Career Growth
Navigating Your Way in the Work Place: NYWEA Women's Initiative Dinner Meeting

by Toby Siegman

Imagine a world in which the journey to success is cleared of barriers and roadblocks. Such a world can be realized if we recognize how to transform the barriers into opportunities for growth. This message, broadcast by a panel of three executive women before about thirty women professionals, was unequivocal: in order to "make it" in the male dominated world of engineering, today's professional woman needs to recognize obstacles as opportunities and to take full advantage of them. Male or female, novice or experienced, the challenges facing all professionals are similar. How one acts upon them is the key to moving ahead.

Can the "average" individual transform the apparently overwhelming obstacles of our daily lives into manageable opportunities? Is it possible to meet the demands of a leadership position while at the same time, manage one's family life and personal needs? Can one merge the two roles, applying lessons learned from the job as mom or dad to the professional role as manager or technical specialist? And can the busy life of an executive leave time for developing relationships with peers, mentors, and subordinates?

The personal stories told by the speakers were evidence that the answer to these questions is unequivocally yes. Diana Chapin, executive director of the Queens Library Foundation, has made several strategic career moves throughout her life as each opportunity arose for change. Before her current position, Ms. Chapin served as first deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and executive director of the Water Board. Prior to that position, she held high-ranking posts at the New York City Department of Parks and the New York City Building Department. Her advice to other women professionals: "Be willing to take a chance when opportunity comes knocking. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, but don't focus on the weaknesses; focus on your strengths and maximize your good points." As a mother of two sons, Chapin also stressed that a supportive spouse and good friends are of paramount importance in balancing family and work outside the home. Finally, she urged all aspiring professionals to obtain the best general education possible, as this can lay the foundation for a wide range of career options later in life.

While changing careers may provide exposure to a broad range of experience, it is also valuable to develop an expertise in a desirable area. "Become an expert, and know how to recognize expertise in someone else," advises Cosema E. Crawford, PE, acting senior vice president and chief engineer of the New York City Transit. Why do some women succeed while others claim to be limited by the proverbial glass ceiling? According to Ms. Crawford, a person must not allow him- or herself to be pinned into any category. People are not judged based on gender or race, but rather on how they perform in their jobs and interact with their co-workers. Having worked in both the private and public sectors, Crawford views government agencies as more likely to embrace all sorts of people in leadership roles-in retrospect, therefore, her decision to move from the private to the public sector was a fitting career choice.

Ms. Crawford's two children have enriched her life in countless ways, not only in the home, but also by providing tools she applies in her professional life. "Children are the best way to get management training…and to learn to multi-task." Finally, helping others through mentoring, teaching, or participating in outreach programs is one of the most fulfilling activities to round out a profession, at any level of experience. For example, even a staff engineer starting his or her first job can become a mentor to young students.

The final speaker, Janerie Wheeler, further underscored the value of recognizing opportunities. Ms. Wheeler serves as vice president of Information Services and Technology at Malcolm Pirnie Inc. "Being successful is all about recognizing opportunities. I listen to people, take in information, but then make decisions on what is important to me. And different things may be important at different times in my life." A critical key to success is the willingness to search out and be surrounded by people who are smarter than oneself. "You need good people behind you to advance…be indispensable, not irreplaceable."

With two daughters and a full time career outside the home, Ms. Wheeler explained how she gained extraordinary perspective in her life from her children. By observing how her children mimicked their mother, Ms. Wheeler was able to understand how others see her from the outside in general. For Wheeler, the ability to recognize how people perceive her is one of the first steps toward strengthening positive attributes or improving other behaviors where necessary.

Ms. Wheeler closed her talk by offering three suggestions for navigating your way through the maze of life: Enjoy what you are doing while you can, as life is short; make the decisions you know you can live with; and forge positive relationships with people at all levels.

—Toby Siegman

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