Liz Gryger: Transitioning Well

A long-time employee suddenly deals with job loss. A single mom desperately searches for a better-paying position. Another woman has no job experience but dreams of a fulfilling career. For them and for most people, challenge and change can be immobilizing.

And then there’s Liz Gryger, who knows a lot about learning through change.  She is an expert on how to transition well.

Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”  That’s exactly what Liz does.

Liz says, “We all have troubles, we all have changes. How we deal with those changes makes all the difference. Hopefully all the hard things we face in life will make us better, helping us to be all we can and want to be.”

For the past four years, Liz has been a key force at Pennsylvania Women Work (PWW), most recently as the Director of Programs. PWW is a nonprofit workforce development agency that supports individuals taking the next step in their career – whether they don’t have a job and need one or have a job and would like a better or different job. It empowers people to advance in their careers through no-cost career development programs, mentorship, and job placement assistance. It supports individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them achieve self-sufficiency and economic mobility.

She explains, “When you help someone with employment, you help the whole family. It certainly means a lot in terms of dollars and cents, but also with self-confidence, emotional good health and interaction with others.”

Liz continues, “What often holds people back from advancing their knowledge, skills or careers is a lack of confidence and belief in themselves. Too often, the world beats people down and they lose their self-esteem. Supporting someone during a time of transition can be pointing out their skills, honestly conveying the good attributes that you see.”

In a recent communication, PWW shared the impact that Liz has made. “Liz played an instrumental role in strengthening and expanding our programming. She created and facilitated new programs, enhanced curriculum, and led new opportunities for staff growth. Liz worked one-on-one with more than 1,600 job seekers over the past four years, providing individualized career coaching and support to each person. Additionally, she offered guidance, mentorship and leadership to a team of nine PWW program staff members.”

Clearly, Liz has helped a lot of people improve their careers, with the impact being life changing. But before she ever helped others to navigate challenges in their career, Liz maneuvered the curves and hurdles in her own life.

“I started as a chemist!” she says.

Liz graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from The College of William and Mary, and then worked for a chemical company in Delaware for two years. That’s where she met Ken, the love of her life then and now. They’ve been blissfully married for 42 years.

 Though a far cry from the chemistry world, Liz was drawn to studying business. Ken was supportive. She heard about and applied to a school in Philadelphia, even though she hadn’t realized how selective and prestigious the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania was. She was accepted and graduated with distinction.

For her next career move, she considered McKinsey and Company, a leading global management consulting firm which had an office in her hometown of Pittsburgh. Ken’s job took him all around the world, and he could easily work from Pittsburgh.

Liz and Ken have a strong faith in God and turn to Him in prayer before making any life decisions. They want to be in God’s will for their lives. She remembers that after a cultivation weekend with McKinsey leaders, she and Ken sat on a bench and talked and prayed. They decided to give it a go. They moved to Pittsburgh and then started a family.

The decision was more beneficial than they even imagined. By living in Pittsburgh, their daughters Emma and Maddy were able to experience a special bond with their grandparents, Liz’s parents. Sadly, Liz’s mother was diagnosed with cancer when Maddy was only six months old and Emma was three. She fought bravely for two and a half years. Through that challenging time, Liz was able to work part time while she cared for a mother with cancer and two young children.

“We can see God’s hand in that whole situation. By nature, I’m a planner and an organizer. I’ve always needed to know the details and how they’re going to play out. But this experience showed me that He has a plan for good. I’m now at peace not knowing what that plan is at the moment. That’s a lot of growth for me.”  To this day, she appreciates that lesson in trusting God’s plan.

Life was good. Liz and Ken raised their daughters with support from nearby family and their local church, Orchard Hill Church. And they enjoyed successful careers.

Liz was promoted regularly over the years, eventually becoming Director of Learning and Development. In that role, she established learning strategies for senior executives and colleagues to spur creativity and effectiveness. In addition to many other management duties, she was a highly rated and sought-after facilitator and coach. She helped people advance themselves.

Her husband Ken shares, “Liz has a growth mindset. She has never been stagnant. I’ve watched her grow in her people skills and management skills. She makes a real impact in those around her.”

But then the music stopped for Liz at McKinsey. During a major reorganization her position was eliminated.

“I felt like, what’s going on? I’m important. I’m leadership. And I didn’t know how to look for a job because I hadn’t looked for one for more than 30 years. I hadn’t updated my resume. The last time I job searched there was no internet. I didn’t know what to do.”

She found direction when she was at the Northland Library and saw a flyer for a class called New Choices, designed to teach people to job search. The class, presented by Pennsylvania Women Work, was three hours each Monday for ten weeks.

“The class taught me things like writing a resume and using the internet to job search. Perhaps more importantly, it helped my confidence. I’d come off an experience that was completely demoralizing. The class helped me realize that yes, I could go out and find the next step for me. It wasn’t the end of my life story.”

Liz started applying for roles that were similar to what she had done, particularly in corporate learning and development. She got pretty good at being one of the final two candidates, but the other person would always get the job. The thought dawned on her, maybe she shouldn’t be following the old corporate path.

What should she really be striving for in this transition? She needed to move forward, she realized, not backward. She thought, prayed and reflected a lot. And she realized three things.

First – She wanted to work and impact people in western Pennsylvania. Her role had been global for years, but her desire was to make a difference where she lived.

Second – She wanted to support some type of underprivileged, underrepresented, unskilled population.

Third – She wanted to work with people face to face.

Then she found a job opening that seemed right. She applied for and got the position of Director of Administration and Operations at Light of Life Ministries, a Christian non-profit helping people experiencing homelessness, poverty and addiction. She loved the mission and learned a lot about non-profits. She enjoyed the place and the people, but her job was entirely back office, not front line – and so not what she wanted. She wanted to engage and impact people directly. And because she was no longer intimidated by transition, she was ready to find that position.

She was immediately drawn to a job that opened up at, of all places, Pennsylvania Women Work. It was PWW that had helped Liz deal with her own career transition and now she would join the organization to help others with their transitions.

 Liz explains, “I went to Pennsylvania Women Work to help individuals be the next better version they want to be. I stepped back two levels, but over time my role advanced. I was leading a team of everyone who serves our participants across all programs. It’s the best place I’ve ever worked. Everything I’d done in my life prepared me for that position. God never wastes anything.”

Heather Coleman started at PWW around the same time as Liz. Initially peers, Liz became Heather’s supervisor. “Liz actively supports those who work for her. She sees the benefit of helping people grow. She’s very effective, seeing different possibilities.”

Heather explains how Liz changes lives. “When Liz works with clients, I see their confidence in themselves grow. She believes in them and advocates for them. And she helps them structure how to move forward.”

Heather observes that it’s Liz’s faith that enables her to help others as she does.  “Liz sees people through a Christian lens of hope and compassion. Because she sees the positive, she sees the potential people have. And she never gives up believing in what someone can achieve.”

Tim Welsh, a long-time colleague of Liz from McKinsey and Company, witnessed the professional accomplishments she made over the years. He says, “I was always inspired by her courage, leadership, incredible knowledge and ability to work with so many people.”

He adds, “I also deeply admired how Liz’s spirituality was at the center of everything she did. And how her family, too, was at the center of everything.”

Liz’s career accomplishments have been tremendously rewarding. But Ken, who is older than Liz, started talking to her about the value of retirement. He yearns for the two of them to enjoy more time together, travel, and spend time with their granddaughter in Texas. He wants to change their pace and to enjoy the family and many blessings God has given them.

Liz fought the idea for a while. But then, since she has learned to transition well, she realized it was time for that change. She would put her husband and family first, and enjoy life to the fullest. That means leaving her job at Pennsylvania Women Work.

“I don’t say I’m retiring, but I’m stepping back from full-time employment,” she shares. “I’m open to what’s next.”

Liz thinks about scripture … “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”

– Lamentations 3:22-23

She says, “This gives me assurance that God never changes and that each new day is a fresh start.”  A fresh start is the potential for transition every day – promoting growth, not stagnancy. And as Socrates says, the secret of change is to focus your energy on building the new.

That’s how to transition well, as learned, lived and demonstrated by Liz Gryer.

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