Four Highlights of the ATD’23 Conference

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Trish Cotter

In May, I traveled to San Diego to present at the Association of Talent Development’s ATD ’23 conference which featured over 250 sessions to educate and inspire professionals in the talent development field.

This is a terrific conference for Learning and Development (L&D) leaders to share insights, research, and best practices, and when my colleague Rita B. Allen, and I learned our presentation was accepted for the conference, we were thrilled. (Rita, author of Personal Branding and founder of Rita B. Allen Associates, has presented at the conference before and says only a small percentage of submitted presentations are accepted, so this was music to our ears.)

Our session, titled Think Like an Entrepreneur: Foster Creativity in Your Organization, aimed to help L&D professionals take lessons from entrepreneurship and apply them to their organizations. This is different from the audiences of entrepreneurs I usually present to. With this audience, there is an opportunity to bring some frameworks that might help foster the entrepreneurial mindset in their organizations or unleash their inner entrepreneur. For that, I am grateful for the opportunity.

Since this message is something that we’d like to share more widely, I’ll be writing blog posts on the elements of our presentation, including disciplined entrepreneurship, an antifragile and entrepreneurial mindset, and energy leadership. Before I dive into those topics, however, I’d like to share four highlights of the conference – and positive messages that I walked away with. These are not in any particular order, other than they build on each other.

Adam Grant

If you’re not already a fan of Adam Grant, he is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, a best-selling author, and the host of the TED podcast WorkLife. If you don’t follow Adam on social media, I suggest you start – his practical advice on work/life balance is a breath of fresh air. Adam hosted the opening general session, titled Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. He covered a lot of ground, but three things stood out from his keynote:

Invitations into your network should be given to “disagreeable givers” — blunt people who aren’t afraid to tell you hard truths, but who also have your best interests at heart. An example for those familiar with the Ted Lasso TV series is Roy Kent.
“Unlearning” often focuses on making room for new learning. This lets you address things you are doing that are not servicing you or others. Adam explains it takes courage to unlearn. Unlearning requires the integrity to admit that you were wrong yesterday. Learning is how you evolve. Unlearning is how you keep up as the world evolves.
As an entrepreneur, Adam also discussed scientific thinking and its impact on startups. Thinking more like a scientist, having the ability to pivot, individuals with the humility and curiosity to search for information all support entrepreneurship success.

Priya Parker

Facilitator, strategic advisor, and author Priya Parker presented on The Art of Gathering. Priya presented a new – at least new to me – way of thinking about how you hold meetings and gatherings. She spoke about how these gatherings should be intentional and benefit from setting expectations around the goals of the meeting, party, or gathering. The intent in the design is critical to ensure that both the host’s and guests’ experience is as intended.

This made me think about how I am designing my summer entrepreneurship classes with MIT/Dalhousie with specific learning content. I do focus on the experience for the students, but the classes are much more focused on the content. This talk offered me a fresh look at hosting and attending events from now on, putting some boundaries around what is acceptable. It works best if you are super-specific about the intention of a meeting (or another event) and specify what you intend to accomplish. Priya recommends starting with a strong opening and closing as opposed to covering logistics.

Katrina Kennedy

Known to the training community as “the trainer’s trainer,” Katrina Kennedy’s session was titled It’s All About Retrieval and discussed the retrieval of information. She explained that retrieval is more than just recall; retrieval is accomplished in a way that you have context for the information. Learning needs to be varied, spaced, and interleaved. The retrieval practice needs to focus on learning. How many times have you re-read material several times and still not been able to recall the information when it is required?

Retrieval in practice is what we refer to as “use it or lose it.” If you want to play a piece of music and it is difficult to start, the struggle to learn to play it is actually a “desirable difficult” process that helps you solidify the learning. This isn’t about repetition. It is about spacing and breaking up the learning. In the classes I teach, I use breakouts to discuss further and debrief concepts as well as games to reinforce learning. Still, this retrieval discussion brought both the unlearning and learning of new ways of teaching and the intention to gather for a class together. The most memorable experiences will be those in which you have “desirable difficulty.”

University of Pennsylvania Chief Learning Officer Ed.D. Program

One personal highlight at the conference was the scholarly presentations of University of Pennsylvania Chief Learning Officer (CLO) doctorate graduates. I graduated from this program with an M.Ed. ’13 and Ed.D. ’14 and couldn’t be prouder! I wanted to give a shout out to these amazing presentations by my fellow Penn CLO grads:

Dr. Carol Henry (Implications for Practice: Behaviors and Competencies for Future Leadership Development Programs)

Dr. Jennifer Neumaier presented her dissertation: A Perspective Study on Cultural Conditions That Enable Social Learning.

Dr. Kandi Wiens, is a Senior Fellow and runs the master’s portion of the program at Penn, also presented the Ed.D. program and her research which will be out in her book due out next year, Burnout Immunity: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Build Resilience and Heal Your Relationship with Work. (Read her recent HBR article on Has Cynicism Infected Your Organization?)

If there was any concern that COVID slowed down the Penn CLO program, it was clear that this was not the case! Applications are up, the strength of diverse cohorts was showcased, and the quality of the research adding to the field of Learning and Development and other areas was on display at ATD ‘23.

In closing, post-COVID travel to a conference can often feel tougher than before, yet the amazing and energized professionals I met, and the concepts discussed at gatherings like this were worth the effort and can unexpectedly warm your heart.

A New Resource for Global Entrepreneurs

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Trish Cotter

In my mind, entrepreneurs are the “grittiest” types of people around – I’ve been one and I’ve taught entrepreneurship to hundreds of students through the entrepreneurship programs at MIT, including my five years as the director of MIT’s delta v student venture accelerator program, which launches student start-ups into the real world.

“The harder the challenge, the more it builds you up,” explains Leslie Feinzaig, founder and managing director of the Graham & Walker Venture Fund, when discussing the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse. “The best entrepreneurs I know will face a hundred insurmountable obstacles – and come back for the 101st because they actively believe that with enough time and opportunity, they will come out victorious.”

If this is your mindset, my new ebook was written for you. It is a resource for entrepreneurs as they face challenges unique to start-up founders.

As more people become entrepreneurs, they claim ownership of their future and help to drive the economy of their own country – and potentially global economies as well. Start-up companies fuel world economies and have created a $6.4 trillio n start-up economy.

Exploring Start-Up Accelerator Programs Worldwide

During the time I spent at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, I was fully immersed in a wide variety of innovative technologies and start-ups – including working with students who had come to MIT from all over the world. I also traveled to various countries to present and share our insights on entrepreneurship and to gain knowledge from programs abroad. And while there are many programs to support entrepreneurs in the United States, I realized that start-up founders from other countries have fewer resources available to guide them.

That planted a seed in my mind to create a guide for entrepreneurs who may be exploring ways to start their own businesses, especially in countries outside the U.S. In my current role as an entrepreneurship consultant and coach, I’ve taken on a project to develop this resource. I also hope this ebook serves as a resource for global accelerators, governments, and other stakeholders as well.

Global Venture Funding Activity

According to data compiled by Crunchbase, global venture funding in 2022 totaled $445 billion — 35% lower as compared to 2021, but $100 billion more than invested in 2020. Regionally, the U.S. secures most of this investment at nearly 50%, followed by China (10%), the U.K. (6%), and India (5%) based on Dealroom data.

Some entrepreneurs may think that they need to be in the United States because of the amount of investment money here, but we’re seeing more money flow to other regions as well. Today, there are lots of options for entrepreneurs globally. Often, students I worked with at MIT realized they needed more time to get the required product fit and build the company with customer feedback. The growth of accelerators worldwide provides options if they decide to leave the U.S. and grow their companies in another part of the world – whether it is their home country or a region that is a good launching pad for their product or service. This growth of accelerators, government support, and growing entrepreneurial communities worldwide can provide entrepreneurs with this needed support.

Diversity, thought leadership, and collaboration all work together to make the global ecosystem of entrepreneurs a much richer place. I hope that the information I’ve collected about entrepreneurship around the world and how different countries support their entrepreneurs is helpful in your pursuits.

As a note, this ebook is NOT meant to be comprehensive – it is more of a directional guide. It does not cover all regions or all countries in any region. I also realize that entrepreneurial ecosystems are continuously evolving, so new information will always be coming to light. To that end, I’ve published this ebook under a Creative Commons license – I am open to other contributors who want to add to this resource from here – please feel free to reach out.

Take the Next Step to Entrepreneurship

If you are a student, an entrepreneur, an entrepreneur-to-be, or you work in an accelerator or government that is working to encourage entrepreneurship, I hope this ebook provides you with insight and resources to explore entrepreneurship further in a global sense!

Download the PDF ebook:

An Introduction to Start-Up Accelerator Programs around the World

This free ebook was designed to be shared – you don’t even need to fill out any forms to gain access.

In the face of Massive Layoffs, why should I work with an Energy Leadership Coach?

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Trish Cotter

People in today’s workforce face stress – and lots of it. Layoffs, quiet quitting, a general sense of pandemic fatigue, and recessionary pressures are hitting all of us.

For corporate leaders, this stress is multiplied. Leaders are dealing with teams that are unmotivated and exhausted. In some organizations, leaders need to cut positions and continue to drive the business forward with fewer resources. Paradoxically, in other companies, there are open positions that are difficult to fill, and existing team members are stretched thin.

Burnout is real, and whether your company is primarily working from home, returning to the office, or trying a hybrid model these days – you are likely facing challenges and trying to figure out what works best. (Of course, some industries such as healthcare never had the option to work from home and the stress of these workplaces can be off the charts.)

What can we do about it? This article is about Energy Leadership™ and how you can use your energy to show up every day as your best self.

What is Energy Leadership?

Your life experiences significantly impact how you perceive things. This affects your energy in different situations. Although you may not be aware of it, you may be realizing less than your full potential at work, at home, or in social situations.

Energy Leadership refers to both a particular and unique form of leadership, and to the process of leading energy so that it works for you, rather than against you. By learning and applying the principles and concepts of Energy Leadership, you can increase your ability to shift your own energy and the energy of those around you. When you do that, you will help inspire and motivate yourself and others, feel a greater sense of purpose, get more done with much less effort and stress, and constantly attract positive and powerful people and success to you.

If you manage people, an entire team, or a whole organization, your responsibility – and ability to influence the energy of that group – grows. Every interaction presents the opportunity to lead and have a positive impact on others. You not only need to show up with your best energy, but you need to motivate your team to recognize and harness their own energy.

That’s where Energy Leadership Coaching comes in.

How is Energy Leadership Coaching Different from Other Types of Coaching?

Many people are familiar with an executive coach, a career coach, or a life coach – Energy Leadership Coaching is different from all of these, yet it can help you with each of these aspects of your life.

Energy Leadership Coaching begins with an Energy Leadership Index (ELI) assessment, which applies a numerical value to the types of energy you experience in different situations. It is not a personality test; it is an attitudinal assessment. We use this assessment as a starting point, and coaching helps you identify where you believe you would like to spend more of your energy to gain the results you want.

You can work with a certified Energy Leadership coach, like me, with over 300 hours of coaching through iPEC, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. This will help uncover your unique energetic profile and your energetic stress reaction, and how they can be harnessed to reach your specific goals and potentially shift awareness and mindset.

What Types of Energy May be Affecting Me?

You lead with your energy. Everyone has a unique level of energy due to lived experiences. Whether you are a corporate leader or not, your energy is how you lead and influence your friends, family, and colleagues. Everyone has the potential to positively or negatively affect those around them.

As an overview, there are two main types of energy: anabolic and catabolic. Anabolic is typically thought of as constructive, fueling, healing, and growth-oriented energy. Catabolic is typically thought of as draining, resisting, and contracting energy, yet catabolic energy can be helpful for focusing and protecting us when experiencing uncomfortable situations.

Both types of energy serve a powerful purpose. And you determine how to use each type of energy appropriately, either with a thought or mindset, emotion, action, or inaction.

Who Benefits Most from Energy Leadership Coaching?

Anyone who wants insight into where they are spending their energy can benefit from Energy Leadership coaching. It can help you find areas where you can do more of what you want to do and develop strategies to improve energy-zapping situations.

Why is this Especially Well-Suited for Corporate Leaders and their Teams?

Executives have developed patterns over time and are often frustrated by certain situations without understanding why. Energy Leadership helps bring issues to the forefront to let you make changes if necessary. How you show up matters and all of the people you interact with – whether employees or family or friends – look at your actions more than your words. With Energy Leadership coaching, you can identify patterns and learn to model your actions to best harness your energy.

Can Energy Leadership Help to Build Better Relationships with Remote Teams?

Connections are so key, particularly in a remote situation. Leaders need to consider how they show up to their employees. Are your employees just listening to video calls on mute and not interacting? Are new employees feeling connected to the organization and their teams? You can create an atmosphere of learning, risk-taking, and opportunities with a foundation of trust and creativity. However, you must understand what motivates you and your employees.

Improving team dynamics so there is accountability and understanding can significantly improve performance – whether in a remote, in-person, or hybrid situation. A manager or executive who feels there are barriers in the way of the organization’s creativity and communication can use Energy Leadership to improve interactions. Any time individuals or teams can better understand what is getting in the way of success – and fix the issue — results in a win for everyone involved.

What are the Takeaways?

Energy Leadership can profoundly change your leadership style. It helps you to become more self-aware and realize what messages you are sending, and how you can change this dynamic or shift your leadership style to bring out the best in your team.

Interested in learning more about Energy Leadership Coaching?

Send me an email and I’d be happy to share more information.

Celebrating Our Entrepreneurs

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Trish Cotter

Photo credit: MIT

It is with fond memories that I watched this year’s MIT delta v Demo Day presentations. Even though I was traveling out of the country, Demo Day generates the kind of enthusiasm and excitement that had me tuning in and watching the passion of these student entrepreneurs. (You can catch the replay of the Cambridge presentation here. The group also presented in San Francisco and New York City.)

MIT delta v Demo Day

Demo Day is an annual event that showcases the culmination of three months of work with the intensive delta v capstone educational accelerator program. Why am I so passionate about delta v? For five years I served as the director of this MIT program – a full immersion into a wide variety of innovative technologies and startups.

This year, watching from abroad, I saw a new cohort of entrepreneurs pitch their innovative and potentially world-changing companies to an audience of MIT students, mentors, friends, investors, and perhaps even customers. Kudos to Executive Director Paul Cheek, Jenny Larios Berlin, and Ben Soltoff, along with the entire Martin Trust Center staff for a successful Demo Day! Like any successful performance, there is an immense amount of hard work and preparation that goes into the final production. Like a proud parent, it was gratifying to pass the torch and see the program grow and move forward.

delta v 10-year Impact Study

In addition to celebrating this year’s delta v entrepreneurs, MIT just released an in-depth longitudinal study of the impact of delta v. I’d like to highlight some of the findings here to show how much this program has meant to the students and their startup companies, the MIT community, and to demonstrate the overall economic impact of the program.

The study was based on 10 cohorts of delta v students who comprised 181 teams. There were 692 participants during that time (67% were MIT students), and 322 of them (47%) responded to the survey. Some of the highlights include:

Survival Rate: Since its inception, 61% of delta v projects have become real companies that either continue to exist to this day or have been acquired. (For companies from the past five years of delta v, that number increases to 69%.)
Attractiveness to Investors: 63% of all the projects have resulted in companies that raised money.
Funding Attracted: The companies that have raised funding to date have totaled over $1 billion, and that continues to grow.
Founding Other Companies: Over 130 new additional companies have been created and raised an additional $2 billion beyond the companies started from the projects worked on in delta v.
Broader Entrepreneurship Communities: 68 (37.5%) of delta v startups were accepted into external, private/for-profit accelerators, including Y Combinator, TechStars, and Mass Challenge.
Connected Community: 83% of survey respondents say they are still in touch with their delta v cohort.

What’s Next for Me?

So, how can we help the next generation of entrepreneurs around the world be successful in their endeavors? Now that I’m working on the “fourth act” of my career, I’m working one-on-one with entrepreneurs and their startups in a consulting and coaching role.

These days I’m also traveling more for both pleasure and business. And, I’m working on an e-book resource on Global Entrepreneurship and Accelerator Programs around the World.

Interested in the e-book? Sign up here and I’ll send you a copy once it’s completed.

Regaining my Footing

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Trish Cotter

We take a lot of things for granted in this life … like walking.

Last winter I had some pretty extensive foot surgery. Sure, I expected some recovery time, but it was longer and involved more rehabilitation than I had counted on – I essentially needed to learn to walk again after being in a cast, and then a boot for three months.

Although this isn’t the heroic story of someone who learns to walk again after losing a limb or being in a severe accident, it certainly was humbling for me. This setback made me reflect on how, in life, sometimes you need to stop, assess, and start again from the beginning. When you can’t walk, it is certainly a wake-up call – and you put yourself in the hands of experts.

At some point in our lives, we all need to reach out for help and lean on other people (sometimes literally!). Taking those “baby steps” again as I re-learned the basics of balance, stability, and moving my body in the correct way made me think of the parallels to coaching. The physical shifts and the mental shifts involved mirror each other.

In my energy coaching practice, I am the one telling others to start at the beginning, work from the ground up, and lean on me for support. Just like my physical therapists, I am trying to help people get from one place to another. It’s not always easy, and often, it takes a lot of hard work over a period of time to get there.

I am now through the worst of it and walking several miles each day. I’ve realized the surgery and all the physical therapy were worth the end result. Here are the lessons I’ll try to hold on to and embed in my coaching practice:

Don’t take things for granted. Easy to say … hard to do. Be grateful for what you have and try not to be resentful when you no longer have those things.
It’s OK to start all over again. We are all starting from different places, and sometimes you need to regroup and go back to square one.
You will get discouraged. And angry. And furious. It’s natural to get discouraged but remember you are learning and perfecting the process.
Reach out for help. What resources do you have? Although it might not be in your nature, take stock of the people or organizations that are there to help and lean on them. When you lose hope, those folks can help lift you to the next milestone.
Take baby steps. It’s natural to want to hurry up and do all the things necessary to get better. But sometimes slow is good. If you can trust your guide (therapist/coach/mentor), learning each new step can end in a better result.
Be realistic. Be realistic with yourself that change is going to take time. Also be realistic about the milestones that will get you there.
Gain new perspectives. Sitting on the sidelines gives you a new appreciation, and also time to look at things with fresh eyes. Shifting your perspective may help you understand situations better
Be aware of your blind spots. Sometimes you don’t see the bumps in the road that may trip you up. When reassessing your goals, try to be consciously aware of your blind spots. Believe me, I have a new appreciation of physical accessibility issues, something that I had not considered much in the past.
Keep your skills current. This is always a good practice, but my forced slow-down gave me a chance to do some research and work on some new skills as I was recuperating.
Just keep swimming. As Dory tells Nemo, in Finding Nemo, “just keep swimming” or walking! Try to make forward progress each day. . Keep moving and you will regain strength, whether it is physical or mental.

Life may throw us curveballs, but we need to gain wisdom and knowledge from those experiences in order to forge ahead.

A Coach’s Insider Advice for Filling Open Positions

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Trish Cotter

As a coach and a mentor, I’m often asked for advice from job seekers. We are in a unique job market right now, a recent survey by Bankrate shows that 55% of Americans anticipate looking for a new job over the next year. This phenomenon has been nicknamed the Great Resignation by media outlets.

In response to the pandemic, “there have been a lot of epiphanies and reckonings that have occurred … with respect with how we’re prioritizing ultimately our values, and of course how work fits into that,” says Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, the company that conducted the research. Americans are prioritizing flexible work arrangements, higher pay, and job security in their search.

Flexibility is now the fastest-rising job priority in the U.S., according to a poll of more than 5,000 LinkedIn members. Working parents want to adjust their hours to suit their parenting schedules, single people want the freedom to change cities, while still keeping the same employer. Freedom and personal control within a job feel like much more vital priorities.

And yet, there hasn’t been much change in the hiring and recruiting process. As companies look to fill roles, there are too few people for open positions. Hiring managers and staff are investing more of their own time and paying recruiters, but jobs remain open. It’s time to shake up the process and hire for aptitude and then invest in training good people.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings surged to an all-time high of 10.1 million at the end of June, outnumbering the 8.7 million unemployed individuals. Given these stats, you would think that companies would be trying hard to connect with job seekers and make the right fit to fill these open positions. But companies and hiring managers need to think outside the box and expand their horizons. Are you actively looking to recruit women who have taken a break from the workforce with flexibility and daycare options? Are you proactively reaching out to diverse talent sourcing and recruiting associations? Have you considered making your educational requirements less stringent to open the pool of candidates to those with relevant life experience? Are you considering the value of older candidates who can bring years of knowledge and mentorship to the position?

Rather than stick to the way your company has always done things, focus on aptitude, empathy, and coachability. Here are some insightful questions that should prompt real conversations about success that can be accomplished if the company and candidate end up working together.

Tell me about an achievement that you are proud of – either personal or professional – and what you did to make that happen. This is very open ended and lets the candidate demonstrate goals and success.
In your research on our company, what is something you found that we could change or do differently to be more successful? This will let the candidate know you are open to their input and will may uncover some new ideas from a fresh perspective.
How do you think you can make a difference in our organization? Again, it gives the candidate a chance to show big picture thinking and define what success could look like.
What skills are you working on improving, and how do you plan to get there? The opposite of the “weakness” question, this is a positive spin on skill development and opportunities, and shows if someone is a lifelong learner.
Do you feel that you would be a good cultural fit here? If not, what could we do differently? This can start discussions on diversity and supporting all employees. Although some candidates may not feel comfortable opening up, if the interviewer lets the candidate know they are striving to be inclusive, it may go a long way.

An interview shouldn’t be an interrogation or include tricks or puzzles to solve to make it to the next level. Adam Grant, organizational psychologist at Wharton, recently wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal, titled, The Real Meaning of Freedom at Work, in which he states, “For several generations, we’ve organized our lives around our work. Our jobs have determined where we make our homes, when we see our families and what we can squeeze in during our downtime. It might be time to start planning our work around our lives.”

As you are recruiting to fill open roles in your organization, do so with the goal of truly assessing the fit of this person for this role and your organization – and do so with an open mind toward hiring for aptitude.

Taking a Well-Deserved Break … and What I’ve Learned

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Trish Cotter

Recently, I left my job at MIT, and I don’t have another job. As the Executive Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, my days (and many nights) were filled with activity – working with students, teaching, and shaping entrepreneurship education programs. All that has stopped, and I’ve taken time to be still, breathe, take stock, and think.

This time of reflection is providing me a much clearer view of what is possible—and realizing the big picture is even bigger than I thought. Quitting your job is not for everyone (and I am very fortunate that I’m in a position where I could do that), however, taking time to make room for other activities is something I highly recommend to everyone. Creating space to see that there are other opportunities, different ways to work, new skills to learn, and passions to embrace is enlightening. (My new passion is tennis! Who knew?)

I have had three acts thus far in my career. I held roles from engineer to executive in tech companies. Then, as an entrepreneur, I navigated two startups through to IPOs, and my third act was a career in academia teaching entrepreneurship in the classroom and through hands-on programs. Each transition had its moments where I said, “What did I get myself into?!” Yet, digging in and being open to learning proved to be rewarding in every case. I’ve had great rides with successful companies, enjoyed relationships with diverse and interesting colleagues, and embarked on learning experiences I could never have imagined. I have traveled the world, thrived in new environments, and have seen colleagues soar and cheered on their success. I’ve learned so much about people and how they think, work, celebrate, and come back from setbacks. It makes you realize that the people you work with truly can make or break any job experience.

As someone with many, varied job experiences, I’ve realized that experience is double-edged sword. On the one hand, you know how to do things, and perhaps you have even forgotten what others have not yet learned. However, experience also can leave you in a lane you know too well and prevent you from taking the risk of trying—and potentially failing—at new skills. When you are starting fresh, you know there will be new risks, new failures, and new experiences.

I am extremely fortunate to have enjoyed every job I’ve had, but I do realize my enjoyment of work is dependent on my own attitude and approach. Approaching each new role as a learning experience helps you get over the hurdles and enjoy the successes. I’ve worked with folks who had deep expertise but lacked some of the skills I have, and we ended up being a terrific team. I am fortunate to have friends from my very first job and from my most recent job, and I make a concerted effort to keep in touch with these people. My network—and talent tree—is something that was built organically with people I enjoy, and it makes a career so rewarding.

In my research findings for my doctorate, it wasn’t a real surprise that matching new graduates with seasoned employees in data analytics roles was a recipe for success. The veterans could contextualize situations for the students based on experience, and the recent graduates would apply that context to achieve a much more robust analysis. Later, my work at MIT included building mentorship programs and creating networking relationships between students, alumni, and startup founders. When I was no longer running these programs, I realized I needed to apply my networking and mentorship skills to myself as well.

Although I am a certified professional coach, it’s true that even coaches need a coach. If you want to do something different and are unsure about how to get there, working with a coach is a perfect way to figure out these decisions. I needed a coach to look at why I was working so hard; although I enjoyed the work and the people, it didn’t feel like it was enough for me at the time. My coach helped me realign my values and aspirations—something that had not been done for quite some time.

I have always been curious, optimistic, and a contributor, but I needed more balance, less commuting (yes, I still commuted through most of the pandemic!), and a good challenge to be passionate about. The first two were difficult to manage in my last job, but there was no lack of challenge, in fact, there were actually too many challenges! I spread myself so thin because I wanted to do everything and for everyone—and this led to an erosion in my passion for my job.

So, as I take time to reflect, I’m betting on myself and focusing on balance. Just creating the space to reflect has let me think about of all sorts of exciting things I can do next, both professionally and personally. I am enthusiastic about the future and approaching new challenges with the renewed energy that taking a break has given me. I hope my story inspires you to give yourself some space to think, reflect and renew!

On to the Next Chapter …

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Trish Cotter

Have you ever finished a riveting book and realized that the plot, characters, and setting have left an indelible mark on your being? That is how I will always remember the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship – the people, energy, and ideas will forever imprint the fabric of my life.

When I joined the Trust Center nearly six years ago, I blogged about Disciplined Entrepreneurship – the framework we use for the entrepreneurship program at MIT’s Trust Center based on the book by Bill Aulet, the Center’s Managing Director. One of the ideas that resonated with me then, and continues to do so, is that “ideas mean nothing without execution.”

Reflecting on the past six years, I realize that my time at MIT was about more than a job, it was about the execution of entrepreneurship. It was a chance to shape the lives of aspiring entrepreneurs who had big dreams and ideas to change the world for the better and help them to shape and execute those ideas into concrete plans. At the Trust Center, we like to say that MIT’s student entrepreneurs tackle the world’s big problems, and it was exciting to help make that happen.

Here’s the synopsis of how I landed at the Trust Center, and filled many roles, ultimately becoming the Director of MIT delta v, as well as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management on entrepreneurship topics.

In 2014, I had completed my doctorate in work-based learning at the University of Pennsylvania’s Chief Learning Officer program, and I wasn’t sure what my next step should be. I had the option to get back into the corporate world and focus on business analytics, but instead decided to pursue a role in education. I was hired by MIT as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and to help lead the student venture accelerator program, which is now known as delta v. From there, my role has expanded to teaching entrepreneurship classes, spearheading global programs, and becoming a spokesperson and thought leader representing MIT’s entrepreneurship initiatives.

This was definitely something new and different for me, and I had to push myself out of my comfort zone and embrace the challenge. The results achieved have certainly been beyond what I could have anticipated six years ago, including the expansion of the Trust Center – both physically and via online with Orbit, growing delta v both in size and in scope, partnerships with other universities, and instituting a flagship program to support the mental health of entrepreneurs. There were also many awards and accolades along the way, both personally and for the program.

But I’m not here to toot my own horn … I want to sincerely thank the whole team at the Trust Center for their support, teamwork, and camaraderie over the years – our group is quite the entrepreneurial talent tree. I’d also like to thank all the students who I was able to work with and mentor on their entrepreneurial journeys. Your enthusiasm and bright light made the hard parts of this job rewarding and worthwhile.

For those of you who are rethinking your own career situation, after the past year this may be exactly the right time to open yourself up to new experiences and find that that your next chapter was better than your last. I am leaving a job I love for the unknown – of course, this is a risk, but as an entrepreneur you bet on yourself, and make the choice to wake up with a “wow” in terms of what is going to happen today.

For me, this is the time to move beyond what has become well-loved and comfortable, and to take a leap into the next chapter – the fourth in my career. First, I was an engineer who moved up through the executive ranks. Second, I focused on startups, leading two companies to successful exits. Third, was my move into academia at MIT by leveraging my startup experience. And, for the fourth chapter, I’m not 100% sure what it will be yet, but stay tuned – that is the exciting part!

Celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Trish Cotter

Wisdom from the Women Who Support MIT’s Entrepreneurs

Today, November 19, is Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a day celebrating and encouraging female entrepreneurship. Our student venture accelerator program, delta v, has launched some amazing female entrepreneurs – and our historical data show us that the women-led delta v companies surpass our very impressive overall stat that 3 of every 4 delta v startups are still operating. At MIT, our goal is to support all our entrepreneurs and make them as successful as possible. That is why we are thrilled when we hear feedback like the quote below – it shows us that we are succeeding in our support of diverse entrepreneurs, and neutralizing any implicit biases.

“In the Trust Center, gender, age, race, culture, even hierarchy, are invisible. It’s the only space I’ve ever walked into where all that baggage was truly left at the door. This almost disorienting sense of equality allows for a re-imagining of identity.”
Joan Kelly, delta v entrepreneur and CEO of Abound

For the entire month of November, we’re profiling some of our women entrepreneurs, faculty, and Trust Center staff on our Instagram feed (@eshipMIT) with the tag #WEMatMIT (which stands for Women’s Entrepreneur Month at MIT). Follow the feed and be inspired!

Today, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship celebrates Women’s Entrepreneurship Day by focusing on the women at MIT who support all of our entrepreneurs, and sharing their wisdom.

Here is our lineup of stellar women supporting MIT’s entrepreneurship community and their responses to our questions on entrepreneurship. As I reflect on the contributions of these women, it is evident that the strong entrepreneurial ecosystems at MIT did not just materialize – they are nurtured, fostered, and improved upon by these individuals. They all bring a focused passion to their roles – with a lack of ego, they meet students where they are on their journeys to become entrepreneurs and help them flourish.

What advice can you share with aspiring entrepreneurs?

“Just start! Usually that first step is the hardest one. If you just start you will see that anyone can get started. Figure out what that first step is and do it. And if your first step was to make a PowerPoint, nice job doing that first step, but now get out of PowerPoint and talk to humans!!” – Kit Hickey

“Admit what you don’t know. Share your idea and take every opportunity to learn from those around you. This isn’t always a comfortable way for talented, high performers to operate. But it is critical. Rather than always looking for validation of your ideas, look for evidence that reveals weaknesses in your hypotheses.” – Megan Mitchell

“Seek a broad range of advisors, mentors, colleagues – diversity in terms of age, gender, experience, outlook on life and don’t limit it to people you think you align with – so that you are challenged to move beyond your comfort zone.” – Lesley Millar-Nicholson

“Follow your intuition and do what you feel is right. Women have stronger emotional intelligence, use this to make appropriate decisions and follow through with persistence.” – Karen Golmer

“Remain open-minded to what you learn through research. Approach research with curiosity, rather than an opportunity to reinforce and validate your current assumptions. Embrace surprising results and be ready to go back to the drawing board and adapt your solutions to a deeper understanding of the problem you’re looking to solve.” – Jinane Abounadi

“The outcome of any entrepreneurial endeavor is extremely uncertain, so you should be really excited about the journey. And surround yourself with people you like and respect, because you’ll be spending a lot of time together!” – Carly Chase

What do you believe female entrepreneurs need to do more of/better/differently to be successful?

“Unfortunately, we still need to have incredibly thick skin because the industry is not yet as equitable as it should be. Given the inequities, we’ve got to support and stick up for one another, in both small and big ways.” – Carly Chase

“Recognize that there are fewer female-backed startup companies, fewer women on Boards of companies, fewer patent holding female scientists – but don’t let that be a hurdle. In fact, find those who have or are those things – and learn from them, what inspires them, what tricks and tools have they created to achieve what they have achieved.” – Lesley Millar-Nicholson

“Really examine what YOU want out of your entrepreneurial journey. We spend so much of our lives being told what we should be, it is a challenge to break away from that and define what success is for you. Success for you may be completely different than what success means for your classmate, and that’s OK. By actually defining success for yourself, you can have a much more meaningful, impactful and enjoyable career.” – Kit Hickey

“Female entrepreneurs need to own their space, their knowledge, and their brilliance. Women have to be deliberate in the words they use when they speak about their experience and their ventures. Please don’t say, ‘If the pilot is successful, we will…” Come from an affirmative position. Trade that language for something more like: “Following our successful pilot, we will…” – Megan Mitchell

“Speak up more often (males don’t wait for their turn to speak ) – so don’t wait to be asked, offer up your opinions, experience, insight and do it in a thoughtful and measured way – so people are keen to listen.” – Lesley Millar-Nicholson

Female entrepreneurs need to work together and hold one another accountable when they see another not owning her own power. Women working together will elevate all.” – Megan Mitchell

“Own your ‘imposter syndrome’ and don’t let it come an excuse to demonstrate your knowledge, passion and capabilities – in fact, challenge that feeling by speaking up.” – Lesley Millar-Nicholson

“Don’t back down, instead listen with respect and learn about other perspectives. When feeling blocked or ignored, don’t speak louder to be heard – try a different approach.” – Karen Golmer

“Try not to take it personally when you hit a roadblock, or your initial ideas get rejected. Be confident in your talent and your ability to overcome hurdles and challenges. Use a network of caring mentors to get honest feedback and be open to listening and growing in the process.” – Jinane Abounadi

How do you, personally, keep inspired and moving forward?

“I look for and accept the challenges that appear – one at a time. When I end up in a conflict or uncomfortable situation, I use humor to diffuse the tension and redirect to move forward.” – Karen Golmer

“For me, the inspiration at his phase of my career comes from stepping back and hearing about stories of other amazing women that have worked hard and persevered to make a difference. I felt so inspired when I heard that there was a woman scientist (Ozlem Tureci) behind the [COVID-19] Pfizer vaccine. In my role, I see the potential of so many of our brilliant female students (undergrad or graduate) to make significant impact in the future and I will feel proud to have been part of their journey.” – Jinane Abounadi

“I love engaging with people – the passion, diversity and new ideas at MIT keep me inspired every day. Every day I learn from a student, and I love it! Being at a place where you continue to learn, can engage with amazing people, and have the autonomy to solve hard problems you are interested in, is what I love about being an EIR at MIT.” – Kit Hickey

“It is the entrepreneurs, their individual stories and passion that inspire me and keep me moving forward. Each entrepreneur has a story that connects them to the problem they are trying to solve. Often that story is deeply personal and offers me insights not only into who they are as individuals, but also the worlds in which they come from.” – Megan Mitchell

“Recognizing that I am part of a community and my contribution (or lack of it) has impact on others and what they can or cannot achieve because of my actions.” – Lesley Millar-Nicholson

“Building businesses from scratch is an incredibly difficult, gritty, and uncomfortable experience that forces you to grow in ways you didn’t even know you needed to! I’m addicted to not only the constant growth I personally get from being an entrepreneur, but also to the people who it attracts – they are the most exciting people in the world to be working alongside.” – Carly Chase

Conclusion

At MIT, our definition of entrepreneurship has evolved from a focus on startups to an entrepreneurial mindset – we see entrepreneurship as a skillset and a way of operating. We need entrepreneurial attributes in all our organizations – whether it is within a big company, a small company, or a university environment. These women bring that entrepreneurial mindset to their roles in helping curious entrepreneurs in corporate environments, ready-to-go entrepreneurs, and amplifiers in their communities. They cover the developing world, emerging markets, and corporate innovation. We live in a changing world with changing needs, and students need to test and adapt their entrepreneurial skills. Thank you to Jinane, Carly, Karen, Kit, Lesley, and Megan for your invaluable guidance to MIT’s student entrepreneurs! As we all work together at MIT, we see all boats rise which is what makes the MIT community an amazing ecosystem.

Pivots, a Pandemic, and Startup Founders’ Mental Health

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Trish Cotter

The pandemic affects everyone. Today, we are all dealing with a different model for living – many people are working or attending school virtually, there is less social interaction, greater isolation, more juggling of home and work duties, and of course the anxiety and pain if loved ones become sick or die from COVID-19. A study by the CDC in June of this year reported 40% of US adults are struggling with mental health or substance abuse – substantially higher figures than in 2019.

Where does that leave our entrepreneurs? Beginning in March, the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship closed its doors until further notice. We are continuing to support MIT’s entrepreneurship community virtually, including via online resources like Orbit. This past summer, our delta v accelerator moved to a completely virtual experience, including online Demo Day presentations.

One question we continue to ask ourselves is:
How has the pandemic affected the mental health of entrepreneurs?

Building Entrepreneurial Confidence

As we look to answer that question, we realize we were fortunate that MIT started the first self-awareness program for entrepreneurs last year – the Entrepreneurial Confidence and Communication (ECC) Program. We piloted this program with the delta v accelerator class of 2019 to help student entrepreneurs prioritize their own individual well-being while building their businesses. The culture of entrepreneurship celebrates working 24/7 to demonstrate passion and dedication for your business. A founder’s self-identity is often tied to the success of their startup, and as a result, entrepreneurs often experience loneliness, depression, and anxiety as they work through the normal ups and downs of startup life. This has only been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused delays, roadblocks, and failures for many startups.

Traditionally, entrepreneurs have lacked the support and tools to improve their mental well-being. The ECC pilot program, created by MIT Sloan MBA alumna Kathleen Stetson, taught MIT student entrepreneurs the tools and benefits of self-awareness; they then applied their learnings – discussing key choices entrepreneurs face, such as: taking breaks vs. spending all your time on your startup, working through limiting beliefs, considering others’ perspectives, and approaching challenges with fear or curiosity. The results were impressive, after taking part in the program 93% of participants felt that a self-awareness practice could help entrepreneurs create more successful businesses.

This year, because of the additional stress due to the pandemic, and the need for teams to feel connected when working remotely, we added two simple elements to the small groups within the ECC program that startup teams could quickly and easily implement in their own team interactions:

Red/yellow/green check-in – this not only encouraged small group members to practice self-awareness during small group, but many teams took this check-in strategy back to their teams, practicing it at the beginning of each of their standups.

A more structured way to give and receive help – after a small group member expressed a challenge they were facing, small group members asked clarifying questions rather than immediately jumping into solutions and advice. This not only made the speaker feel that they were heard, but helped participants practice active listening. They then took this back to their team interactions, helping them better understand their team members’ perspectives.

In a Fast Company article, Kathleen Stetson explains, “The 24/7, hustle-till-you-drop attitude has been a problematic fixture of startup culture for years. And now, due to the pandemic, sustaining one’s health is even harder. ‘I don’t know a startup founder who’s not burned out,’ a founder friend of mine told me recently.”

The Pivot: A Key Pandemic Strategy

“Pivot” has become the go-to word for 2020. People are pivoting with career changes and businesses are pivoting with strategies, as we all try to keep moving forward dealing with the unanticipated changes brought by a global pandemic. Entrepreneurs need to realize that a startup failure can be due to external circumstances, and the founders are not marked with a scarlet “F” for failure. A change in business strategy or taking a break from trying to start your own company is a pivot that will make you stronger the next time.

One of our delta v teams faced this type of challenge recently. Easel was a startup service that matched parents with top quality centers for last-minute childcare needs. The company was a member of the delta v class of 2019 and was faced with the tough decision to wind down the business this year. With the COVID-19 pandemic, so many people have transitioned to working from home that their childcare model was no longer sustainable. Although childcare continues to be a huge need, co-founders Neha Sharma and Michael Leonard realized they would need to shelve their plans for Easel and pivot to the next chapter in their lives. However, as delta v’s Managing Director Bill Aulet stated, “I still chalk these up to success for sure. They are much stronger than when they got here.” That strength, in part, came from MIT’s ECC program.

This type of a transition is one that often tests an entrepreneur’s sense of worth and purpose. They have put blood, sweat, and tears into their business only to watch their dreams fade. As stated in the Thrive Global article I co-authored with Kathleen Stetson, startup founders “tend to connect their self-worth and identity to their start-ups, which can lead to feelings of depression if their start-up fails.” Yet, we’ve found data affirming that when entrepreneurs understand their thoughts, feelings, and biases, it is useful in managing stress – and this is a skill that can be taught. This is why MIT is proud to host the Entrepreneurial Confidence and Communication program – the first comprehensive program to address mental health challenges in the start-up community and teach entrepreneurs how to effectively manage stress.

Trish Cotter

Big Data, Business Analytics and Education – Leadership and Innovation

Category Archives: Education