A little over 3 years ago I lost my dear friend and partner in crime Shirley Ramos to cancer. She was only 57 years old. Shirley and I created the Leadership Boot Camp for Women in Construction together back in 2015. We both had a passion for empowering women, particularly in the construction industry, because we recognized that their tremendous contribution and leadership capabilities were being underutilized. We both strongly believed that given the direction of the industry, and its shift from a commodity centric “command and control” style of leadership toward a value generating “collaborative engagement” style of leadership, that women would be the gender to lead the industry most naturally into the future. We also both recognized that unfortunately, women were not getting the chance to do so, and were passed over for promotions far more often than men who had the same qualifications or less.
Shirley and I had 3 great years and 6 boot camps together before her passing on November 20, 2018. Since then, I have continued to deliver our boot camps solo, but never without her spirit hovering nearby. Since fall 2018, I have facilitated another half dozen bootcamps and the wonderful women who have attended have not had the privilege or the honor to know Shirley or get to experience the wisdom, wit, and charm of my kindred woman warrior. So, I thought it would be good to share a few of her blogs that she posted over the years. In each of these blogs Shirley discusses some of the challenges that we often encounter as we attempt to advance in the construction industry. She also explains that although some of the barriers that we encounter may be real, many are self-imposed. And what’s often missing to overcome these barriers is an awareness and recognition of our own power and effectiveness. That’s what our Boot Camp is all abound. Please enjoy these next several blogs over the month of December. I can’t think of a better gift to give over this holiday season. God Bless.
Available December 14:
Words of Wisdom from Shirley #1 – Sticky Floor, Stickier Ladder and the Glass Ceiling
(Re-published from March 10, 2016)
Available December 20:
Words of Wisdom from Shirley #2 – The Sticky Floor
(Re-published from March 17, 2016)
Available December 27:
Words of Wisdom from Shirley #3 – The Stickier Ladder
(Re-published from March 25, 2016)
Available December 29:
Words of Wisdom from Shirley #4 – The Glass Ceiling
(Re-published from March 31, 2016)
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