Tapping into the expertise of successful female mentors can provide you with guidance, motivation and fellowship. Throughout my career I have been fortunate to have had mentors who helped build something within me. It helped me focus on what I needed to do and do it successfully. Through these important relationships and through my own experiences, I have learned many valuable lessons.

Recognize and honor your abilities. Corporations were designed for men, by men. I don’t believe it was done to exclude women, but because the workforce was predominantly male, it created a need for women to sometimes change how they operated in the corporate environment.

We need to create organizations that are inclusive and work for everyone. We must com to the place where we honor those natural gifts and what individuals can bring to the table. When we pay attention to that, we give way to the power to make the right changes and truly create opportunities.

Don’t believe any person who says you have to give up one for another. There are always choices and there are always trade-offs, but there are some that just don’t have to be made. You can be a mother and you can be an executive – and you don’t have to be perfect because none of us are!

Your choices and your trade-offs are YOURS. We have a lot more power and control than we sometimes think; we just have to own it!

Break down your own barriers. There are moments when I find myself thinking that I am not big enough for what I am being called to do. By not trusting my mind and my heart, I get in my own way and create barriers for myself.
Through my faith, I am able to break down those barriers. Whatever your beliefs are, I think it’s important to recognize that you are capable of being as big as you need to be, and you have to trust that.

Find ways to connect and network. These relationships are invaluable to both your personal and professional growth. We have to find ways to connect and to take that time that is not always easy to find, but which is critical to being healthy.

We must position ourselves as a valuable resource withing the organization and find ways to connect and create powerful networks.