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2018 Gen Now Retreat: Nov. 2-4

Connections Matter!

EXPAND YOUR NETWORK WITH TOP EXECS FROM SAP, CENTURYLINK AND MORE. Gain an action plan to defeat career burnout and achieve your 2019 professional goals.

CONNECT WITH THE DLE ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER & LINKEDIN!

SEPTEMBER 2018 VOLUME 11, EDITION 9

Click here for more details and to register

POLISH YOUR PROFESSIONAL

Courtesy Creative Commons

• A Guide to Work and Life, pg. 4

• How Leadership is Like Wrestling, pg. 6

• Give Your Best, pg. 8 … and more!

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Keep it Real and Relevant — Our DLE Brand. What’s Yours? Two core dynamics of the Dulye Leadership Experience (DLE) brand are practicality and impact. From the in-person immersion at the annual Gen Now Retreat to ongoing coaching sessions to the content of this monthly newsletter, the advice and strategies shared through this program are reality-based — not theory — and readily applicable for affecting change and growth. The DLE is results-focused. Establishing the program back in 2008, I did so with voluminous passion to help next generation leaders see and seize their potential. That’s the brand promise that has underscored the DLE through its evolution from a career-preparatory seminar for ambitious upperclassman at my alma mater of Syracuse University to C-level quintessential training for motivated young professionals from diverse industries, organizations, positions and locations. Results have always mattered. At least 80 percent of attendees of the DLE’s annual retreat in the Berkshires have stepped up in their companies and communities within months of their participation. Purpose and passion, not pomp or pretense. That’s our DLE brand. What’s yours? Can you define it succinctly? Do your words and actions fortify it? This month’s issue of Community Connection offers concrete approaches for polishing your professional brand. A long-time pro at brand building, Cindy Marshall, provides six practical tips for establishing and elevating your brand. Cindy, who wears two hats as the Chief Marketing Officer for the Annie Selke Companies and the Founder of her branding consultancy, SHINE Strategy, will don a third hat as keynote speaker at the Gen Now Retreat on Nov. 2-4. Coupling Cindy’s guidelines are powerful testimonies from Wrestle Like a Girl Founder Sally Roberts and FS Investments Advisory Associate Marcus Coleman, both accomplished athletes with captivating stories about personal brand discovery and development. Sally and Marcus also are heading to the Berkshires for the 2018 Gen Now Retreat. You too can reserve a seat while available. The DLE website has comprehensive information about the illuminating sessions, speakers and networking opportunities to help you polish your brand and master career ownership. Seize your best and soar!

LINDA DULYE: FOUNDER’S COLUMN

Linda enjoys a morning routine of reading the local newspaper with Adele

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Cindy Marshall’s Guide to Work and Life

By Olivia Schneider Cindy Marshall, CEO of SHINE Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer at the Annie Selke Companies, has deep roots in the creative and marketing industry. She began her career spending five years in publishing and ten years in the catalogue and retail space working for the likes of J.Jill, Appleseed, L.L. Bean, and Freeport Studios, before moving into the digital sector in early 2000 working for brands like Ross-Simons, The Vermont Country Store, and Performance Bicycle. She is a featured speaker at the 2018 DLE Gen Now Retreat. Amidst a successful career, she was stunned to wake up one day in 2011 with breast cancer. At the time, she made what she calls a “bad career move” and was happy to prioritize her health and positivity. Three months into treatment, thanks to years of networking, National Geographic reached out to her about a three-month consulting gig. Three months later, she had beaten her cancer and that three-month contract turned into three and a half years and Cindy’s consulting business, SHINE Strategy,

was born. Cindy’s business continues to thrive because of her contagious and positive spirit, her dedication to networking, and these best practices that set her up for success. Here, Cindy—a keynote speaker at the 2018 Gen Now Retreat--shares her tips for developing your personal brand. 1. Put yourself first. “Putting yourself first without losing your leadership style to me is critical,” Cindy says. “Some people put themselves first but in an egotistical way and they’re not fun to be around. I’m always fun to be around and I treat the janitor the same way I treat the CEO.” 2. Always return a phone call or email. Cindy says because of her vast network, she gets a lot of messages. But respect is one of her core values. “People know I expect results, but I think people deserve respect,” she says. “You get what you give. My brand has developed because I networked and stayed in touch with folks.” Notecards go a long way, she says. “It’s something as simple as that.”

PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Cindy Marshall

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3. Be positive. SHINE Strategy was a direct result of Cindy’s positivity during her encounter with breast cancer. “My happy place was a field of sunflowers. In my past I was taking care of everyone else, so my big message is to put your oxygen mask on first before you help others.” 4. Be passionate. Before Cindy became sick, she says she made a bad career move. Half way through her chemotherapy treatment she left that company and decided it was time to focus on beating her disease. It was during that time that she began working with National Geographic, as a contracted consultant. She realized where her passion was and decided to do what she loved — helping people and businesses shine. “That was the biggest turning point in my whole life. Your career is important, but don’t stay in a position or company that you are not passionate about. You have to do what you’re passionate about!” 5. Stay involved. Networking has played a powerful role in Cindy’s life and career. Under her SHINE brand Cindy has worked with brands like Pac Sun, Hanes, Brooks Brothers, and Orvis. “It was all because I’d networked and because I’ve been honest in everything I do.” She says she has continued to stay authentic in her branding because she is constantly speaking up, constantly networking and volunteering for industry events. “I was able to drive the success of businesses because I constantly communicated to my internal and external teams, and I knew the vendors and played hardball, but I was also a fair partner,” she says. “I built positive relationships with the vendors which is just as important as the parent company you work for.” 6. Get into a routine. Cindy says she practices yoga three to four times a week and stretches every morning. “It grounds me and helps me focus on my work,” she says. Time management is another of Cindy’s systems that allow her to work successfully with several companies at once. She always keeps a to-do list for every company and how much time she can dedicate to each one per week, along with a personal to-do list.

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Sally Roberts Explains How Leadership is Like Wrestling By Danielle Waugh

In junior high school, Sally Roberts was arrested so many times she was nearly taken to a juvenile detention center. Fast forward more than 20 years later, and she’s the first in her family to graduate high school and college, an elite athlete, veteran, and founder of a nonprofit organization recently featured on the TODAY show. How did Sally come out on top? She credits the sport of wrestling. “Wrestling is a phenomenal sport because it teaches you how to get up every time you get knocked down,” she said. “Wrestling teaches women how to own their space and own their confidence.” Sally got into wrestling almost out of necessity. When she was facing incarceration for repeatedly shop lifting and breaking into homes, she was told she had to join an after-school activity and turn her life around. After getting cut from the girls’ basketball, softball, and volleyball teams, she decided to try something typically thought of as a “boys’” sport —

mainly because you couldn’t get cut from her high school’s wrestling team. The fact that she was the only girl on the Seattle-area team didn’t deter her. Sally started to excel in her sport and went on to become a three-time national champion, two-time World Bronze medalist, an Olympic alternate, and in 2018 was named USA Wrestling Woman of the Year. After college, she took on a new challenge: serving six years in the military: one of those years spent deployed in Afghanistan, while the others she spent in the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. It was “an incredible experience” that strengthened her discipline and refined her communication skills. Transitioning back into civilian life, Sally decided to take on a new mission: introducing wrestling to other girls. She says the sport made her who she is today — a confident, hardworking, successful woman who embraces a challenge and defies stereotypes. Her new job is to get more girls on the mat. “I knew I had the ability to be a good leader and support girls and women,” she says. “As I looked around, there was no specific jobs for what I wanted to do, so I built my own organization.” Wrestle Like A Girl was born. Her national nonprofit hosts six empowerment camps annually, rotating among different states. In two years, about 1,200 campers have taken part in their programs. “We teach them the basics of the sport, but then we expand upon it and teach them championship life skills,” she adds. They learn about goal setting, time management, team work, communication, anxiety control, and visualizing success before it happens. “We know that what we are really doing is cultivating leaders.”

PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Sally Roberts

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Wrestle Like A Girl is also an advocacy group, working with states to establish girls-only high school wrestling championships. The organization is also working with the NCAA to obtain “emerging sport status” so girls can wrestle in college, get recruited, and get scholarships. Sally says women’s wrestling is now one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. In the next few years, Sally plans to move her company headquarters to Washington D.C. with the goal of becoming a “powerful, international organization.” She wouldn’t be able to achieve this kind of success without a strong personal and professional brand. Sally describes her personal brand as “a strong, confident woman ... who knows how to not back down from a challenge and continues to keep that door open for girls and women.” She says the brand for Wrestle Like A Girl is similar to her personal brand, reflective of the girls and women who wrestle in the United States, and “of the highest caliber.” “One of the things that helped me be successful [in building my business’ brand] was that I knew what I was good at ... and I reached out to my friends and colleagues and found people who were experts [in other areas],” Sally says, explaining that she hired the best lawyer, graphic designer, and operations director she could find. Her advice to anyone building a similar business is to surround yourself with the best people and get comfortable saying no and being selective. As her organization grows, Sally acknowledges the long road ahead. There are still 37 states in the United States without girls-only state high school wrestling programs. But like any good wrestler, Sally continues the fight — and is inspiring a whole new generation of girls to follow in her footsteps. You can meet Sally at the upcoming 2018 Gen Now Retreat in the Berkshires.

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Marcus Coleman: Give Your Best By Mary Gallagher

“Enthusiasm,” asserts Marcus Coleman, DLE ’16-’17. “No matter what’s going on, you give the person your best. They should feel your energy.” This — enthusiasm — is one of three pillars that makes up what Marcus considers his professional brand. It’s also exactly what rolls across the telephone wires when I connect with him on a Monday afternoon. On this particular day, Marcus is right in the middle of a course to prepare him for his upcoming Series 7 exam, which will certify him as a registered representative. He’ll take the exam in less than seven days, yet the looming deadline doesn’t deter him from giving me, a stranger, his full attention. Now over a month into his position as an Advisory Associate at FS Investments in Philadelphia, Marcus is navigating an exciting transition from smaller-scale sales work in personal finance at Citizens Bank, to business-to-business sales at FS Investments.

Although he has been with FS Investments for a short time, Marcus is already very busy. He believes his success thus far, both in his current and previous financial sales work, has much to do with his professional brand, which is based on lessons he learned playing football in high school and at Syracuse University. The first of these lessons is to have enthusiasm. Marcus makes sure everyone he engages with, including me, gets his “utmost attention.” No matter what’s going on in his professional or personal life — be it demanding licensure exams at work or critical games on the football field — Marcus strives to demonstrate his care in every interaction. The right energy and attitude can change everything. Next, Marcus believes a professional brand needs to reflect deep knowledge, which is one of the reasons he’s studying for Series 7 and has the CFA Chartered Financial Analyst exam in his sights next. As he learned from playing football, whatever abilities you may be gifted, you still need “hard work to get to a higher level.” You study — the playbook, the course, or the work — so you can give your all. Your growth directly serves your customers and colleagues: it helps you “provide the best.” Finally, Marcus believes a professional brand is built through service. He recognizes he is one part of a much larger team, and this means putting others’ interests (especially the customer’s) above self-interest. His success — his growth — is important not because it advances him, but because it benefits others. “You do your best for your team,” explains Marcus. “What you do shouldn’t just be for yourself, but for them.” These three pillars of Marcus’ professional brand — pillars he feels should be part of everyone’s professional brand — are things he lives and breathes in his every interaction. From growing up in a household headed by a determined single mother, in a city with one of the highest violent crime rates

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Marcus Coleman

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in the nation, Marcus now advises financial advisors, who manages millions of dollars for their clients, on strategies that are appropriate for current market conditions. He’s confident that the consistency of his brand has brought him from the challenges of his youth to where he is now at FS Investments. And, from his very first day on the job, it has allowed him to start building the rapport he wants with decision-makers at his new company. His brand continues to invigorate him toward more. “I’m not done,” he admits. “It may be cliché, but keep working hard, be consistent, and I really believe you can do anything.” Marcus is headed to the Berkshires on Nov. 2 to attend the 2018 Gen Now Retreat.

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Success Tips for Polishing Your Professional Brand

From Kevin Belbey, Talent Representative at The Montag Group One thing I always do after meeting someone (whether it’s in person or through email) is to add them to my LinkedIn within a day.

While I hope I leave lasting impressions in first meetings, I also know how important it is to stay on people’s “radars.” LinkedIn is a great way to keep people posted on what I’m doing professionally while also staying in the loop on their accomplishments, work anniversaries and job moves. I find it’s a great way to be remembered and remember things about others.

What’s become important for me is realizing that my personal brand and my professional brand are one in the same. It’s important to be smart about what I post on social media. Some people choose to be unprofessional in what they consider personal spaces on social media, and this can do damage professionally. This is something I coach my clients on all the time.

From David Kleinhandler, Founder, VEST Life is a journey. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Do not ever look back, look forward. In order to win at the highest level, you need to keep on reinventing yourself. It’s always about your brand; and, what I’m really saying, it’s about your personal brand. You need to become a student of the game. I live by these mantras everyday ... always be giving, be learning, be compassionate, be understanding and live a healthy lifestyle.

Don’t compromise to fit into someone else’s milieu in order to be accepted. Stand out and be different. Always push yourself to the limits. The old saying is work hard and play hard. I believe the key to life is having the confidence to showcase your brand. Stand on the roof and scream I’m here. You need to build

your own mantra and start telling the world. You will be surprised how many people will want to hang out with you and do business with you. Brand building is every day. One other recommendation is to read The Daily Stoic.

From Sarah Madden, Media Planning Manager, Buzzfeed My professional brand is to be the approachable person you come to for help when you don’t know where else to go/how to solve. I don’t back down from challenges and want to be the ultimate problem solver while having a positive attitude and energy everyone can feed off of.

By being this “person,” I’m always putting myself in new situations, asking questions about things even if I don’t think it applies to my role, and asking questions about what kinds of obstacles appear during someone’s day, asking what are the things someone’s feels they are spending too much time on, and

making a point to learn people’s names and remember them. No one will look to me when they need help if they don’t feel comfortable coming to me, so remembering people’s names, finding a way to connect with them and then working to create a comfortable and approachable relationship. Compiled by Charles Lerner

WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED

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Leo Wong, DLE ’14 has been on the go, reuniting with DLE friends,

Jenna Parezo (above left), DLE ’14 and ‘15, and Jane Hong (above right), DLE ’15 and ‘16 Leo, Associate Director, Diversity & Engagement at McCann Worldgroup in New York City, met up for dinner with Jenna, Sales Manager of Otis Elevator in Chicago! Leo and Jenna were both members of the DLE in 2014 which is the same year they graduated from Syracuse University. They were friends prior to the DLE but became closer after the DLE weekend. So when Leo was in Chicago with a friend, the two met up for dinner and went to Volare, an Italian restaurant in Jenna’s favorite Chicago neighborhood. This was the first time Jenna and Leo had seen each other in 18 months so they caught up on all things life. Leo is excited about his new career opportunity working in diversity and inclusion for the advertising industry, and Jenna spoke of her participation in an international program called Otis University. Also this summer, Leo met up with Jane Hong, Producer of Special Projects at attn in Los Angeles. Jane and Leo realized it had been almost two years since they’ve seen each other, so while Jane was on vacation in New York City, they made it a point to get together and catch up!

QUICK TAKES

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Mary Gallagher, DLE ’08 Mary spent three weeks in Europe visiting the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Ireland! During the first two weeks of the trip, she was studying English as a global language in Amsterdam as part of her PhD coursework. The rest was an epic vacation! Pictured, Mary (middle) and several of her classmates tour Antwerp, Belgium together. As the Assistant Director of the Center for Academic Success at the Universities at Shady Grove, Mary works in academic support where she develops and assesses programs to build writing and strategic learning skills in students. In her spare time, she’s also been working toward her PhD. The vacation was definitely a much-needed break from her busy life!

Alex Regen, DLE ’08 and ’10-’12 Congratulations to Alex Regen and Jessica Assaf on their recent wedding! Alex is the first DLE alum to announce his wedding announcement in The New York Times! Alex is the Head of Partnerships at Tribe Socks and was also featured in the July issue of Community Connection on social media best practices. Congrats Alex and Jessica!

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Frank Fuentes, DLE ’16 Pursuing his dream of being an Olympian, DLE alum Frank Fuentes proudly wears his medal for third place finish in 2X at US Rowing Nationals on Oakland, CA on Aug. 17. Frank, left, with crewmate Rodrigo, is inspirational in his commitment to make this dream come true. Frank is an Associate at Kaller Architecture, in Hollywood, FL. Congratulations, Frank!

News to Share? Have you started a new position, traveled an amazing trip, read a great book, accomplished a personal first or volunteered for a memorable cause? Tell us so and we will share the news in Community Connection. Contact the DLE!

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HOT RESOURCES FOR CONTINUOUS LEARNING

Book of the Month Being Boss: Take

Control of Your Work & Live Life on

Your Own Terms. By Emily Thompson and

Kathleen Shannon

Articles of the Month

Want to Climb Up the Corporate Ladder?

Start Here From Forbes.

What to Do When You

Have a Bad Boss From Harvard Business

Review.

Quotes of the Month “‘What do you think?’ is an underused

but powerful question that makes a person feel respected and valued

if you listen thoughtfully and responsively

to the answer.” -Andrew Sobel (above),

shared through the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum Tip of the Day.

“The best way to become

more productive is to choose what you want to accomplish before you begin working.”

-Author Chris Bailey from his new best seller,

Hyperfocus: How to be More Productive in a World of Distraction

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STAY CONNECTED

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Correspondents

THANK YOU! DLE COMMUNITY CONNECTION VOLUNTEER TEAM

Olivia Schneider, DLE ’17, Freelance Writer, Media Intern at the Colorado Outward Bound School Danielle Waugh, DLE ’10, Maine Bureau Reporter at NBC Universal

David Bell, DLE ’10 -’15, ’17, Global Business Manager for Wipro Digital Mary Gallagher, DLE ’08, Assistant Director, Center for Academic Success at the Universities of Shady Grove, PhD student Alison Grimes, DLE ’11 and ’17, Digital Search Coordinator at Aspen Dental Management, Inc. Charles Lerner, DLE ’14 and ’17, founder, Philanthropic Broker, and Tao Cares Engagement Coordinator

Michelle Green, DLE Strategic Marketing and Communications Specialist

Linda Dulye, President & Founder of Dulye & Co. and the Dulye Leadership Experience