Hey, women professionals:
Want career synchronicity?
Network with other women!
“Synchronicity” is the term psychologist Karl Jung coined to describe those times when meaningful coincidences seem to bring you what you need. When synchronistic events pile up, Jung said, it’s as though you’re being supported by an unseen helper.
I can roughly graph the times in my career when synchronicity was in full flow. From my early job as Ohio University’s director of women’s affairs, through my years as a Washington lawyer, lobbyist and executive, to my decade as coach and consultant, I’ve enjoyed periods of peak synchronicity. In these times opportunities abound, resources appear when I need them, and life feels abundant.
I also can create another graph of my 40+ career years. This one measures the intensity of my networking with other women. If I compare the two lines – one for career synchronicity and the other for Old Girl networking – they seem to match. My graphs illustrate that the most exciting, productive years aren’t necessarily the ones when I’ve worked the hardest or been the most disciplined. What often seems to trigger the times of great flow is the energy I put into networking, particularly with other women.
Journalist Pamela Ryckman started noticing women of all ages harnessing the power of a new breed of professional networks. Intrigued by the trend, she began writing about a wide mix of women’s dining clubs and other groups, particularly in New York and California. She followed the trail to more cities and the result is her new book, Stiletto Network: Inside the Women’s Power Circles That Are Changing the Face of Business. [Read more…] about Stiletto Networks are energizing women professionals
