ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL ROLE MODEL?

An entertainment industry veteran, Libby Gill spent fifteen years heading public relations and corporation communications as senior vice president at Universal Studios; vice president at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting and was also the PR/branding brain behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show. Libby is now an internationally respected executive coach, brand strategist and bestselling author.

She has shared her success strategies on the Today Show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, CNN, NPR, Oprah & Friends Radio Network, Fox News, CBS Early Show, and in Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Self and many more.

We are so excited to bring Libby on as a regular guest blogger here at StopStressingNow.Com. Her unique perspective and unmatched qualifications have inspired millions. It’s with great pleasure I introduce to you a lady who is truly making a difference in the lives of so many…

Please welcome, Libby Gill.

ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL ROLE MODEL?

I drove past my neighborhood YMCA the other day and noticed a big banner hanging on their fence that read, “Professional Role Models Wanted.”  Intrigued, I called to inquire what sort of role models they needed.  “A receptionist, maintenance engineer and several camp counselors,” I was told by the very efficient-sounding woman who took my call.

“So when you hire people to work at the Y, you expect them to be role models?” I inquired, the light finally dawning on me.

“If they’re not capable of being role models, why would we want to hire them?” she responded.  Why indeed?

Although the Y intentionally recruited its role models, I stumbled on my first one quite by accident when I hired my assistant Beth fifteen years ago.  I’d just been made vice president at Sony Pictures Television and needed a strong right hand, but I had no idea that this sweet, artistic young woman would soon become the embodiment of grace under pressure and my role model for courage.

A television industry cliché cited by TV types who need to laugh off a bit of their often self-inflicted pressure is that their work “is not the cure for cancer.”  But the day Beth came into my office and told me she’d just been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of the disease, it was no joke.  I found myself fervently wishing that our industry did, indeed, have the cure for cancer.

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In the ensuing months, I watched this brave young woman show up at work every day she could manage to get out of bed.  She didn’t have to work, mind you, she wanted to work as much as she could for as long as she could.  It gave her hope, she said, and a reason to get dressed in the morning.  When she was undergoing chemotherapy, she’d drive directly from the hospital to the office while she was still feeling well enough to work the rest of the day, that is, before the drugs kicked in and made her too nauseated to leave her apartment.  Even when Beth, already ballerina thin, lost so much weight that she fainted in the shower from sheer weakness, she came to work the next day with makeup covering the nasty bruise down the side of her cheek.

Beth taught me that one of my most important tasks as a leader was to create a work environment where my staff felt not just challenged but protected.   And she taught me that when a leader sets a tone of genuine respect and caring, others follow.  My PR and communications staff, normally a group of chatty extroverts, kept absolutely mum about Beth’s illness and picked up the slack on her workload without a hint of resentment.  When she was eventually confined to bed, we took turns bringing her soup, books and studio video releases.  When her hair fell out, we took her wig shopping and gamely pretended that the straight wig she liked was practically identical to the natural curls she’d lost.

Up until then, I used to cringe when PR colleagues referred to “our corporate family” in company releases because it smacked of such hypocrisy.  But in our shared concern for Beth’s wellbeing, we became the best kind of corporate family and it was one of the proudest accomplishments of my career.   Beth was my role model for courage and she taught me to become a role model for compassionate leadership.

No matter if you’re a file clerk or a CEO, it’s your responsibility to be a professional role model, too.  Consider the following:

• Act the way you would if your children, parent or anyone whose respect you value, were watching.
• Be a mentor to someone who could benefit from your wisdom or experience, even if it’s just by giving a quick informational interview to a college intern.
• Don’t check your compassion at the office door.  Bring your soul to work with you every single day for the rest of your career.

Beth, I am thrilled to report, is a happy, healthy professional married to a terrific guy.  And she’s still my role model for courage.

Libby Gill is an executive coach, brand strategist and bestselling author.  You can learn more at www.LibbyGill.com and www.MyAccountabilityClub.com.