Michelle Banks On California Roots, UCLA, The Golden State Warriors, Tokyo, Global General Counsel At Gap Inc., And A Hyper-Focus On Mentoring
Are you feeling stuck on the rigid corporate path? Do you need permission to define success outside of titles, prestige, and compensation? In this powerful episode of No Boxes: Just Verses, we go beyond the bios, beyond the titles with legal trailblazer Michelle Banks, former Global General Counsel of Gap, Inc., and executive leadership coach. Michelle shares her unboxed strategy for taking smart risks, building a career defined by cultural competency, and transitioning from the 24/7 demands of a Fortune 200 executive to leading a fulfilling coaching business. If you are questioning what success truly means for you and need a guide for better work-life integration and self-advocacy, tune in now.
Michelle Banks is a Strategic Advisor at BarkerGilmore specializing in providing executive leadership coaching to women corporate general counsel. For ten years, Michelle was Global General Counsel of apparel retailer Gap Inc. Before joining Gap, she worked as legal counsel for the Golden State Warriors NBA team and in Tokyo as American counsel for Itochu Corporation.
Michelle co-founded UCLA Law Women LEAD, a network of more than 4,500 women law students and alumnae from her alma mater supporting their leadership, empowerment, advancement, and distinction. She also co-founded Ms. JD’s award-winning LaddHer Up retreat, which pairs women general counsel with women law firm associates for inspiring professional development and mentorship.
Michelle has been recognized widely for her professional accomplishments and her dedication to enhancing the careers of others, including receiving the ABA’s Margaret Brent Woman Lawyer of Achievement Award.
Michelle co-authored a best-selling anthology Women in Law Discovering the True Meaning of Success, which chronicles the career journeys of 23 women lawyers and is intended to inspire people to define their own pathways to success in their lives.
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Key Takeaways:
Culture Trumps Career Track: Michelle explains why feeling comfortable and having a sense of belonging in the work environment (like she found at Gap) allowed her to accelerate her success far beyond other roles where she was counter-cultural.
Taking Smart, High-Profile Risks: Learn why volunteering to create and lead the new compliance program (a non-legal function) was the most important risk she took, propelling her from corporate lawyer to executive leadership.
The Power of International Exposure: Hear how she embraced an expatriate assignment in Tokyo—without knowing the language or anyone there—and how that experience built the cultural competency that made her invaluable to a global company like Gap.
Defining Success as Peace: Inspired by a fellow lawyer, Michelle chose John Lennon's "Imagine" as her anthem for the current chapter, believing that the true definition of success is personal peace—not awards, title, or compensation.
Work-Life Integration, Not Balance: The former GC addresses the myth of work-life balance, confirming she worked 24/7 for years, and offers authentic advice on integrating family life and giving yourself grace (and taking a longer vacation than usual!).
Michelle’s journey reminds us that your definition of success can—and should—change over time. If you are running someone else's race, it's time to chart your own course toward personal peace.
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Theme Song: Pedal to the Medal by Martin Luther (Spotify | Apple Music)
Your Life, Your Rules: 5 Steps to Redefine Success and Find Peace in Your Career
Have you ever felt like you're running someone else's race? Maybe you followed the perfect steps—college, law school, big job—but you still don't feel successful or happy. The truth is, the world often tells us that success means big titles, lots of money, and fancy awards. But what if that definition is wrong?
This article is for you if you are ready to stop chasing someone else’s finish line. We’re going to share the wisdom of a trailblazing executive, Michelle Banks, former Global General Counsel of a huge apparel company. She left that high-power life to focus on coaching and helping women define success for themselves. You'll learn the simple steps she took to prioritize peace over prestige and find true fulfillment.
Before you start, you have to be ready to be honest with yourself. This process is about deciding what you want, not what your family, partners, or professors told you to want. The goal is to feel empowered to change your own definition of success, even if it changes often.
Here's what you need to be successful:
A New Finish Line: Decide that your happiness matters more than your title.
Willingness to Take a Risk: You need to be open to trying things that make you uncomfortable.
The Power to Say No: You must be willing to step back and recharge, even if it's scary.
Step-by-Step Guide: Your Path to Peace
1. Find Your Home: Why Culture Matters More Than Salary
Most people think of sports when they talk about discipline, but if you weren't an athlete, you can build that same core strength in other ways. When you are the one who looks different, or you feel like an outsider, it can be scary. The common mistake is to shrink back and try to hide. The new and better approach is to use that feeling to drive your performance in a visible way. For one CEO, this meant making academics her competitive field. She was constantly challenged to be smarter and better, which built a foundation of confidence and discipline. This discipline becomes the fuel you use to take big career risks later.
Conclusion: Find Your Fit
Culture matters as much as the job title or money.
If you ignore your feelings about the workplace, your success will be limited.
Look for companies with values that align with yours, like giving back to the community.
Feeling truly at home allows you to become a successful leader.
2. Build Your Global Skill Set: Go Where It's Uncomfortable
It is easy to stay in your comfort zone, close to friends and family. However, the world is now global, and sticking to just one place limits your potential. The old way of thinking says taking time for travel or living abroad will "delay" your career. But one leader realized that going to Tokyo as an expat, even without speaking the language, was a huge risk that paid off big time. The new approach is to take smart risks and seek experiences outside your home country. This builds cultural competency that makes you invaluable to global companies.
Conclusion: Embrace the Expat Role
Take smart risks that challenge you, even if they seem scary at first.
Going to work overseas builds cultural competency that applies everywhere.
An unexpected assignment, even a difficult one, can be the most important thing you do for your career.
Being willing to go where others say "no" opens up future executive roles.
3. Pivot from Expert to Executive: Volunteer for the Hot Mess
As an expert (like a lawyer or engineer), you get comfortable in your functional role. The mistake is staying only within your comfort zone (like drafting contracts or handling deals). To jump to an executive role, you must break out of that box. For this CEO, that meant volunteering to create and lead the new compliance function. It was non-legal, high-profile, and she knew nothing about it. The new approach is to take on the projects nobody else wants—the "things that needed to be created". This proves you can build teams and manage non-legal functions, which is the definition of an executive leader.
Conclusion: Take the Non-Legal Lead
Stop limiting yourself to your initial job function (e.g., transactional law).
Volunteering to lead a new function (like compliance or privacy) is how you break into management.
Being successful at building a team and creating something new propels you into leadership.
The high-profile risks you take early on pay off in the long run.
4. Swap Balance for Integration: Give Yourself Grace
The goal of work-life balance is a myth, especially for high-power roles where you are on call 24/7. The problem is that many people beat themselves up for not achieving perfect "balance". The reality is that for years, this executive had work-life integration—taking calls on the side of the soccer field and reading documents at the baseball game. The better approach is to prioritize showing up when you can and giving yourself grace. Your children and family often remember the presence more than the few times you missed something.
Conclusion: Do Your Best
Forget work-life balance; focus on work-life integration.
Show up whenever you can for your family, even if you have to work on the side.
Ask for help; having family support (like a mother nearby) makes a huge difference.
Remember that all you can do is your best, and that is okay.
5. Choose Peace: Define Success for Yourself
If you retire from a huge executive role, people assume you'll start consulting or another full-time job. The real lesson comes from asking: "What do I want my life to look like now?". The true definition of success is not the awards you won or the size of your compensation. The ultimate goal is peace. The new approach is to define success individually. You can and should change your definition of success over time, moving from prestige to personal fulfillment.
Conclusion: Success is Peace
Success is individual; you must define it for yourself, not for your parents or professors.
Your definition of success can change over time as your life changes.
Start taking longer breaks (even two weeks) because it takes days to decompress and recharge.
The final measure of a great life is peace, not prestige.
Your Next Steps: Imagine Your Best Life
The big idea from this incredible journey is that your messy, interesting, unboxed career is your biggest asset. Stop worrying about what you should be doing and start looking at all the amazing skills you have collected.
Here is your list of steps to implement these ideas successfully:
Book the Break: Take the longest vacation you are comfortable with (even 10 or 12 days) and commit to taking baby steps toward longer breaks in the future.
Identify the Hot Mess: Look for a high-profile, non-traditional project at work that no one wants to do, and volunteer to lead it to accelerate your career growth.
Define Peace: Write down three things you need to feel personal peace right now. This is your new definition of success.
Run Your Race: Stop comparing your journey to others. Your success is yours, and that is absolutely okay.