WHO SHE IS
Catherine Gray, Partner, The Trium Group

WHERE SHE IS
San Francisco

SUCCESS STORY
Becoming a partner at The Trium Group and leading client engagements, tending to the development of my team, and continuing to advance Trium’s core intellectual property and approach

WORK SCHEDULE
Office hours M-F, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and the rest at home

KIDS
Kai (12)

SANITY VICE
Slipping into a bath after a long day, closing the door, lighting some candles and listening to a podcast

RECENT SMART READ
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock — incredible book about the female psyche and journey and how we express ourselves in the world

FAVORITE MAGAZINES
Mother Jones, The New Yorker, The Atlantic

FAVORITE TV SHOW
I love watching Modern Family with my family

GO-TO WEEKNIGHT MEAL
Dinner at home with my husband and son – homemade vegetarian enchiladas, a crisp fresh salad and cold watermelon for dessert

GO-TO TECH
I am so not high-tech and try to unplug as much as possible. Honestly, my flashlight on my cell phone is my lifesaver!

BEST TIME-MANAGEMENT TIP
Set out my outfits for the week on Sunday night so I am not standing in my closet every morning wondering what to wear.

BETTER WAY TO SAY WORK-LIFE BALANCE?
I like to think of it as a constant conversation between four things in my life: my work, my family, my friends, and my soul. There is never a perfect balance, I just need to make sure I am tending to each of the four components and having the right conversations with myself about them. It’s a lifelong conversation.

Catherine and Family

1. As consultants you are in a client-driven environment. How does The Trium Group remain true to its values of offering a flexible work environment?

All of the partners at Trium have families and children. As a result, we are committed to creating a culture that enables us to be present with our families. We tend not to take a lot of clients that require extensive travel. We work hard, but are flexible when people leave the office to be with their families. For example, many nights I leave at 5 p.m. to get home to make dinner and help my son with his homework and jump back online later in the evening to finish my work and respond to emails.

2. The morning staff meetings at Trium start with a focus on sharing. Tell us what these meetings look like and how they work. What do people share and why, and how does it help your work?

Our weekly staff meetings always begin with a check-in, meaning that we literally go around the circle and each staff member checks in with what is present for them personally and professionally. This enables us to start every meeting with a much deeper sense of where each of us are and also helps each person drop into and be present for the meeting. Often times, we start the meetings with a meditation. We do this to make our meetings more effective, and it also enables us to “walk our talk” as we encourage all of our clients to build deep relationships and presence on their teams.

3. Tell us about your interest in the book The Heroine’s Journey and what it has taught you.

When I picked up this book and started reading, I realized it was a missing piece I had been searching for for a long time. What the author Maureen Murdock lays out is a very thoughtful framework about women and how we express ourselves in the world. She offers up an interesting framework about the masculine vs. feminine journey in a way that doesn’t make either sex wrong and, instead, shows the power of what it looks like when a person is able to integrate both sides of him/herself.

4. What are you doing to “work smart” these days?

I am attached to Outlook and make sure that in addition to meetings and calls, I schedule ample time in my calendar to reflect, plan, and prepare for critical meetings and milestones that are on the horizon. I have also become skilled at being OK with not getting to every detail and focusing on what is most important. This has required me to learn how to manage my internal dialogue and critic that at times can flare up to scold me for not tending to everything on my to-do list.