I got a surprise last fall when my niece texted me a photo of Taylor Swift from the December People magazine. Guess what? She's a fan! What a thrill for me. 

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I was honored to see the crowd that turned out for a Letters to My Younger Self Seminar at Deutsche Bank in Manhattan last summer, which included men on the panel. ( You can read about them here. )

The remaining letter-writing participants--three DB female managing directors--chose to address struggles that will reverberate with many of you who are leaders. 

Mary, during her college years

Mary Chen-Eng, a child of immigrants, spoke to her younger herself in college, when she was torn between pursuing her own interests and the safe path suggested by her parents. "You don't have to shut the door on passion forever," she wrote. (Read the full letter here.) 

Janice Reznick wrote to herself as a young lawyer starting out at Simpson Thacher in New York about the importance of building a bigger network. Her advice: "Many of these people around you will be your peers, adversaries and collaborators for a long time. Get to know them."

The younger self Lori Callahan addressed her letter to was in her early thirties and had just given birth to her second child. Sleep-deprived, Lori returned to work in her first significant management job, mistakenly thinking that being leader meant she should be the foremost expert in her unit's function.

Lori today, with her daughter

 "As a leader your job is not to know more than (your people) do...If you create a sense of deep connection with you, and with each other, the motivation you're seeking from the team will grow."  

(See Lori's full letter .) 

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