Thank You 2019 for Lessons Learned!
I’ve not written in a while --but there’s a good reason for this quiet time. I was doing other writing and super focused on my day job! This year I focused on producing the #3LVCareerHacks every week for 46 weeks this year and some creative writing (more on that later). I also wrote a feature length article on inclusive leadership for Bridgespan Group, a leading membership organization for nonprofit leaders. And, for my day job—I have finally reclaimed a part of my career which I had to abandon almost 25 years ago.
If you’ve heard me speak or read my other posts, you know my career was supposed to be in academia, but I left after six years because the bias in that environment in the 1980’s and 90’s was insurmountable. In 1994, I abandoned all hope of a career teaching, researching, and advancing community mental health and public health. Instead, I took what I had come to appreciate about diversity, inclusion, affirmative action, organizational change and my growing interest in leadership to start consulting full time. I went from seeing myself as a community psychologist to business owner, consultant, and executive coach.
That all was fine up until about 8 years ago. In 2009 I sold my consulting practice to another firm but when that firm merged with their competitor, I was let go. I didn’t want to start another firm. I wanted to see if I could get back to doing what I intended. I accepted a small consulting project that finally opened a door to return to some of my original career ambitions. I was asked to facilitate a unique collaborative effort between a major insurance company and community initiatives in Las Vegas that would focus on the social determinants of health---all those nonclinical factors that impact health (housing, access to good food, neighborhood safety, clean air). Finally, I was using my education in psychology, community mental health, prevention, epidemiology, policy and organizational systems. Even though I continued to take projects in the corporate sector after joining InclusionINC—I needed to pay the bills--I kept looking for projects in healthcare that advanced attention to the social determinants of health and health equity. My focus became even clearer once my father began his second and final battle with cancer.
In 2014, InclusionINC allowed me to create a separate division exclusively focused on consulting to the healthcare sector. It was like starting a new career in many ways. I began to translate many of the services for diversity and inclusion in the corporate sector to healthcare. It happened to coincide with enormous attention that has grown around the Affordable Healthcare Act and its link to health equity, culturally competent care and a growing awareness of the impact of unconscious bias in every aspect of patient care.
For the past two years, Impact4Health has provided inclusive leadership training at one of Northern California’s largest health systems. This Fall I worked with their Chief Medical Officer to create a workshop for all physicians on unconscious bias. And now we are set to bring the firm’s Inclusion Scorecard for Population Health to the nation’s third largest health system. Earlier this year, when I was inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame for my work in Healthcare I felt that –finally--at long last— my interests, talents, and passion were fully aligned. I have enormous gratitude that all this happened---even if it took a long time to get here.
What are my lessons learned? All those inspirational quotes about never giving up on your dreams really do matter. Read them often. Staying positive in the face of obstacles is a must. Building your support network is vital. It’s also the case that you must have other parts of life that give you happiness---a strong partner, raising a child, volunteering or creative pursuits. But when life throws you a curve ball you’ll want to ask yourself important questions: How did this happen? What am I learning from this? What can I use from this moment to move me closer to my goal? What will it take to get me back on track? Sometimes we don’t get what we planned in our career playbook but the best way to make it through those moments is to grow from them and to turn those times into the experiences that make us wiser, stronger, and more strategic. That’s always going to move you closer to your dreams. Write me about how you managed a career transformation! —Maria