Held back from that promotion?

“Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is.” - Wayne Gretsy

Before my promotion to Director, I spent 11 years as an IT manager on the Laboratory Information Systems team and was exposed to a Lab solution's complete lifecycle. I helped grow a group of 4 employees supporting Cerner Classic to 24 supporting Cerner Millennium, Cerner Copath, and Wyndgate SafeTrace Tx. Centralizing and enterprising the Lab technologies included the Cornell and Columbia campus, long before it was the thing to do. Now, I can't take credit for that idea. That was the brain trust of Dr. Stephen Spitalnik and Dr. Deborah Leonard. But under my Director at the time, Bulent Oral's direction, we certainly helped see it to fruition. I will always be grateful for this experience, as I grew and learned so much. However, as much as I knew, my path to an IT Director at the time just seemed unattainable.

It wasn't until I caught my vice president's attention at that time, Mary Cassai, during an outage that what was seemed impossible became a reality. I spent many nights pondering, journaling, trying to figure out what happened for me to deserve this distinction. From that moment to this very day, I do all that I can to support those around me to help reach their potential. Watching those I coach reach their professional goals is so incredibly fulfilling to me. You would think that I achieved the goals myself. Becoming a Director was no easy task for me, but I was so thankful for the support that I received that I made it a personal goal to coach someone to Director. Which was my way of giving back. Having met that goal three times over in 6 months, I have not stopped and am committed to having everyone I mentor level up.

Which brings me to Donald Ascher's book, Who Gets Promoted Who Doesn't and Why. A little over a month ago, I took a walk to my local Barnes and Noble and came across this book. I did not read any reviews and was simply drawn to the topic. I picked up the book to improve my ability in helping others reach their professional goals. But I got a lot more than I bargained for. In my opinion, this book should be given to every hard-working, talented, and ambitious professional. The first 20 pages of my personal copy took me 3 days to read. Not because I had difficulty reading it. But because reading it took me back to specific points in my life and helped me recognize the mistakes I made and my long path. This book helped me put things to rest in my life that I never knew bothered me and gave me a level of peace and clarity like nothing else I have ever read. Imagine trying to make sense of something so that others can benefit from it but not being able to provide a clear and enabling support. Only having to rely on intuition and simply coaching through moments, scenarios, and situations. Because of this book, I am equipped to do so much more now. All the while having had a sense of liberation. 

I made it a point to write to Mr. Donald Asher, personally thank him for writing the book and its impact on my life. To my surprise, Mr. Asher asked for my address and sent me a case of books to give my mentees. Therefore, every person I coach and mentor will be receiving a copy of this book, thanks to Donald Ascher. If you feel stuck, held back, and haven't grown professionally, you will not be disappointed with this book.