Alumni Spotlight: Wendy Cocke

How has your career unfolded and how did participating in 21CL help prepare you for your next steps going to college, taking on a new leadership role in community/college and after?

Hi, I’m Wendy Cocke. I am the author of two best-selling books “Making Flex Work: Defining Success on Your Own Terms” and “Reimagine Your Work: Managing Your Career Like It’s Your Business,” contributor to the best-selling anthology “When Work Works: Cutting-Edge Solutions for the Contemporary Workplace,” and the founder of Engineering Leadership Solutions, LLC where I work with high-achieving, technical professionals and organizations who think about work differently. 

I grew up being told that I could be anything I wanted to be and learned first-hand that through hard work and perseverance a small business can become the lifeblood that fuels a family. I believe that by combining those pieces, and my engineering mindset, I can help people customize a career that makes sense for them. 

A chemical engineer by training, I spent over 20 years leading technical teams in Fortune 500 companies prior to opening my own consulting company and joining the faculty at my alma mater where I teach engineering students how work works. About ten years into my career, when my oldest child was still an infant, I pursued a flexible work arrangement that would allow me to balance all aspects of her life. I was told that, though the company supported my desire to pull back, my career would stall, and I would never move up in the organization. Little did they know that the change to my work schedule and my successful negotiation of a flexible work arrangement would be the catalyst that would propel my career as I worked my way from engineer to project leader to manager and then director, serving in R&D, manufacturing operations & supply chain strategy. Then, on what should’ve been one of the darkest days of my career, I used a corporate restructuring as the opportunity to totally change the trajectory of my career. Without knowing it, I had been preparing for this moment for my entire career. I now do more of what fills my tank and less of what drains my energy. 

As a working mother, I have redefined success for myself according to my values, balancing work and life so that I can drive results while still spending the quality time needed to raise my children and support my extended family. I believe that with my experience and my engineering mindset, I can help people find their place at work and thrive once they get there. I am pragmatic in my approach and passionate about ensuring the best outcomes for the business and for customers whether I am working with employee audiences who want to be their own advocates or corporate leaders looking to drive retention and productivity. 

What’s your memorable or ‘aha’ moment during your time at 21CL? (Particular program, meeting a professional and diverse peer, speaking in public for the first time, etc.)

My memorable experience of 21CL was a week of their leadership camp at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC). Almost 30 years later, I still think of it every time that we drive down I-75 and pass the exit (just ask my children). That week was the first time that I had been around that many other students who had an interest in professional development. I was from a small high school, so I didn’t know many people and just got dropped into an entirely new world at camp. The activities, speakers, and expectations for the week were like nothing I had ever seen, and while I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t maintain those relationships, I have kept the memories and lessons.

Did 21CL assist you in developing a leadership style that makes you an effective leader? If so, how? 

I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back, the way I choose to lead likely has its roots in the 21CL program. I believe in servant leadership, advocating for owning our own career development, and investing in those around you, all tenets of the 21CL philosophy.

Why do you believe programs like 21CL are important? And what advice would you give to a current or future student?

These sort of programs are important because leaders are what make or break someone’s experience at work. A good leader can make a bad situation a little less terrible, but a bad leader can make even the best situation miserable. The advice I would give is to continually invest in your development; people want to be a good leader.