Episode #1: Meet the CFO of University of Pennsylvania: MaryFrances McCourt
Hey everyone!
Welcome to the brand new podcast show – High Five Success Stories.
In this podcast, I interview women from all different backgrounds who can offer advice and inspiration to millennial gals.
In my first episode, I’m interviewing my very good friend MaryFrances McCourt. She is currently the VP of Finance and Treasurer at the University of Pennsylvania, and lives a wonderful life.
We cover a lot of different things in this episode from having grit to creating a home / work life balance. One of the biggest take aways for me was the conversation about grit, where we reference Angela Duckworth’s NY Times best seller, “Grit: the Power of passion and Perseverance.”
Another important topic we touched upon was on balancing home and work. She used to have a singular focus while working and always got the job done. When she was at home, she nurtured her children in a way that they got to learn how to take care of themselves.
The last takeaway that I’m definitely going to implement in my life is to “do things that no one is expecting you to do”. When you initially join an organization, some people might not take notice of your work. When you go above and beyond, and do extra work outside of your job description, there is a good chance you WILL get noticed. MaryFrances once prepared the budget of the whole organization, which didn’t result in an immediate promotion. But because of that work, she was eventually able to work directly with the president of the company.
Listen to the episode below, and let me know in the comments what was the biggest takeaway for you.
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the show and leave an honest review on iTunes. Thanks!
Show notes:
- 3:50 Planning your life
- 8:42 Focusing on the positive
- 11:02 Embracing life
- 12:45 Grit by Angela Duckworth
- 14:07 Growing yourself everyday
- 16:29 Every day is a new day
- 17:45 Push everyday and don’t give up
- 20:55 Here to learn everyday and be challenged everyday
- 21:24 Personal values
- 24:34 Employees are the happiest when they accomplish a goal.
- 27:48 Just being positive everyday
- 28:47 Taking the high road
- 32:55 Life isn’t a zero sum game
- 33:45 Tell me about a time when you were pumped up at work
- 36:51 How to manage family and work at the same time for working mothers
- 42:42 Every mother is doing her best
- 45:58 Who do you identify as a success?
- 55:16 Studying for the A-grade
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