Thirst for knowledge is key to a successful career

A broad knowledge base and the ability to learn from others are essential skills that many successful people share, according to former Special Assistant to President Clinton and White House Director of Events Laura Schwartz (pictured).

“I have found throughout my career and especially in my years at the White House that all great leaders and successful professionals have a thirst for knowledge – they also understand the importance of conversation. This combination of a broad knowledge base and belief that conversation is something you invest in to learn from others, allows leaders to look at a problem in more than one way and ultimately find a solution,” says Laura.

She then goes on to comment on the differences in the way that men and women work, noting that “women certainly have some characteristics that allow them to progress in their career differently than men. While men are great at completing the task at hand, women are born multi-taskers.”

She continues: “Women work well naturally under the pressures of work and home – they work at keeping different departments and teams connected. Women are also great active listeners, which allows them to gather and synthesise information to make decisions and explain the reasoning behind such decisions.”

Looking at what can stop people from achieving their true career potential, Laura believes that a lack of confidence can be the root of the problem for a lot of professionals and adds that this is one of the reasons why training is so absolutely vital to PAs.

In terms of her own career, Laura acknowledges that her family taught her the true meaning of hard work, as her parents both owned their own businesses while she was growing up in the Midwest. “I think that having a strong work ethic instilled in me at a young age has allowed me to continue charging ahead with my professional speaking, TV appearances and authoring a book.”

She concludes by saying that although working at the White House was an extraordinary experience, allowing her to learn how to harness the networking power of social events, many former staffers can struggle when they leave because they find it tough to continue to make an impact in life “without that seal of the President on your business cards”.

However, Laura capitalised on her time in Washington DC and found a way to “turn all of the ideas, tips, tricks and insight from [those] years into a career that I thoroughly love and that impacts people throughout the world. Positive networking and partnership building knows no borders, genders, ages or careers – it can empower each one of us.”