I listened to a fascinating speaker the other night. For a change, the speaker wasn’t just giving a bunch of platitudes or a rah rah speech, but concrete information, facts, websites and tools we could all use to elevate our business to the next level. He talked about different ways to use technology to gather information on potential clients and your clients’ competitors. He offered resources for industry information that would make you better informed about your clients’ current business environment.

At some point in the evening, I wondered why he would give this information away to his competitors. What if they all started implementing his ideas and improved their client relationships, too?

It didn’t take me long to figure it out. We all took notes that night, we all listened intently and we were wowed as the PowerPoint flashed the information on the screen, but how many of us would implement even one of the things he showed us? How many would set up the Google alerts to alert us to any news regarding our clients and their competition? How many would set up newspaper alerts so we knew when clients were in the press? How many would use the business and industry tools to thoroughly research our client’s industry before we called on them the next time?

About the same number that write down their goals on New Year’s Eve and keep them. About the same number of people who take out their five-year plan (if they have one) and look at it every quarter. About the same number that will lose the weight, start exercising and swear off beer in favor of green tea. A very small number.

Everyone has their own reason for not raising their own bar. I discovered mine a while back and I work with that knowledge to move forward. I had operated out of a place of fear, not from my strengths. When I started leading with my strengths, things didn’t seem so difficult.

Are you doing the best you can do for your business and your clients? Are you putting into practice the great tools you read or hear about? Pick one thing and do it today. Or delegate it. Or hire someone to implement it.

Question: What is holding you back from raising your game to the next level?

Last Monday was my first day back from maternity leave. After taking eight weeks off to focus on my new role as mom, I was able to come back part-time for two weeks with my son Adam in tow. Having the two week transition back into work-mode made coming back full-time much easier. Having an extra two weeks with my son was an invaluable gift.

As a young professional, I am extremely grateful to Dawn and Wendy for creating a culture that embraces situations like mine. They know that life happens and the mantra around our office is: “It’s OK to not be 100%, 100% of the time.” We support each other during life’s moments, even when it means taking on more work individually. I never once felt bad being gone for eight weeks. I felt more than supported in my decision to take that time with Adam. I have also received added support this week as I balanced working full-time, embracing daycare, and managing life at home while my husband traveled for work. To me, coming back to work felt like coming back to family – another invaluable gift.

The more I told my friends and other new moms about the support I received and the two week “ease-into-work” plan, the more I realized how rare it is. So my intent with this blog is not to brag about how great Dawn and Wendy and the culture of Ingenuity is (although they are worth bragging about), my intent is to put it out there that places like this exist. I can be a professional and a mom with grace and support.

As we evolve into leadership roles in our firms, my hope is that this way of being goes from being an exception to being the norm.

Question: Have you felt supported by your employer during times of transition? If so, in what ways?