Ginny Clarke
Partner, Chicago
12 years at Spencer Stuart
Describe what you’re doing currently.
After leaving Google in 2020, I moved back to Chicago. I work with Leading Authorities, a speakers bureau and have done about 140 keynotes on conscious leadership and career management since 2021. I create content on these topics for my YouTube channel, Fifth Dimensional Leadership, and for social media. I have a coaching practice with 6-10 executives at a time. I just launched a private community called Awakened Path for “conscious leaders, seekers, and changemakers.” Lastly, I just submitted a proposal for my second book intended for the 95% of the workforce not in leadership roles. It will be a practical guide empowering employees at any level to develop conscious leadership capabilities, create positive workplace change, and build influence through self-awareness, competency development and strategic collective action.
What skills or experiences from your time at the firm have been most valuable in your current role?
I really appreciate the rigor and methodical approach we took to recruiting. We were trained to be consultants, not brokers, and work with our clients holistically considering the organizational systems that support talent. I rely heavily on my competency-based assessment training and urge organizations and individuals to adopt it as a foundation for meritocratic decision making.
What is your favorite Spencer Stuart memory?
There are many, but my favorite is probably attending a Partners meeting in Rome and visiting the Vatican together.
What’s something you’ve learned recently that you wish you’d known earlier in your career?
I’ve learned the value of reflecting on and integrating elements of my past experiences to appreciate and navigate the present. Guess you could call it wisdom.
What experience isn’t on your official CV that you feel had a significant impact on your career?
It has to be working in a male correctional facility as a “counselor/guard” during my senior year in college. My father spent his career in corrections as an administrator and urged me to do it as a part-time job. I think he secretly hoped I would go to law school (my brother did). The experience taught me to be fearless and meet people where they are.
What are 2-3 fun facts about yourself?
- I meditate every morning, usually between 4:30 and 5:00.
- I work out twice a week with my trainer remotely. She's an American who’s lived in Costa Rica for the last 10 years.
My son, who was 1 year old when I started at SSI, is now 29. He’s been working in the entertainment industry for the last 7 years and just started the MBA program at UCLA’s Anderson School. Where did the time go?