Profile March 16, 1992 Issue

In business, more of God's motherhood and fatherhood

On the rungs of today's corporate ladders, some difference climbers are working toward the top. The challenges these women and minorities face are being chronicled. But the fresh approaches they bring to the climb are worth more attention. Consider, for example, the approaches taken by this woman who over the past ten years has worked in a number of positions of responsibility not traditionally held by women. Until recently, when she left the field to become a full-time public practitioner of Christian Science, she had served as manager of material systems for a large public utility in the United States. At her request, this interview is published anonymously.

What did your job at the utility entail? I had responsibility for seven warehouses, fifty people, all kinds of equipment, parts, and supplies used in construction and for electrical systems that bring power to homes. I also had responsibility for contracting to hire construction firms to build facilities.

Did anyone tell you that you shouldn't be in the job or make predictions about what you'd be able to accomplish? My first week with this organization I called a meeting and asked the staff to give me an idea of what I needed to be aware of in this organization. At that point the staff I was responsible for totaled nine people. The first individual who spoke said, "We give you less than fourteen months because no one has lasted in this job for two months." I was pretty stunned. But I said, "I appreciate your frankness. I needed to know that." The group went on to explain that they attributed this prospect to politics; this position was so controversial that the one in it was the scapegoat for everyone else in the organization.

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