They each rose to the top of their respective fields with hard work and perseverance. Each also possessed something more, however: a star-like quality that made the difference between running in the middle of the pack and leading it.
We asked several top women leaders in Chicago from a variety of fields to offer up their best career advice. Not a laundry list of self-help items, but a single idea that made the difference for them.
Now in the midst of her debut as solo anchor of the Channel 2 news at 10 p.m., Carol Marin was an obvious choice from the world of media. The station is trying a different format for TV news, trying to get away from the sing-songy happy talk that has driven so many viewers to watching “The Simpsons” reruns instead of keeping up with what’s happening in their city. Early ratings looked promising, though it will be some time before a verdict is in.
“I think it will work, but it might not,” Marin said, trying to rise above the manic focus on ratings. “I keep going back to one of those little tear-off calendar sayings I kept once. It said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal.”
Marin also advised, “Never forget your girlfriends. There’s a notion in the business world that women have to hook on to a powerful man to help them rise without remembering where they came from. Without women friends (at work), you lack the nourishment that can keep you going. It’s like when we were 14–would you dump a girlfriend the moment a boy came along? You just don’t treat your own sex badly.”
Dr. Janet Rowley, a leading cancer researcher at the University of Chicago, advised being open to non-traditional time frames in your career. Rowley went to work at U. of C. in 1972 after her youngest child turned 10. She had a medical degree, but instead took very low pay to work three days a week in a human leukemia lab, virtually restarting her career at age 47. She soon discovered that chromosomes were broken in specific places in leukemia patients, a groundbreaking genetic discovery that has formed the basis for her award-winning career, which continues today.
“Women have to take the long view of their lives,” she said. “I didn’t do anything noteworthy until later in life. Many people figure if you’re not a success by 30 or 35 you’re over the hill, but you need to look at life with a longer perspective.”
Dawn Clark Netsch, former state politician, gubernatorial candidate and now a law professor at Northwestern University, said women should take more chances in their careers. “When I first ran for state senator against the Daley machine I wasn’t expected to win, but did. When I ran for governor I wasn’t expected to win, either, and didn’t,” she said with a laugh. Her point? “Women are a bit risk-averse. They ought to be willing to take chances.” Why take chances if it means defeat, such as losing the governor’s race? Because, she said, losing that race led her to her teaching career, which she said has felt like a better use of her talents than continuing in public policy.
Fresh out of law school in 1965, Joan Hall certainly had many opportunities to see gender discrimination and to let that defeat her aspirations. Instead, she held high expectations for her employers and her co-workers. “I never assumed I would be discriminated against. I expected people to accept me as a professional,” Hall said. Those great expectations turned out to be well-founded: Today Hall is the managing partner of Jenner & Block, one of the most well-known law firms in the nation.
Aside from the teller’s booth, banking has been a challenging field for women. How did Sheila Penrose negotiate the minefields and rise to her post as president of corporate and institutional services for Northern Trust? Long before workers began seeing themselves more like free agents than franchise players, Penrose took the reins. “I was told once that you can talk to this person and that person in the corporation, but in the end you manage your own career. That caused me to reach out and network and learn about other areas, rather than waiting around for directions.”
Betsy Holden isn’t embarrassed to talk about her love of cheese. She needn’t be: She is executive vice president and a member of the operating committee, the highest ranking group of executives, at Northfield-based Kraft Foods. She oversees five divisions, from e-commerce to operations. When she talks to school kids about careers, she tries to stress how important it is to do something you really love. “I talk about DREAMS–Do what you love to do, not what other people want you to do; Realistically assess your strengths; Explore possibilities and options; Achieve the right education and training; Motivation and persistence will help you make your own breaks; and Strongly believe in yourself.”
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e-mail: kiddstew@msn.com
