“The career-pampering,” she added, “is when you’re in a position of moving to the next level or taking on something new. [It] requires risk-taking and moving into territory you’re not comfortable with, and having the confidence to go there. You can climb the learning curve and you can get there, but you won’t be perfect … That’s a place where you see a big differentiating factor between men and women’s willingness to take on a stress role, or something that’s going to help them catapult themselves into the next level. How comfortable are you getting out of the zone of perfection?”
One key to reaching such a level of comfort, Cutler said, is learning to delegate. As people reach more senior positions, they must relinquish the day-to-day control to which they have become accustomed, he noted. Decisions of greater import must be made with less specific information. “I think this is an area in which women have a tougher time,” he added. “Whether it’s because of the way they’re treated or communicated with, or if it’s inherent, I’m not going anywhere near that debate.”
Jimmy Lynn, the second male panelist and managing partner of JLynn Associates, a global strategic advisory firm focused on sports marketing and sports digital media, encouraged the women in attendance to mentor others and to follow their areas of passion. Working in a job one likes, he said, changes everything.
When a member of the audience asked him what he would suggest for those who haven’t yet discovered a passion, Lynn replied: “There’s a mobile revolution that is going on right now. It’s early. If I were you, I would get involved in that game.”
Companies that focus on e-commerce, he added, need to better appeal to women. “I have clients that are brands, such as UnderArmour, who don’t understand the woman consumer,” Lynn said. “You guys can apply that to choosing a career path.”
Social media platforms in other regions of the world, he stated, have larger audiences than Facebook or Instagram have in the United States. He cited China as an example, noting that American companies haven’t figured out how best to reach the largely untapped international audiences such networks provide.
Indeed, the women in attendance represented a wide range of nationalities and ethnicities. The moderator, Rosoff, said he saw in the students the ability to expand commerce by spreading ideas from one culture to another, which would render them leaders. He acknowledged that doing so would come with risk, as the acceptance of women in such roles varies from country to country. “I stand in awe of you,” Rosoff added, “and I think you have a great opportunity.”
