Leaving a Legacy

When I started the series last month, I thought that ‘Leaving a Legacy’ would be a great topic for women in leadership positions, for it encourages us to consider not just who has made it easier for us to lead today, but also how we are making it easier for the women who follow us.

When I think about women who have broken new ground for women to be successful in Silicon Valley, I consider the first women in traditional male career, like the first certified American doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell, one of the first women pilots, Amelia Earhart, and the first American woman in space, Sally Ride. It must have been so much more difficult for them to overcome the physical and intellectual demands of their positions while facing the doubts, fear and resistance of people motivated to maintain the status quo and people who are fearful of change.

I also consider the work of suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Emmeline Pankhurst, and of course freedom-fighters like Harriet Tubman. They dared to make a stand for the rights of men and women, suffering person hardship, but ultimately changing our policies, our laws and even our social norms.

I am also grateful for Silicon Valley women in leadership today – from the early women VCs to the heads of major corporations, to the senior executives we have each worked with in our career. And to each of you, if I have had a conversation with you, there was something that I took away from that conversation which has impacted the way that I communicate and lead. Thank you.

With the success of yourselves and many other women, we as leaders can stand on their shoulders and see farther, dream bigger and reach higher.

I have invited Ann Tardy of LifeMoxie and Jennifer Rowe of Community Foundation Silicon Valley to help us as we think further about who has broken the ground for us in our personal and professional lives and how we will leave an impression and forge a new path for those who follow us. Below is my advice, along with that of Ann and Jennifer for Leaving a Legacy:

• Legacies don't have to be big gifts.
• It's the little things that you do that could leave a legacy - The things you do for your spouse, parents, children, co-workers, grocery store workers, etc.,
• Consider who you would use for your reference. What would they say about you and what do you hope that they say about you?
• Take a leap of faith, a chance to live a tale-telling life, a story worth telling! Don't put on blinders.
• A legacy is not always positive. But when it's not, forgive yourself, and forgive others who have left negative impressions on you.
• Dare to dream a bigger dream.
• Celebrate your progress together.
• Share your stories.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.

Overcoming Adversity

There are heroes in our midst, men and women who have the passion, integrity and persistence to make a stand for something they believe in and inspire the rest of us to think that we too can make a difference. FountainBlue’s When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series brings quality men and women in our community together and celebrate leadership, build bonds with fellow men and women in support of leadership, and help us all think critically about how we can communicating and leading today.

This post's theme is ‘overcoming adversity’ – a perfect theme to launch our series. The dictionary says that adversity is ‘A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune’ or a ‘calamitous event’. But the word ‘adversity’ means different things to different people. It could be a physical handicap or affliction, whether it’s a congenital condition or the result of an accident or disease. Worse yet is the physical limitations people suffer as victims of continuing physical abuse. I am personally inspired by the people who proactively meet these challenges and tell a victorious tale.

But more common than physical adversity are the challenges of emotional hardships and misfortunes. Many of us have experienced sub-optimal relationships which are emotionally challenging. Many of us are in a web of ties with people we regularly interact with who are not bringing out the best in us. And almost every woman I’ve ever met are even harder on themselves than others are about them.
My objective for this session is to identify the challenges we are each facing in our everyday lives, and think critically about what we can change in our circumstances and in our mindsets to empower ourselves to overcome emotional adversity, caused by ourselves or those around us, and to come out stronger for the experience.

My personal story is really about overcoming the difficult and challenging circumstances in my life. In my early childhood, I was faced with the challenge of overcoming the extreme poverty and also navigating the language and cultural hurdles of acclimating to the American culture. Through college and into adulthood, I faced the financial, emotional and educational challenges of making my own way in the world: learning from my academic and hands-on experience, succeeding in challenging work situations, and running and building two self-funded businesses.

My words of advice from these experiences are below for your reference.

• Follow You Heart
• Lead with Integrity
• Have Courage
• It's All In Your Attitude
• Keep Raising the Bar
• Leverage Your Strengths
• Persistence Pays
• Learn from Your Mistakes, Forgive Others for Theirs
• Collaboration is Key
• Celebrate Your Successes and Enjoy the Ride

I invite all of you to share your stories, your learnings and your advice to others. May we all benefit from the experience of others!