WRISE Chicago hosts successful Lunch ‘n’ Learn

The Chicago Chapter of WRISE enjoyed a very engaging Lunch ‘n’ Learn with Stephanie Kushner, CEO of Broadwind Energy on June 13. Lunch and the meeting space were graciously sponsored by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Chicago.

For those of you who could not make the event we wanted to share with you some of the lessons learned from the valuable and interactive session with Stephanie.

• Trying to plan all the details of your career in advance is a nice thought, but life rarely follows a linear path and you may be limiting yourself from new opportunities to consider.
• If you are feeling “stuck” in your current role or position, first, talk to your manager about ways you can expand your scope, but it does not hurt to start engaging your network.
• Maintain a strong relationship with a core group of people who you make an ongoing effort to keep in contact with and offer mutual support. They should have the common goal that they want to see you succeed and understand you as a person.
• Spend the time to cultivate relationships and your network; make it a priority and part of your personal to-do list to participate in events where you can network and build professional relationships.
• One of the areas where Mrs. Kushner admits she has struggled is in taking decisive and timely action when an employee is the wrong fit.  Although it is generally difficult emotionally to remove someone from the organization, she has found that she never regrets the action after the fact and probably wastes some valuable time in the decision making process.
• Have confidence in your abilities and don’t be afraid to communicate your company and career goals with your managers.  Mrs. Kushner herself struggled with internal confidence, but finding and voicing it was how she came to the executive position she’s in today.