Introduction

Careers are rarely shaped by dramatic turning points. More often, they’re shaped by someone who sees potential in us before we fully see it ourselves.

When I think about the defining moments in my career, I don’t think about awards, promotions, or major wins. I think about people.

March is Women’s History Month, and as I reflect on my time in the proposal profession, three moments rise to the surface. Each one was influenced by a woman who helped shape not just my work, but who I was becoming as a professional.

Defining Moment One – Early Career

I’d been working for an engineering firm for a couple of years when my boss at the time, Lynn, asked me to help her put a proposal together. This was back in the “olden” days when proposals were hard copy submissions and needed to be either hand-delivered or sent via UPS or FedEx. So, Lynn explained we needed to assemble each response and then it would need to be comb-bound with a clear acetate cover and a black back. We needed to assemble six copies, five for delivery and one for our files. Oh yeah, and it needed to be packaged up and ready for UPS pickup at 4:30 p.m. Did I mention it was about 3 p.m. when she came and got me?

Yes, we got the copies made, assembled, packaged, and ready for UPS pickup at 4:30 p.m.

That was my first exposure to a proposal, but it wasn’t the defining moment. No that happened a bit later, when Lynn needed me to take over a proposal effort. It was early in the process, and she was being pulled into another project. She explained to me what the opportunity was, where the information was, how the project manager was, and when the proposal was due. She told me she was available to answer questions and to help if needed, but she knew I’d be fine.

That was my defining moment. Lynn didn’t hover. She didn’t second-guess. She handed me responsibility and trusted me to carry it. I had questions along the way, and she answered them, but she never made me feel incapable. Her trust changed something in me. I didn’t just complete a proposal. I stepped into a profession, and I learned what it feels like when someone sees potential in you before you fully see it yourself.

Transitioning proposals to me took place over the course of the next several months. Lynn was glad to let me have them. Proposals weren’t her passion.

Becoming the proposal professional for that firm wasn’t defining because it launched my career. It was defining because Lynn encouraged my growth without diminishing the work.

Quite a feat for someone who I later learned despised proposals. We laughed about that over an Olive Garden lunch one afternoon.

Defining Moment Two – Mid-Career

How many of you are proposal unicorns? You know, those who can write proposals and manage them. I’m not one. I can write parts of a proposal, and with the introduction of AI, I can write even more, but that’s not my proposal superpower. During my tenure with the non-profit corporation, I worked for, my boss, Brook, taught me what my proposal superpower was.

Brook was an excellent proposal writer. It was her passion. She really enjoyed writing them. With Brook writing proposals, I was able to focus on managing them, and that’s when I learned what my superpower was.

Where Brook excelled at writing proposals, I excel at managing them. Brook once told me she was glad I was good at managing proposals because she didn’t really like that part. She said together we made a great team. I agreed with her.

What Brook gave me wasn’t just partnership. It was clarity. She helped me identify what I was good at. In a profession where many of us try to be everything at once, she showed me that complementary strengths build stronger teams than individual perfection ever could. Understanding that shaped the roles I pursued and the way I build teams today.

Defining Moment Three – Later Career

I’ve had the privilege of being a people manager a few times throughout my career. As a people manager, you’re responsible to others to provide opportunities for them to grow. This is a big deal.

Sarah was young and like so many of us had been introduced to proposals by immersion and embraced the field. She was in the earlier stages of her proposal career.

What I enjoyed most about working with Sarah was her desire to learn more, her willingness to take on new things, and her never quit attitude no matter how crazy things were. We went through some very stressful periods with way too many things happening at once, but through it all she stayed positive, which helped me stay positive. We lifted each other up.

As her manager, I understood the weight of that responsibility. Someone once trusted me before I felt ready. Now it was my turn to create that same space. To give opportunities, offer guidance, and sometimes encourage a leap forward, even when it meant they would move on.

Letting Sarah take that next opportunity wasn’t easy. But growth is the goal, and leadership means celebrating it. Even when it stretches you.

Conclusion

I’ve been fortunate to work alongside women who trusted me, strengthened me, and challenged me to grow. Their influence shaped my career in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. This month, I’m reflecting not only on the women who influenced my path but on the responsibility that comes with that influence.

Leadership isn’t just about results. It’s about who grows, because you were in the room. Careers are often shaped not by dramatic moments, but by someone who says, “You’ll be fine,” and means it.

• Who trusted you before you were ready?
• Who helped you see your strengths?
• And who are you doing that for now?

If someone comes to mind, tell them. And if you’re able to do so, be that person for someone else. You never know which “small” moment might become someone’s defining one.