40-Day Series: Thank You Kathy Walker

As I wrote about Shushan yesterday I mentioned how we both worked for the Chief Network Officer at Sprint. Kathy Walker just happened to be said Chief Network Officer. The first time I worked in an organization ran by Kathy was back in the late 90's...in fact, the first time I met Kathy was when I was asked to play a singing fish over the building intercom system for her as a practical joke. You know....the bass fish that hung on the wall and sang "don't worry, be happy?"...a great way to meet your VP don't you think?

I would work in Kathy's organization's throughout most of my career and always had a great amount of respect for her leadership style. She was that rare woman who could be direct without being a bitch. She was the leader of a male dominated engineering organization and one of the few women leaders in the telecom industry, especially in the technical arena. She never forgot where she came from and was an active alumni of both her undergrad school South Dakota State and her graduate school, University of Missouri-Rolla.

Her passion was teaching, coaching and mentoring others. She was the driver behind Sprint's college recruiting program and between you and I, that program would never have been as successful as it was if it wasn't for her vision and push. Her schedule was insane but she always saved her Saturday's for mentoring sessions. I'm sure she turned some people down but in the year and a half I worked for her if someone asked for time with her she always accepted. As a C-level officer in a 60K person organization you would think she would be intimidating but she went out of her way to make you comfortable.

I had the pleasure and honor of sitting with her on multiple occassions and being the recipient of her coaching. Her world could be on the verge of being turned upside down and yet when I entered her office and the door closed, she made me feel as if she had all the time in the world and would give me complete focus. She didn't rush the conversation and was brilliant in how she would lead you to the lesson while helping you find your confidence along the way.

In my very first blog post I mentioned a quote that I learned from Kathy..."confidence isn't granted by others, it comes from within." I lean on this lesson daily, especially as I start a new company and fight through the fears and doubts that come when doing something I have never done before. I also remember how impressive it was to see Kathy stay true to herself even during the most stressful times. She wasn't afraid to share her own personal experiences and mistakes if she thought it would help someone learn. She was a great example of authentic leadership and I'm thankful to have been one of her followers.

Goldent Nugget: Don't forget where you came from and be willing to lead as your authentic self