CHALLENGE CONTINUES
One of the keys to my success has been never getting too far away from the customer and always being tuned in to the voice of the customer.
WOC: What worked best for you in your career? Strategies That Get Results
Pat Elizondo: Whether it was my own organization, col- leagues or my boss, I found that if you aligned yourself with the company’s strategic direction, then it couldn’t be about where I felt the business needed to go. It needed to be grounded on the facts and figures that supported trends in the market and in the business to build my case in a certain direction, with something that I was pas- sionate about—customers or services led. You begin to build a case with knowledge and the facts to get value.
WOC: What’s been your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Pat Elizondo: I’ve been married for over 30 years and we’ve lived in Indianapolis,
Tips for Success Sherita T. Ceasar, vice presi- dent, Deployment Engineer- ing, National Video Deploy- ment Engineering, Comcast Cable:
Sherita Ceasar is responsible for the management of engineering and technical operation video deployment projects, including readiness for service activation. Her scope spans cross-platform applications and video-on-demand. This includes acting as liaison to senior engineering lead- ers regarding deployment of video projects into field platform products support- ing Comcast markets.
“Be great at what you do and exceed expectations. Stay relevant in your area of exper- tise through training courses, reading about the latest trends and networking. And most importantly, have fun.”
Chicago, Cleveland and a couple of places in the mid- Atlantic. I remember one time, my husband had just been promoted at his job and then I was promoted—within 30 days of each other. So we decided in order for me to take advantage of the opportunity I’d move to Chicago.
We lived in two different cities for two years. Some people would say, “Oh my gosh! That’s terrible!” But we thought at the time we didn’t want to miss the opportu- nities and we valued our marriage, so I moved to Chicago and he stayed in Indianapolis. It was one of the most exciting and dynamic chapters of our marriage.
We also made a family decision to delay having our son. We’d been married 13 years before we had our child. I was one of six kids (No. 4) so I didn’t have the desire to go out and have six kids because I was one of six. I loved my siblings but what I wanted to experience was using my education. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to pick your timing it’s a wonderful thing. We have a healthy son in high school and my husband has been a stay-at- home-dad for the last four years.
Recently, I was at a seminar and someone asked me if there’s one piece of advice I’d give women to help them
50 WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2013
Women of Color: There are historical barriers in the workforce but more and more women are doing well and rising to the top. Which best practices do you think have helped women break through?
Sherita Ceasar: I think women are taking charge
of their careers and demonstrating that they can not only meet, but exceed expectations. I see it as stacking building blocks. You must first have a solid foundation and be excellent at what you do. From there, the pow- er of networking is crucial to develop strategic relation- ships at your peer-level and above to help demonstrate the value you provide.
The next layer is to have mentors who can teach you how to navigate the organization as well as sponsors who will advocate on your behalf. Finally, I like to develop what I call a “Personal Advisory Board”— people outside of the company who can give an external perspective.
Women of Color: What worked best for you in your career?
Sherita Ceasar: I have always been open to moving hori- zontally within an organization. For example, I’ve held positions in engineering, manufacturing and deployment, just to name a few, and have had three different jobs in my six years at Comcast. I have a passion for build- ing teams where we can unleash the potential to deliver meaningful results.
by Lango Deen,
ldeen@ccgmag.com
be successful and I said yes, ”If you don’t want to worry about anything at work, have your husband stay home.” I travel all over the world and it’s nice to know I don’t have to worry about anything. But we do it as a family.
www.womenofcolor.net
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