Woman of the Week ~ Nichole Dunn

Our Woman of the Week now includes Career advice, insights, and feedback from our clients and friends.  Meet Nichole Dunn, President & CEO of Flying Horse Farms.

Best Mentor/Sponsor in your Life: Mr. Rick Carrick, my boss when I relocated to Ohio and worked at the United Way of Central Ohio. He met me where I was at the time while holding a high bar for my potential. In the words of Brene Brown, he consistently delivered “clear is kind” feedback. Having been given leadership opportunities at a young age and growing up in a “girls can do anything” house, I came to realize these were examples of privilege and opportunity.  All positive things, and yet, that naiveté is what he helped me break through. He knew to lean in and share perspective of who I was meeting with- or who I should meet with. He would give a little nudge or nod on where to sit or stand in a room. He bolstered my confidence in one situation where he simply said “You know you can tell her ‘no’” when I was put on the spot to deliver something to the CEO at the time with an unreasonable turnaround. I was shocked and said, “Tell who no?” This was the beginning of my lesson in the art of negotiation while maintaining respect. Rick was also the person who, at every opportunity, would present to me a job description and simply recognize that I wasn’t going to be in that role long and he would want to be the first person to make a recommendation or on the reference list to wherever I go next.

Best Investment in Your Career: Coaching. By far. For the longest time I thought I would need to further pursue degrees, certifications, and other formal proofs of expertise. There are some responsibilities and roles where credentials and knowledge are required, however, it has been the direct investment in having a coach that has consistently been a catalyst at different points in my career. The self-growth from being challenged with thought provoking questions, self-awareness from given time to reflect and open to feedback, perspective of others gained that evolved my empathy and compassion, which has led to shifts in my thinking and behavior that have had the most lasting impact.

Best Career Advice You’ve Received: You are responsible for the effort, not the outcome. This advice was shared with me early in my career, I was a counselor leading a high school for students in recovery for drug and alcohol use. It was intended to apply to the process and integrity of counseling – to not take on the responsibility of how someone ultimately behaves or choices they make – however, I soon adopted this belief across other areas of leadership, relationships, and personal growth. For relationships, through this filter I hold myself accountable for how I show up with dignity and seeing the best in others. Professionally, this means that effort put in will not always be directly reflected in results – and yet, the responsibility of the leader is to be accountable for driving both results and casting the vision. I’ll give an example: you may put significant time, strategy, investment into a proposal and yet, for circumstances unforeseen you do not get the opportunity. The effort isn’t lost, the outcome sure is and that stinks, however you persevere. In the same example, perhaps you do little effort and do acquire a large donation or project.  The outcome in this case you didn’t do much to get it, but perspective will tell you that other factors – your reputation, your relationships, other efforts put forth will create outcomes. So, let’s acknowledge the tenacity demonstrated above outcomes, and the drive and values demonstrated along the way. Over time, the results will happen.