How to Make Big Bold Career Moves with Francine Parham
Show Snapshot:
Still relying on luck (or hope) as a career strategy? Time for a reset. Career pro Francine Parham, author of "The Ultimate Career Pocket Guide," and a former executive at GE and J&J, shares what it takes to build great careers and navigate big, bold work pivots. Plus, entrepreneurs take note, we talk business building tips, tools, and hacks for being your own boss.
In This Episode We Cover:
Why luck should never be a career strategy.
The “unwritten rules” of corporate life.
How to get advocates championing your career in the “room where it happens.”
Grow your network – and win mentorship – with “Talking Thursdays.”
The challenges of being a woman, a BIOPC woman, and a woman 50+ in corporate America.
What’s a “Gap Analysis” and why to conduct one before launching a business or asking for a promotion.
Tips, tools, and hacks for launching—and scaling—a new business.
A proven technique for mastering tricky money conversations.
Resources to sharpen your career skills.
Quotable:
As a woman, I can do everything perfectly and still not make the headway that I need to make. I don't get paid the same, or have the position of leadership and power in the organization. And so that's the work that we have to do.
Pay attention to the hands of the individuals that are on the door that you want to get into.
Resources:
Books
Follow Francine
Transcript:
Katie Fogarty (00:04):
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women on life after 50 who unafraid to age out loud. I'm your host, Katie Fogarty.
My day job requires spending a lot of time on LinkedIn. So, when I stumbled across a LinkedIn article on women's leadership with the headline, "Luck Should Never Be a Career Strategy," I thought to myself, "Boom! That is spot on.” Great careers require intention, planning, hard work, grit, maybe a dose of serendipity. But luck? Not unless you're creating your own.
I'm joined today by that article's author, Francine Parham, a women's leadership consultant, author, speaker, and a former corporate executive with a 20-year career in senior roles at GE and Johnson & Johnson. Not only did Francine build her own amazing corporate career, she's an expert at guiding others to do the same. She literally wrote the book on this as the co-author of The Ultimate Career Pocket Guide. If you're looking to elevate your career, claim a leadership role at your company, or are craving a big, bold work pivot, you don't want to miss the show. Welcome, Francine.
Francine Parham (01:04):
Thank you, Katie. Thank you for having me.
Katie (01:07):
I'm so delighted that you're with me today. You've had very senior HR roles at GE and J&J. When you left J&J, you were a global VP, and you ran a big chunk of HR for their consumer sector. So, you know hiring, you know talent development, you know, career trajectories. I've heard you talk about the unwritten rules and the unspoken skills of corporate life. Can you tell us more about these ideas?
Francine (01:32):
Sure. I talk a lot about that, Katie. And so that's my mantra in terms of when I speak with women about how they actually advance in the workplace. And I tell them that, you know, we have those written rules if you will. And we also have those written skills, but being an executive and the time that I spent in corporate America, one of the things that I noticed was that was just a given and that was an expectation is that individuals who were interested in advancing in their careers had some of those skills or had a great chunk of them. It really always came down to the unwritten ones. And by that, I mean things such as: what is your professional brand? What is your leadership story? Do you have the right sponsorship in the organization? And as we know, those types of things that I just spoke about have nothing to do with any leadership competency-based checklist. It's anything but that. I've attended and sat in so many different meetings by which these things were used as factors by which women and women of color were selected to go into leadership roles, or not. And so when you…
Katie (02:53):
Francine, when you say, "sat in the room," it made me think of something that I heard recently from somebody once, that the decisions are happening in rooms that you're not in. Right? Your career is being decided in rooms that you're not even present in. So, the idea of sitting in a room and recognizing that there's this sort of unspoken set of criteria that are being applied to your advancement possibilities, it's something that people need to recognize and need to be proactive about. Tell us how you do that.
Francine (03:27):
Well, I think that it's really important to understand Katie, about the fact that you won't be in a lot of the rooms in which they're talking about you obviously. And so the question becomes, how do you have the right individuals? How do you have the organizational advocacy, that you need with those individuals that are, you know, in those rooms?
So, there's a saying by a woman who is one of the coaches I've worked with, and she used to always say, "Pay attention to the hands of the individuals that are on the door that you want to get into." That is so true and I wrote it down. It's emblazoned in my mind. Because it's very important that, you know, who's in the room. And not only know who's in the room but also know what they're saying about you and more importantly, being able to shape and craft that story so that they are able to clearly articulate what you want them to say about you. And so, from my perspective, it's really about being strategic concerning your career and knowing, and having the information to influence the right people.
Katie (04:40):
What would be some tactics to get people to understand your story and advocate for you and believe in you? How do you get a corporate sponsor excited about you and the value you offer?
Francine (04:52):
Well, as we know, you don't select a sponsor, a sponsor selects you. And you have to be prepared for one. So, in my career, I spent a great deal of time having conversations with very senior leaders. And I learned very early on in my career, that it was really important to engage them. And it was very important to get on their calendars and have lunch or have a cup of coffee. Or now the workplace that we're in, I'm having that virtual cup of coffee, right? And so, it's really important for them to get to know you and feel comfortable about you. And so you know, I started and I still do that now. I still ensure that I carve out...I call it "Talking Thursdays." And so I spend time on my Thursdays, I block out my calendar, and whether it's a Zoom call, you know, whether it's a Cisco WebEx, regardless of whatever mechanism it is, or just, you know, just using my cell phone sounds old school...
Katie (05:49):
Cell phones being old school! Well, I guess in the world of Zoom, a cell phone is old school.
Francine (05:57):
Yes. So, but you know these are the things that you need to do in order for individuals to get to know you. And it is even more important. I talk to women, and women of color, that's my tribe. And it is very, very much at top of mind for them. And it's very important that you continue to do the same things that you did in the workplace, but now you just have to do it utilizing different tools if you will.
So, that's what you need to do, and you need to continue to really push that because, we're at a place now, organizations, as well as the leadership, and those who manage people, the managers, and the employees, we're at an inflection point around, "How do we really navigate the workplace that isn't a brick and mortar anymore?"
Katie (06:46):
Francine, you mentioned your tribe are women of color women, and women more broadly, and you used a metaphor earlier in our conversation about the hand on the doorknob that's sort of opening the door and perhaps unlocking opportunity. What if these hands are of different colors? What if there are different genders? How do you make that connection when there are differences
Francine (07:09):
Well, the beauty of that is, that's the starting point. And so, I personally never let that get in the way. I use that as an opportunity to get to know others. Another piece of advice, I usually tell women is that it's really important to know everyone and it's really important to have those conversations where you do come from different perspectives. Because if I'm just talking to you, and you and I have the same, or we believe the same, we know the same, all of that. It just ends up being the same. And so you should seek out individuals who have different points of view, who have different perspectives. And be prepared, you know, be prepared to ask those questions, be prepared to be authentic and transparent, around the conversations by saying, "I don't know. I would love to know. Can you tell me? Can you guide me?”
Here's the interesting thing, Katie, is everyone likes talking about themselves, right? And so it's really important to pick up on some of those things and say, “So, tell me a little bit about how that worked with you? Or what are you doing?" Those are all the things that are super, super important.
Katie (08:17):
That makes so much sense. And we do have very multigenerational workforces today. Where there are people ranging from 20 to 50 to 60 in a room together. And you can learn just as much from people that are younger than you, about their work style or some tech tools, as you can from people who are more senior. So, you really need to find both mentors. And you have to manage up and down because we live in this different, multigenerational workforce.
You had a very senior career at two of the very biggest companies on the planet. So, you have a very unique perspective. I would love to hear you think about whether or not there's room in corporate life for women after the age of 50.
Francine (09:01):
Wow.
Katie (09:03):
And be honest. That's what we're here to talk about.
Francine (09:05):
Listen Katie, listen. Okay. I’m, at the end of the day....It's hard. I'm going to tell you it's hard, really hard. You know, there's a certain point in time — and never say never — never say never in terms of being able to navigate in the workplace, but I'm one of those women that you just described. And I think about the fact, "What would I do if I went back into the workplace?" I know what I would do in terms of tasks, but also I have to take into consideration that there are other individuals that are there that have been working just as hard as I have been working in earlier in my career, or they have a different perspective. I would have to adjust. I mean and I believe that there's a point in time and a season for everyone. And I don't think that it's out of reach. And I don't know if that is what you want to do if you were one of those women that are in that 50-plus range, and you decide that you want to enter back into the workforce, understand that you may not be able to enter back in the at the level that you left, right.
Katie (10:14):
But what if you never left Francine? You've been there for a number of years. Is there, is there still a welcome mat out for you as you start to age in a corporate organization?
Francine (10:24):
Wow. I have to say that it depends on the level that you have achieved. So, if you are at the senior level and it's tough, Katie, I mean, as we know, and that's why I do the work that I do. I'm helping women understand those unwritten and unspoken skills, and guess what, they don't go away. I tell people, you know, when you get your badge, "Welcome to the game," because that's what you're going to play. And you've got to make a decision. The first thing is you've got to make the decision if you want to be involved in this game if you will. And if you so choose to play it. And if you do understand that it's tough consequences and you are competing. And you're competing with that person that, you know, has 10 years of experience just as if you're competing with a person that has 20 years of experience.
So, it's very hard. And all of the things that we have unearthed, with everything that has happened with COVID, with the institutional racism, with just the disparities in health care. All of that stuff has always existed. It's just that we've come to a point, and it's an inflection point, and women are having to battle these same exact things.
We've been quiet. And, you know, I have to say, and in all honesty and transparency, we've been very quiet about this. We go into the bathroom, we have the conversation. When we have a challenge at work, we go into our office, we close the door, we hit the wall and then we come back out as if nothing ever happened. And so, it is harder I think, because of the complexities but it can be done. I think, I definitely think anything is achievable. But you need to understand what you're walking into. And the workplace isn't always as inviting because we, you know, we tend to look to youth. We tend to look for the latest and the greatest. And that's hard, you know, because sometimes what I bring is not just the latest and greatest, I bring a different perspective.
Katie (12:29):
Absolutely. COVID is really rewriting the rules of work. We are in, as you said, an inflection point for how we are moving forward as an economy. And there's so much going on with the social justice movement, a lot of issues have been brought to the forefront, where they belong, where we can pay attention to them, work on them, fix them and try to move forward in a different way. We're seeing massive layoffs. The news is still very dismal. Industries are collapsing. Some are emerging stronger like healthcare, ed-tech, online learning. What do you see as the future of work? Both for yourself and for our listeners.
Francine (13:12):
Sure. I think that the future of work is going to be very different than what we're used to. And I think, you know, especially in the groups that I work with closely and talk to, women have been given permission. We've been given a little bit more permission than we had in the past, to be able to call it out. But in the same token, it is tough for us as well. And so we still have to play... There's, here's the deal, Katie, there is still the institution, right? So, irrespective of all of the inflection points that we're at, we're still in the institution and whether it's at home, whether it’s in your brick and mortar organizations, we're still there.
And, you know there are some ideologies, right, that really have to change. Because I, as a woman, can do everything that I need to do. I can do everything perfectly and still not make the headway that I need to make or get paid the same. I don't get paid the same or have the position of leadership and power in the organization. And so, that's the work that I think that we really have to do. We have to unearth it and we have to be courageous enough to have those conversations.
I tell women call it out now. Understand that there's a consequence for doing that, but you've got to be prepared. There are going to be some of us, and you and I have both been in those situations where, you know, we've become the sacrifice for the organization. Or they say, “Well, you know, Francine, you're a little bit off the ranch here. So, we don't think that you'll fit here,” or whatever, but that's what you've got. You have to be comfortable with doing that because what I'm playing for is not for me. I'm playing for my niece, who is three years old now. And I want her to walk into a workplace that's a lot different than what I have experienced in my 20 years.
Katie (15:13):
Hear, hear. That's exactly right. We need to make sure that our daughters or nieces, you know, are looking at a very different kind of environment. Which is exactly what you're doing with the work that you do today.
You run your own, women's coaching business, your own leadership training. You work with women starting their own businesses. You work with women wanting to elevate their careers. And you start often with a gap analysis, right? Where people are looking at what they offer, what the gaps are. Can you walk us through this process?
Francine (15:42):
Sure. Well, that was something that I went through when I was leaving the corporate world. I went through just my own thinking. And I often encourage anyone, not just, you know, women or women of color in general to do this. But I sat there one day and I said, "Okay. I'm done with the world that I know, which is my 20-year career, but my life is not by any means over. And what do I really want to do? And what I did was I took a step back and I said, "Let me think about the things that I do very well.” Now, the other half of that is that...
Katie (16:23):
You started there. I love that you started with, "Let me think about what I do well," because we can often focus on what we don't do well and what our deficits are.
Francine (16:31):
Oh yeah. No, it's all about thinking about what you do well, and then also with that, you have to think about what you like, because as we know, we do many things well, but we don't like doing them.
Katie (16:47):
Making dinner, making dinner. Does that count?
Francine (16:51):
Okay. Don't get me started on that. But at the end of the day, as said, I'm going to now... I have a little bit of freedom. Like I have freed myself. And so what I'm going to do is, I am only going to do things that I do exceptionally well, and also that I like to do. And I just sat down and did that kind of list and sort of said, "Okay. Okay. No. Yup. Yup." And I got to a point where I said, "Well, you know what I do really well is I help. In the corporate sector, you know, we talk about talent and talent development. And I said, “I do very well at that and I'm known for that in my organization.” Anyone you would ask in any company I've ever worked for would say Francine Parham, talent development. That was my brand. And I said, “I do that very well. I get promotions, I get accolades, all of that. And I love doing it. So, I'm going to continue that.” Now here's the thing. I said, “Okay, got that. But then, so what's my ultimate goal? And what do I hope to achieve?”
So, I went all the way to the other end of the sheet of paper and said, my goal in what I do very well, is really to help with advancing women. I've gotten great feedback from the organization, so forth, and so on. So now, what I need to do is ask, if that is my goal, how do I get that done? And that's the middle part of it. Really saying, well, you know what, maybe what I should think about is going out and maybe, you know, I want to learn something, maybe I want to get another certification. I do need to start really building the right type of network. Because the network that I had in the corporate world is not the network that I need to have as an entrepreneur. Because now all of a sudden I'm an entrepreneur and being an entrepreneur is a career. So, I'm up to my eyeballs with individuals saying, especially women, we say, “Oh, I'm just an entrepreneur.” I'm like, "No. You're an entrepreneur. It's hard. You know, it is a hard job.”
Katie (18:54):
I run my own business and I absolutely agree. I love the fact that your gap analysis starts off with you setting these positive intentions: What I do well. What I want to be doing. And then once you identify the gaps, then you really come up with an action plan, like "I need to learn this new skill."
So, what were some of the steps that you needed to take when you launched your own business? You'd obviously worked at a very big company. Running your own smaller business is harder. Anyone who's listening, who might be thinking about starting their own work, what advice would you be giving them? What steps did you take?
Francine (19:29):
Well, what I would say to them, and I wish I had done more of this, I call it the pre-entrepreneurial qualification lists, right. And what I mean by that is, I mean that a lot of times, you know, we'll just get fed up. You're like, "I'm outta here. I can't take this anymore. And I'm gone." And I talked to so many women, Katie that are not prepared and they're women. And, you know, we're taking over space in terms of, you know, becoming entrepreneurs. And we are not prepared financially. We are not prepared with the potential education, et cetera.
So, I say to women before you decide to take that jaunt and cross across the continental divide, if you will, of “I’m becoming an entrepreneur,” make sure that you're prepared to do that. Make sure that you're prepared financially to do that because, you know, you only have finite resources. Make sure you have your network lined up. So, really start going out and making some connections with people that may be your future vendors. Or maybe individuals. Start working that other network, really start doing that. And I didn't do enough of that.
Fortunately, I was in a position on the back end where had some leeway, but I'm starting to see women who have less and less tenure with working in organizations, deciding that they want to become an entrepreneur. And it sounds exciting because you're now free. You can do what you want until you're sitting there by yourself in your office. And all of a sudden, say, you need a resource, and you've got your organizational hat on. And you're like, wow, I wish, you know, I need someone to help me with my public relations. I need someone to help me with my books...
Katie (21:15):
For me, it's all fun and games until you're your own tech support. And that I've had to hire my 17-year-old son. I'm like, "I need some help here." It's hard to be under-resourced. I like the point that you made too about getting going, figuring out what your deficits are, and working on them. Because for me, I needed things like tech support. I needed things like systems in place that you, as you talked about, I found a lot of great tools that exist. Like, I use FreshBooks, I use Canva for editing. I went in search of resources that help me fill in the holes that I had. But what I don’t — and this is something that I would encourage listeners to take on — what I don't do is try to learn everything. So, I do outsource things that I can't do myself. This podcast is being recorded right now in a podcast studio. I work with a lawyer to review my contracts. You know, I've recognized that there are things I'm going to learn. Like, I'm going to edit my own graphics because I can do that and I enjoy it, but I'm not going to learn how to read a contract myself.
Francine (22:20):
Absolutely. Absolutely. And those are the things, it's like, what you do well, you can continue to do. And even if there are some things that you do well, the goal is hopefully that you grow so much, that you won't have time to do those things because you're out there getting the business. And when you do start, you start as one, you are that solo entrepreneur, and you're exactly right Katie. You have to think about what you do once again, what you do well? And also, not just what you do well, but also thinking about things that like is it a good utilization of your time? Because a lot of times I would sit down and yeah, I know how to do a particular thing, but is it really the best utilization of my time?
Is it better that I'm working with getting a client, or a book of business? Or is it better that I am putting together my brochure, for example, to share with the potential customer? It's better that I get prepared to have that conversation with that potential client than it is for me to put together that brochure. Because there's someone else that can do that, even though I can do it. And I love it and maybe kind of fun. So, you have to think about that as well. So yes, I definitely agree with you.
Katie (23:35):
Investing your time and money and the ROI, the high ROI, the things that are driving results for your business, right? So, rather than spending your valuable time working on things that you might outsource, and things like bookkeeping are good things to outsource, maybe invoicing, as you said, you could outsource graphics. If you want you can outsource CRM, you can have somebody else manage your mail lists. Things I have found that it works to work with sort of a virtual assistant to manage those.
Another thing, you jogged a thought when you were speaking earlier. Another thing I wanted to say is that my own business pivoted. So, I feel that if you're an entrepreneur and you're thinking about starting your own business, one of the ways of getting rolling as you're starting to build that network, as you're starting to meet new people in that and that new field, I did some kind of volunteer projects as I got going. I worked at a lower price point, so I could get a portfolio of work before I switched into doing higher-margin work. I also wound up pivoting the offerings that I was doing. Initially, I began simply offering one-to-one coaching and engagements, and then I added on the service of virtual workshops and training, as I recognized there was a need for that for my clients.
So, that's another piece of advice I want to share with our listeners, that you can and should evolve your business model. And it's okay to start off at a lower price point, but you want to quickly start charging more, and charging going rates once you have a bit of a portfolio of work.
Francine (25:12):
Yes, yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And you really want to make sure that you know your worth. That's what I think sometimes we forget is that you know, we get into this, well, I call it, "I hope, one day." Right? So, you start out with, "I'll only charge this," and I'm hoping one day I'll get to that, and what you have to be very comfortable with. And I have this challenge as well because I know my product is good. I know what I do is amazing, but I've got to get other people to buy into this. So, what I'm going to do is, I'm just going to reduce it and hopefully one day I'll get there. And hope is hope, right.
Katie (25:58):
Hope is not a strategy!
Francine (25:58):
Exactly, exactly. So, you've got to really be good at it. And I also tell women, you know, even though sometimes people will say, "Well, I hate managing my books. You know, I hate managing that." And fortunately, I was an auditor for GE and so numbers resonate with me in addition to my HR skills. So, I kind of have two things I do that I like to do. And I tell individuals, make sure, you know your business. Really make sure you know your business. You may not have to do the bookkeeping but you need to know where your money's going.
Katie (26:34):
I could not agree more. And I also think that in terms of saying what the price is and knowing your value, you do have to do some benchmarking. You've got to see what going rates are, but you also have to feel confident in your pricing and what you're offering. The best piece of financial advice I ever received since starting my business was from a woman named Carrie Kerpen, who wrote a wonderful book called Work It: Secrets of Success from the Boldest Women in Business. And she talks about the concept of the "mental mute button." This is the button that you hit after you name your price. So, when you're saying that workshop is $25,000, hit that "mental mute button" and don't start negotiating against yourself. When you hit that mute button, it allows the other person to then make the first kind of reaction to the price. And it's been a valuable tool that I've used a number of times when I name my price, I hit my mute button and then wait and react.
Francine (27:35):
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's a great piece of advice because sometimes as an entrepreneur, you are so desirous of wanting to please your customer, or get that piece of business, or, you know, you're looking at and facing off with a large corporation, and you're trying to get yourself in the door. And what I often think about at times is that if I come in with this extremely low price point, when I come back again, because you're going to love my service, I just know this. And then I have to climb out of that price, whatever it is. So, I can't go from, you know one dollar to all of a sudden to a hundred dollars because I didn't find a reasonable price. To your point, I didn't hit the mute button and now I've got to climb out of that one dollar. And it's hard. It's very hard to do that.
Katie (28:31):
I love that you know that you're going to get repeat business. That's such a vote of confidence. Francine, you've been sharing so many wonderful tips and tools on this episode, I would love to ask you, is there a particular resource or, or product or tool that's made a difference for your business that our listeners should know about?
Francine (28:51):
Well, one of the things that I really did, I went back and I refreshed myself. And believe it or not, you talk about LinkedIn and LinkedIn has some great videos. You could even just put them on your iPhone and you're driving in your car, you can listen to them. And so for me, one of the things that I did was I opened up that library that they had. I started out with lynda.com. And so back then, really just going in and, you know, I wanted to understand about video production. It didn't mean that I was going to do any type of video production, but I wanted to understand some technical terms since I was meeting with a videographer. So, I kind of wanted to understand a few things. That's where you, as an entrepreneur can find out a lot of things. We tend to think of those skills. "Oh, we're going to go learn about leadership skills on LinkedIn," but they have a lot of How-Tos. And a lot of "How-Tos" for us as entrepreneurs.
Katie (29:55):
Such smart advice there, right? If you could hit LinkedIn Learning, if you use Lynda, if you google it, there is so much wonderful content, free content out there. You can really educate yourself about so many different aspects of business, creative production, and, you know, just a whole host of things that will make your life and your business run more smoothly. Francine, how can our listeners keep following you and all your wonderful tips on work and career development? Where should they find you?
Francine (30:24):
Well, they can find me on LinkedIn, I'm Francine Parham. It's really simple. I'm active on Twitter, I have a voice. And so obviously I have a voice, but a voice that really focuses on advancing women. And so, I spend a great deal of time putting out things and saying things. I use those two platforms if you will. Also, go to francineparham.com. The beauty of it all was that I decided to have my brand just be my name. So, I have nothing creative relative to, you know, here's Francine with two”r"s or whatever. It's just Francine Parham. And so, if you go francineparham.com, right now I'm actually doing a women's advancement summit. We're doing the webinars. And then we're going to go into the actual summit on October 15th. So, if you hit francineparham.com, and there's a button that says, "Join Us,” it takes you to another page. And it tells you all about the great work that I'm bringing some amazing people to the table to talk about how they've advanced, to provide workshops on advancement, to do a lot of things, networking. And we're going to do this all virtually. So normally, and this is back to your point about pivoting Katie, I had to pivot, so I'm doing virtual stuff now a hundred percent.
Katie (31:49):
That's amazing and wonderful to hear. Congratulations. So listeners, if you're interested in sharpening your skills, Francine has some wonderful resources and a summit coming in October.
Francine, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate your time. I love hearing your perspective on talent development and you're just an inspiration with the business that you've built for yourself after having made your own pivot. Thank you so much for your time
Francine (32:14):
Thank you, Katie. Take care.
Katie (32:15):
Goodbye Francine.
Now we're going to hear from a listener who shares her own career pivot after 50. And if you'd like to share your own story, visit us at acertainagepod.com.
Hyun Chin Kim (32:26):
Hi, my name Hyun Chin Kim. I'm 50 years old and I am the Republican candidate for New York State Orange County Clerk Judge. After a career in law, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and take a more active role in my community. And for the first time ever, I'm running for office.
Katie (32:45):
Good luck with your race Hyun Chin. Thanks for calling in.
This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women over 50, who are aging without apology. Thanks for listening. And if you enjoyed the show, please spread the word. You can help us grow by heading to iTunes, to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. And visit us at www.acertainagepod.com for show notes and bonus content special. Thanks to Michael Mancini Productions who produced and composed our theme music. See you next time. And until then: age boldly beauties.