Life Lesson 8 –Mentoring

You can probably look back at defining moments in your life, moments that made you who you are, and associate them with a person. I have always valued the importance of being mentored. My first and most important mentors were my parents and grandparents of course. They gave me confidence, faith, a sense of being safe and strength. Beyond my family though I can distinctly remember people in my life who made me who I am today, some did not even realize at the time that they were shaping a young mind and giving me tools I would use as a friend, a business women, a wife and a mother. It is amazing how I still have things that they have told me pop into my head at certain moments and how I truly take that unsolicited advice to heart. A few that have shaped who I am today:

My first boss (at my first after college job) gave me a lot of the strength that I have today in business. He saw potential in me and took the time not only teach me the business but he also explain the oh so important reasons behind the decisions we made. This is important because anyone can teach someone the fundamentals of Marketing but a truly good boss and mentor will explain the “gut” reasons you apply one over another. A good boss will take the time to explain office politics and help you create a career path for yourself. He probably will never know how influential this was and how I apply the same teaching style of management in my role today. I asked him once what he liked most about his job and he replied “the ability to effect change”. To this day I live by that mantra in business, when I can no longer effect change it is time to move on. I am very lucky working at the dynamic company that I am at now as I am able to manage and teach and to effect change on a daily basis.

Another mentor to me has been my current boss, she has of course taught me fabulous business skills but more importantly she has been a role model for me in being a working mom. I started at my current company 5 years ago; I was not married yet, still in the growth phase of life as I like to call it. There were still days I was hung-over at work and I was enjoying the heavy travel schedule that my job required. I thought nothing of 2 weeks in China; I thought nothing of back to back sales meetings. But during all of this driven career positioning, traveling and fun I spoke to my boss who was with me, rooming with me usually on the road and I listened. I asked if it was hard to leave her kids and husband. I missed my boyfriend (now my husband) of course but I knew for her adding the kids to the scenario it must be very difficult. She told me that when she travels she makes sure she works hard but makes time to call home at specific and important times like when they get home from school to see how their day was. Most importantly though, when she is home she is PRESENT. I have said this through my blog and on twitter because it is so worth repeating. Now that I have a daughter I know what she meant. If you need to be away sometimes when you are home you need to BE HOME and be 100% wife and mother. Those words resonate.

Having been given all of this advice and mentoring I feel very strongly that I need to “pay it forward” being a mentor to the young people that work for me is extremely important. I teach, I support and I am tough. They always know where they stand with me and I feel that is crucial to give them the confidence to share ideas. I teach let them know why I make decisions and why I may have said something specific in a meeting. When it comes time for any of them to be a parent I will also give them what my boss gave me. I will give them the strength to know that kids cry when you leave but they are resilient and they know you will be back. If you have ever left your child with a babysitter or at daycare you know they cry for about 2 minutes after you leave and then they play.

It is never too late to be mentored or too early to be a mentor. Listen to people you respect, ask questions and learn from them. Teach people that look up to you, don’t just tell them what to do, show them. Make a difference in someone’s life and let someone make a difference in yours.
Driven Chick
Follow me on twitter @drivenchick
http://www.drivenchick.blogspot.com/

Life Lesson 7 – Being a Road Warrior!

I should have my own parking space at JFK and LaGuardia. Many industries are like mine, you need to get on a plane to see a customer, work a trade show, evaluate a factory, research a new opportunity, train a sales force or just be present at an industry networking event. There is little you can do about the distance from your family but there is something you can do about making your trip comfortable and productive! I will break it down from booking the trip to arriving home…..
First and most important pick an airline you can fly everywhere and stick to, my preference is American (easy to book, easy to achieve and earn status and upgrades and they are very friendly) Earn your miles and use them for family trips in the future! If you don’t auto upgrade then pick the second set of seats in the exit row, they recline. The seats (at least the window seat) in the first set do not for safety reasons. If you are waiting for an upgrade than make sure you check in online as soon as you are able to, it helps your “place in line” since they go by status and check-in time.
Then pick 2 hotel chains, I go with Marriott and Hilton for the same reason, earn your rewards! Once you have achieved silver status with either you can ask for silver upgrades which are complimentary. Ask also to be put on the concierge floor or have access to it, there are a lot of perks like free breakfast, cocktails and appetizers! They also have great beds. In my opinion most important part of my hotel stay is a super comfy bed with lots of pillows. When you book everything put all emails in one folder in outlook so you don’t have to go searching for confirmations. Check if they have an airport shuttle or rent a car. Cabs are such a rip-off. Another reason to rent a car though is if there is some emergency like 9-11 and they ground all planes you will have a car to get home to your family and not get stuck (assuming you are in the continental US, I would not recommend renting a boat hee hee)

Packing: We all know it has become a pain in the neck to go through security in the airport so think of this before you go…..i don’t recommend flip flops unless you don’t mind going barefoot across the nasty airport floor……check your airlines website for the latest and greatest security measures before you go. If you are traveling on a connecting flight I highly recommend packing 1 change of clothes, essential makeup and toothbrush in your carry on, I could not tell you how many times I got stuck without my luggage and had to wash my underwear in the sink and do my makeup with 2 shades of lipstick and a lip gloss (it was pretty impressive I must say!) Then you should be careful and pack an N95 mask in your carry on also. Sadly it is the world we live in. on the way home: Pack your sneakers on the outside flap of your bag so you do not have to wear heels after your meeting through the airport. Pack all heavy books and binders in your checked luggage for an easy way home. Let’s be honest at this point you are all “worked” out. Turn your brain off and read, listen to music get some me time.
Hotel room musts! Don’t stay in the following rooms:
1. Any room at the end of the hall by the stairs, not safe
2. A room by the elevators, soooo noisy
3. A room by the ice machine. Do I really need to explain?
4. A room that does not look clean
Seriously, be nice when you ask but don’t be shy about asking to change rooms…..people do it all the time, but it does help if you bring all of these preferences up when you check in and they assign your room.

Eating while traveling, I am going to do an entire blog on this in the future but a quick tip for this blog…..go low carb, easy to do when you have a menu in front of you every meal!

See something!
I go to so many great cities and so often I am packed with meetings or stuck in a convention center for days but there are those times when there is a few hours here and there…..don’t just sit in your hotel room unless you need to get “can't wait work done”. GET out there and see at least one interesting site in that city. Not only is it a great way to spend your downtime but it adds to your “interesting factor”! I have my next blog planned around increasing your “interesting factor” but the jist of it is there are many things that can make you a more interesting person to be around (helps in networking and party situations) and one of them is to be well traveled. If your work brings you places, soak in the city, have the local specialty food, see the local sites, learn something about where you are!
What do I mean….here are some examples:
New York – Pizza, Italian food and a museum
Dallas – Steak, Grassy Knoll
Philly – Cheese steak, liberty bell, historical sites
Ask the concierge or front desk what would fit the bill in that city if you’re not sure.

Arriving home:
Take a travel day and work from home the next day. Make up for lost time with your family and give your body a chance to bounce. Travel takes more out of you then you know and if you push it your body won’t be able to fight off all those fabulous germs you acquired on the flight.
That’s it for tonight!
Driven Chick ;-)
Follow me on Twitter @ Drivenchick