She Did What?! Lisa Gable, CEO of FARE
This is a platform to share the radical pivots, risks and self evaluations and reflections of people I admire. We dig into the moments that led the people in their lives to go, “She Did What?!” and ultimately, to their personal or professional metamorphosis.
Nothing about Lisa Gable’s career path has been smooth sailing or straightforward. But now, after 30 years of navigating unexpected challenges, it is this unconventional path that gives her strength, skill, and authority. From politics to advocacy, Lisa is always able to handle anything thrown her way.
On how she has turned disappointments into success:
Some of us, if we’re fortunate, arrive at a point in life and career in which we find ourselves with the flexibility and the desire to engage from a place that touches our hearts, a place where we can make a difference. I am honored to have found that place as CEO of FARE, the world’s largest NGO investing in research, advocacy and education in food allergies, a disease that affects 85M Americans and a half a billion people worldwide. The path here, however, was neither direct nor predictable.
In her book “Lean In,” Sheryl Sandberg describes life as a jungle gym: it is never a straight path but rather instances of climbing up and down and even crawling through a few tunnels in search of the next adventure. My journey began on Election Night 2016. Within 24 hours, my name had been put forward for a significant presidential appointment, one that I had worked toward, knowing that it would be the natural extension of my work to improve health and wellness in the United States. I had worked with industry organizations and NGOs, and my friends and colleagues rallied around my potential nomination. The race was on and I was determined to run the full course. I prepared, I engaged, and I stood ready to serve – only to discover that the current administration would not be filling many senior roles.
After six months of conversations and anticipation, a staffer at the White House called to say that the process was on hold. Luckily, the next morning, I had breakfast with a close friend who asked for my help in starting a new national political organization to support women running for Congress. Over six months of non-stop travel, fundraising, and pitching, we raised $6 million dollars and launched a new digital engagement operation with a top-notch, committed, smart female staff. And with that, my entrepreneurial instincts were back in play.
As I began conversations with headhunters, my vision of what I wanted was clear and unwavering: I wanted to find a place where I could commit and build with passion. Through the journey, I recognized that I thrive when I can bring together political parties, corporate competitors, and disparate constituents to foster quality leadership and produce outcomes that benefit society, and create sustainable partnerships and profitable business models. I am happiest representing public-private partnerships and non-profits with the goal of moving organizations to higher levels of performance. I truly love to make a difference.
I love how Lisa doesn’t let this moment get her down, but instead turns right around and begins tackling her next challenge. That takes a lot of mental toughness to weather disappointment and bounce back stronger than before. Having a strong mindset in the face of challenges is critical for our growth, development, and progression. I admire Lisa for her ability to do this.
Lisa’s path has not just been filled with career hurdles, but also personal hardships. On what she has learned from overcoming those obstacles and coming out stronger:
The most pivotal decision in my life was forced upon me as I encountered a significant personal challenge which changed my pre-determined approach to my career. The lesson I learned is that people who creatively respond to life’s challenges will ultimately succeed.
Life never seems to follow the perfect plan we develop oh-so-carefully in college. We have to develop that unique ability to accept what is thrown our way and come out looking unfazed and on top.
This can be difficult for “Type A” people who pride themselves on controlling their environment and their reaction to it. Type A individuals exhaustively plan and organize, utterly convinced that by setting parameters, they can follow a well-constructed linear path to success. Unfortunately life is never linear. This lesson is best learned early and often.
In my 20’s I had my own plans. Those plans included working in the Reagan White House and Defense Department, where I enjoyed a front row seat to the collapse of the Soviet Union. At 24, I moved west and joined Intel Corporation when it was a $1.5B company. I learned that to best communicate with key executives, I had to identify objectives and produce measurable results. I did this seamlessly in my early twenties, so proud that my life was proceeding according to plan. I was climbing up the career ladder, step by step, without any obstacles in my way.
It didn’t stay that way forever though, it never does. While my husband, Jim, and I were pursuing entrepreneurial dreams in Silicon Valley, Jim was diagnosed with a life- threatening disease. On the day a venture capital firm transferred funds to Jim’s startup, he was on the operating table removing a massive tumor which resulted in multiple surgeries and long-term medical challenges.
For the first time in my career, it wasn’t just a straight climb up the ladder. I had to learn how to manage this difficult personal challenge with my desire to have a fulfilling career. I began to zig-zag around the jungle gym, instead of climbing up the ladder.
Life changes taught us to rely on the strength of our partnerships and forced us to creatively streamline our approach to work, resume management and life. Throughout the last 23 years of managing illness and work, we learned:
Take the opportunities around you and make the most of them.
Develop a best of class professional personal team to serve as resources in whatever project in which you involve yourself.
Leave a deliverable at every step you take. The things you build speak to your impact on the world around you.
Proactively help others succeed. Your personal team will grow stronger if you look for opportunities to help your friends up the political, professional and philanthropic ladder.
Never give up, but always be willing to regroup.
We’ve talked about the emotional toll personal challenges take here on this platform and the strength it requires to move through it. Lisa’s story is so inspiring in terms of how to deal with chronic illness, be there to support your family or loved ones while also maintaining your own goals and career.
The key to dealing with challenges is to stay nimble. On how she has been flexible throughout her career and used that to her advantage:
The focus of my career has been executing turnarounds in government, philanthropy and business. To conduct a turnaround you need to visualize the future, break down the past, create a path from present to future and execute with speed, confidence agility and heart.
Turnarounds by their very nature are fraught with interpersonal politics. This can be an emotional drain as you are working your way out of a box while managing the array of individuals impacted by the critical decisions you make in order to reach the future state.
On a personal level this means constantly taking stock about what is important to you and how you want to define the narrative of your time leading that turnaround. You may discover or confront verbal abuse, back-room shenanigans and hear about demeaning commentary related to you, your organization and your employees. Throughout you need to recognize that actions are taken to diminish others, to strip them of their power and reduce the value of their work. Although you may recognize the negative motivations, you need to stay focused on objectives, key results and stay hyper focused on the end game of what will define the success of your endeavor. When I mentor women of all ages, I have found that even the strongest of personalities will feel as if they are fighting an uphill battle at different points and times. Here is what I tell them:
Build the narrative that defines how you want to be known. Speak with facts. Document not only the negative situation but also be diligent in reporting the successes you and your team achieve.
Recognize you have no margin for error. As difficult as the situation is, control your reactions. The moment you lose your temper, talk publicly about the challenge, or show emotional distress, you have given your opponents tools to use against you.
Take the high road. Seed your own narrative and stick to your story. Build a cohort of successful individuals who become your team. Let them provide the background on why the challenges exist as well as take advantage of their wisdom and emotional support.
Know that the more you succeed, the more important the team around you becomes. Manage both up and down. Be the person who helps the younger men and women as they move forward.
Most importantly, define yourself by the positive changes you have made in society, business, and in the lives of others. Make your story not about you but about the lives you have touched and the positive impact the changes you are making will have on your community and future generations.
Thank you Lisa for your candid responses and advice. We have so much we can learn from our personal and professional story. In times of challenges and high pressure environments, how do you stay motivated and flexible so that you can continue to reach your highest potential? Tell us in the comments below!
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