Woman of the Week – Kate/Katy Trombitas

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Here at Executive Elements, we like to feature fantastic women we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Kate/Katy Trombitas

My Name:
Kate/Katy Trombitas

My Current Job/Company:
Vice President Financial Education, Inceptia (a division of National Student Loan Program), a national nonprofit organization

My Birthdate:
September 29, 1981

My Work:
My work focuses on creating a college-going culture at the k-12 level and promoting financial literacy as a key component of student success in college and beyond.

My Passion:
My family and my community

My Family:
Matt (my hubby) and Will (my 8-month old son)

My Hero:
My friend Tally, who has been an incredible mentor to me. She has taught me so much about how to keep life in perspective and what it means to be a compassionate and effective leader without compromising who I am and what I believe in.

My Escape:
A great book!

My Pet Peeve:
Round-a-bouts! Although I admit this is mainly due to user-error.

My Indulgence:
A long phone call with a friend

My Roots:
My parents always put an emphasis on the importance of education throughout my childhood, which has transformed into a life-long passion for me.

My Future:
Happy, healthy, fun and full of learning

My Love:
Spending time with my family and friends and watching my son grow.Nothing is more exciting than watching Will learn a new skill or reach a new milestone!

My Movie:
“The American President”- Aaron Sorkin + Annette Benning? Yes, please!

My Quote on Life:
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin in serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” (Emerson)

My Accessory:
My dogs! We have two sweet, faithful pups that round out our family and are always by my side.

My Advice to Young Women
-Find a partner who will help you follow your dreams and do the same for him/her.
-When others underestimate you, don’t be discouraged; use it as motivation.

How I Balance it All:
I don’t! But every day I try to be the person who deserves the wonderful life I have.

Marissa Mayer’s Doing Telecommuters a Favor

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Marissa Mayer’s decision to pull the plug on telecommuting at Yahoo! has sparked worldwide debate over its necessity and wisdom.

Obviously, Marissa is taking measures to turn around a floundering business. She said Yahoo! needs “all hands on deck” to get things going in the right direction again. And, earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the decision was made in part, to boost morale. With more than 200 employees working from home, and plenty of empty cubicles as a result, it’s easy to see how the energy of a workplace could be affected.

But what about the telecommuters themselves? Could this actually be a good thing for their careers? Could getting themselves out of their yoga pants and into the office for some networking and face time help them get ahead?

One of our community members, Tish Hevel, a communications consultant, believes that it could. As a work-at-homer herself, Tish shares her perspective in her post, “The Case for Showing up.”

Tish writes, “As a regular member of the no-commute club, I know there are definite advantages to staying in your own pajamas in your own home and petting your own big black dog while working. It saves time, money and wear and tear – on your car, wardrobe and psyche. For certain functions, it’s possible to be much more productive and focused. But over the long haul, and as a routine arrangement for full-time employees…there’s really no argument. It’s a bad idea.”

Tish continues to explain how valuable face time is to morale, relationships and work.

“Simply put,” Tish says, “the presence of people matters – no matter how imperfect, inconvenient and yes, insensitive they can be. I’m with Marissa. I remind myself of this on the days I grudgingly shower, get dressed, slap on some lipstick and scrape the snow from my car. Sales managers love to say it, and I believe they’re on to something. (Thank you John Potter.) You start differentiating yourself when you show up.”

To read Tish’s entire article, click here.

What do you think? Could this be a good career move for those who work from home? Share in the comments!

New Year’s Resolutions for Professional Women

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by Chasity Kuttrus

How many of you have “get in shape” on your New Year’s resolutions list? How about “spend more time with family” or “read more books?”

We most often focus our resolutions on things we want to change in our personal lives, but what about resolutions to make some adjustments in our professional lives?

More often than not, if we can make some changes to our work lives, a lot of our wishes for our personal lives fall into place. Better work-life balance, for example, goes a long way in helping you get to the gym, not have to work as late and have extra time for your family and hobbies. See? I have it all figured out for you.

But, truthfully, our personal resolutions are often stymied by a simple lack of time and by the fact that we always put ourselves last – after our jobs, our families and our communities. Sigh.

Here are 7 resolutions to make in your professional life that will impact your health, happiness and well-being at the office….and most importantly, at home.

Make a Career Plan – We plan everything else, why do so many of us fail to create a plan for our career, one of the biggest parts of our lives? Sit down and consider what you want to be doing this year, next year, in five years, maybe even in 10. Then, make a list of short and long-term action items to get you there. Those short-term goals will likely become your professional New Year’s resolutions!

Delegate More – Once you have your plan in place and your required action items, you need to shift things around so you can focus on those things. Delegate the stuff you don’t need to be doing! Yes, it’s hard to let go of some things but once you begin handing things off to a trusted resource, you’ll become addicted to delegating. It’s freeing. And leaves you much more time for the important things only you can do.

Pay it Forward – Consciously take time to help others, both your superiors and your subordinates. Do it when you can so that when you do have to say “no” you don’t feel bad about it. And, pssst…delegating more will enable you to lend your time and talents more freely.

Say No – Learn to say no. Say “yes” when you can but if the request keeps you from working on your own goals, say no to it. I’m not saying only do things that will further your career. I’m just saying when you’re pressed for time, you need to prioritize. Your advancement is your priority, not doing things because you just can’t say no to requests.

Stay Out of Office Politics – You will never win. Ever. But you know who does win? The person who shows enough self confidence to rise above the fray and focus on getting things done. Gossip, backstabbing and plotting revenge are major time and emotional well being suckers and keep you from important work.

Be Visible – As important as it is to keep your nose to the grindstone, so is showing your face. Go to networking events. Participate in meetings. Have lunch with colleagues. Don’t just hide in your office. Whether that office is a cubicle or the big fancy corner digs, you need to get out, see and be seen.

Keep Normal Hours – Create an environment where your team members understand boundaries – yours and those of your colleagues. If you are sending emails at Midnight, you set a precedent for your employees, or your boss, that you’re open for business at all hours. Leave the office at a decent time each day. If you have to secretly work more at home (and hopefully you won’t) then do it on the sly. You don’t get medals for working 24/7. In fact, you don’t necessarily get promoted either because it can sometimes show that you aren’t smart with your time.

Above all, practice, practice, practice these activities. Habits aren’t easy to change and the important thing is to keep working on them so they do become part of your work life. Over time, you’ll find adhering to these practices will help make you happier and more well-balanced in the workplace – and in all areas of your life.

Happy New Year!

10 Ways to Make an Impression at Work

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With a little effort, it's not difficult to stand out among your peers.

by Chasity Kuttrus

Most women who get ahead do so because they go the extra mile. They are deliberate in their actions and activities and they stand out from other employees.

But how do they do that? Actually it’s not that difficult. In fact, it requires no extra skill sets, training or talents. Just a little bit of awareness and effort can go a long way.

Here are 10 easy ways to set yourself apart from your peers and make an impression on everyone around you.

1. Meet deadlines consistently. And if you can’t, let people know as far in advance as possible. Build a reputation for being reliable.

2. Make others look good. Pay someone a compliment in front of her boss. Give credit where credit’s due. Help put others’ good work in the forefront. People will remember this.

3. Take responsibility. Don’t throw people under the bus. You may think you’re saving your own behind….but at what cost? People don’t respect people who let others take the fall for them.

4. Be positive. Do I need to expand on this? Positive people are just more appealing and easier to be around. Period.

5. Respect people’s time. Don’t keep people waiting – whether it’s your boss, a client or even an intern – their time is just as valuable as yours. Start and end meetings on time. Give people plenty of notice when you need something from them.

6. Be polite. Say the magic words – “please” and “thank you.” There is nothing worse than someone who conveys an aura of entitlement….or rudeness. Show your appreciation in all circumstances.

7. Help others. When you have the time, help other people. They won’t forget it.

8. Do what you say you’re going to do…..and then exceed expectations. Don’t overpromise. It’s better to set expectations a little low and then consistently go above and beyond them. Become known as someone who always goes the extra mile.

9. Be organized. When you’re organized, you’re on top of things. And it shows. Establish foolproof systems for keeping things straight and then use them. If you need to do an organization system overhaul, it’s worth taking a day or two to do so. You’ll see immediate results and you’ll be amazed what a stress buster it can be.

10. Know how to do simple tasks. Even if you have an administrative assistant, learn how to do basic things that are critical to your job, like access the company server, change your voicemail message or enter data into a spreadsheet. This way, you are never at a loss if your admin is out of the office or unavailable.

The workplace is a complicated environment. It’s easy to get sucked into the politics and believe that’s where you need to focus to get ahead. No matter what point you are in your career, keep your eyes focused forward and consistently practice the strategies above and I promise, you’ll be leaps and bounds beyond most of your peers.

Manage your Time, Manage your Life!

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Life is busy and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon! As women, we get the luxury of balancing it all and doing it gracefully…..in heels! There are so many challenges to time management, I could write about this topic every week and not run out of ideas. I’ve condensed my top 10 tips into a list for you. I’d love to hear yours as well!

Top 10 Tips on Time Management for Busy Ladies:

1. Start Sunday. Look at your schedule and get organized on Sunday night, otherwise you’ll be a wreck on Monday morning.

2. Thinking Time. Set aside specific time to think. Otherwise, everything in your life is reactionary and nothing is thoughtful.

3. Prioritize Family. Schedule time with your family and consider it as important (actually more important) than keeping any work-related appointment. And do not work during family time. It’s not fair to your family. Put another way, would you take personal calls and draw pictures with your kids during a work meeting?

4. Disciplined Meetings. Start on Time. Stop on Time. It sounds simple but it can be difficult. Try practicing it for one week, though, and you will see a huge difference.

5. Plan Vacations. On January 1, block your vacation time for the year. People who don’t use vacation time simply don’t recharge. You don’t get an award for not taking vacation!

6. Fun Last. Do the fun work things last. Knock out what you hate first and I promise, your day will go better! Putting the dreaded “I hate this type of work” at the bottom of the list basically insures it will never get done.

7. Date Night. If you don’t plan for a “date night” with your significant other or with your friends, and think it will magically happen, guess what? It won’t. Plan at least one a month and if you are feeling crazy, block two nights.

8.Turn off Email. Shut down email for 2 hours out of your day. Stop reacting to everything coming in and actually get some work done.

9. Meet Someone New. If you don’t block time for it, when will you ever do it?

10. Prioritize. Use a simple A/B/C system and throw everything into a pile. Don’t go to the B pile until all the A’s are addressed.

It’s so easy to list these and so hard to actually implement these every day. I get it. Plus, the very phrase “time management” itself can overwhelm even the best of us. So, look at it another way….instead of thinking of it as managing your time, think of it as having the discipline to focus on the most important activities, work and people in your life.

Does that change how you feel about it? I think it will!

Time Management: What’s Your Motive?

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Many successful women, no matter what level they are in the organization, wish they had better time management skills.

The demands of leadership are tough, and getting the most out of every minute requires a discipline that many people lack.

In his blog post, Develop Excellent Time Management Skills, Brian Tracy reminds us that time management, like anything, requires motivation. Seems pretty basic, right? But when you dig a little deeper, you’ll find what separates those with great time management skills and those who wish they had them.

Ask your leaders what specific motive they have for getting more out of every minute. The answer may be slightly different for everyone.

Some women want to spend more time with their family. Some women are focused on doing more in the workplace. Some women have hobbies and interests that require more time than they have.

Help your leaders pinpoint why they want more time and then help them keep that in mind as they work on developing the discipline it takes to be truly efficient with the amount of hours we have available to us every day.

Motivation is a powerful tool – use it!

Lack of Balance is a Widespread Issue

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When realizing that I was ready to launch this executive coaching business, I interviewed about 100 women and asked them, “What is your greatest challenge?” Ninety-nine of them told me the same thing: Work-Life Balance. It doesn’t matter if you have small kids, grown kids, step kids or no kids; the challenge of managing the logistics of home and life are, at times, simply overwhelming.

I often ask women, how do they do it? How do they manage a career and a balanced life? Here are some things to consider that I’ve learned over time:

1. Change! Realize that the balance equation changes daily, weekly, annually. And, when you are single the demands are different than when you are married. Throw young kids in the mix and the dynamics change again. It’s okay to stay home with your kids, put your career on hold, go part time. Be comfortable with change.

2. Unique! You are unique. No one else has the same standards, values and schedule that you do. As much as you can learn from others, you have to create the system that works for you. And, by the way, who cares what other people think? Ignore those who will judge you.

3. Help! Most women are terrible at asking for help. So, they do it all. And, they are unhappy and exhausted. They may hint around to their husbands/partners that would like support around the house or they may subtly suggest that having someone clean for them would be nice. Just get some help to ease the burden.

At the end of every day, you need to ask yourself: do you enjoy what you are doing at work and at home? What is throwing off your balance? Then, if needed, take measures to change things.

On Balance

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“If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full-speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.”

–Oprah Winfrey

Is Work Life Balance Improving?

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Unfortunately, it appears that work life balance isn’t getting better here in the United States. This study prepared by SHRM last year suggests that 54% of American’s call the work/balance issue a “significant” one.

Companies today need to care for the “whole person.” Work/Life balance is about how employees feel at home and at work and one impacts the other. When your employees can’t focus on their home responsibilities, their work will suffer. Of course, when you help to create balance for your employees, you get higher productivity and happier employees.

This isn’t breaking news. So why, then, is it still a problem? I’d love to hear from you about ways you’ve been able to help improve this balance for your employees!

Quick Tip for Work Life Balance

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When you’re helping your key leaders stay on top of their game, sometimes a little simple advice can make a big difference. Here’s one idea you can give them for managing work-life balance:

For those women with traditional 9-5 job and kids, encourage them to figure out a system or a person that can help with dinner a few nights a week. Otherwise, they will drive themselves crazy every single day.

Taking an easy step to eliminate this source of stress will change the dynamics of a working woman’s life significantly.

And, if you have kids you should try it too. It’s a great tip for any working woman, at any level of her career!