008 | Advancing Your Career as a Working Mother with Gerilyn Horan, SVP, Hotel Industry
TUR008 - Advancing Your Career as a Working Mother with Gerilyn Horan
Gerilyn Horan is a Senior Vice President of a worldwide hotel group where she is responsible for overseeing the growth of the Regional, Intermediary, Association, and Corporate sales teams as well as ensuring their team members serve as collaborative partners and advisors for their customers. Gerilyn has over 25 years of experience in executive and leadership roles in the luxury hotels industry, including serving as the former VP of HelmsBriscoe as well as the former Director of Global Sales - North America at Langham Hotels International and Meadowood Napa Valley. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco.
Gerilyn joins me today to share how she got started in the luxury hotel industry and the challenges she’s faced throughout her career. She shares how she coped with extensively traveling while raising her son as a single mother and advancing her career and how she coped with feelings of guilt. We discuss the value of building a personal support system to advance your career as a working mother. She also shares the lessons she’s learned about ensuring your voice heard and making sure you receive recognition for the ideas and concepts you present to your organization.
“There should be no judgment around what decisions any of us make. It’s what’s right for you and your family at the time.” - Gerilyn Horan
This week on The Unwritten Rules Podcast:
• Gerilyn’s career journey and what inspired her to work in the luxury hotel industry
• Coping with extensive travel while raising a child as a single parent
• The importance of building a support system and how she coped with feelings of guilt
• Lessons Gerilyn has learned about being heard
• Why she believes many women are hesitant of stepping into their power, voicing their opinions, and asking questions
• Ensuring you are recognized for your ideas and the concepts you bring to the table
• What she knows now that she wished she knew at the beginning of her career
• The difference between mentors and sponsors and how they impact your career
Our Favorite Quotes:
“Your career might not look like what you think it’s going to look like in the beginning, but there are ways to get there.”
- Gerilyn Horan
“Continue to keep your network strong and things will present themselves. There are options.”
- Gerilyn Horan
Writing the Rules of Women Leadership
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