From Opera Singer to Mental Health Professional: Nancy Irwin’s Case

Welcome to the Hot Mommas Project Learning Series where we showcase a Hot Mommas Project case selected by a student team member or guest.  The series is targeted toward educators and leadership groups seeking authentic role models in addition to business/career lessons.  A complementary podcast accompanies each blog post.  Episodes feature interviews with Hot Mommas Project founder Kathy Korman Frey and student contributors.

Student contributor: GW student and team member Kaitlyn McAuliffe.

Featured case: Nancy B. Irwin’s “Changing Direction in Midlife“

Irwin was a finalist in the Hot Mommas Project 2008-2009 Case Competition and her case was a Young Judges Popular Case Selection!

Case themes include: role models, work-life balance, entrepreneurship, career, work-life balance, focus, priorities, mental health, overcoming challenges.

Click here to listen to the online version of the podcast with Kathy Korman Frey and Kaitlyn McAuliffe. Click here to listen and subscribe on iTunes.

Case excerpt and commentary by Kaitlyn McAuliffe:

“…Ironically, it is through selfless giving that we learn who we are.  At least that is how it occurred for me. Previously, my self-worth had been completely dependent on my last comedy set, last audition, or how good a hair day it was for me. Those kids reminded me what really mattered.  What a surprise…there was a whole world outside Nancy Irwin the Narcissist’s comedy and coiffure! Suddenly, I didn’t feel like I had to prove anything to anyone anymore. That had always been the driving force behind my stand-up career, not the healthiest motivation for a career in entertainment…”

As a student, overtime I have been assigned to read countless case studies focused on big, brand name businesses, smaller, no-name businesses, cash flow, employee management, and incentive programs, in the hope of learning to someday be successful in business. However, I believe that Nancy Irwin’s case “Changing Direction in Midlife,” truly encompasses the heart, passion, and core of successful careers in business. After volunteering at a shelter for sexually abused teens, Irwin found a passion that led to a successful career. The most important take away from Irwin’s case is the ability to find passion, inner drive, and a personal connection to one’s work. Which, I think, is something that is constantly lost in the classroom, buried under pseudo balance sheets or Bob Prosen’s “proven” ways on how to achieve extraordinary results of a company that has yet to exist. Not to say that learning to read a balance sheet or successfully managing employees is not important, because it is. But how is one to justify spending hours in an office worrying over these everyday annoyances without having the passion to achieve a higher overall goal?

I believe that many students spend countless hours thinking and planning about how he or she will connect what is learned in the classroom to a job in “the real world.”  The truth that is exposed in Irwin’s case is that life does not always happen that way. Hopefully after finding or building a career that provides a person to use his or her personal motivations and drive, the rest will naturally fall into place.

To read Nancy B. Irwin’s full case or any of our other Hot Mommas Project cases, go to www.hotmommasproject.org. Or, you know any dynamic women, nominate them as Hot Mommas at support@hotmommasproject.org.

Summary:

To use Hot Mommas Project cases in a learning, training, or bookclub environment:

1. Read this blog post and Irwin’s case “Changing Direction in Midlife“
2. Listen to the podcast online or on iTunes.
3. Discuss!

You can find other cases in this series by clicking on “Role Models in the Classroom” under the Categories heading in the right column of our blog.