Bev's Tips for a Better Work Life
Bev Jones' twice-monthly ezine offering you suggestions
for making your career more productive and more fun.

Dear Friends and Clients,

When I first met Gayle Williams-Byers in the early ‘90s I was impressed by her determination. At the time, she had begun a coveted internship in the White House. She was supposed to be writing a paper about her learning experience as an intern, for which she would be awarded 12 hours of academic credit by Case Western Reserve University, where she was a junior.

Gayle’s problem was that the only work she was given at the White house was making photocopies. She needed those credit hours, but didn’t feel she would be able to claim them because she wasn’t learning anything.

Gayle found her way to my Washington office through an acquaintance. She requested a few minutes of my time, then pretty much announced that she’d be transferring her internship to my team. She said that she’d do anything, that she’d make it worth my while to take her on, but that she needed a challenge and she absolutely had to learn something.

Today both of Gayle’s parents have PhDs, but when she was growing up no one in her family had attended college. And as one of her family’s three first-generation college students, Gayle was anxious to learn as much as possible. She regarded the semester in Washington as the opportunity of a lifetime, and she was determined to have a great learning experience, even if it meant walking away from the White House and inventing something new.

Gayle returned to my office after graduation and kept working for the company while completing a joint JD/Masters program. Then, during her last years in DC, she was counsel to a Senate Committee. Along the way she encountered many challenges, from racism to breast cancer, but I never doubted her ultimate success. I knew that she just wouldn’t quit working to develop her potential.

Last week during a Kwanzaa celebration, a community group in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid gave Gayle a “Kujichagulia” award to honor her self-determination. That was just one of the celebrations that followed her recent election, at age 37, as South Euclid’s first African American municipal court judge.

I agree with Gayle’s neighbors that she is a model of self-determination, and I’m so proud of her. And in this issue I’ll share some of her insights about how to take control of your own life.

Warm Wishes, Bev


Self-determination can
keep you moving forward
when the going is tough

January 3, 2012 * Number 161

Municipal Judge-elect Gayle Williams-Byers has kept pushing toward her goals, even when life seems to have stacked the odds against her. A low point came a few months ago when she was going door-to-door, talking about her plan to bring change to the South Euclid Municipal Court system.

At the first house on a long street, an angry man refused to listen to her pitch. He jabbed her with his finger saying, “We don’t want to hear it. We’ve already made up our minds. You got no chance kid.”

Gayle was tired. She looked down the row of about 30 houses and thought, “I don’t think I can do this again.”

Gayle almost gave up. I asked her why she didn’t. She said, “that’s what self-determination is. You dig really deep when you don’t want to, and you decide to take one more step.”

Gayle shares her parents’ belief that, no matter how humble your beginning, you can become just about anything you want. She says, “If you can imagine it, you can do it.” Here are Gayle’s tips for developing your self-determination:
  • Have a big goal. It is easier to keep going when you have a goal that is bigger than yourself. For her judicial race, Gayle developed a comprehensive plan for the court, and when she felt discouraged she tried to stay focused on what the change could mean for her community.

  • Control what you can control, and work to accept the rest. When Gayle had cancer she faced challenges that she couldn’t control, but she focused her energy on studying hard and taking care of herself. She says she couldn’t control the fact of having cancer, but she could control how she spent her time.

  • Find mentors and role models. Gayle deeply respects her parents and continues to learn from them. And she also hasn’t been shy about recruiting other mentors. It is easier to keep going in the tough times if you’ve built yourself a cheering squad. And if you know how to ask for help.

  • Laugh at yourself. There’s a danger that self-determination can morph into arrogance or self-righteousness. A good way to avoid that is to keep your sense of humor, including when it comes to your own failures and mistakes.

  • Keep learning. No matter what your goals, opportunities will continue to present if you stay engaged in learning. At all times it’s important to be on some kind of learning path, whether you’re taking a class or pursuing a new hobby.

  • Build your confidence. An element of self-determination, of course, is confidence. One way to become more confident is by defining and achieving a series of small goals. A clear understanding of your own belief system can make you feel stronger, and Gayle says that some of her confidence is rooted in her faith.

Municipal Judge-elect Gayle Williams-Byers (right) having breakfast at Buckeye Farm with her sister and campaign coordinator, Shawn Williams Jones.

Want to explore paths to well-being? Bev and her colleagues are available to create workshops or offer keynote speeches about topics related to your work life and other challenges and transitions. Meanwhile, read Bev’s Blog and visit her website at www.ClearWaysConsulting.com.
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Bevs Tips for a Better Work Life is published on the first and third Tuesday of each month by Beverly E. Jones of ClearWays Consulting, LLC. Bev is a lawyer and former executive who now coaches accomplished executives and other professionals to bring new direction, energy and enjoyment to their work lives.

Copyright ©2011, ClearWays Consulting, LLC Beverly E. Jones
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