Do you like me??

I haven’t run for a “position” in a group since I was in High School. I ran for Secretary, unopposed, my senior year, and I’m still living with that choice now (I swear, they don’t TELL you that the senior year officers are lifelong roles – I am now planning our 10 year reunion). I don’t like running for things. Elections are popularity contests, and I like to be liked!

The Partner’s Group here is transitioning its leadership roles from 2^nd year partners to 1^st year partners, and I find myself in the middle of it all. I was more than willing to co-chair a club or two, but a few people from last year’s club suggested that the group really needs a “leader.” Here at Booth, no club is structured the way a club is normally structured. There is no President, Vice President, etc – I guess that is far too hierarchical for them (everyone in business school is a leader, in case you were unaware). They simply have co-chairs – not even just plain old chairs! So, there are two people “in charge” of every group. Well, the Partner’s Group is different in that it is split up into 8-10 clubs within the group, and each of these clubs has two co-chairs. That means there are 16 people in charge of the entire group. How do you run a meeting or delegate tasks efficiently with 16 people in charge? Well, based on the way these transition meetings have gone, you can’t. A leader it is.

Our transition meeting was Monday, we indicated our “interest” in becoming the leader yesterday, and the group is voting on the leader today. The whole thing is silly, I know. It’s the leader of the Partner’s Group, not the free world or anything. However, contests of any kind make me nervous. I get nervous playing Cranium with a group of friends or even playing Guitar Hero with my husband! I’m just not cut out to be a competitor.

Incidentally, I told Cam that I might end up being the Partner’s Group leader, and he said, “What? No! Why are you always leading things! I’m the business school student; I should be leading things!” I quickly assured him that we could find yet another place on his resume for my new leadership roles ;).

Of course, one might ask why I said I was interested in becoming the leader if I really don’t think it’s a big deal and I hate competition….well, as a fellow partner here pointed out, while all of us should be Type B personalities to complement our student’s Type A’s, it turns out opposites don’t necessarily attract in this case. We’re all Type A’s, and many of us, including me, have the need to lead.

Wish me luck

A New York State of Mind?

So, I thought I should do an update on Cam’s summer internship search. Things have become a little more complicated than they were a couple weeks ago, but we’re still not going to complain! Cam is heading to NYC next week for a kind of “Admitted Internship” evening (he said, “they’re paying for me to fly there for a party!”), and if all goes well, he will probably just accept JP Morgan’s offer. BNY has indicated that they want a second interview in Boston, but they can’t give him a final decision until after February 16….which is when JP’s offer “explodes” (I had never heard this “exploding offer” term until the last few weeks…why don’t they just say “expire” or, god forbid, “we have to tell them by February 16 if we’re going to accept”?).

Anyway, this whole BNY situation made everything slightly more complicated. Should he wait until after the NYC trip to tell BNY he is going to back out of the process? Should he just tell them now in case they want to extend a 2nd interview to someone else (he is one of three candidates at the moment)? If he was offered the BNY position, does he think he would take that or the JP Morgan job? This seems to be the most important question to me, and it’s the question he has the toughest time answering. All he can say is that there is a good chance he would accept the JP position even if he got the BNY job. In that case, it’s tough to give up a sure thing for a 33% chance of getting another position. Oy.

In either case, it looks like I am spending 10 weeks of the summer in Chicago alone! Cam will be in NYC and Boston, and, though I wish I could, I can’t just quit my job right now and follow him ;). And because Cam is the primary puppy caregiver, Henry will head to puppy summer camp at Cam’s Mom’s house in Connecticut. It will be weird being single and childless for 10 weeks, but I’m committed to having a good time! We’ll see each other most weekends and rendezvous in Connecticut to visit the pup. More on this Chicago alone time later; it’s a big topic of conversation amongst the working partners….

Also, our Partner Group takeover has pretty successful! Things are looking up there, and we are getting ready for Admit Weekend!

Busy, busy….with all this business school stuff going on, it’s a wonder I have any time for my actual job….;).

Welcome to Mommy's Group!

No, you didn’t miss anything; I do not have any children. Sometimes, though, it feels as though I would fit in better with the Partner’s Group here if I did! The group is supposed to be a support system for all the partners who have traveled to Chicago to be with their students for 2 (sometimes 3) years while they’re in school. However, it feels more like a group for moms and people who don’t work (a lot of international partners are unable to get work visas here) than a group for male partners or working girls!

This issue is something that has really been bothering me and a lot of the other women I’ve become friends with here. So, we are planning a (hopefully) not-so-hostile takeover. The chair positions are being given out this week, and we are staging a coup! Now, I am not saying that I don’t like children; I LOVE kids. They’re great! And I definitely feel as though the international contingent needs a lot of support when making such a major life change. But there is a big group of partners here who do not have children and have to go to work every day to support our new single income lives. Having events start at 5:15pm on a Friday (I get out of work at 5pm and can’t get anywhere until at least 6pm!) or called “Make your own Sundae” either just don’t work or don’t appeal to the working/no kids set. (The latest Evite for Partner Group? “Not Your Grandmother’s Meatloaf.” Yes. They want us to all go to someone’s apartment and make meatloaf. Seriously??)

Now, despite all the negativity, the Partner Group has been useful for me. I joined over the summer, and while all the students were at some 3 day orientation in Wisconsin, the group set up a lot of events to keep us busy and introduce us to the city – and to each other! Because of those first few events (some of the only ones I’ve been to, I have to say), I’ve made so many great friends here. We basically created our own partner group of non-mommy working women. Just yesterday, we all went to brunch downtown, and I’m planning a super bowl party for the girls and our partners ;).

So, wish us luck in our takeover bid!! I’m going for Wine Club co-chair ;). One thing these non-mommies like to do? Drink :).

Update: Cam’s interviews last week went well…well, one did, at least. He should be hearing about both very soon. Two more this week! Fingers crossed!!!