Many women start out their careers eager and leaning so far in, they nearly fall over. Climbing that ladder and always striving for the next promotion with the help of advisors and mentors. But what happens when it’s time to climb down that corporate ladder, or “lean out”…then what? How can we redefine productivity while re-evaluating our priorities? Retired attorney, author, and speaker Laura Black shares humorous and helpful insight her new book, Climbing Down the Ladder: A Journey to a Different Kind of Happy.
Laura had a successful career as an attorney and businesswoman. Yet her ascent up the ladder as a mother of three forced her to make often painful choices as she navigated the myth of “having it all.” Yet, she climbed those rungs with quantifiable goals measured by market-share and profitability.
But then when retirement hit, her descent down that same ladder was marked by loss and marginalization. She no longer possessed the CEO status she placed so much of her worth in, her children fled the nest for lives of their own, and she had to cope with the decline and eventual deaths of her parents. Plus, well, aging, which is hard in itself.
She is now sharing that journey in Climbing Down the Ladder, to help people everywhere embrace their last chapter and find meaning beyond their business card or job title. In the same way a generation of women lacked role models on the way up the career ladder, they lack them on the way down. Climbing Down the Ladder is helping women find contentment and purpose, without an all-encompassing level of productivity and achievement they so often are accustom to. And, in doing so, uncover a richer, different kind of happiness.
Laura is available for interviews and contributed articles to speak on this topic and more, including:
- Redefining productivity: How to give yourself permission NOT to be productive
- Going to the front of the line—how do priorities change after the loss of your parents?
- Wearing beige and keeping our mouths shut—the assumed role of a mother-in-law, and how to be your authentic self
- The role of the marginalized matriarch
- Life after climbing the corporate ladder: How to measure success in retirement
- Who am I without a business card? Finding a new identity post retirement
- Determining motivators and what makes us happy
- Busy is the new rich and thin, and why we need to fight back against that
- Five tips for employers to support their older employees as they near retirement
Laura is available for interviews, expert commentary, and contributed articles to discuss this topic and more. Also happy to send you a copy of the book for review.
About Laura Black:
Laura Black is a retired attorney and award-winning businesswoman, turned author and speaker. She conceived and co-founded one of the first temporary legal staffing companies in the U.S., moving on to become its CEO after it was acquired by a public company. The company emerged as the largest in the nation of its kind. Laura sits on numerous boards including The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore and was a past president of Network 2000 (now called Executive Alliance). She helps later life women embrace their 2nd (3rd or 4th) acts through her speaking and writings. Her essays have appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Next Avenue, Kveller, Hadassah, and others. Laura validates challenges of women with humor and affirmation.
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Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
