That's an excellent point. It's something that in coaching I received great advice on, and that I would pass on to the committee. I valued getting the work done and thought that I would be judged on the quality of my work very early on in my career. The reality is you're judged on the quality of your relationships and ultimately, your ability to lead others through relationships. It isn't just about the work of the work and getting things done; it is about creating those networks. When you start to be promoted inside an organization, it's very rarely your boss that has a say solely by themselves when you get to a certain level; it's an executive committee, through succession planning. You have to build relationships throughout a whole organization.
I think the whole ability to build networks and relationships is critical to your career. Women can sometimes see that, strangely enough, as brown-nosing or politics, and they can be afraid of that, as opposed to that it's actually respect—respect for yourself and respect for your peers. Coaching around how to build a network, the why to build a network, and the value that it brings to you in your professional career is, I think, a very critical part of leadership development that needs some thought.