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 Last week, Vetta and I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak to some of the most talented young women out there: Glamour Magazine’s Top Ten College Women of 2008. Their press release reads:
“Glamour’s Top 10 College Women competition has recognized 10 students from across the country for the past 51 years for their campus leadership, scholastic achievement, community involvement, and their unique, inspiring goals.”
This years lineup was incredibly impressive, including a celebrated pianist, a cancer researcher, a top-performer in the Airforce Academy…the list goes on. Upon winning the prestigious award, the ten young women were polled to find out what topic they were most interested in hearing about during their celebratory visit to New York. Lo and behold, to our GREAT excitement, these ten future leaders said they wanted to hear about work-life balance! Smart ladies. And so, Vetta and I were invited to be on a panel together with some very impressive professional superstars (in whose presence we were wholly humbled) in an afternoon discussion that took place in the Glamour office at 4 Times Square. For those Top Ten College Women, we took the opportunity to share our Top Ten Lattice Lessons Learned, as well as what we think they should do when they “rule the world” in their respective fields. Top Ten Lattice Lessons Learned (for GLAMOUR)
1. Do what you love. You may be good at a lot of things. You certainly could do a lot of things. But the really successful
people we’ve met reached the peaks of their professions because they were truly passionate about
their work-- whether it was playing music, publishing or banking (it’s true, some people love bank-
ing). So, ask yourself: is this what I really want to do even if I never get fame or a fat paycheck? And
guess what? More and more, young people are saying their dream job is where their heart is, not
necessarily where the money is. 2. Figure out what you stand for, and stand by that. Successful professionals told us over and over again: they are looking for people who are willing to
stand up for what they believe in, even if the boss doesn’t believe the same thing. Believe it or not,
sometimes it is better to be a nay-sayer than a yay-sayer. Having a strong sense of self—an inner com-
pass, if you will—encourages others to have confidence in you and your decisions. 3. Just ask! Many times we’ve heard people say they want more from their jobs: more flexible hours, more vacation time, more moola. Turns out, they’ve never asked. Satisfied workers, on the other hand, coolly tell us that they made their needs known early on and worked out a mutually beneficial arrangement with their employers. Ladies, you are particularly bad at negotiating your salary. Since raises are based on your starting salary, this is part of the reason men end up making exponentially more. So don't be afraid of asking for what you deserve—and then some! 4. Envision your career as a "corporate lattice" rather than a "corporate ladder."We were told by many business leaders that they expect a great change in how careers are built in
the future, with careers beginning to look more like lattices than ladders. Our generation will move
between industries and fields. We might take a year or two off only to enter the working world in full
force again. Flexibility is the mantra of the future, whether it has to do with working from home or
moving between jobs. 5. Gender discrimination goes both ways.The gender discrimination discussion typically revolves around challenges women face in the work-
place. That is certainly important and we have a a lot of work to do in that department. But equally
important is the fact that men face challenges if they want to succeed in the workplace and fulfill their
personal and family responsibilities. Both men and women deserve the chance to have successful pri-
vate and professional lives. 6. Pick a partner, carefully. We’re all for passion and great sex. But will your partner be willing to make sacrifices for you and your
career? Share in responsibilities of home and kids – if you want them? Over and over again, success-
ful professionals have told us that their ability to balance work and family life boils down to picking
a good life partner. If they didn’t have a spouse who shared family and home responsibilities (as well
as larger perspectives on life), they couldn’t have made it as far as they did. This is especially true for women. So, don’t be afraid to ask the right questions of the person you are involved with. “Would you
prefer a stay-at-home wife?” might not make for the most romantic conversation, but believe us, you’ll
be glad you asked. 7. Being detail-oriented is good, perfectionism is bad.We were frequently told that men and women work differently, the primary difference being that
women are detail-oriented while men think more about the larger picture. What this ultimately comes
down to is that women spend a lot more time obsessively perfecting the work they do, while men don’t
worry as much. What’s more, men don’t appear to take critique as personally as women do and they
are generally more confident in their own abilities. One young mother told us that every morning
before going to work she tells herself to “think like a man.” If “thinking like a man” means being confi-
dent and not letting petty mistakes get you down, that may not be bad advice. 8. Daycare is not the devil. Some of the practical details related to raising children can be outsourced to competent help, like a
daycare center or certified childcare provider. In Europe, the general view of daycare is very positive.
In fact, our European interviewees said they thought at least some form of daycare is necessary to so-
cialize children. The bottom line: You’re not necessarily a bad parent because you’re a working parent,
just like you are not necessarily a good parent because you’re a stay-at-home parent. 9. Live close to where you work. It’s simple: a long commute eats into either your productive work hours or your personal time. Live
close to work. Better yet, walk, bike or take public transportation to get there. The earth, your mental
health, and your waistline will thank you. 10. Vacation: you need it. Nowadays, we work harder and longer than ever. Even though companies in the United States don’t
have to give you any time off by law, look for an employer that will offer you significant vacation, or
muster the guts to ask for it up front (remember Lesson 3?!). Vacation is a well-deserved and well-
needed time to re-charge your batteries, gain some new perspectives and return to work more produc-
tive and effective than ever. It’s good for you, and it’s good for your employer.
Top 5 Things to Do When You Rule the World 1. Mentor When you get to the top, be a mentor for other young women and beat the culture of cat-fights and
sharp elbows. Men have understood the value of cultivating business networks for a very long time. It
is time women caught up. 2. Reward results over facetime.Work toward a culture that rewards what you produce over the amount of time you spend in the
office. 3. Strive toward flexibility.Encourage flexible hours at your workplace, allow people to work from home if they want to, and get
out of the habit of frowning on so-called “resume gaps.” Ask instead what that person learned during
their time away from the workforce. You might be surprised. 4. Treat everyone as a potential creative worker with something to contribute.Examine how your company or workplace is structured. Do you have horizontal or vertical hierarchies? Are people from all levels able to contribute creatively? If not, think about ways to encourage input from all levels. Their commitment and your bottom line are sure to skyrocket. 5. Advocate.Work towards progressive policies at both a company and national level. Start by advocating for paid maternity and paternity leave, paid sick leave, on-site childcare, universal public preschool, and more vacation time. To apply for Glamour's Top Ten College Women 2009, go here. - Astri Illustration by Gustaf von Arbin
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