The Hot Mommas Project Case Study Competition - Women in Business Balancing Work and Life

Angela Cyrice Dingle & Ex Nihilo Management, LLC
FINALIST: What Else Do I Have to do to Prove Myself?

Introduction

"What else do I have to do to prove myself?" Angela thought as she walked back to her office after meeting with the president of the company. It had been six months since she joined the Information Technology consulting firm as a Program Manager and felt that she had accomplished a lot in a short period of time. "As soon as I came on board, I jumped in with both feet. I developed a strategic plan for the next twelve months with the intent of increasing revenue and headcount, and positioning the firm for new federal contracting opportunities."

Angela was pleased with the fact that she had been able to exceed the revenue goals and meet the headcount goals ahead of schedule. It wasn't easy convincing a client that it would be mutually beneficial if they signed on for a $1.6 million software development project instead of giving it to a competitor. Angela hired a Project Manager and four software developers to support the project.

With the new project in place, Angela was looking forward to the performance appraisal meeting with the president. She felt the force of his decision to give her a 1.5% raise as if it were a literal slap in the face. A 1.5% raise amounted to roughly .52 cents per hour! To make matters worse, when she asked about opportunities for career growth, the President informed her he would consider promoting her in about three years. As she left the meeting, Angela's first thought was to rationalize his decision. "It's because I'm the new kid on the block". But the more she thought about it, she knew it was time to make another career move.

Background

Angela was 15 years old when she got her first summer job in the Federal Government. She had taken a Business class in High School where she learned to type 70 words per minute, use a copier machine, prepare formal and informal letters, address envelopes, and take transcription. "I felt confident starting the new job because I had marketable skills on my resume." What she didn't know she would soon learn. Angela quickly learned that just because you were hired didn't necessarily mean that the people who worked there wanted you to be there. She also learned that if you didn't ask for an assignment, sometimes you didn't get one. Angela remembers a woman pulling her to the side and telling her she had to be sure to check everything twice to make sure she didn't make any mistakes.

Every year Angela went back to her Business teacher and asked if she could have another summer job. After several successful summers, Angela was offered a stay-in-school position. By the time she graduated high school, she had been offered her a full-time job with a promotion at a government agency - she turned it down to attend college.

After college, Angela did what most college graduates do – she started living with the classified ads and spending every waking moment sending her resume to anyone she thought might be interested in her skill set. However, Angela had a few advantages over her peers. She had completed her Bachelor of Science degree at DeVry Institute of Technology in two years and eight months years by attending year round. The year she earned her Associates' degree she spent the summer as a Computer Aide for the Department of Navy. Now she had marketable skills to add to her resume.

When Angela didn't receive the kind of employment offers she wanted from private corporations, she began applying to Federal agencies. Eventually she applied for a position as a Computer Analyst at the U.S. Secret Service and was hired. There was only one problem – she didn't' have a personnel security clearance, so she was told she wouldn't be able to start right away. That's when she had an "aha moment." She remembered that if you don't ask for an assignment, sometimes you don't get one. So, Angela asked what else she could do while waiting for her personnel security clearance. Because of her clerical experience she was hired into a secretarial pool - a group of secretaries that are essentially "on call" to various departments in the event that the department secretary was unable to work. She was assigned to the Presidential Protective Division.

Within two years Angela had transitioned into Federal contracting and begun to take on leadership roles. "I knew how to ask for work and I understood what it took to get the job done." By the age of 25, Angela had become a workaholic. She would work days, nights and weekends if that's what it took to meet a deadline. It eventually cost her marriage. With two daughters to care for, Angela knew she had to strike a balance between her desire to build a career and the needs of her family.

Professional Issue

Angela's decision to accept a position with this firm had been a strategic one. She had done her homework and knew that an Information Technology (IT) Director's position would be opening soon. This position had also meant an improvement in her quality of life. Reducing her commute to 30 minutes in each direction meant she could get home at a decent hour and spend more time with her daughters.

Angela had left her last management position because she didn't' feel her career was moving in the right direction nor did she feel that she was being properly compensated. She'd had a long commute and sometimes worked long days. It seemed there was always another hurdle to jump. Angela spent the next few days evaluating her options:

Stay with the firm – Angela felt confident that she could position the firm for new contracts because she had been successfully managing federal contracts for the past 10 years. But were there any guarantees that she would be fairly compensated if she made the sacrifice and stayed on board? She had stayed with her last employer for an additional twelve months thinking that if she did just one more thing, she would get the salary and the job title she wanted - but it never happened.

Find another job – This wouldn't be the first time she decided to leave a company after having closed a million dollar deal. It had worked out in the past, but now the IT arena was undergoing a change. Corporations around the world had been downsizing their IT staff. Hardware and software maintenance contracts were being slashed or canceled. Corporations were looking for well educated and certified technology consultants to take them to the next level. Angela had earned a Master's degree in Management Information Systems, but was that enough? The playing field was changing and if Angela wanted to be an IT Director, she might also have to change.

Start her own business – Angela had built a profitable business unit from the ground up at a previous employer and managed over $40 million in contracts. Angela's colleagues and direct reports kept asking her to start a company so they could come to work for her. She had been offered independent contracting opportunities but wasn't quite sure if she had what it takes.

Personal Issue

Every time Angela thought about making a career move, she was faced with the same fears. How would the new career move affect her children? As a single parent, she had sacrificed a lot to ensure that she would be able to care for her daughters and spend quality time with them. Now that they were in high school, she was particularly concerned that she'd be able to continue to provide financial security for her family as well as put the girls through college.

Angela had to choose her options wisely because she didn't want to end up signing on with a firm that didn't have a good leave policy or offer preventative health care for her and the children. If she started her own business, would she really be able to afford the kind of health care she wanted? How much work would it take to be able to provide financial stability to her family? Did she have what it takes to be a business owner? If she took another job, would she have to take on even tougher assignment and work long hours trying to prove herself again? How much time would she have to invest in another degree or certification to get the salary and job title she desired?

Question 1	Research indicates that women become entrepreneurs because of certain “push” or “pull” factors. Many feel they are being pushed out of the corporate door because of the inflexibility of work schedules which do not accommodate their professional and family life (Carter and Brush, 2004); they have reached the “glass ceiling”; or the work they are doing leaves them feeling unfulfilled and unchallenged (Center for Women’s Business Research, 1998; Cooper and Dunkelberg, 1986; Smith-Hunter, 2006). They also experience pull factors and want more control over their future (Gartner, Shaver, Carter and Reynolds, 2004); the ability to set their own work hours, the ability to be their own bosses and to make critical decisions; to pursue their passions (Carter and Brush, 2004; Dunn 1997; Hisrich and Brush, 1986); Which, if any, of these factors may have influenced Angela’s decision to become an entrepreneur? What impact might her decision have had on the American economy.
Question 2	Values played an important role Angela's career decision making. Use the Rokeach Value Survey in the Appendix to rank the values that are important in your life. Based on what you’ve read, what three instrumental values do you think Angela would have ranked as most important and why?
Question 3	Identify the basic components of a strategic plan. What leadership traits did Angela demonstrate by developing a strategic plan and completing goals ahead of schedule? Develop a strategic plan for completing your education.
Question 4	Given what you've read about Angela’s educational and technical background, how would you advise her to proceed if she were to apply for an IT Director position? Identify three certifications that may have been appropriate given Angela's background.
Question 5	What is a security clearance? How long might Angela have had to wait if she hadn't asked for another assignment at the U.S. Secret Service? What competitive advantage does Angela gain by having one?

Notes

Today Angela is President and CEO of Ex Nihilo (www.exnihilo-mgmt.com), an Information Technology and Management consulting firm based in Washington, DC. In addition to maintaining her personnel security clearance, Angela's firm now maintains a Facility Clearance. Angela is now a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and recently applied for Certification in the Governance of Enterprise Information Technology (CGEIT). Her daughters are attend Savannah College of Art & Design, and North Carolina A&T State University.

Links to sites relevant to your case

1	Rokeach Value Survey
2	The Learning Tree: Certificati
3	Planware: Sample Strategic Pla
4	Computer and Information Syste
5	Security Clearance Jobs Salary

Your typical daily schedule

From	To	Doing What	Business/Personal
5:00am	5:00am	Get dressed, prayer time	Personal
6:00am	6:00am	Respond to email, marketing, business development research	Business
7:00am	7:00am	Provide consulting services to clients	Business
5:00pm	5:00pm	Read tech journals, write BLOG articles, write proposals	Business
6:30pm	6:30pm	Dinner, housework, family time	Personal
8:30pm	8:30pm	Read bible and prepare for bed	Personal

Question 1	Research indicates that women become entrepreneurs because of certain “push” or “pull” factors. Many feel they are being pushed out of the corporate door because of the inflexibility of work schedules which do not accommodate their professional and family life (Carter and Brush, 2004); they have reached the “glass ceiling”; or the work they are doing leaves them feeling unfulfilled and unchallenged (Center for Women’s Business Research, 1998; Cooper and Dunkelberg, 1986; Smith-Hunter, 2006). They also experience pull factors and want more control over their future (Gartner, Shaver, Carter and Reynolds, 2004); the ability to set their own work hours, the ability to be their own bosses and to make critical decisions; to pursue their passions (Carter and Brush, 2004; Dunn 1997; Hisrich and Brush, 1986); Which, if any, of these factors may have influenced Angela’s decision to become an entrepreneur? What impact might her decision have had on the American economy.
Note 1	Angela’s decision to become an entrepreneur was based primarily on several pull factors such as having the ability to set her own work hours (allowing her to spend more time with her daughters) and being able to make critical decisions (such as how much compensation she would receive) and giving her more control over her future. One could surmise that Angela’s decision to become an entrepreneur was based on push factors. Although she doesn’t feel that her compensation is commiserate with her accomplishments, she did not express feelings of having hit the “glass ceiling”. According to the Center for Women's Business Research (www.cfwbr.org/facts/index.php) 10.1 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 13 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales as of 2008.
Question 2	Values played an important role Angela's career decision making. Use the Rokeach Value Survey in the Appendix to rank the values that are important in your life. Based on what you’ve read, what three instrumental values do you think Angela would have ranked as most important and why?
Note 2	Angela's three most important instrumental values are 1 - Ambitious (as evidenced by her willingness to ask for more work assignments) 2 - Capable (as evidenced by her background, education and career progression) 3 - Independent (as evidenced by her ability to pursue a career while raising two daughters)
Question 3	Identify the basic components of a strategic plan. What leadership traits did Angela demonstrate by developing a strategic plan and completing goals ahead of schedule? Develop a strategic plan for completing your education.
Note 3	The basic components of a strategic plan are the business mission, vision statement, SWOT, goals, objectives and action plans. Angela demonstrated the following leadership traits: Decision making skills – when creating a strategic plan, a manager must examine alternatives and choose the best course of action Analytical skills - Angela had to diagnose and evaluate the firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats(SWOT) before she could increase revenues and headcount Conceptual skills - by completing the strategic plan, Angela demonstrated her ability to see the big picture and conceptualize how her goals fit within the overall objectives of the firm Communications skills - Angela demonstrated effective written and verbal communication skills as demonstrated by her ability to document and then get buy-in from others to follow the plan Technical skills - Angela demonstrated an understanding of the information technology consulting by implementing action plans designed to increase headcount, increase revenue and get new business.
Question 4	Given what you've read about Angela’s educational and technical background, how would you advise her to proceed if she were to apply for an IT Director position? Identify three certifications that may have been appropriate given Angela's background.
Note 4	Based on Angela's education (BS in Computer Science; MS in Management Information Systems), and managerial experience (10 years experience, program management experience, $40 million projects), she has the prerequisite skills necessary to apply for an IT Director position. Depending on the firm to which she applied, it may or may not have been necessary for her to pursue a technical certification. Appropriate certifications would have been Project Management, Software Engineering or Management.
Question 5	What is a security clearance? How long might Angela have had to wait if she hadn't asked for another assignment at the U.S. Secret Service? What competitive advantage does Angela gain by having one?
Note 5	A security clearance is a determination made by the US Government that a person or company is eligible for access to classified information. Angela may have had to wait a long time - the average processing time for a personnel security clearance is one year. Research indicates that of the top 20 highest paid job categories for security-cleared candidates, cleared candidates earn an average of $19,138 (or 22%) more per year than non-cleared candidates in similar jobs outside of the defense industry.

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