“I can’t work for a woman.”
I’m not sure he meant for it to come out, although he had been dropping hints for awhile, but those were the words said (yelled) to me by a company founder.
This founder wanted me to raise the money necessary to build the company. He also needed and wanted to get a paycheck.
It had been three+ years of no funding, and they were looking at shutting down.
I was the only one willing to take the risk necessary to make it happen.
This happened months into working with this company, with no payment or salary. It was a start-up and signing on had been a huge risk.
You’ve all heard me say how important it is to show up. Sometimes you have to know when to walk away.
I calmly pushed my chair back from the conference room table, picked up my things, and walked out the door.
Know your value. Know what you bring. Trust yourself to make the right decision.
It didn’t take long for the call to come in, asking me to return. And I did…with some ground rules.
It’s about showing up, and knowing when to walk away…but also about following through.
The company was a huge success. I can’t say working with the founder was ever easy
…but I can tell you that standing my ground, and the support of the other co-founder, made it possible to walk back into the office.
Today, I am starting a new venture. I look forward to sharing the details soon!
hashtag#leadership hashtag#resilience hashtag#showup hashtag#failure
Define Yourself
“Her story attracts scrutiny.” That’s what a journalist once wrote about me — and he was right, though his reason
