Sherry Ulsh – Founder, Women's Leadership Forum, Burger King

Sherry Ulsh, founder of the Women’s Leadership Forum at Burger King, shares strategies for building your own women’s group – and how to manage stress during tough times.

By Taylor Mallory

Between a high-powered job as director of marketing account administration for Burger King Corporation (BKC), leading the company’s women’s group and making time for her husband and special-needs stepson, Sherry Ulsh has plenty to be stressed out about (and let’s not forget the recession that has us all tied up in knots). How does she deal with it? She talks about it. “I think people are looking to talk with each other, find common ground and laugh a little bit. And I’m trying (though still getting there) to understand what I can and can’t control – then to really control and feel good about what I can and let go of what I can’t.”

Her quick fix? “I try to take at least 10 minutes each day to do something for me – to get re-energized,” says Ulsh. “I read books, listen to some music on my iPod while I take walks and use the time in my car driving home from work to stay connected to friends.”

Here she shares philosophies on balance and business – and tactics for starting a women’s group at your company.

PINK: How do you balance work and life?
Sherry Ulsh: I think you have moments of balance. I have a 12-year-old stepson who has been in my life for six years. That has been interesting, because I was a very single woman for a long time, but it’s so rewarding to be part of his life and help him move past his disability. This Sunday was a balanced day. It was his birthday. I had some work I had to get done, so we had a great morning together. Then he and his dad went fishing while I worked, and then we spent the evening together. We all had stuff to do but could balance that with time together. It doesn’t always work out that way, but it’s nice when it does.

PINK: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?
S.U.: Never burn a bridge. The world is so small, and a career is 40 years, so you’re gonna come back around to some of the same people. I was in a meeting earlier today with some outside consultants. Someone mentioned where he’d been located for a while. We started talking and realized we knew four of the same people. Always be professional and know what battles are worth fighting. Leave a situation gracefully. Help people feel it’s a win-win when you’re negotiating. You can’t go back across a bridge if you burn it.

PINK: What is your definition of success?
S.U.: That I’ve made a difference in someone’s life. I’ve managed people every year of my career except one. So I’ve always had a team – and being a successful leader (and person) means being there for them, listening to them, giving more than I get. But it’s also about being there to support my friends and family – and doing as much as I can for the community. I do something for charity at least once a week.

Ulsh’s best practices for starting a women’s affinity group:

1. Find your sponsor. We went right to the diversity department to understand if they were open to having a grassroots organization started. We sat down with the director and told him what we wanted to do. He helped us get exposure to top management, whom we knew would have to be involved if this thing was to ever get off the ground.

2. Get it on paper. In about an hour and a half, we came up with the entire structure of organization – our mission statement and areas of focus: mentoring, networking and professional development. We got our elevator speech down. We talked about the importance of women in business and the importance of supporting them. We were very specific about what we wanted to accomplish. This was never about getting together and having coffee. It’s all about learning, leading and networking.

3. Create your brand quickly. We picked our colors, got our logo, created letterhead, bought pens. You can’t recruit people to be part of something unless they know what it is.

4. Recruit everyone. We got our friends first. That was easy. Then 
we recruited men. Most said they didn’t know if they’d want to come to our meetings and events. I said, “You don’t have to come. Be on the membership list and get the women on your team to come.” They were up for that. But once they saw the level of speakers we were getting, they started coming.

5. Listen to your members. We didn’t know everything it was going to be, so we spent our first meeting finding out what they wanted out of the organization – and got great feedback.

6. Make a splash. We were a very business-casual environment back then. It was all khakis and polos. Our first event required suits. When everyone walked in, it was totally different from our day-to-day. And we had two very high-profile speakers to start us out with a bang.