Mismanaged financial institutions collapsing, a costly war being waged in the Middle East, high unemployment rates continuing for years, government budgets suffering drastic cuts.

That's a description of what was going on during the recession in the early 1990's. Then, as now, the economy has played a role in the work that I do.

My thinking on today's economy led me to create affordable ways to share the wisdom I have on career development and transitions with employees who have been downsized and are unable to find work---or who are working at jobs below their skills and education levels.

"Temping with Tycoons: Reinvention Lessons for the Laid off Leader" is now available for FREE in PDF format at www.ltr-nyc.com/temping.htm

This latest LTR level playing field special report is based on the five years I spent working as a temporary secretary at the investment bank Lazard Freres & Co. It is a story of how I used the quiet giant of finance as the business school I could afford.

The goal in producing this work is to offer a dose of optimism and encouragement for "un or underemployed talent" and to help these individuals create a plan for a sustainable role in our new economy.

My hope is that you will forward this email on to those who might benefit from reading "Temping with Tycoons" and/or attending the Recession Seminars I'm now offering (please see below and www.ltr-nyc.com/recession_seminars.html for a current listing).

After reading the last issue of Dear Leader, one of my subscribers wrote, "It's always good to read your strategies." The strategies below are the ones I used almost twenty years ago. They are still relevant for those who want to survive and thrive now---and in the future!

Lead with your best,
Leigh

On August 21, 1989, I started temping at a bank whose name I couldn't pronounce and whose business I didn't understand. I felt like a fish out of water as I sat staring into the filing cabinets in front of me while listening to hum of the Wall Street environment around me.

Although I was on my official "time out" from a professional job in my field---public relations and marketing---I felt that I could have done better than being a temp.

My "time out" came about because I had earlier failed at being a leader when I ran my own company in Boston. In 1987, I relocated to New York City and gave myself "space" to learn about leadership and find a career that would be meaningful, satisfying, and rewarding. Little did I know the important role my first assignment at Lazard would be in my life!

My ego suffered making copies for people in the early 20's and going to the kitchen to get cookies in the afternoon for partners. Yet, ego issues aside, what better way to learn about leadership than being around the very successful people whose names made business headlines.

Each day I felt challenged to learn something new. Yet, how could I keep myself motivated and involved to take in and understand what was going on around me?

1. Use the workplace as a training room.
The cultural geography of the Lazard environment fascinated me. I treated it like a school where I could learn about leadership, organizational behavior, communications strategies, etc. Each assignment became another subject in my business school curriculum.

2. Practice active patience.
It wasn't easy being a temporary secretary when I knew I could be a manager or a director. Yet, I remained engaged in learning all I could process about the world of finance that was swirling around me. Although I felt I was always leaving, the challenges I set up for myself and the opportunities to work with brilliant people kept me at Lazard.

3. Develop resiliency techniques
My journal became filled with my class notes on outrageous as well as effective behaviors. I also made friends with other secretaries and would vent with them---and some partners---when I was frustrated. What I didn't do was complain all the time or engage in conversations that took me nowhere. I used my good sense of humor to laugh off some things off that would rile others.

4. Interests outside the workplace
Leveraging my background in public relations and my master's degree in early childhood education, I became an adjunct instructor in the Marketing Department at New York City Technical College, part of the City University of New York. I also took adult education classes, including those to help me write a play.

5. Stay connected to family.
Being with family members became very important to me during this time. In 1989, one of my nieces was a senior in college; I wondered what she was learning about leadership---and Wall Street. She inspired me to one day teach leaders because I knew that what she was learning couldn't possibly match what I was experiencing at Lazard!

TEMPING WITH TYCOONS www.ltr-nyc.com/temping.html
From here, you can download a FREE PDF of LTR's level playing field special report, "Temping with Tycoons: Reinvention Lessons for the Laid off Leader." Or you can order a booklet shipped within the continental U.S.

RECESSION SEMINARS www.ltr-nyc.com/recession_seminars.html
Teleseminar: Temping with Tycoons
Turn your job into a new career! Get inspired by listening to Leigh’s stories, skill building techniques, and approaches she used to turn being a temporary secretary at an investment bank into a career developing leaders.
Date/Time: Thursday, April 2, 8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: $30 Seminar limited to 15

Teleseminar: Playing to Win on the Recession Playing Field.
Resiliency, resources, and relevancy are critical to level the leadership playing field during this recession. Come with your questions so Leigh can give you strategies for your playbook.
Date/Time: Friday, April 3, 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT
Cost: $30 Seminar limited to 15

Workshop: Pictures of Success in the New Economy.
Tired of updating your resume and reading about how to get a job? Then come to Leigh’s innovative career workshop. Bring pictures, certificates of achievement, letters of recommendation, and/or your portfolio and together we'll help you design a future that aligns your successes with your ambitions. You’ll boost your creativity, generate amazing ideas, and develop strategies to achieve or enhance a meaningful career.
Date/Time: Saturday, April 4, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: LTR’s training room , Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC.
Cost: $125. Class size limited to 10.