New Beginnings

New beginnings. Here I am at a new beginning. New beginnings are exciting, refreshing, and scary. There is so much unknown and uncertainty in new beginnings. If you are reading this, I have now launched the Circle Alliance website. It’s been in the works for months, but the business around it has been in development for over a year, and perhaps for my entire life.

I was unfulfilled in my career as a corporate attorney and I was looking for more satisfaction in that area of my life. So I looked inside and started paying attention to what I noticed in life, what drew my attention, piqued my curiosity, and what I wanted to change or improve around me, i.e. what was I passionate about? Again and again I noticed that professional women are still largely over-represented in the lower ranks of business, in general, and not nearly as represented as they should be in the executive ranks, politics, and academia.

In my law school, women out numbered men, which is not uncommon these days, but we are not making it to partner in the same numbers as our male counterparts. And it got me thinking, why in the 21st century are women still not reaching leadership roles in greater numbers? Then while waiting in the San Diego Airport one day in spring of 2006 and I went to the bookstore and found Marie Wilson’s book, Closing the Leadership Gap, Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World. It seemed serendipitous, I had been thinking about this exact topic for months. During my week vacation in San Diego I read that book three times! It affected me profoundly and it inspired me to start writing a book about women’s leadership (that week!) and to develop a business around training and positioning more women to reach more leadership roles. I have not stopped working on that business idea since that week. I’ve found my passion.

I honestly believe that with more women in leadership roles we can: improve the bottom line for businesses by hiring and retaining untapped talent, develop greater work/life balance, create improved value systems around family, the environment, and healthcare, promulgate more family friendly and environmentally friendly policies, gain financial security, etc… The benefits are endless for women, men, and society in general.

So here I go with the next step in my new beginning, in my new career, in my passion, and in my service to my community. Join me in making a difference!