“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

In 2020, I had the unique and transformational opportunity to lead Dell’s largest employee resource group, Women in Action.  For a full year, I was immersed in development content, motivational messages and inspiring leaders who invested time and resources to lift women up. Most importantly, I was surrounded by amazing women who believed in the power of women and the greatness we bring to the workplace.

Legendary female leaders like Karen Quintos and Bonnie Dangerfield. Strong executive sponsors like Amanda Hodges, Jillian Mansolff, and Yvonne McGill, who would go on to be the first female CFO of Dell Technologies. My personal network of peer allies: Madeyline Brown, Grace Miller, Natasha Shirazi, Christina Furtado, Liz Harris, and Asha George. Amazing speakers like Kim Meninger, Natalie Eicher, and Colleen Hauk. My days were filled with working alongside women with a common purpose and passion: to elevate women.

Spending a year with this “crowd” was transformational for me as a leader. My mind was filled with empowering messages about the value and contribution of women. As I absorbed everything around me, I experienced significant growth in my confidence, belief in my capabilities, and understanding of my own value. Ironically, my Women in Action crowd inspired me to take the step that led me to leave Dell and pursue my first executive role at VMware. I believed I could, and so I did. 

I was truly surrounded by people who lifted me up: women ahead of me, women beside me, and women coming along behind me. That’s how I like to think of the company I keep – with a 360-degree view.

Here are the steps you can take to build that 360 view for yourself: 

1. Look around you.  Who are your top-performing peers, the ones you want to be like and be associated with? I’m not talking about your friends, but the people you see moving up in their careers. Connect with them, share ideas, keys to success, and build strong peer-to-peer relationships. Stay in touch with them as you and they move through the organization and to other companies. These are the foundation of your future network.
2. Look ahead of you.  Who are the role models you want to emulate? Is it your manager? Your manager’s manager? A leader of another team or in another organization? An executive? Watch them, learn from them, and imitate what you admire about them in a way that’s authentically you. Don’t copy them—learn from their leadership and incorporate the behaviors into your own personal brand. (Note that we’re not talking about mentors here—I’ll address mentorship in another blog.)
3. Look behind you.  Who are the new people in your organization? Who are the people one or two levels below you with potential to grow? Who are the people who are struggling and could use some additional support to thrive? The best part about helping others: your leadership skills and your reputation as a collaborative team player inevitably grow in the process. By the way, even if you’re brand new in your career, there’s someone coming up behind you who you can help. And if you’re not brand new in your career, the opportunity to help others along the way is even greater.

2020 was the year when I crystallized this approach, and it paid dividends. A few months ago, when I needed career advice, I called Jillian Mansolff, and she helped me. Now, as I’m in a time of transition in my career, I’ve spoken to both Madeyline Brown and Liz Harris in the last few weeks. They’re still there for me as peers and allies. I’ve also had the immense joy of seeing many of the women I supported as the leader of Women in Action grow and thrive in their careers.

These women have lifted me higher over and over again. Look around you and build your own powerful 360-degree view, surrounded by the people who will lift YOU higher!