Picture a coach
I'm sure all of you have heard the old riddle about the Doctor who can't operate on their child after a car accident. As the riddle starts out, a son and father are in an accident but when they arrive at the hospital the Dr. says I can't operate, this is my son. Apparently our heads are supposed to explode because, spoiler alert, the Dr. is — GASP — his Mother. Did you know women could be doctors?
But we also know that if you ask people to picture a pilot, a CEO or even a coach, chances are they picture a man. We have a long way to go.
Look around
I've been devouring Break Point, the tennis documentary on Netflix, and what I started to notice is that almost all of the elite players have male coaches. This includes the women players. The majority of their support team and staff are men.
Now, we can all agree there are tons of amazing retired women tennis players who could coach, or maybe are coaching. But why are their peers not hiring them? Where are the women? To my knowledge Lindsay Davenport at one time was a coach and worked with one of the top male players, but I can't think of another.
It could be that coaching a player requires constant travel and that if you retire from tennis you might be starting a family and therefore can't do that, but what about players with grown children, or who don't have children? Why aren't they coaching?
Is this about confidence?
Could this be that the former women players are trying to coach but not getting hired? Could it be that despite all our progress, female players still want or think they want a male coach?
Look at the the coaches of most women's gymnastics or soccer teams. Mostly men. We've made a lot of progress in women's basketball, but all the other sports need to catch up. Are women not being hired? Are they not putting their hat in the ring? Are they not being given the opportunities? Yes. Yes. And definitely yes. But I also think a lot of this comes down to women having an eighth of the confidence of their male counterparts.
We hear all the time about having the confidence of a mediocre white man, and this is no shade to men or white men (I'm raising one!), but more about the perception that men are inherently better with little evidence to back it up. Men are presumed to have the skills, women need to demonstrate them. #facts
Let me be your champion
The bottom line is that confidence comes from being supported. From learning from others and from getting the opportunity to showcase what you're good at. It doesn't happen overnight but it does happen. And I'm not saying the problem here is with women or that by simply gaining confidence everything is fixed. I'm saying this is a big part of the picture. And one that needs attention.
I've heard from a lot of my clients and even my fellow creative professionals that they see me as a coach. A champion. A mentor. A supporter.
And this is because I got all of those things from other women. Other coaches. Other collaborators.
This has enabled me to know enough and have made enough mistakes to confidently provide advice around business, because I've been there and I've been on the receiving end. I'm not perfect but I'm willing to share my advice knowing that. No one has all the answers but some answers are better than none. And for most of us, we just need something. A sounding board. An ear. An eye. Anything!
I'm confident that I know how to help you.
That I can give you a peek under the hood and then the gas to get going.
I LIVE to ideate. To brainstorm. To work through issues. To be a coach!
And of course, help with message, content, editing and sparkling personality-driven copy.
My new program is all of that and a bag of chips. Allowing you to work with me in a completely different way. It's part coaching, part content, part support, part accountability and part mentorship.
And the best part is it's asynchronous so you can get help when you need it, not at a prescribed time.
No Zoom.
No meetings.
Just an opportunity to talk through burning questions whenever the mood strikes.
I could just gush about this, but it's probably easiest if you just click this button for all the details...(All gender identities are welcome.)
Job hunting?
I'm partnering with CollabWORK to bring you some of the hottest jobs around. If you or someone you know is looking, feel free to share this newsletter with them.
Senior Manager Student Recruitment, SEO, San Francisco, CA (Hybrid): The Senior Manager of Student Recruitment at SEO Scholars in San Francisco will lead recruitment strategies, manage a team of recruitment managers, develop partnerships, and oversee application processes, while also conducting outreach, hosting events, and ensuring data-driven strategies. (full role details and apply)
Senior Marketing Manager - Asset Management/Institutional Investment, New York (Hybrid): Senior Marketing Manager sought for a hybrid role in New York, NY, requiring 7+ years' experience in financial services marketing, with a focus on asset management/institutional investing, to lead marketing strategies and campaigns for North America. (full details and apply)
Internal Communications Manager, Meta, Burlingame, CA: Meta seeks an Internal Communications Manager to develop and implement internal communication strategies for Reality Labs and advise the CTO, requiring strong writing, editing, and strategic thinking skills, with experience in internal communications and the ability to manage cross-functional projects. (full details and apply)
Executive Communications and Reputation Manager, HP, Inc., Palo Alto, CA: The job involves developing and executing PR/AR strategies, coordinating media activities, maintaining key relationships, providing training, managing partnerships, and delivering projects within budget for a role that may interact with senior management and requires a degree with 6+ years of experience in the field. (full details and apply)
Associate Director - Strategy Planning (Media Agency), NXT Wave Talent, New York, NY (hybrid): We're looking for an Associate Director, Strategy Planning to create strategies across media channels and services which directly answers a client's brief. More specifically the role is to listen to clients, getting under the skin of their brief and then brainstorm with channel experts and client service leads to build media plans and forecasts which delivers positive ROI for the client, backed by a sound measurement framework. (full details and apply)