Ellison Anne Williams – CEO and Founder, Enveil
"Don’t be a student of the school of hard knocks. Ask for help and seek experienced insights early and often – you don’t have to learn all of the lessons on your own. I’m blessed to have been surrounded by a number of fantastic mentors and colleagues who have helped me achieve more than I could have by myself.
Careers are nonlinear. At each step, choose opportunities based more on what you think you will learn from it than on where you think that it might take you. A diverse set of experiences is invaluable in building a rich career.
View challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. Areas where I haven’t been able to take a straight path from point A to point B, which is pretty much my entire career, ultimately tended to be the most interesting and rewarding."
Read the career advice other women CEOs would have given their younger selves here.