Power & passion
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ATHENA AWARD FINALIST
CATHY HART
XCEL VP MENTORS TOMORROW‘S LEADERS
Cathy Hart’s list of job duties stretches as long as your arm. She is Xcel Energy’s vice president of corporate services with responsibility for aviation services, corporate communications, property services, shareholder services and the Xcel Energy Foundation.
Meanwhile, her record of community participation and outreach is equally impressive, including involvement with the Mile High United Way, the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance and many more.
So how has this 2009 Athena Award finalist managed to take up so many responsibilities and remain effective in all of them?
Her secret: balance. “For me it’s a balance of the things that I love to do at work and the things that I love to do in the community,” Hart said. “It can be hard for women to learn how to prioritize and balance family and work.”
The trend in the U.S. over the past many decades has been toward evermore women leaving the home and entering the business world, she said. But, at the same time, these women – most often – still are responsible for the majority of household duties and familial obligations.
This means that women can face a different and, perhaps, more complicated set of obstacles than men when struggling to succeed in their careers, she said.
But as simple as the words “prioritization” and “balance” sound as keys to success, these skills don’t come easily, she said. They’re not traits that we just carry with us in our genes.
“I think that everyone needs a mentor and someone to turn to when looking for guidance,” Hart said.
Mentoring, apprenticeship, leadership and one-on-one education are the real tools for building success – allowing an individual to not only become economically healthy, but healthy mothers, sisters, friends and community members, Hart said.
“I had very strong parents,” she said. “My mother never left the home. She was very much a World War II era mother. And I think she supported my work so much because she had always wanted to do it herself.”
At least part of Hart’s success can be attributed to her parents helping her keep her eyes fixed on her goals and what makes her happy, she said.
Today, one of the activities that keeps Hart happy is philanthropy or community outreach.
“It sounds silly to say that I just like giving back, but I really do,” she said. “But I’m getting back, too. It gives my life balance.
“I know that I, personally, owe something back to the community,” Hart said. “We all do.”
In addition to her involvement in nearly a dozen different outreach and aid organizations – including the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and Xcel’s Women’s Interest Network – Hart has also made a commitment to mentor a number of younger women who find themselves juggling their personal goals and keys to happiness over the past few decades.
“Cathy has helped me stay accountable to my goals and to stay on track,” said Kim DeVigil, a corporate spokeswoman with Molson Coors who has maintained a friendship with her mentor and former coworker for about the last 20 years. “She’s really been invaluable in asking the hard questions and continuing to help me achieve my goals.
“Her efforts don’t just stop at work, they extend to everything,” DeVigil said. “She’s really an incredible person.”
Patrice Blaeser, a current apprentice of Hart’s at Xcel Energy, said that her mentor consistently encourages her to reach out of her comfort zone and take conscious steps to achieve success in all facets of life. Learning from another woman who has fought through many of the same obstacles she currently faces has helped Blaeser to realize that the business world doesn’t have to be about cutthroat individualism.
“Cathy has convinced me that corporate America doesn’t have to be bad. It just depends on the people around you,” Blaeser said.
— Dan Ray
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