentor, as she worked her way up the corporate ladder. Another piece of advice Christine offered is that if we think there is a miscommunication, don’t leave it to chance, make sure there is an understanding. Finally, Christine talked about statistics, and they are staggering. In her specific field, 7% of managing directors are women and only 3% are moms.

Her calls to action:

• Be a trail blazer!
• Help another woman, every day!

I feel very fortunate that I was able to attend, to hear Christine, learn about Step Aside Super Woman, and to experience the interest and questions of the women in business and MBA students in attendance. It was an inspiring event for me.