Don't Wait for Someone Else to Fix It

CHAPTER TWELVERecovering from Leadership Setbacks

Trish Moll's leadership career began at a very early age. A good student well‐liked by her classmates, Trish founded her elementary school's first girls’ basketball team. In high school, Trish was elected to student government, ultimately becoming student council president. In Trish's view, leadership was always a collaborative venture.

“It was never just about me,” Trish insisted. “It was always important to me to be with people who had similar goals and objectives, people like me who wanted to accomplish something.”

Along the way, Trish had mentors who helped crystallize her view of the future. Probably her most influential mentor was her dad, himself a leader as a Deputy District Chief in the Chicago Fire Department and a small business owner. “My dad and I would sit at the kitchen table for hours, talking about what was going on in my life and what I wanted for my future. He never told me what to do. He asked questions because he wanted me to think through how to make my own decisions.”

Though Trish's dad believed in a good education, her working‐class family didn't assume she would choose to attend college. So, when Trish told her parents she wanted to further her education after high school, they were supportive. When deciding on a college major, once again, Trish's dad was influential. He told Trish, “If you want to have money, you need to make money.”

Trish took her dad's insight to heart and decided to study finance ...