It’s been a busy month here as I’ve been settling into the latest changes in my porfolio career, a management consulting role with Third Horizon Consulting Partners. Thanks to those of you noticed the change on LinkedIn and sent messages… and in response to your questions, YES I’m loving the change and being part of a team again (it gets lonely in your own business!), and YES I’ll definitely still be blogging and mentoring, and farming and building my board portfolio (I’ve negotiated a flexible role), and NO I wasn’t intending to take a month to tell you my news! (whoops, has it really a month?! Time flies!) But with my start date coinciding with lambing and calving season at the farm, and my son falling ill with (another) ear infection, and his dad working away on a big project, it’s been a process of daily re-prioritisation… which is just business as usual, for anyone with a portfolio career or even a regular, run-of-the-mill, busy life!
One of my friends has described the new gig as the perfect working woman’s role: challenging, strategic, senior and – most importantly – flexible enough to fit in with a 3 year old son, a farm in the country and my writing and career coaching. But the real bonus of joining a firm again is the capacity it brings: finally I can take on more gender diversity consulting clients, with the support of the firm’s resources. This has been the biggest challenge in the past – my limited capacity to take on more clients – so if this is an area you’re looking to expand on in your organization, with strategies, project planning, job design, mentoring programs, unconscious bias training or women’s initiatives, then drop me a line, I’m better placed than ever to help and have developed a number of new methodologies that will ensure your gender diversity initiatives deliver tangible business outcomes.
Off the back of my move have come a lot of great questions and messages from those of you looking to establish a portfolio career of your own – so this is a topic I’ll be covering in a series of blog posts in the coming weeks. Likewise, for those of you who are currently trying to negotiate a flexible role, or find one, or return to work after a career break, I am writing an article that will outline my own approach and how it could work for you.
The other big news for me is that I’ll be a contributing writer for the soon-to-be-launched Women’s Agenda community. My first article will be appearing in the launch edition, more news to follow on that as well…
And I’m hosting the inaugural Property Connect event on this coming Monday in Sydney, for senior women working in the Property sector. If you are interested in hosting similar events, let me know, I’m put together a fact sheet for those of you who are thinking of setting up your own networking events and women’s forums.
Finally, I’m on the look out for talented management consultants to join the team at Third Horizon. So if, like me, you love working with clients to understand their business pressure points, and to come up with solutions on how the they can be more effective and efficient in their operations, drop me a line and we can have a chat. We have a particular need for consultants and project managers with experience in the products/FMCG and Government sectors, in operations and strategy, who are interested in joining a dynamic, growing management consultancy.
Phew… I think I need a break now! So enjoy your weekend, I know I’ll be having fun on the farm with my new Wessex Saddleback pigs – aren’t they just gorgeous?!
