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FountainBlue's
"When She Speaks" Women
in Leadership Series Notes
FountainBlue's When She
Speaks was launched in May 2006 and provides ongoing networking and
program
benefits for 40-200 high tech women and
men-who-support-having-women-in-leadership positions across Silicon
Valley and
beyond. Our monthly events are held on the second Fridays of the month,
from
11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at high tech companies across the valley.
Every month,
we profile a panel of women senior executives in high tech companies
speaking
on a range of leadership challenges and issues for Silicon Valley high
tech
women in particular. Our series is designed to celebrate women leaders
in
Silicon Valley, stimulate critical thinking and conversation around
leadership
challenges and issues, empower and inspire all participants, including
the next
generation of leaders, and build a proactive, collaborative and
supportive
leadership community overall. Please see below for conditions for sharing these notes with your network.
Copyright
Notice
Our notes are copyrighted by FountainBlue for
2006-2012, and shared with permission from our speakers, hosts and community. Please do not forward to others outside the attendee list or without
prior permission.
Members can register for this event by visiting http://fountainblue.shuttlepod.org. Partners and Non-Members can register for this event, or sign up for ongoing membership plus event admission using the PayPal payment option below.
FountainBlue's April 13 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event, on the topic of Building and Reinforcing Your Executive Brand, featuring:
Facilitator, Lynn Hunsaker, Customer Experience Optimization Strategist at ClearAction LLC, CEO & President at Marketing Operations Partners, Inc. & Marketing Operations Future Forum
Panelist Susan Hailey, Director, Executive Talent Acquisition, eBay
Panelist Jennifer Millier, Vice President, Management and Solutions Development Unit, Hewlett Packard
Please join us in thanking our speakers for taking the time to share their advice and thoughts and to our gracious hosts at HP. Below are notes from the conversation.
Our panelists were women who represented different companies, roles and levels, supporting a range of product and service offerings, with training from technical to business, but also women who had so much in common:
They had the experience and self-awareness to proactively build and develop their brand, and the passion and desire to share their knowledge and learnings with others.
They had the wisdom to share their advice, what to do and what not-to-do, and tell stories which resonate with the audience, and providing tips and suggestions for managing their own brand.
They generally had experience across multiple companies and roles, and facilitated transitions between roles by developing, expanding and growing their brand and network.
They took proactive measures to grow and expand and explore their brand.
They shared the following advice about executive branding:
Know Your Brand
Reflect on who has the brand you admire and what qualities you like about these people, be they leaders, managers or influencers, and adopt these qualities as part of your own brand.
Create and maintain a brand which says what you want it to say about you, where what people say about you when you’re not in the room or when you’ve left the room is something that you can be proud of.
Know your value proposition – what you do well that others would pay well for you to do – and communicate it in a way which makes sense to others around you.
Embrace feedback from others around you to understand how you are perceived, and how well it overlaps with how you want to be perceived. Don’t contradict the feedback of others, but look to the essence of the message to see how it can help you better understand yourself and the image you project to others.
Enlist colleagues, mentors, and others you admire to help you understand and articulate your brand and build and tweak your brand in the direction you want, reviewing it often to ensure that it fits your needs and objectives.
Don’t be afraid to shift your brand from one field to another, from one company to another, but before you do that, know why you want to/need to do that.
Consider adopting a brand which is strategic while also being process-oriented, seeing the big picture while executing on the details.
Communicate and Act to Reinforce the Brand You Want
Make consistent commitments to deliver results for every project they undertake, stretching themselves to prepare for the next project. Their brand reflects these results.
Say what you’ll, and do what you say effectively, knowing why what you said was important for yourself and for the various stakeholders with whom you’re engaged.
Know your objectives before communicating and acting, but also know what your various audiences need, and find that middle ground to meet both needs.
If you choose a leadership role in technology, follow the same steps in creating and maintaining and communicating your brand, but do know that there are still far fewer women in tech companies in tech roles, and you might have to be just that much better to get the credibility you seek.
Be ever willing to take on the tough challenges, and focus as much on relationship-development as on delivering outstanding tangible results on time.
Clearly communicate your accomplishments and that of your team, as well as your desired next project and direction, while encouraging others to do the talking on your behalf.
Work with Companies to Shift Their Brand
Select a company where you fit the culture and values, and work with them to shift and grow the brand to align with corporate objectives and market changes.
Companies, like executives, will be leveraging social media tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook to communicate their brand, so those who know how to integrate social media to reinforce and communicate their brand may be able to do the same for companies and vice versa.
In the end, the executive branding conversation centers around building and reinforcing a brand that you can be proud of and stretching it in a direction *you* choose, making incremental steps, increasing your impact and emphasizing your results.
FountainBlue's March 9 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event, on the topic of Agility - The Key to Building a Successful Career, featuring:
Facilitator Caroline Margozzi, Director, Business Development, Tangence
Panelist Hillary Barnhart, Senior Director, Business Operations, Applied Materials
Panelist Karyn Corbett, Senior Director, Operations, Advanced Development Group, Cisco
Panelist Kim Fox, Chief of Staff to the President, Sr. Director Operations, Information Intelligence Group, EMC
Panelist Brigitte Ricou-Bellan, Senior Director and GM, International, eBay
Panelist Mona Sabet, Corporate VP, Business Development, Cadence
Please join us in thanking our speakers for taking the time to share their advice and thoughts and to our gracious hosts at EMC. Below are notes from the conversation.
We were fortunate to have such a wide range of perspectives on the panel. Our panelists were women who represented different companies, roles and levels, supporting a range of product and service offerings, but also women who had so much in common:
They are persistent enough to perform in the roles they find themselves in, but also constantly sought change and forged change, never electing complacency over opportunity. This does not mean that they were always successful, but it does mean that they keep moving forward, even if moving forward means moving laterally in the short term, learning from the experience, and leveraging the truths of that experience to keep that forward progress going.
They are incredibly self-aware, and very thoughtful and proactive about their career path and what’s next for them. The planning and focus and implementation helps them ensure that they remain agile with their careers, something ever more important in today’s market.
Although they have the education and training to get in-depth in some area, whether it was engineering or legal or something else, they each decided to rise above going deep within that area, and chose instead to go broad – understanding the implications and impact of those who go deep, to help plan and strategize the direction for the people, teams, products and companies they serve.
This is not necessarily a trait for career agility, but does help position each of our panelists and perhaps others for climbing the corporate ladder. However, we must add that if you do choose to ‘go deep’, select an area well, one that is versatile and important enough to be relevant 5, 10, 15 years from now, based on technology innovations and changing business models.
Below is some advice our panelists shared with us:
Be heard. Communicate and speak with a strong voice, knowing that you did your homework, feeling confident that you are relevant, never whining, never a victim.
Select work which makes you visible. Do a good job and make sure people know what you’ve done for whom.
Communicate your successes through metrics, and position yourself for being noticed enough for that next uncomfortable role or project, whether your or someone else you know plans for it.
Showcase your team and their successes in a quantifiable manner, while also communicating their overall impact.
Don’t try to be a man. Men and women are different. Don’t try to do it a man’s way, even if it works for the men you work with, even if you are surrounded by men, as most of us in tech are!Know your strengths. Expect that change will happen and leverage your strength, your network, your passion, your brand and track record to stay in front of, respond to or even anticipate that change.
Sometimes women make life/family choices over work, something that men don’t do as often. If this is you, find someone who has successfully made their cake and ate it too – choosing both career and family (not necessarily at the same time).
Be strategic. It’s always about understanding the needs of the stakeholders, so find a win-for-most path which makes sense, and communicating it in a way which would inspire, empower, connect and motivate people, teams and organizations to be part of the solution.
Create a network of supporters that you grow and nurture and give back to. Our panelists practiced this tenet in appearing on this panel.
Embrace the uncomfortable.
Volunteer for stuff that nobody wants to do and do a great job with it so that you solve a problem, collect skills and get noticed. The wider the range of activities you succeed at, the wider the net of people who will notice!
Nobody says that it would be easy! Change is often uncomfortable. If you analyze the pros and cons of something uncomfortable, you may never embrace that change, that opportunity. It takes a leap of faith, so believe in yourself, and try not to fear the potential downside.
How you got here is not necessarily what will get you to the next level. As such, change your strategy as your career evolves. And take those learnings in-your-face to heart. What are they telling you? How has that same message been sent to you in the past and what will you do about it this time?
Whether you planned for a change or not, you will find yourself in uncomfortable situations. Focus more on how to succeed when you don’t feel comfortable than on complaining about who might have moved your cheese!
Select a company and team that would help you embrace change and succeed while learning from that experience. Recruit sponsors, mentors, peers and supporters who can help you make it happen, and support them in return.
Advice for Negotiating, as you manage your career.
Do your homework – know your impact and your value and what you’re making, what your title is, and where you want to go. Ask for something equivalent to the value you provide, and speak to your strengths and past results rather than thinking about the experience and results you have not *yet* created.
Making more money, having a bigger title is more about working smarter than working harder. But it’s not about working harder all the time. Be realistic about what you can do with your skills, with your current life/work obligations, and aim for something you can succeed. You can have it *all* *all* the time, and if you aim to do that and get discouraged, reset your expectations, don’t give up!
You don’t get what you don’t ask for. Look at all the factors under negotiating; it’s not just about money and title, everything’s negotiable. And don’t leave anything on the table.
Sometimes you look more attractive when you leave a company and come back, when you are considering another offer.
A core theme of the conversation around agility is about relevance. One chooses career agility to remain relevant in the workplace, to keep up with all the local, global, technology changes in a world which is constantly changing, and even accelerating into the future.
FountainBlue's February 10 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of How to Throw More Balls Up Higher: Juggling Work-Life Balance in Demanding Times, featuring:
Please join us in thanking our speakers for taking the time to share their advice and thoughts and to our gracious hosts at Symantec. Below are notes from the conversation.
We were fortunate to have a panel of such highly-evolved women, women who are powerful and effective, yet grounded and real and practical. In this conversation, they stimulated to our minds, inspired our hearts and spoke to our souls.
Our panelists encouraged us to have realistic objectives of what we want in life, at work, at home, and to set boundaries and expectations and communicate them in partnership with those who are affected by our decisions. So it’s not having being SuperWoman, having it all, *all* the time, it’s more about choosing when to be SuperMom, SuperLeader, SuperWife, SuperFriend, and engaging 100% in that objective at the moment.
This may involve leveraging resources to ensure that you focus fully on the people and objective at the time. It may involve changing your own definition of what’s good enough. It may involve making a plan, but rolling with whatever happens despite your plan, because life generally interferes with your plans!
Our panelists encouraged us to make proactive, considered choices in our life, and then sticking to those choices, parking the guilt, while constantly monitoring whether the choices you’re making still work for you and others involved.
They continually remarked on the importance of surrounding yourself both at work and at home with people who make you be more efficient, partner with you on shared goals, make you feel good at the perfections and imperfections of you. These people in your close network will help you navigate the fuzzy line between work and home, and support you as you navigate those lines, making you and the whole team more effective overall.
Our panelists specifically cautioned about the toxic people in our lives who just don’t bring us energy, who look down on us, or make us feel less good than we do. They may be good and well-intentioned, but this type of negative energy is draining and unnecessary.
Another common theme was the emphasis on being the best *you* you can be, without constantly comparing yourself to others, without meeting the media-introduced ideal of ‘perfection’, a perfection which is plastic and hollow at best, and beyond achievement for just about everyone.
When the theme of having children came up, we had many enlightened and considered perspectives. We got the advice to wait until you accomplished some professional goals to the opposite extreme of getting the kids out of the way. But the message was do what’s right for you, what works for you and your objectives and your value set, without the guilt and judgments.
One of the questions raised was about making the time to do something for yourself. Our panelists each stated the importance of doing this, something most people put last, and said that if you don’t take care of yourself, it is so much more difficult to take care of everything else. But everyone gets energized in different ways, so consider first what energizes you and keeps you going forward, juggling everything in front of you, and poised to take on more, while enjoying what you have (in doses).
Our panelists gained their experience and wisdom through real-life choices and experiences. Whether it’s additional managerial responsibilities, a birth or death in the family, an opportunity for a bigger, more comfortable house and materials goods, an opportunity to move closer to family, or other circumstances, the stories these women shared were a direct result of the choices they made and the reasons for these choices, and how these choices impacted their lives, and the choices available going forward.
Below are some ideas they had for working toward that work-life integration:
Know what really matters to you and those dear to you and keep your objectives focused on what really matters.
Consider bartering with others in your network.
Don’t try to do it all yourself – engage the spouse and kids at home.
Find a way to be calm and centered.
Have realistic, yet high expectations.
Act and think and work with intentionality. If you know precisely what you want and why and plan accordingly, you are so much more likely to move in that direction!
Consider working with corporate for flexible time and hours, or just your management and team to set expectations about deliverables, not about specific hours worked.
Plan for what you can predict then work with the ebbs and flows. And for goodness sakes, enjoy the ebbs, don’t add more to your plate during those ebbs!
Be clear on your choices and manage any guilt you might have, knowing that you made a considered, measured choice.
Try compartmentalizing your guilt and decide to park it until late, negotiate with yourself on when you can feel guilty.
Watch your attitude and the way you set up dichotomies; try not to make it an either-or, or a this versus that, but a blend of both, a new possibility and perspective even.
Be proactive and plan things out, but don’t freak out if it doesn’t work according to plan. Be happy and confident with the plan; don’t second-guess it or feel guilty because of it!
Always have open, honest communication with spouse and employers.
Know your value and what you won’t compromise on, and stick with them as a high priority.
Fire that guilt voice, but listen and invite the voice of feedback from your trusted circle.
It’s not easy, and it shouldn't feel easy. Celebrate little successes and be proud of what you’ve accomplished, even if it didn’t quite fit that master plan!
Take the words of Mother Theresa, and trust that you are where you were meant to be.
Build that circle of friends, role models and supporters, sponsors at work.
Don’t plan your career based on what *might* happen in your life.
Resources:
The documentary Miss Representation, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and aired on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. The film explores how the media’s misrepresentations of women have led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence.
The report Award-Winning Career Timelines In Computer Science and Engineering from the Anita Borg Institute http://anitaborg.org/award-winning-career-timelines/ This report provides a biographies of a variety of successful technical women whose careers can serve as a touch point and model for other women working in technology. http://www.missrepresentation.org/
The bottom line is that our panelists encourage us to live an integrated life based on our passions, values, abilities and desires, without looking at the judgments imposed on us by others, and surrounding ourselves with the people and resources to help us make it so.
FountainBlue's January 20 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series event was on the topic of Expanding Your Circle of Influence,
With or Without Direct Authority and featured:
Facilitator Camille Smith,
President and Founder, Work In Progress Coaching
Panelist Claudia Galvan, Lead
International Program Management Group, Microsoft Corporation
Panelist Amy Love, Vice
President Brand Communications, NetApp
Panelist Kristi McGee, Principal
Consultant with Office of the CIO and acting Director of Business Applications,
Rambus Inc.
Please join us in thanking our speakers for taking the
time to share their advice and thoughts and to our gracious hosts at NetApp.
Below are notes from the conversation.
We were fortunate to have such inspiring and experienced
speakers with a wealth of information and tips on how to influence in a
corporate setting as well as in an entrepreneurial setting, how to influence
with or without authority, how to do it well, and what to learn when it doesn't
go so well.
They shared their wisdom about the importance of
influencing others, and how it is integral to getting business results. Whether
they were currently in engineering or marketing or IT or product management,
they agreed that influence is a key to successful communication and management,
and consistently emphasized that the focus must be on finding a common ground,
and navigating in a direction that benefits the group, the team, the
organization, rather than focusing on the needs or desires or egos of specific
people.
The panel agreed that influence is more about listening
than about speaking. It is also about the golden rule - building relationships
and treating others with respect. It is also about making commitments and
delivering on those commitments, but the relationships, respect and trust are
even more important than consistently delivering results. For if you delivered
results but others don't feel heard or don't trust you, you will be less likely
to get opportunities to continue delivering results.
They encouraged us to be clear in the purpose, strategic
in aligning others toward that common purpose, passionate in communicating,
motivating throughout the journey, persistent and resilient in the execution,
despite resistance, and open-minded in considering when that purpose must
shift, to best address the interests of all involved. This is not small task,
but it becomes easier if we can think from the lens of influence rather than
coercion through authority, and do that by building relationships and taking
the time to understand the interests and motivations of those you work with and
focus conversations on the data to support the shared goal as it will help make
things less personal and speak to the more logical, less emotive side of
others, while focusing on delivering measurable results.
The panel concurred that where there are people, there
will be politics, and provided specific tips, including:
When you encounter resistance, open-mindedly
drill down into who is resisting, why she/he is resisting, and find a common
ground to bring her/him in alignment, or at least make him/her feel heard.
Having a sense of humor can help build trust,
relationships and community, and help people feel better connected.
Know your strengths and your weaknesses and
delegate your areas of need to those who might have more skills, experience or
passion in that area.
Make the time commitment to maintain your
network and your circle of influence, even when you don't need something from
someone right now. Keeping your own network alive and well will not only help
you, it will support the overall ecosystem of relationships between quality
people.
Expanding your circle of influence involves
taking measured risk for specific purposes.
It's not so much about gender differences, but
more about communication styles, but in general, women are more intuitive and
men may be more data-driven and detail-oriented and may need more detailed
explanations about why plan A is better than plan B.
Work with your company to align incentives and
rewards around a corporate direction and time your communications with
compensation plan updates.
To be effective as a 'virtual influencer'
(working with global teams), find a way to speak virtually over Skype or other
video communication options where you can see a face *and* hear a voice.
Also try re-stating and repeating what you heard to confirm the communication,
particularly when you speak different primary languages.
It was truly inspiring when our panel suggested that we
can all, as leaders, work for a larger cause, a greater good, beyond the
immediate need. For example, they mentioned that if the enemy of influence is
self-preservation, as a leader, we must watch to ensure that the needs of the
greater group are more important than our own personal needs, and that those
who approach us with requests are also putting the needs of the larger group in
front of their own personal gain. Another example is when they said to make a
stand not just for yourself, not just for your team, not just for your
organization, but for fairness - to ensure that those who may not be around the
table also get their fair share, because it's the right thing to do.
We conclude by saying that influencing is analogous to
being a rider on an elephant's back. If you'd like to influence its direction,
be clear on where you want to go, and know what motivates the elephant and how
to communicate that this direction is also in her/his best interest, and
motivating her/him throughout the journey, and beyond.
Panelist Elisa Jagerson, Founder
and CEO, Speck Design
Panelist Leila Pourhashemi, Director,
Technical Services, PayPal, an eBay company
Please join us in thanking our speakers for taking the
time to share their advice and thoughts and to eBay for hosting us. Below are
notes from the conversation.
Whether our panelists represented a household-name tech
company or an emerging start-up, were part of an executive team or the CEO,
they had many traits in common:
They consistently and consciously embraced
change, and are often times the instigators for change.
The change they advocated was always in a
forward direction, for themselves, for their teams, for their organizations,
for their industry.
If change did not happen in a productive way,
they found a way around, through, across and over the obstacles.
They made a business case for each change, and
worked with all the stakeholders so that they can embrace that change.
They are authentic and human. It's not that they
never had self-limiting beliefs, but they focused on pushing past that; it's
not that they've always succeeded, it's that they keep growing and learning
from every experience.
They each knew their 'walking points', junctures
in their lives and careers where they made a conscious choice in a new
direction for a strategic reason.
With all that said, leading change is never easy,
particularly at a time when standing still and being complacent, something that
previously worked for some, can be a death sentence now. Below is advice our
panelists shared about how to embrace change:
Accept change as a way of life, the real
constant, and learn from every change.
Lead change in a direction which makes sense
strategically for yourself, your team, your organization, your industry.
Leverage your strengths and relationships to
make changes stick, to show the results of change, to continue to drive change
and build engagement around it.
Embrace change especially when it's
uncomfortable. There may be many more advancement opportunities during a
down-turn or a downsizing than during a time of rapid growth for the company or
in the economy overall.
See the opportunity in every change, and the
changes with each opportunity.
Change is a given, but misery is optional, so
it's how you look at change and manage it.
The constants of love, relationship, intimacy,
community, the need for money will always be there, even if the tools, the
environment and methodologies may change rapidly.
As change accelerates, focus on the view from
the customer and provide products and services which serve their current and
anticipated needs.
Lean forward toward your passion.
Drive efficient, measurable results and convince
others it's in their best interest to do so.
Find the sweet spot where innovation, business
and technology intersect, and develop practical and sustainable ways to deliver
quality products and services to your customers.
Be strategic about what you do for whom (your
prioritized customer base), and get feedback on your plan from trusted,
knowledgeable others.
Embrace and learn from failures, for success is
the enemy of change.
It is far easier to embrace change that you
create, than change imposed on you by others, but it may be better for all to
do the latter.
Listen to your customers about any changes they
may request with your products or services and take the time to understand why
they have these specific requests or needs.
Our panelists had the following predictions about
technology trends, and invite us to think about the implications of these
trends on ourselves and our organizations.
There will be many more touch screens used in so
many different ways, and cursors and keyboards may be less prominent.
There will be ever-increasing demands for immediate
response to customized needs, leveraging software and devices.
Users will be more demanding, and those who
consider what the user experiences and how to best serve the user's comfort,
interests and needs will best succeed.
Users can more quickly engage with trusted
communities in targeted ways.
Entertainment will meet mobile will meet social
media in many ways.
FountainBlue's November 11 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series was on the topic of Tips for Enlarging Your Sandbox: Learn to
play with people who don't act right (like you), and featured:
Facilitator Rossella Derickson, Performance
and Culture Strategist, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Panelist Sabina Burns, Sr.
Director Corporate Marketing, Synopsys
Panelist Monali Jain, Head of
Salesforce.com Engineering at PayPal, eBay
Panelist Natascha Thomson, Sr.
Director, Social Media Audience Marketing, SAP AG
Please join us in thanking our hosts at Synopsys and our speakers
for taking the time to share their advice and thoughts. Below are notes from
the conversation.
We were fortunate to have a wide range of perspectives
and experiences on our panel, representing women from different educational and
cultural backgrounds, from different departments, with different experiences
and skills. But they had many things in common:
They constantly strive to learn and improve and
make things better for themselves and for those around them.
They keep raising the bar for themselves,
electing to feel uncomfortable rather than settling and being complacent.
They are succeeding in ways big and small in
their personal and professional lives.
They are constantly giving back, engaging others
in their networks and creating bigger, broader infrastructure, supporting the
success of more women and men.
They do not shrink from daunting and
intimidating tasks, but always rise up and find a way to create a bigger plan,
a collaborative success, and particularly gravitating to challenging tasks and
groups.
With the qualities above (note how they are all
inter-related and feed upon themselves), it is no wonder that our panelists are
so successful, and poised for further success. Our panelists started by
commenting on why they thought expanding their sandbox, being open to working
with people who did not think and act like you do, was beneficial to themselves
personally and to their organizations. They mentioned factors such as:
Diversity within an organization will fuel
innovation and entrepreneurship.
Seeing
something or someone from another point of view will open you up to new
experiences and new thoughts which may not have occurred to you before.
Embracing the viewpoints of others will help
distribute the successes, the challenges, the recognition. True leaders will
know how to integrate and embrace these varying perspectives for the good of
all.
As we becoming increasingly more global,
embracing the viewpoints of others will help us better serve our markets, our
partners, our staff, our customers.
Those who better embrace the varying
perspectives of others have a more tolerant, more positive, more constructive
outlook on life, which serves them personally and professionally.
They will also have a larger network to rely on
and collaborate with!
Below is some advice they have for those of us interested
in expanding our sandbox.
Be strategic about who you are, clear on what
your brand stands for, which must be in alignment with your personal core
values. You must first know your strengths and weaknesses, your goals and
objectives in order to do so.
Build a support system and network, including
key mentors, who can help you think through and get to where you want to go.
Leverage social media to spread your message,
but manage it carefully to ensure the integrity and consistency of the message.
Dare to show up, to take a leap of faith,
especially when you're feeling uncomfortable. Showing courage despite the fear
is the only way to follow your dreams.
Find a learning in every uncomfortable
situation. Leverage your networks to get the support you need to better ensure
learnings and better position yourself for success.
Know what you're doing and add measurable value
along the way, while you're connecting people from different backgrounds and
mindsets to the cause. Essential to this is the ability to communicate that
value, and engage strategic others to also engage, to best serve common
interests.
Make all parties look good and feel like they've
created a bigger whole together.
Speak the language of your diverse stakeholders,
and know what motivates them before you speak with them.
Learn from your life experiences as much as your
planned career path and challenges.
When you are feeling uncomfortable working with
people who don't think and act like you, manage your emotional response and
bubble up to think through what are you trying to accomplish, what is motivated
all the key stakeholders, and how can you work together for a collaborative
win.
The more impossible things you accomplish, the
hungrier you become for more challenges, and the more likely your management
team will provide them for you. Even if you fail, learn from it, and see it as
a necessary stepping stone to success.
The bottom line is to find something you really enjoy
doing, and then focus on delivering value to the customer and on how you can
work with a diverse team to deliver just that.
FountainBlue's
October 14 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series on the topic Women Leading Innovation, featured:
Facilitator Francine Gordon,
FGordon Group
Panelist Raji Arasu, VP Product
Development, eBay
Panelist Cornelia Davis, Senior
Technologist, Office of the CTO, EMC Corporation
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO,
FountainBlue
Panelist Vijaya Kaza, Director
of Engineering, Cisco
Please join us in thanking our speakers for taking the
time to share their advice and thoughts and to EMC for graciously hosting us
for this month's event. Below are notes from the conversation.
Our panelists represented a broad stroke of leaders in
high tech across the valley, all with in-depth experience working with
technologists, management, engineers and other stakeholders. But they had many
things in common:
They have a combination of wisdom and knowledge,
perseverance and strength, leadership and empowerment, and other qualities
which helped them drive results while learning and inspiring.
They are humble about their accomplishments yet
generous with their wisdom and time.
They focus on the problem at hand, and invite
new ways of solving problems which would facilitate innovative approaches and
techniques for themselves, their teams and their organizations.
They are constantly evolving and growing and
pushing their envelope for themselves and for those around them.
They balance their left-brained thinking and
methodology and learning with right-brain creativity and novelty.
They shared their advice and thoughts about what
innovation is and is not:
Innovation is generally not about one right
answer, but an invitation to have many approaches and answers to a pressing
problem.
Innovation is a team sport, better done in a
group, rather than inviting a single hero for every problem.
Innovation does not happen in a silo. People
from different areas, different backgrounds, different industries, etc. will
help add the type of diverse thinking to a team that can help solve problems
through out-of-the-box thinking.
Innovation is not a destination, it's a journey.
So don't get complacent with something you've innovate, but do continue to
iterate and also to innovate.
The quest for innovation is not seeking a
panacea, it's about always understanding and serving the customer.
Innovation is not just about technology, it's
about people, processes, business models.
They also shared their thoughts on what innovators are.
Innovators persevere, overcoming naysayers and
obstacles.
Innovators don't take things personally, but do
take feedback to re-direct their efforts.
Innovators follow rapid-prototyping practices of
failing frequently and quickly and learn through the iterations.
Innovators push their own comfort zones and that
of others, for the good of all.
Innovators are customer-focused, delivering
solutions for customers, rather than creating a technology without a market.
Innovators have failed much more than they've
succeeded, and generally learn more from failures than successes.
Here is their advice for those who want to better
innovate:
Think of yourself both as a problem-solver and
an innovator.
Brand yourself as an innovator, someone who can
be persistent, resilient and creative about delivering results.
Do your homework, but don't expect to have all
the information before you make a decision or take action. Choose an area of
innovation in the intersection of your passion, your skills and the market
need. Instead, follow the 80-20 rule.
Start by solving small problems and
progressively solve larger ones.
Deliver results and communicate those results in
tangible ways.
Lead by example.
Connect the dots and bring people together for
the larger cause.
Recognize the sponsors who give you the
framework, time and money to innovate. Keep them in the loop, and committed to
the cause.
Be proactive in your communications around your
project, especially if it's something not all stakeholders buy into.
Navigate political waters and leverage your
influencing skills so you get the executive support to continue innovating.
Success in innovation is always tied to the
customers/markets, the leadership/people, and the execution (technology
implementation, financing, processes, revenue models, etc.)
The bottom line is that innovation will set you apart, as
a leader, as a team, as an organization, and those who innovate best will build
the most momentum most quickly.
FountainBlue's September 9 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series was on the topic of Women Who Make Their Own Rules, and featured:
Facilitator Roberta LaPorte, RAL
& Associates, Career and Leadership Consultants
Panelist Wendy Wei Liang,
Director, Program Management and Globalization at Oracle
Please join us in
thanking our hosts at Symantec for their support of this event and this series.
Thank you also to our speakers for taking the time to share their advice and
thoughts. Below are notes from the conversation.
We were fortunate to have a great panel of wise,
experienced and successful women who so candidly shared their challenges, their
advice, their tips about working with rules within and outside a corporate
setting, to benefit all. Despite the differences in backgrounds and
perspectives, one overarching theme of the conversation centered around being
genuine and authentic and self-aware enough to know what you want, why you want
it, and how to get it, working with current circumstances, with current
stakeholders, many of whom are resistant to accepting the involvement and
participation of a woman.!
Another theme centered around perseverance and
resiliency. These women knew exactly what they were attempting to do, and
especially that it will not be an easy task, yet they acted despite the
critics, despite the norms and rules, and achieved results which helped
redefine perceptions, expectations and ambitions for both men and women.
Our panelists agreed that many rules are full of
assumptions, that rules should be treated as guidelines, that successful women
know how to change and bend the rules to achieve better-than-expected results,
that bending the rules sometimes actually makes a bigger, better reality. But
there *are* some guidelines for deciding when and whether to bend and
break a rule and why:
Always honor the Golden Rule - Do unto others
what you would have them do unto you.
Focus on delivering the results, and questions
rules which spell out *how* results should be produced, as they may
actually be (unintentionally) limiting the results you're seeking.
Consider the purpose of the rule from the
perspective of different stakeholders before deciding whether to change or
stretch that rule.
Consider that different rules are important
under different circumstances. New and improved rules and better ways of doing
things may come from the oddest places. Be open to them.
Be suspicious of rules that encourage/reward
complacency, while discouraging initiative and passion. Don't just go through
the motions and follow rules blindly out of habit. It will limit your success,
and that of others around you.
What worked in the past may not work in the
future. What worked for others may not work for you . . . so consider each case
as a separate incident.
With that said, learn from the rule-breakers and
change agents around you. Learn as much from mistakes as from successes!
When looking at who wants/advocates a particular
rule and why, don't focus on ancillary things like gender and culture, but more
about individual and their perspectives and motivations.
If you decide to change a rule, look not just at
how that helps you and others directly, but also the indirect, long-term, and
short-term impact of changing that rule and factor that in as you work to forge
that change.
We
have too many rules, and many of them outlive their purpose and need to be
changed.
However, as different as each of our panelists were,
they each shared secrets about how they had their own style, their own way of
making things work. But each method involved ten key things:
Proactively communicate and function with
authenticity, intelligence, and self-awareness.
At times bend and break rules in a way where all
stakeholders can accept. To do this well, consider the motivations of your
stakeholders.
Value, nurture and build key relationships to
help achieve results,
Expand perspectives by welcoming mentors,
sponsors, advocates and actively engaging in networks,
Possess and project the desire to succeed, with
the track record to support it, and a BHAG at the end of it.
Learn and grow from every experience, good and
bad.
Have the confidence and fortitude to excel and
succeed despite the odds.
Foster a re-questioning and a re-definition of
rules and norms, which open up more possibilities, and better serve all.
Continually
raise the bar for herself and for those who follow.
So breaking, reshaping, bending, stretching, redefining
rules is part of the brand of each of our panelists, and in a *good*
way. When you consider your own brand, think deeply about whether your job is
worth doing - what aspects are and aren't? If it's worth doing, how can you
keep it that way or make it more so, and if not, what can you change to make it
so?
FountainBlue's August 12 When She Speaks,
Women in Leadership Series, on the topic of Politics in the Workplace: The
Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and featured:
Facilitator Karen Mathews, Real
Change Experts
Panelist Sandy Orlando, VP of
Marketing, IP Infusion
Panelist Eileen Sullivan,
Director of IT, Symantec
Panelist Margie Thomas, SR Director,
Services GTM Operations, Cisco
Please join us in
thanking our hosts at LifeScan for their support of this event and this series.
Thank you also to our speakers for taking the time to share their advice and
thoughts. Below are notes from the conversation.
We were fortunate to have a great panel of wise,
experienced and successful women who were so open to poignantly sharing their
hard-earned wisdom with humor and candor. They make a stand for women
technology leaders, not just in appearing on panels like this, but in their
day-to-day work and interactions, with every relationship, every conversation.
They are self-aware, and ever in search of interactions, experiences and
responsibilities which would stretch them in new directions.
As a group, they see politics as a necessary part of any
organization, any group, just part of the landscape - inescapable and
necessary. Ever practical, they see that politics is just about how decisions
get made in an organization: the underlying, ever-moving web of relationships,
accountability and influence. And each group, task, role would have different
group dynamics. In fact, they see politics not just as necessary, but even as a
positive tool, something which could be leveraged (in a good way) to career
advancement, to deeper self-knowledge, to greater and wider recognition.
Below is advice offered by our panelists:
You need to be strong enough in yourself - your
own strengths and weaknesses, goals and desires, and aware enough about the
people, relationships and motivations of the group around you to best leverage
politics as a tool-for-good (for both you and for the organization and group).
Don't compare yourself to others, and don't let
others disempower, measure or limit you. Do learn from what works and doesn't
work for others, and do integrate the feedback others give to help you grow.
Take an accurate measure of a new company or
role and be honest with yourself about your fit within that role and culture.
This will take a lot of thinking, a lot of analysis, a lot of reflection, but
finding that right fit is worth the investment of energy and time.
Really take notice when something catches you
off-guard, from left field. Did you miss someone in the decision chain? Did you
mis-understand a motivation? Did something change with the vision or strategy?
How does this action affect you in the long-term and the short-term? Why did
you miss seeing it coming, and what can you learn from it?
Don't see politics with negative connotations.
Think of it as a tool for developing deeper relationships and more likely get
things done.
If you come across toxic people, try to see how
they may not be aligned with you in terms of vision, goals, incentives, etc.,
and work with them directly to find a win-win.
Don't play politics, manage relationships.
Managing politics is more about your instincts
than about memorizing a playbook. Stay true to your value systems and trust
your gut.
Know your walking point - when you don't think
you and your team/organization can come to a comfortable alignment, have the
confidence and courage to take action.
Work for the right boss and make your boss look good.
Recruit mentors and a board of directors to help
you navigate the politics. Surround yourself with people who will both help you
feel confident *and* push you to the next level.
Stay in alignment with your goals and your
values by setting your limits about the amount of time you work and about the
things you are willing to do.
Advice for proving your value, especially in
tense and politically-sensitive environments:
Prove
your measurable value.
Rise
above the emotions.
When
you *do* show emotion, be strategic about it. And use it sparingly.
The bottom line is that where there are people, there are
politics. Accept and embrace this as it is essential to learn and grow and
stretch your skills and your ability to navigate and manage relationships.
FountainBlue's July 8 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series on the topic of Your Gender and Its Impact on Your Leadership
Styles, featuring:
Facilitator Nancy Monson, Nancy
Monson Coaching
Panelist Caroline Cornely,
Senior Finance Manager, Cisco System
Panelist
Natalie Guillen, Integrated Business Planning, PayPal
Panelist Luanne Tierney, VP of
Global Channel Marketing, Juniper Networks
Panelist
Barbara Williams, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Oracle
Please join us in
thanking our hosts at Oracle and to all our corporate partners for their
ongoing support of the series. Below are notes from the conversation.
We were fortunate to have a panel of experts this month
who were as passionate about leadership and empowerment of women as they were
knowledgeable, experienced and successful enough to make an impact in their
circles small and large.
The panelists shared stories about partnering with
leaders at all levels from the bottom to the top, and back from the top to the
bottom, and working with them to see their own behaviors, to be more flexible,
more inclusive, more collaborative, facilitating continuous conversations
exchanging ideas and connecting with a broader spectrum of 'others', while
valuing and empowering all.
Below is advice from our women leaders on how to better
leverage gender and make a broader impact:
Tips For Being More Strategic
Know yourself - your passions, strengths and
weaknesses and make career plans for yourself which would help you to grow and
succeed.
Honor your values and your integrity by choosing
to do the right thing, despite the pressure and circumstances, even if it means
taking a short-term hit, or making a painful stand. But use your best judgment
in doing the right thing, making sure that health and well-being of yourself
and your family are not in jeopardy and while maintaining quality
relationships, and holding true to your personal brand.
Think carefully through which organization and
team you would like to join and ensure a cultural fit with your own values,
style and standards.
Whatever your role, whatever your gender, add
value to the organization you're working for, in a capacity that makes sense,
based on your interest, experience and role.
Manage your emotional responses into a passion
for a cause, and communicate in business terms around your passion.
Be proactive and anticipate best and worst case
scenarios and put yourself in progressively more influential positions as you
succeed in managing through changes and challenges.
Use key buzzwords so that people see you as a
bigger-picture person: Be strategic, talk about your vision, align business
units, conduct integrated business planning, monitor performance, etc.
Tips for Building Influence
Wherever you land, even in the most ideal
situation, you will need to shift the mindset of others you're working with who
may treat you badly and differently because of your gender. Accept this as the
truth and find a way to turn it to your advantage and succeed despite the
challenge.
Make a plan for what you will accomplish every
day, week and month, to make the impact you're seeking to make. Rally others to
support yourself and the goals you're setting. The better, more collaborative
results you get, the more influence you will have for this and other projects.
Whether or not you're interested in advancement,
shift your thinking into working smarter, connecting and communicating with the
right people rather than working harder behind the scenes and not necessarily
getting the credit or recognition you've earned.
End conversations, particularly difficult
conversations in a positive, constructive note.
Listen to learn about people's passion,
interests, priorities, etc and collaborate with them to find a win-win.
Have a meeting before a meeting to help ensure
you have the influence you want in a meeting, on behalf of your team and your
project and your company.
Tips for Building a Network
Build rapport and deeply connect with people who
matter to you in a conscious, intentional and plan-ful manner, so that you are
genuine and authentic.
Consider leveraging humor during awkward
conversations, with the interest of maintaining rapport and connections. If you
have to call someone on something they've done, don't make them look bad
publicly, but do ensure that they know that their behavior is not acceptable.
Build a network who will support you and
challenge you and help you grow and succeed. Maintain that network as
leadership is a journey, not a destination.
Seek and provide honest, considered feedback and
work with others who would help you keep raising the bar.
Connect with influential others by finding and
sharing common ground. Where appropriate, see the world from their point of
view and speak and communicate to them on their terms.
If you want plum assignments, engage before it
comes up network with a more and more influential people.
Know your goals and be willing to share them
with influential others and enlist others to support you in your goals, while
supporting them with theirs.
Tips for Work-Life Balance
Respect work-life integration as part of the
equation and set boundaries so that you honor your personal priorities. Make it
safe for others around you to the same, but respect that it's about working
smarter and delivering results, not about extended hours in itself.
Be fully present at work and at home, rather
than feeling guilty and less engaged focusing on the other while you're
choosing to do the one.
Be matter-of-fact about the work-life
integration choices you've made, and confident that the results speak for
themselves.
Set and communicate your boundaries about when
you are available to work and what types of assignments you can take. Then
respect those boundaries making few exceptions.
Manage your self-talk so that you are
empowering, clean and truthful. Lose the guilt, while always striving to
improve.
As Jerry Elliott exec vp at Juniper would say, 'outsource everything but love'.
In the end, it is women like our panelists are the types
of change agents who help us see inequities and feel inspired and empowered
enough to do something about it. But don't just leave feeling energized as you
envision a bigger tomorrow - do something about it. Create a plan and connect
with others who can support you in making something happen, help you and others
around you lead it forward, for the betterment of all.
Panelist Josie Zimmermann, Global
Marketing Team, Juniper Networks
Please
join us in thanking our hosts at EMC for sponsoring this event and for their
ongoing support of the series. Below are notes from the conversation.
Whether they are Millennials themselves, or nearly so, or
interact with Millennials at home or at work or recruit, manage, educate and
train them, our esteemed panelists generously shared their viewpoints,
experience and perspectives around what it's like to work with Millennials, and
advice on how to best recruit, train and motivate them.
Our panel described Millennials as people born between
1981 and 2000 who are technophilic, having grown up around computers,
inquisitive and connected, responsible and hardworking, and interested in doing
the right thing and supporting a social cause. They can be very direct with
their questioning, sometimes offending the people they question, but their
intention is to better understand the reasoning behind a request, not to
question authority necessarily.
Below is advice from our panelists about how to better
recruit, train, motivate and retain Millennials, who will become an
increasingly critical part of the workforce:
Advice for Better Recruiting and Retaining
Millennials:
Work with universities to set up internship
programs and hiring and retaining those interns once they graduate.
Fund a professor and his/her projects so that
your company name gets recognized and valued and new-grads might be more open
to working for your company.
Make them feel important, check in with them in
a way they feel comfortable with.
Help them navigate the little stuff - like
health benefits and stock options. Don't assume that they will get help
elsewhere or that they can figure it out themselves with forms.
Advice for working with Millennials:
Use the communication style they are most
comfortable with - text rather than e-mail for example.
Mentor them and explain how their
inquisitiveness may be coming across and work with them behind the scenes to
find answers to their questions, without offending someone, particularly
someone with great influence.
Help them understand how people from other
countries see, work and act and teach them how to nurture successful cross-cultural
collaborations focused on delivering a successful work product.
Help them manage their energy so that they are
engaged without being overwhelmingly energized.
Leverage both their hard-working ethics and
their passion to deliver quality results for your team.
Help them understand any sense of entitlement
they feel, and show them the path to success, in the direction they seek.
Leverage their initiative and can-do,
collaborative attitude and give them big projects, without telling them *how*
it should be done.
Help them see their work as impactful, not just
something you do to make money.
Help them proactively create a network of people
who would support them with their personal and professional growth.
Help them leverage technology to bridge
communication gaps between generations.
Advice for Millennials:
Leverage your energy in constructive ways and
work with people, teams and companies that can help you channel your energy in
the direction of value to you.
Be inquisitive and seek answers, but be
strategic about who you ask direct questions of and when the questions are
asked to minimize the likelihood that you would offend someone.
Walk a mile in the shoes of someone from another
culture, for their reality is much different than yours.
Your first work experience may be overwhelming
as you work at various levels with as many as four generations. Embrace what's
wonderful about your own generation, and be open to accepting what's great
about other generations.
The bottom line is that this Millennial generation wants
to leverage technology to connect and empower and make a positive impact on the
world. They are the leaders of our future and will continue to shape our
workforce as their representation rises and companies, teams and people who can
help them succeed will be better positioned for success.
FountainBlue's May 13 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership
Series was on the topic of Standing on the Shoulders of Mentors and featured:
Facilitator Renee Remy, Dovetail
Consulting
Panelist Barbara Clayton, Senior
Manager, Product Lifecycle, eBay
Panelist Carol Evanoff, former
Director, Lockheed Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific
Panelist Stefi Ganesan,
Marketing Program Manager, CDO, Cisco
Panelist Sara Hepner, Sr. Direct
Worldwide Support Sales at IIG, a Division of EMC
Panelist Maria Olson, SAP
Please
join us in thanking our hosts at EMC for graciously hosting us at their
facilities and for their ongoing support of our program and the series. Below
are notes from the conversation.
Our panelists had extensive knowledge and experience in a
range of companies, in a variety of roles, and represent decades of experience
working with men and with women in the high tech workplace. They have seen
changes inside and outside their organizations and have each leveraged
mentorship to best grow and learn, both personally and professionally, while
helping others within and outside the organizations to do the same.
They define mentorship as formal or informal
opportunities to consciously or unconsciously support each other in our career
and personal goals. One of the ways to feel the benefits of mentorship is to
experience what it is like *without* a mentor, or also to have multiple
mentors, and understand how each of them help you meet your personal and
professional objectives. There may be many different kinds of mentors - both
internal to or external from your organization, and each may serve multiple
roles: from the sponsor mentor who can help you navigate the politics and coach
you on your career path, opening positions for you, to the role mentor who can
support you with you in navigating day-to-day personal and professional
challenges, to the integral, work-life mentor, who will help you make a stand
for *both* your personally and professional goals, to the 'Eeyore'
mentor, who serves as devil's advocate and helps you think through options at
all levels, particularly spelling out the risks.
Another way to look at mentorship is to compare it to
other similar roles.
Whereas
both coaching and mentoring focus on leveraging your own strengths to better
produce results, you may more likely go to a coach to focus on developing a
weakness which is hampering your growth.
Sponsor-mentors were mentioned above, but not
all sponsors are mentors. There are sponsors within an organization who can
advocate for you, and position you for the next position within your
organization, or even create one on your behalf without being your mentor.
Your boss may mentor you sometimes on some
things, but they are not your mentor. They are also in a unique position to
also be your boss and are in charge of official evaluations and make decisions
on salary increases, bonuses, vacations, etc
Your mentor is not your friend. They are usually
very busy and accomplished people and you shouldn't go to them to chit chat,
like you might do with a good friend.
Below is some advice offered by our panelists on how to
make the best of a mentor-mentee relationship:
Be respectful of their time and know how you
want to use your time together, based on specific goals and objectives.
Know why you have each mentor and what value you
hope the relationship will provide for both sides.
Work with your mentor to be clear on objectives,
expectations and boundaries, and direct in communicating this to others around
so, so that others can help you make it happen.
Have a somewhat formal mentorship relationship,
where you meet regularly and know what your goals are. Make the meeting process
clear and easy so that it's *easy and fun* to make the time to help you.
This means knowing when, where, why you meet and reliably being there to meet.
Be direct in asking for support, and strategic
on who you ask for mentorship support from and why.
Select mentors who can help you expand your perspective,
see things from a new light, especially if they see the other side of the story
and can help you resolve a conflict.
Remember that mentors also benefit from a
mentee-mentor relationship, gaining insights about how others think,
benefiting from the advice they are offering to you, being energized from your
ideas and perspectives and challenges.
In selecting a mentor, make sure that there is
good chemistry and clear objectives so you know why you are making a mentor
choice.
When considering the gender of a mentor, our
panelists commented that women more passionate, and men more connected and
factor this in when making a mentor decision.
Take the guidance and support you receive from
mentors with a grain of salt. Listen to your gut. Ultimately *you* are
in charge of your choices. And if you find that your mentor does not have your
best interest in mind, graciously scale back or sever the ties.
Here are some key learnings our panelists got from *their*
mentors:
Never run from a problem, while always
gravitating to an opportunity.
Relationships are always about trust.
Leverage mentors to help you document your
career and your strengths and strategize on how best to leverage your strengths
in achieving career objectives.
Be direct in all communication, especially if
it's something difficult to say.
Don't be too eager to speak up in a room, but
fold in the dynamics, perspectives and talents of others and engage all in
solving a problem. Give others the credit without being overly modest.
Our panelists remarked on the qualities of the best
mentors:
They believe in your skills when you don't,
encourage you to take risks when you don't want to, and in general, help you feel
uncomfortable enough so that you're motivated to grow.
They help you know what you don't know and make
a plan on what to do about it.
They help you know *who* you know, and *whom*
you should know in order to meet your objectives, and make introductions
accordingly.
They help you diversify what you're doing and
help you to expand your skills and capabilities and perspective.
They help you work smarter, leveraging your
strengths, not work harder, longer hours.
They help you think through and act on your
priorities in life and in work, and make choices to reflect your own values and
priorities.
They will have your back, protecting and
supporting you while encouraging you to think and act outside your comfort
zone.
They see the promise you in - your skills, your
courage, your style - and can be ongoing advocates for you throughout your
career.
They help you see yourself as others see you,
the whole you, the good with the bad, from the resume to demeanor and
appearance to brand.
In the end, the panelists encouraged both mentors and
mentees to take responsibility for ensuring that the relationship continues to
add value, and move the needle toward a pre-defined objective, in a way that
respects everyone's time and energy. They commented that the best companys
know the benefits of mentorship and its impact on the retention and promotion
of high-performing employees and support both staff and volunteers in building
and growing mentorship programs within an organization.
FountainBlue's April 8 When She Speaks Women in
Leadership Series event, on the topic of Building and Reinforcing Your
Executive Brand, featuring:
Facilitator
Linda Popky, Founder and President, Leverage2Market Associates
Panelist
Erna Arnesen, Head of Global Services Channels and Alliances, Cisco
Panelist
Aditi Dhagat, Director of Client Engagement & Business Architecture, Adobe
Panelist
Praveena Varadarajan, VP of Product Management, FICO
Panelist
Alexandra Woody, Senior Manager, Program Management, EFI
Please
join us in thanking our hosts at Adobe for graciously hosting us at their
facilities and their ongoing support of our program and the series. Below are
notes from the conversation.
Our panel represents the breadth of experience from
channel sales and marketing to engineering to product management. They have
successful built and enhanced their brands within and across companies and have
consciously developed and revised their strategies and approaches to building a
stellar brand. They are known for the work they do, the results they deliver,
and have graciously shared their advice and perspectives on what has worked and
hasn't worked for them.
They spoke about the how building their brand has helped
them transition to new roles with increasingly more responsibility within their
organization, to new companies with more and different opportunities, to new
industries leveraging existing skills and connections. They spoke about
elements about a successful brand, including a congruency within and outside
yourself and organization, an outwardly-facing outlook, a focus on continuous
improvement, an affinity for technology, and fearless authenticity. There was
also an extensive conversation about the merits of remaining unemotional,
focusing on facts rather than emotions and how valuable that is within a
business setting.
Our panelists repeatedly pointed out that building a
brand does *not* mean getting the messages right all the time, every
time. That's too hard, considering how easy it is to get it wrong, how many ways
to screw up there are, given that our every move might be noticed and
YouTube-ed or FaceBook-ed or Twitter-ed! However, it *is* about fixing
it when it goes wrong, adhering to a core set of values, learning from our
mistakes, sharing candidly with others, becoming stronger and moving toward a
known destination, *because* you are genuine and human.
Below is more specific advice from our panelists:
Know Yourself
Know and live your values.
Be your own person. Don't think and act the way
someone else thinks.
Accept what yourself for who you are - the good
with the bad. Accept also that you *can* change about yourself, if you
decide you really need to.
These days, with so much movement between
companies, people should see themselves as independent contractors rather than
a life-long employee and position their brand accordingly.
Challenge yourself to stretch beyond your
comfort zone regularly in many ways.
Find the intersect between your passion and your
skills and the market need to build your brand and career around that niche.
Be Strategic
Accept that people are going to have an opinion
and perspective about you and the work that you do, so be proactive about
developing your own brand.
Know who you want to impress and build
relationships with and why.
Know where you are headed and how your current
actions and decisions and successes will help you get there. Course-correct as
necessary.
There's a balance between planning your brand
and letting the messages flow. Nobody can control everything that impacts how
they are viewed by others, but planning and correcting perceptions will help
you ensure that your brand is communicating how you want to position yourself
to others.
Try to be fearless and act with honesty and
integrity, especially when the stakes are high.
Communicate What You Have to Offer
Be cognizant of what's hot in technology and
position yourself as an expert in some way.
Be prepared to address technology needs and
trends and make this a part of your brand.
Face brand issues head-on and immediately,
updating communications, speaking one-on-one with others involved, doing what
it takes to smooth things over and maintain relationships and the brand
integrity you're seeking.
Be articulate and crisp in your communications
and balance it with silences so that you can listen.
Social media is a double-edge sword, making it
easier in some ways to build and extend your brand, and also making it more
difficult to ensure a pure and consistent brand message for both individuals
and companies.
Communicate your brand based on the preferences
of your audience.
Become known as a problem-solver, doing what you
do well.
Become known to others in your industry and role
for the great work that you do.
Make sure that you get the credit for the work
you've done.
When things *don't* go your way, assume
that others have good intentions and that the simplest explanation may be the
cause of a misunderstanding. Even if it's as bad or even worse than you
thought, try to give yourself some time to cool off and *not* be too
reactive in your communications.
Build a Strong Network
Pay it forward and help others, regardless of
whether you see the short term reward.
Build and maintain a network *before* you
desperately need one, during a job transition, for example.
Continue your strategically network and focus on
quality rather than quality of connections.
FountainBlue's March 11
When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of Agility: The
Key to Building a Successful Career, and featured:
Please join us in
thanking our hosts at Life Technologies for their support of this program and
the series. Below are notes from the conversation.
Our dynamic panel
represented women who went from one role to another, one company to another,
one industry to another, sometimes planned, sometimes not, always learning and
benefiting from each experience. Our panelists were very attuned with who they
are, what they are passionate about, what makes them motivated, and how they
are contributing and take care to nurture their brand and their communication
to proactively project an image they would be proud of, one they are
consciously grooming as they evolve their career. And they are humble, grounded
and generous, and well positioned for their next career opportunity, should it
come their way.
These are women who see
opportunities in every challenge, learnings in every task, and constantly push
the edge on what's done and how it's done, to better serve customers internally
within a company, and external customers they serve. They did not start off in
the middle or the top of the corporate ladder. They earned their stripes and
built their brand so that they could climb that ladder. Central to this
position is the alignment between what they do and who they are.
Below is advice from our
panelists on how to proactively manage your career with grace and agility.
Know yourself,
both who you are and what makes you tick, how you respond to change and
ambiguity (it's not for everyone, but everyone has to manage it to some extent)
and proactively plan an alignment between where you are now and where you want
to be, weaving in a great supportive network, mentorships and connections and
educational opportunities.
Proactively plan for your next career move; don't wait until you run-out-of-track to do
so. And when you do, be prepared to feel uncomfortable as you merge from one
company, role or industry into another, but have faith and draw upon your
toolkit, your knowledge, expertise, perspective and core value, to deliver in
the end. With that said, be prepared to say 'woops, this isn't for me' and
decide what's a good walking point if the career choice you made didn't quite
turn out the way you were expecting. To minimize the likelihood of this
happening, create boundaries for what you must-have, guidelines where you can
evaluate each new opportunity, and keep learning about yourself and what you
want to do and what you have to offer with every job opportunity.
Whether you plan
a career move or it is planned for you, be courageous
and confident and help yourself remain positive and confident especially
during transitions. A supportive network is fundamental to doing this well, and
building this network when you're NOT looking will help you manage the searches
better.
Regardless of
where you find yourself in a company, focus
on the value you bring to the customer and how you can communicate it to
others in your company to build alignment, consensus, momentum and results.
If you would like
to proactively manage a transition, consider
identifying adjacencies to your role/company/industry, which would best
leverage your current tool-kit and connections.
Employees of
today and tomorrow will have to become more
and more agile, more flexible with the changing global markets, rapidly
evolving needs, and highly demanding clients. Those that chose breadth of
experience will be best positioned for rising the corporate ladder.
Proactively build
a network of trusted advisers and
solicit feedback. Then listen to it and respond it, especially if it makes you
feel uncomfortable. Leverage the latest social media tools and techniques to do
so.
Choose a company,
team, industry which best fits your personal preferences and style and
direction.
Be willing to speak up and ask for a change, be
transparent about why, and engage with trusted others who can help you get
there. As you speak, be tough enough to withstand the inevitable comments of
those who call successful women dragon ladies or worse. Take the heart of the
message without the judgment and put-down emotions inherent in the message and
grow and learn from it. And arm yourself with communication tools and
information so that you can proactively manage how you come across, and get
better respect from those around you.
In conclusion, remember that you are in charge of your career and your personal happiness and take the initiative, take charge and make it all that it can be!
FountainBlue's February 11 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series event, on the topic of How to Throw More Balls Up Higher:
Juggling Life-Work Balance in Demanding Times, featuring:
Facilitator Laura Lowell, President,
Impact Marketing Group
Panelist
Deborah Coburn, Manager, Sales & Operations Planning, Americas, Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care
Franchise, LifeScan & Animas
Please
join us in thanking our hosts at NetApp for their support of this program and
the series. Below are notes from the conversation.
Our wise and humorous panelists shared many strategies
and stories about how to maintain a life-work balance, confirming throughout
that there is no magic bullet, and we must be fluid about addressing what's in
front of us, and be realistic about what we can do when. Our panelists shared
their personal challenges, pointed out their own hot buttons, showed their own
vulnerabilities, to help us all better recognize and address our own. Below is
some advice they have about trying to find that work-life balance:
Plan and prioritize
Plan and prioritize the things you need to do,
then work on that plan, with a backup plan ready, just in case. Things won't
always go the way you plan, but having a plan will increase your odds!
When you make your work choice and they involve
children who may interfere with work assignments, make arrangements beforehand
so all understand the situation and have realistic expectations. Then don't be
embarrassed, just be matter-of-fact if the child does cry during a phone call,
for example.
Set Boundaries and Communicate Them Clearly
Create the boundaries for work time so that you
can have quality time outside of work.
Set boundaries so that you can be fully focused
on the you you need to be at the time. Then give 100% of yourself, wherever you
are, whatever hat you have on.
Have the Right Expectations and Perspective
Have realistic expectations and accept that you
can't be great at everything at the same time, and that you may disappoint on
occasion. But make sure that the important people in your life know that you're
putting out your best effort and that they matter to you. Think 'a child who
has been disappointed will build resilience and perspective when they
understand that the world does not revolve around them,' rather than 'I must
never under any circumstances disappoint a child.'
Balance is a journey, a daily challenge, not a
destination where you get there and can stay there! Enjoy your small victories
along the way, rather than lament the fact that you'll never get there!
Listen to the voice in your head and the
feedback from others only to the extent that it benefits you and makes your
life better.
Don't assume that others have a specific
perspective or expectation about who you are and what you should do for them.
You might find that you're doing more than they expected or wanted in the first
place, and NOT doing it might make your life, and theirs easier!
Don't have the misperception that teenagers are
independent and don't need you as much, as it may prove the opposite is true.
Delegate the non-essential stuff to others, even
your children, so that you can spend quality time with others. Let go of HOW
something is done, provided that it does get done.
Make the time for important
people in your life
Take care of yourself so that you can better
take care of others.
Be there for the people who are important to
you. Make them feel like they are the most important people to you. But set
boundaries about how and when they can ask for your time so they understand and
respect what's important to you too.
When you make time for important others in your
life, be clear to others that you have something higher priority to attend to,
but will be back.
Build Community
Develop a trusted support network who can work
with you to address emergency situations, and also give you the bandwidth to
spend quality time by yourself or with your significant other.
In short, we women CAN have
our cake and eat it too with life-work balance. But it takes patience, clarity,
perspective, energy, support and community to make it so.
Resources:
42 Rules for Working
Moms: Practical, Funny
Advice for Achieving Work-Life Balance, available through Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Working-Moms-Practical-Achieving/dp/0979942845/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297529936&sr=1-7
FountainBlue's January 21 When
She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of Expanding Your
Circle of Influence, With Or Without Authority, and featured:
Facilitator
Leila Bulling Towne, The Bulling Towne Group, LLC
Panelist
Barbara Adey, Senior Director, Strategy and Operations, Borderless Networks,
Cisco
Panelist
Sheryl Chamberlain, Senior Director Technology Alliances, EMC Corporation
Panelist
Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program Management Group, Microsoft
Panelist
Cecily Joseph, Director, Corporate Responsibility, Legal and Public Affairs,
Symantec
Panelist Jean
Stein, Vice President, GSSD Business Operations, Hitachi
Please join us in
thanking our hosts at Hitachi for their support of this program and the series.
Below are notes from the conversation.
Enlarging your circle of
influence is about getting people to work together, achieving results that
would serve all. Leaders who are effective at influencing are branded for the
effectiveness, their ability to get things done, engaging a large cohort of
stakeholders, and frequently thinking outside the box on HOW to build
engagement from a wide range of stakeholders. People you influence must have
respect for you, your past accomplishments, your reputation for getting things
one. They must trust that you have their best interest, and that of the team
and company, in mind. Therefore, influence takes time, and every
accomplishment, every task, can lead to building influence.
Our panelists concurred
that a key to becoming influential is not just to be extremely and consistently
competent, but also to be real and genuine, approachable and honest. It is not
just about having and nurturing great ideas, but also the ability to make
things happen, despite the obstacles. It is about knowing and playing the rules
of the game, as well as thinking outside the box to let in new ideas and
processes.
We all want to be more
influential, but only those with the right mindset can be influential. Be
passionate and confident about what you do, and engaging and effective in
motivating others around you. Our generous panel shared some concrete ideas for
building your circle of influence, with or without authority.
Tips for Building Trust:
Be genuine.
Put relationships
first - sure, you want to get things done, but first build connections with the
team who will do the work.
Engage people at
all levels to address common challenges ahead.
Communicate
clearly, frequently and passionately to all parties involved, particularly when
things are difficult and relationships are strained.
It is much easier
to maintain positive relationships with people, but if a relationship has been
compromised, and you must build trust again, it can be done. It takes patience
and time and hard work to rebuild trust, so try not to burn any bridges,
particularly with people who you will be working with for many years to come.
Always work
directly with people, don't go around them, even if you get the short-term
results, you won't get the more important longer-term relationship and trust.
Tips for Managing the
Team:
Listen, probe,
ask a lot of questions.
Hold people
accountable, but be careful how you call people on something they've done.
Understand how
people think and work and communicate. Don't assume that others have the same
priorities you do.
Help good people
achieve phenomenal results, meeting or exceeding their objectives.
Although it may
be frustrating to work with people who don't act and think like it, consider
yourself fortunate that you have diversity in the team, and leverage it to your
advantage.
Facilitate and
gel conversations, moving teams to agreement quickly while ensuring goal
alignment.
Don't just SAY
that you respect others, but act like you do - from respecting their time zones
to advocating for their cause, your actions will speak louder than your words.
Be careful how
you come across in all form of communication, from live to e-mail to telephone
to social media web sites. Your image will be built on the accumulations of
these communications. So invite and respond to feedback on how you are coming
across and correct accordingly, real time!
Tips for Lobbying on
Behalf of Your Project:
Having a
reputation for delivering on ideas and returning result will make it easier to
get approval for other ideas;
Do your homework
and make sure that your project is the right one for your company and team.
Choose your
battles: Know when you need to be persistent and when you need to let go or
table an idea, or morph it into something else.
At times, it's
more effective to invite a gravitational "pull" to yourself, your projects and
your activities, making people want to track it and get involved, rather than a "push" to update and inform others of your progress and needs.
Socialize the
idea with stakeholders and invite their input and participation and engagement
prior to introducing it to a larger constituency.
Invite others for
their feedback and input on new ideas so that it gets more robust and enlists a
wider group of supporters.
Have the right
spokesperson for the right audience of stakeholders: you may not be the right
person to advocate at all times.
Start small, make
quick wins, and demonstrate that you follow through.
Build
relationships at all levels to best maximize the likelihood of a project's
success, and best position you for the next plum project.
Tips for Communicating
with Senior Executives
Be respectful of
their time, and show that you will be very productive with the time you ask
for.
Do your homework
and understand which senior execs you will be communicating with, what
motivates them, how best to communicate with them, etc.
Give team leaders
a communication structure, and have them report on team.
When you bring
people together, speak the WE, not the ME and have them speak for themselves
and their groups.
Focus on the
push, the easier way to build relationships and get things done, not the pull,
which is more work and less likely to be effective.
Build allies and
alliances, leverage sponsors, create whispers of drumbeats prior to each big
meeting. Plan for the outcome of each big meeting BEFORE it takes place.
Tips for Expanding Your
Influence
Become a
connector and help people help each other.
Encourage people
to bring their problems to you, and help them communicate with each other to
solve problems, regardless of whether the problem impacts you directly and
immediately.
Choose
graciousness and forgiveness rather than hyper-reaction under pressure.
Be strong enough
to admit when you're wrong and say what you've learned and how you will be a
better person for it.
Build connections
that are both broad and deep.
When you need to
build new relationships, look for the wedge, the person who could connect you
to the right people who can collaborate with you, and then build the
relationship from there.
Watch your tone,
your mannerisms, how you come across. Think and act confident, despite how you
feel and you will get into the habit of also feeling confident. Practice your
speech - be clear and to the point, your intonations - calm, steady, not
labile, your mannerisms - nervous hand, facial, bodily gestures, etc.
In summary, influence is
the tool at the crossroads of your career path - leverage it like a wedge to
take you where you want to go; polish and hone its ability to get there, pair
it with a web of other skills, a network of positive people, and lead and
follow it to where you were meant to be.
FountainBlue's December 10 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series was on the topic of Leadership in a Time of Accelerated
Change and featured:
Please
join us in thanking our hosts at EMC for their support of this program and the
series. Below are notes from the conversation.
The panelists remarked on the pace of technology development
in a global world, the demands of a range of customers for receiving customized
services for little money, the pressures placed on whole sectors of customers,
the demands of shareholders for continuing to bring in value and revenues,
diversifying into new adjacent markets, and other factors have stimulated
accelerated change for companies, impacting teams and leaders alike. The net
result is that we have to do more with less because of this time of 'VUCA' as
volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity which amplifies each
decision, and the demands an accelerated response to increasingly rich and
complex situations.
Yet our panelists manage to navigate these decisions, and
continue to lead and perform and generate results! Each of our panelists
represented big companies heavily impacted by changes in the economy, changes
in the needs and requirements of their customer base, and changes in what's
expected of them and their teams: generally doing more with less for longer!
But each found a way to be successful despite the relentless pace of change and
escalating requirements for themselves and their teams. They are all fairly
tech-savvy, most of whom have risen from former engineering positions, but
that's not the magic bullet. It was more key that they are all experienced in a
variety of roles and industries, drawing with them more experience, knowledge
and relationships with every role, and that they have a grounded perspective,
and the resiliency, support and resources to persevere and perform. Central to
this strength is the ability to build a network, to speak with influence on
behalf of themselves and their teams, and to continually balance the
requirements of multiple stakeholders - both at home and at work, to ensure
alignment and progress toward pre-agreed goals and objectives for all parties.
Each of our panelists remarked also on the changing needs
of their customers, and having to change their perspectives, approaches and
even business models based on the needs of the customer. They also remarked on
the internal leadership changes within the company required to lead a company
in this time of accelerated change: more a collaborative than a
command-and-control mentality, more an entrepreneurial, west coast mentality
than an East Coast regimented style, more about flat management chain than a
nested hierarchy of roles. And this approach in general might better support
women leaders in some ways, for example around collaboration, and male leaders
in other ways, perhaps around influence, and is neutral for other styles, for
example regarding entrepreneurship.
Our panelists had the following advice for navigating
change:
Proactively
manage your career like a project you want to succeed at, complete with
prioritized goals, stakeholders, milestones, results. Be realistic about your
expectations: aim for the good-enough 80% rather than approaching 100% for
everything; and prioritize what you do well and when you do what. Don't try to
do everything all at once, and don't try to be best at everything all at once.
Learn to set limits and what you'll do when, and be protective of that
all-important personal and family time. In this demanding 24x7 world, you need
to take charge of those limits, or find yourself burning out, and less
effective.
Strategically select projects with the greatest impact and best alignment with
corporate objectives, and commit to its success. You will develop influence and
visibility with each success.
Develop the ability to speak passionately about projects, themes and people and influence
others around you to commit to a cause you're promoting, regardless of whether
you have the authority over them or them over you, or whether they are a
tangential party, or not related to the project or company! Every perspective
can help drive momentum to the project you adopt, and every conversation can
help shape the project successful, and elicit the support of a stakeholder.
Be
grounded, use common sense, show good judgment - even if it feels like the
sky is falling! And invest in yourself, and raise yourself up in your own
priority list so that you can stay this way! Without a happy and healthy YOU,
you can't do everything you want to do!
To best manage work-life integration, work with the right team and company,
and choose the right partners at home who will co-invest in each other's
success. Build deep relationships with a trusted network and help the people in
your network build deep relationships with others, benefiting all. This will
support both work goals, but also support life-work integration.
Leverage social
media tools like LinkedIn to stay connected with your trusted network.
Listen
before talking and shape your thinking based on what others say and do.
Make
someone around you feel good - because you can. Not because it will likely
come back to you in the end, although it likely may. Empowering someone else
brings more possibilities to all inside and outside your network.
Be a good
manager, understanding your team's point of view, engaging them in
change-management choices, empowering them throughout the process,
communicating clearly, proactively and transparently.
The bottom line is that companies large and small are
responding quickly and differently to economic changes, leading to an enduring
cultural shift in thinking, in leadership. It is the proactive,
forward-thinking companies that will remain in the forefront, as they can
better navigate these inevitable waters of change - a constant as sure as death
and taxes.
FountainBlue's November 12 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series was entitled Tips for Enlarging Your Sandbox: Learn to play
with people who do not act right (like you) and featured:
Facilitator Kare Anderson, Say
It Better
Panelist Karen Bartleson, Sr.
Director, Interoperability and University Programs, Synopsys
Panelist Adriane McFetridge,
Director, eBay
Panelist Preethy Padmanabhan
Manager, Business Development in Cisco's Smart + Connected Communities team and
Advisory board member - iCON Inclusion & Diversity Group
Panelist Luciana Vecchi,
Globalization Business Manager, Adobe Systems, Inc.
Please join me in thanking our hosts at eBay
for their support of this event and the series overall. Below are notes from
the conversation.
Our panelists, and others expert at enlarging their
sandbox, are expert at including diverse points of views in high-impact, high
intensity business settings. They come from a variety of companies, upbringings
and outlooks and perspectives. But they have many things in common:
They have reflected on
and grown from past experience with working with people who don't share their
points of view;
They have had support
from family, friends, peers and mentors to help them enlarge their sandbox;
They keep aiming for
stars, and are never complacent with the status quo;
They keep building
their communities and networks who support each other in goals of inclusivity
and collaboration;
They focus on people
and their motivations and objectives rather than being me-centric, driving
their own agenda and solutions to others, particularly when they are new to a
group or team or organization;
They work successfully
with people who don't think like them, but don't succeed in every interaction,
but DO learn and grow from their mistakes; and
They are philosophical
and wise about the need to work with people who are not like you, and recognize
the importance of both diversity and deadlines.
Below is advice from our wise
groups of panelists:
Take care of yourself,
so that you can be fully present and open
Ensure
that you have the background, passion, confidence, and desire to succeed in
your current work situation. Then take care of yourself so that you are fully
present to address the daily demands of your corporate life.
Seek
continuous feedback and improvement, practice reflection, engage a network of
mentors and supporters in your self-improvement path.
Embrace
diversity and challenge in your professional life. Leaders do not choose
complacency. However, know your walking point - the point when what you're
asked to do, is not something you're willing to do or feel passionate about
doing or feel qualified to do. People are miserable if they stay in a work or
personal situation past the expiration date, so know your walking point.
Thoughts on why you
should want to enlarge your sandbox
Including
the perspectives of diverse team members is more likely to lead to innovative,
creative solutions to technological and business challenges. Our workers and
customers represent a wide range of constituents, and to best serve this
diverse range of customers world-wide, you need a team that can see things from
the customers' point of view.
Tips for becoming more
other-centric
Taking
the time to understand how and why people are different than you are will help
you focus on business goals, and read correctly the intentions of the words,
gestures and actions, making it less likely that you will respond negatively or
take something personally. Try also to look and act like people who are more
different than you, as you would more likely be listened to that way.
No
matter how different someone is from you, take the time to get to know them,
understanding their motivations, goals and assumptions while looking for their
positive intent, especially if it looks like they don't have one. This is especially true when emotions run
high. If and when they do, let the other person vent; take the high road and
really be calm and listen. Focus on the business issue at hand.
Tips for including
diversity, while driving results
Embrace
diversity and be philosophical when people who don't think like you do cross
your path or interfere with your game plan. It's not wrong, it's just
different! Slow down and understand their motivations, particularly when
emotions are running high, and work together to focus on common goals and
objectives. Build solid, deep relationships with the people in your network,
relationships built on trust and understanding, people who will drive to
achieve common goals and objectives.
Tips for improving
your communication
In any communication, seek
first to understand both what you'd like to communicate and its relevance to
the team and organizational goals, and the framework, perspective and goals of
your audience, which will vary. Leverage technology and social media benefits
in building communities with similar interests and agenda, which will make it
easier to communicate a consistent message to these groups and continue to
build and refine and evolve the message, with the input of community members.
Be adaptive with your
communication style and message based on who you're talking to, your objectives
for the conversation, and how they are responding verbally and non-verbally to
your communication style.
Tips for building
credibility
In
business, credibility is tied to reliable, measurable results that meet strategic
objectives. It's particularly important to build trust credibility when you are
a non-technical person interacting with engineers. You must build relationships
individually and must prove that 1) you can help them and want to help them,
and 2) that you will be there in the long term to help them.
Be succinct and speak more
slowly and at a lower pitch, to more likely be heard to a broader audience.
Tips for building
influence
Once your credibility is
established with concrete, measurable and predictable results, you can expand the
impact of your results to other groups and gain visibility to members of other
groups internal and external to your company, thereby expanding your influence.
In any situation, you have three
choices: change how you act toward that person, accept what's going on, or
leave, and the sooner you make that choice, the more options you have. If you
implement this regularly, you will be strategic on how you influence and impact
others around you.
When participating in a
group discussion, don't always be the first to speak up, but take the time to
absorb what others are saying and how others are responding to what is said.
You may have more influence in folding ideas together, and incorporating
others' ideas than in having the most brilliant and first idea.
When working with
engineering teams, speak to their tactical issues and deadlines, but also
integrate business objectives into the communication to them, and tactical
issues and deadlines to business leaders. Being able to translate from one
group to another is a highly valued communication skill, and will help you
build influence in both networks.
Tips for building
consensus
Much
as diversity is great and we should all embrace it, you have to build consensus
quickly to drive results. Indecision in a business situation wastes people's time,
so spell out the consequences of indecision when necessary. And don't always be
so inclusive, so focused on embracing diversity that you choose that over the
bottom line results.
Understand
and respect people's, but find the common ground on a business setting and
drive to those results.
Don't
make it a personal, combative battle. Keep focusing on business issues.
Have
a pre-meeting before the meeting so that you know where people stand and can
manage people and causes and most likely achieve your desired result when the
meeting takes place. This way, you will have allies prior to a proposal, know
who they are and how you can support them in return.
Build
a large network of people who may or may not have influence in building
consensus in the short term, but will likely at some point have influence which
can help drive consensus on a future issue.
Remember the many compartments of the heart, the seed of what is
possible. So much of who we are is defined by the places we hold for each
other. For it is not our ingenuity that sets us apart, but our capacity
for love, the possibility our way will be lit by grace. Our hearts prisms,
chiseling out the colors of pure light. Kare Anderson, Say It
Better
In a civilization when love is gone we turn to justice and when
justice is gone we turn to power and when power is gone we turn to violence.
Kare Anderson, Say It Better
FountainBlue's October 8 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership
Series was on the topic of Women Leading Innovation and featured:
Facilitator Francine Gordon,
FGordon Group and SDForum Tech Women's Program
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal
Scientist, HP Labs, Hewlett-Packard Company
Panelist Jenny Dormoy, Director
Customer Deployability, EMC
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO,
FountainBlue
Panelist Mirjana Spasojevic,
Research Leader, Nokia Research Center
Please join me in thanking our panelists
for their insight advice and comments, and in thanking our hosts at EMC, who
also shared pictures
of the event. Below are notes from the conversation.
Innovators like our panelists are passionate
about thinking big, starting small and going fast! They are focused on
customers who are in need of solutions, teams who are passionate and
collaborative enough to produce results, and solutions that will change the way
that people think and work and live. It is about being in perpetual motion,
delivering results, aligning and meeting needs, and, most importantly, engaging
and empowering others.
Our panelist innovators are courageous, yet
measured risk-takers, who are generally successful at achieving results, and
learning from their experience regardless of the results. They are consistently
leveraging the talents of their team, while delivering the type of product and
service most in need. They are people who know what they are good at, can communicate
it to others, and enfold others in the journey of the next innovation through
their actions and words. In other words, their reputation and results speak for
themselves, and positions them for further successes.
Below are some thoughts for bringing out
the best in others:
Thoughts about Yourself:
Ask
yourself, what's the worst thing that could happen?
As
an individual contributor, learn to communicate with mentors and
decision-makers who can support your innovation idea, package what you do, and the
results you've created, and strategize on how to better leverage your thinking
and results more effectively for your organization.
Act
like you're confident, despite how you feel.
Embrace
failures as learnings, and leverage learnings for the next success.
As
Carly Fiorina would say, 'Confidence does not require perfection'. Be
comfortable enough in not knowing and anticipating everything, or not feeling
fully qualified to do something. Sometimes innovation is about taking a
measured leap of faith.
Innovate
no matter what chair you sit in, which role you're currently in.
Thoughts on Developing a Support Network:
Work
within company guidelines and requirements, but keep to the cause even
if it's
not necessarily within that guideline and pushes the risk tolerance of
the
company itself. But do this sparingly.
Develop
a support network of select individuals you trust who would be both a
good
sounding board and a good place to put on your private face.
Thoughts about Managing a Team:
Invite
a
range of perspectives and viewpoints to your team, leveraging the best
of all
talents and worlds and levels.
Evaluate
the level of risk tolerance for all your team members, and gently push
them to
their limits.
In dealing with work-life balance, choose a
good partner and be frank with each others' goals and objectives in the short
term and for the long term, and support each other with these goals. Then
create boundaries around work, family, and other responsibilities, yet be flexible
about how that is implemented. And join a team and an organization who would be
in alignment with your own life-work perspective.
We should all celebrate and empower the
innovators around us at all levels. For collectively, innovators change our
perception of what is and what could be, and the results they generate impact
the marketplace, the people, and their imagination.
FountainBlue's September
10 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of Women Who
Make Up Their Own Rules, and featured our esteemed panel of speakers:
Facilitator Pat Obuchowski, CEO (Chief Empowerment
Officer), inVisionaria
Panelist Daniela Bayer, Business Intelligence
Manager for Central & Eastern Europe, Cisco
Please join me in
thanking LifeScan for graciously hosting us for this event. Below are notes
from the conversation:
Women who are successful
at making up their own rules have a personal brand for successfully doing so,
making it easier for them to break some more rules and delivering better
results, and just getting things done despite many obstacles.
These women are skilled at
bringing people together to build something bigger and better for themselves
and their organization as they overcome one insurmountable obstacle after
another. They are people-persons who know how to get things done in a more
friendly fashion, developing high-performance teams and people in the process.
They are authentic women
who think strategically about their options and leverage their formidable
strengths and will to achieve goals in alignment with needs of their teams and
their organizations. They evaluate available options, and even create
additional options, in search of win-win results for all. They even learn to balance
work and life while making their own rules, always questioning what 'used to
work', 'how things are usually done'.
They stand up to
nay-sayers and go over, under, around, and through obstacles, developing a
reputation for doing the impossible, and the credibility to try another
impossible task! These are passionate women who are not afraid of breaking new
ground, of leaving their comfort zone to explore the next possible opportunity.
They act with honesty and integrity and authenticity, even if those around them
aren't. They know that breaking rules can be unpleasant in the short term, and
even in the long-term if it's just not going to work out, yet they are
committed to a cause and will forge a path to success, even if they have to
dramatically change the game to do so.
It's not that they are
perfect. For when things go wrong, they find out what went wrong and what to do
about it next time. They work with people of similar values, and surround
themselves with people who believe in them. When necessary, they stimulate a
cultural shift, subtle at first, so that the organization as a whole is more
collaborative, more merit-than politically-based, more about the results you
bring than what you've done in the past.
It's not that they are
all-powerful, either to start with or now. But they do focus on building a
foundation of credibility based on measurable results and deep relationships
and alliances and collaborations based on trust. They know this foundation
makes themselves and those around them stronger, expanding the base of power
for all.
The bottom line is that
these women encourage us all to take a chance, and don't get stuck facing
unpleasant circumstances. Be strategic and plan carefully how to break yourself
out of a rut, and make a change for the better, in alignment with your core
values, and your personal and professional objectives. So follow your heart and
do good things, while being aware of yourself and how your actions and thinking
are impacting your intentions and results.
FountainBlue's August 13 When
She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of Politics in the
Workplace: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, featuring our esteemed panel of
speakers:
Facilitators Krista Henley and Rossella Derickson,
Corporate Wisdom and SBODN
Panelist Kim Elisha Proctor, Senior Manager
Holistic Quality, PayPal and BAODN
Panelist Eileen Sullivan, Group Director, Cadence
Please join me in
thanking our sponsors at Synopsys for graciously hosting us for this event.
Below are notes from the conversation:
By definition, any group
of two or more may have intrigue and maneuvering within a group, the definition
of politics itself, so where there are people,
whether it's in the boardroom, by the water coolers at work, or at home or at
the playground. there will be politics. Whether your political issue is
turf protection, hesitation in sharing info, playing favorites, gossip,
maliciously compliant, passive-aggressiveness or something else, no one's in a
bubble, even if you see yourself as an individual contributor with no direct
reports. In fact, the level of politics you deal with is directly proportional
to the number of people you're interacting with, whether or not they report to
you. Politics happens at all levels within an organization, and the types of
politics varies on function, team and organization.
In the best of all worlds,
politics is a cooperative, dynamic give and take which is direct, transparent,
collaborative, and focused on a win-for-all result. But politics can get UGLY,
so there are actions you can take to prepare yourself to manage politics.
It is first
important to acknowledge and accept the pervasiveness of politics, and think
with positive, yet realistic connotations: not just something an aggressive,
self-serving person would do, but something that everyone needs and leverages
to get things done, working with people.
Next, seek to
understand your personal strengths, objectives and strategies around managing
the politics around you. Listen to what others say about your actions and how
they perceive you based on your actions, but also listen to yourself and what
your body and mind as telling you. Know your strengths and leverage them to the
advantage of all, setting up situations for good politics which benefit all.
Men and women who successfully navigate the politics around them understand
both themselves, but also the people that they interact with as well as the
norms and rules of a group overall, whether its official or unofficial,
documented or not. It's a matter of understanding both what your needs are, but
also the needs of others in the group, and understanding the actions and power
plays people take on to get what they need.
Once you accept the
pervasiveness of politics, your own personal strengths and needs and that of
those youre working with, be strategic and plan out how you manage the
politics to drive results making proactive, measured choices, and encouraging
the same for others. Make it always a conscious choice about whether you
participate in the political maneuvering around you. Ask yourself if you should
engage, and if so, why and how and what are the desired results and costs. The key is to think it through strategically, and being
clear, transparent communications up front, and continually checking in with
the other parties regarding objectives, motivations, desires, and anything else
which may change as situations evolve.
Again and
again, the panelists commented on the importance of building relationships with
key others within, throughout and outside your organization. Take the time to
understand what motivates and drives them, while communicating your own needs,
and working toward common causes in alignment with corporate values and needs.
Its about building a large network of trust with people empowered to drive
results for individuals, groups and the organization overall.
Clearly,
building a large network of trust between like-minded, results-oriented
professionals at all levels. The panelists encouraged us to get out of your comfort zone, and start connecting with
more people who are different than you in role, perspective orientation, etc.,
but also people who are similar to you in many ways as well. The more you build
your network, the more visibility and power you will have, especially in
politically sensitive matters, whether or not you aspire to climb the corporate
ladder.
The importance of having a
broad and deep network is particularly useful if you work for an organization
undergoing change, whether its expansion or contraction, a change in products
and services, a change in markets and customers. When companies are retracting,
people feel threatened and insular, and its more important to develop deeper
relationships. When companies are expanding rapidly, its important to connect
with people from different areas and departments, developing relationships and
better understanding how people and groups work together as the company grows,
while getting visibility and building relationships.
As our
facilitators put it, everyone is encouraged to leverage their authentic self
and a politics of kindness to drive results which are collaborative and functional vs. results that make
people feel undermined and cheated and worse. The other side of politics is
collaboration, so focus on what it takes build collaborations benefiting people, teams and the company overall, breaking
down silos between people and teams. Practice positive communications, and be
strategic about spreading it to build community and team across roles, programs
and organizations.
Below is a
list of strategies and tactics our panelists leveraged to best navigate
politics:
Building
relationships is important, and its important to always try to work with
people you trust and respect, but at times, you have to work with people who
havent earned your trust. If and when thats the case, be clear and
transparent, and work other relationships to help ensure desired results.
Align
yourself with a great manager and boss (and program), because no matter how
good you are, your future is tied to his or hers.
Dont
be a pawn in a political maneuvering. Recognize that you always have a choice
about whether to engage and how and why and act accordingly.
Be
comfortable taking measured risks, even in highly charged political situations. But be extra careful if you're new to a relationship,
organization or team, for people may not be who they seem, and may have more
power than you think.
If you're dealing
with favoritism, try becoming a favorite of the favorite.
If you're a
victim of passive-aggressive behavior, dont take it personally and rise above
it. You will likely have allies as he/she have likely made other victims. If
you're in a corporate culture that discourages this, this behavior will be
quickly discouraged. If you're not, create a culture which frowns upon this
type of behavior and delivers feedback quickly to the offender.
If the project
you're working on becomes progressively more interesting to others within the
team, including people who outrank you, assume that there will be a greater
interest from others and respond accordingly, always focusing on whats right
for the overall project and company, rather than taking personal offense.
Whenever you're a
victim of bad and ugly politics, always think that there are multiple ways to
look at things, multiple points of view. You dont have to buy into someone
else's viewpoint, but taking the time to understand it will give you a broader
perspective, and help you strategize a win-win result, if one can be reached
under the circumstances.
If you're a
victim of long-term political battles and have gotten to the point of wondering
when you will walk, have a clear view of what you will do and won't do, and a
clear moral boundary a line in the sand that you won't cross. You have to
live with your own actions and decisions and sleep at night. If your political
circumstances are asking you to cross that personal line, don't do it, and
don't waste your time and energy being outraged at others who are pushing you
there. Just make your own decision, and take your own action so that you don't
have to go there.
Have the courage
to stand in your own power, embracing who you are, what you do, what youve
accomplished and the wisdom to know when to release or not engage.
Take the
initiative and be trusting and respectful of those around you, giving them the
benefit of the doubt. You will likely earn that right back, but if you don't,
don't be naive and follow the proverb 'once bitten, twice shy'.
Practice positive
communications and own the impact of your communications on others be it
positive or negative.
Take the
proactive stand up for what's right, even if it's a politically charged stand.
But also be willing to stand down, disagree and commit, for having multiple
factions on a sensitive topic will likely be division and unproductive.
Think of politics
like a game, something that brings up your competitive juices. Remember its
just there, and don't take it personally. In fact, find a way to enjoy it,
especially if you're building relationships and collaborations that benefit
all.
Be positive when
speaking of others. Be direct when displeased with others.
Taking up golf
may actually help you build relationships with decision-makers within your
company.
Always take an
observer stance, noticing who's doing what; what everyone's needs are. Be ever
the diplomat, caring about others around you, who they are, what their needs
are, how they respond.
When working with
people from other geographies, try to understand that their reality is
different than yours, while also acknowledging that you aren't currently
walking in their shoes, experiencing all they do.
Don't over-emote
over a political situation. It may not be as bad as you think, or it may wind up where
you think. If others treat you badly, it's likely not personal as in general
how you do one thing is how you do everything.
Know your style
and educate others about who you are and what youre about so they are less
likely to misinterpret your actions.
When advocating
for your team and their cause, identify and work with the decision-makers to
lobby for the cause. Also work with those close to the decision-makers to
ensure they understand the project and its impact and benefits to the company
and to themselves personally as well as THEIR team. If others not in the
decision-making chain are undermining you or unhappy with a positive decision,
be respectful and clear that your focus is on the overall company good, which
would also benefit them.
In conclusion, the
panelists concurred that navigating politics is a journey, not a destination.
Regardless of whether youre new to work, or have risen the ranks leveraging
politics, there will be lessons to learn throughout your career. Acknowledge that not every decision and action you make and
take will lead to the win-for-all results you seek, but always reach for
results you can live with, results that align with your core values and your
authentic self. In short, navigate
politics by being authentic and genuine in all you do, make decisions with the
highest moral standards, with objectives that support all, and work with those
you trust and respect and focus on making progress collaboratively for the
greater good of yourself, your team and your organization.
Panelist Shobhana Viswanathan, Senior Marketing Manager, Global
Alliances, VMware
Below
are notes from the conversation:
The inspiring and competent women on our panel came in
all shapes and sizes, industries, roles and perspectives, but they share many
things in common: a high level of self-awareness, a commitment to grow for
themselves and for the group and organizations they work with, a generous
spirit of sharing and empowerment, competence in skills and execution, and
exceptional communication and people skills. They each had a level of
self-confidence and persistence necessary to succeed in a male dominated
profession and organization, and sufficient results to command the respect of
their staff and peers, and earn the titles they currently hold.
They all engaged in activities outside their day-to-day
work, and did what it took to recharge and re-energize themselves every day.
They all continue to respond directly and proactively to the day-to-day
challenges they face, working collaboratively to ensure win-win outcomes in
alignment with corporate, personal and group objectives.
They are collaborative problem-solvers and experts at
engaging and empowering others to participate in the decision-making and
execution process. It's not that they don't run into controversial situations.
It's that their understanding of people and their fearless communication
styles, and their commitment, authenticity and integrity, have spurred them to
take action, and directly address problems immediately and
transparently.
These women are held in high esteem, and they generously
shared their thoughts on how to hone your leadership style:
Be the leader you want to be and know that it will not
always be easy.
A woman's leadership style is always about
balancing between being too soft and too aggressive (a doormat or a bench); too
work-focused and too family-oriented. It's a continual push-pull for all our
panelists, yet they keep making the choices that will allow them to succeed
both personally and professionally, leveraging a network of support. It's not
that they don't have the same challenges and issues the rest of us have. It's
that they have accepted the need to constantly make tough choices and developed
a support structure to help them have their cake and eat it too. Bringing the
two sides together, it's the image of a tough mom holding a baby. You have to
be competent and tough enough to succeed and nurturing and indulging enough to
make sure others learn and benefit from it.
It takes a strong and resilient person to choose
to walk the uphill battle and succeed in a male-dominated role and industry.
You have to be tough, competent, and resilient to succeed at it, and empower
others as you succeed.
Be yourself, adopt your own leadership style.
With that said, learn from the successful styles of others and constantly study
what other people are doing and acting, and what's working and not working for
them, even if its in a different context than your own work and personal
challenges. And focus on your strengths to keep developing and refining your
own leadership style.
Request the gift of feedback from people who see
you from different angles. Reflect on that feedback, and change your style as
appropriate based on the input.
Leadership is not about toeing the line and
being bland. Be willing to stick your neck out and be passionate and take a
stand. With that said, do your homework so that you understand why youre
taking a stand, and so that you can communicate your position in a confident
and compelling way.
Be well-rounded. Join other teams and
organizations and put yourself out there to discover other dimensions of
yourself. You will learn as much as you give.
Be self-aware enough to know what makes you
tick, what motivates you, and continue to make choices that will keep yourself
engaged and passionate.
Recognize whats important to you, and make
choices that ensure that you have the time and energy to do whats important to
you. This will involve saying no to other things, putting limits to some of the
things you're agreeing to do.
Have a mind-body connection, and make choices to
support your body and your mind and deal with the stress and challenges of
holding a leadership position.
Build a network and infrastructure that will support you
and others around you.
Develop a network of support from family to
friends to stay-at-home moms to nannies to babysitters, housekeepers and
gardeners, to help you meet the day-to-day demands of leadership at work.
Engage in and support the development of
mentorship programs within your organization, as a mentor or a mentee.
Supporting a mentoring culture and infrastructure within your organization is
not an easy task as it cant be mandated. But when it works, it benefits all
participants and the organization as a whole.
Facilitate grass-roots leadership within your
organization, and collaboratively encourage networking and learning across
departments and organizations. Developing engagement from the bottom up, and
enlisting executive management to participate will help build a stronger
organization and more empowered leaders.
Support the advancement of women within your
organization, and help people address their stereotypes about women managers vs
male managers. One of the reasons why both men and women wanted male bosses is
that they are historically more likely to advance, and bring along their staff
as they do. However, as more women advance to higher, more visible positions of
influence, this is changing, but the perceptions may remain.
Be the competent leader others will respect.
Walk a mile in the shoes of others, and show
that youve been part of the team, facing and addressing the problems they've
faced, whether its in sales or manufacturing or R&D. This way, you can
communicate with the people who are making things happen, and bring these
challenges and insights to the executive team and strategize on how best to
proceed.
You have to be a people person, and a great
communicator, showing that you care about people, and also that you get the
business imperatives. Learn to bond with people on their terms, and also earn
their respect for your business acumen and competence. Engage them in getting
things done, problems resolved.
Embrace your passionate side, but not in a way
which will brand you as too emotional. Channel your emotion to passion for a
cause at work or outside. Manage your emotions during conflicts by 1) taking a
breath, 2) focusing on the issues, 3) not taking things personally, 4)
understanding root causes for the conflict, 5) taking the conflict into a
one-on-one discussion, 6) speaking rationally with common sense, 7) having a
zero-tolerance policy for belittling remarks, 8) tabling the conversation if
necessary, etc.
Every leader will meet resistance. The question is what
you do about it.
If you are labeled a b** for an action you've
taken, consider to yourself if a guy would be considered a jerk for doing
something similar, and even bring up the question to others if you think
there's a double standard.
Learn from your mistakes. Don't hate the other
side because they were good, but learn from why they were selected. Consider
challenges as growth opportunities. And if you've made a mistake, pick yourself
up and keep moving forward, hopefully stronger for it!
Have the courage to immediately and directly
address individuals who has not treated you with respect.
Communicating to engage and inspire others is a
leadership prerequisite.
Be other-centric, whether you're communicating with a
staff member, peer, manager, family member, or customer, understand their
perspectives and abilities and strategize on the best ways to communicate to
them. Gather data tailored to what's relevant to them in a way that makes sense
to them. For example, if youre working with a resistant, defiant and cranky
engineer who can't multi-task and doesn't want to be bothered in the middle of
a project, plan your communications with him at the end of the project.
Leverage your gender, learn from your children.
Learn from your children, whether it's about the
latest social media trends, or the perspectives of the younger generation, or
even life priorities, in many ways, being a parent is a great leadership
challenge.
Women leaders bring so much to the table, with
their multi-tasking abilities, their ability to work across cultures and age
groups, and, as mentioned in the October 2009 McKinsey report inspiring others
and defining expectations and rewards will be critical future leadership needs.
In conclusion, leadership is about the choices you make
day-to-day. Take the time to reflect on the choices you're making and make sure
that they are on the path for success you've outlined for yourself. Have a plan
for success, and choose your take-aways and learnings from each and every
experience. Make the difficult choices when necessary, including leaving a position,
role or organization if it is not fulfilling, if it's not something you're
passionate about. Find meaning and purpose in the work that you do, and make
sure that it helps you grow in the direction you choose, while you're making a
difference in the way you choose.
When leaders make staff development a priority;
their team becomes unified, projects run smoothly and goals are surpassed in
return. KLR Consulting invites you to read a story about a woman who changed
everything in her organization with comprehensive employee development
programs, and welcomes your inquiries and comments. http://www.klrconsulting.com/clients/pdfs/first5_success.pdf
FountainBlue's June 11 When She Speaks
event was on the topic of Millennials In Our Midst and featured:
Facilitator
Camille Smith, Work In Progress Coaching
Panelist
Cyndi Stargiotti, Technical Training Programs Manager, Synaptics
Please join me in thanking our speakers
above, as well as our hosts at LifeScan, all of whom make our work possible.
Below are notes from the conversation:
Our panel concurred that it is not about
the age bracket or the perspectives of each generation of workers, its about
getting everyone fully contributing and successfully, fully integrated and
open-minded so that they as productive and as collaborative as possible, to
keep an organization forward-thinking and effective at a time when innovation
is key, problems are complex, international and multi-faceted, and teamwork and
collaboration will remain the keystones for success.
Each panelist eloquently described how
their organizations and their teams leveraged technology to its fullest, but
more importantly, listened to the needs of staff and customers, factoring in
their needs and perspectives and finding a middle ground, building alignment
toward strategic goals. Technology is an important enabler for building
communication and community, but it takes open communication and acceptance of
differences and building relationships of trust to get everyone to pull
together on common goals, despite differences in culture, age and perspectives.
The panelists encouraged us to develop a
corporate culture which respects differences and supports the needs of workers,
including millennials. The panelists commented that millennials prefer
corporate cultures that support flexible work hours, results-oriented
milestones stating what needs to be done without specifying how it should be
done, and constant and specific feedback. They do expect advancement based on
performance, but are generally now more realistic about the timeframes for
advancement.
Millennials were raised in the age of the
internet where answers are readily and quickly available, so they are
techno-philic, embrace the rapid pace of a corporate culture, and many show
amazing capacity for completing work well and quickly, all valuable qualities
in todays competitive corporate world.
The question arose about how millennials
can get more respect in the workplace, and the panelists responded by advising
them to stand behind their results and performance (even if it appears that
others with less stellar results and more experience receive credit), be
positive in communication (even if frustrated by above), build strategic
connections like sponsors and mentors within and outside the company, and be
strategic about how you communicate what you do, how you do it, and how
passionate you are about it.
Parents of millennials may not spend as
much time with their kids, coming from a driven, work-philic generation, but DO
shower them with attention and toys when they do. Therefore this generation has
more toys and tools, more confidence and independence than GenX for example.
The implication in the workplace is that they want to understand the context of
the work they are asked to do and how it fits into the bigger picture for the
organization. Once they understand this and buy into it, they generally attack
the task or problem with contagious enthusiasm, and deliver quality results
efficiently. Note also that Millennials in general have seen the work ethics
and choices made by their parents, and are choosing to live for the moment,
enjoy and celebrate life, which may impact how they come across at work.
The panelists made several suggestions on
how to create a cross-generational culture which brings out the best in all:
Create
opportunities to gather informally and socially and encourage interactions
between groups, generations, cultures, etc.
Encourage
open communications about assumptions, perceptions, expectations. Equally
important is to encourage acceptance and tolerance of differences.
Model
and encourage how a good sense of humor can help develop connections and trust,
and relieve stress.
Leverage
the best out of each persons differences in abilities and perspectives, and
teach your teams to do the same.
Reward
teams that can find a middle ground and work together toward a common goals, a
collaborative decision-making process that benefits all.
Encourage
and insist on focus when its necessary, but be flexible about having divided
attention when its not.
Insist
on respect for all, and be direct if someone is inadvertently being rude,
particularly if theyre unconsciously using technology gadgets when they are
ignoring or disrespecting someone else present.
Establish and support
mentoring programs to build connections between generations, roles, cultures.
In conclusion, business has become much
more complex, with so many political, social issues involved, with many more
interdependencies and risks than ever before, with local and global factors
impacting decisions, with the proliferation of technology and the need to
leverage it effectively to communicate openly and transparently, building
credibility and engagement of all stakeholders. It is essential for leaders to
engage all stakeholders within and outside a company to collaboratively made
effective decisions in a complex world. Full engagement of the tech-savvy,
efficient millennial generation in the collaborative decision-making process,
with their passion for building community and saving the world will set
forward-thinking companies apart from those who embrace the status quo, the old
way of doing business.
Biographies
FountainBlue's May 14 When
She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of Standing on
the Shoulders of Mentors and featured:
Facilitator Kim Wise, Mentor Resources
Panelist Erna Arnesen, Vice President, Worldwide
Services Partners and Alliances, Cisco Systems
Panelist Claudia Galvan, Principal Lead Program
Manager, Windows Live, Microsoft
Panelist Vidya Venkatesh, Senior Specialist, Global
Product Support, Life Technologies
Below are notes from
the conversation.
Each panelist emphasized
the importance of mentorship in their growth and development, both personally
and professionally. Mentors have helped our panelists articulate and achieve
their goals, build relationships that endured the test of time, see challenges
from a different perspective, and keep climbing the corporate ladder. Mentors
open up doors to people, to information, to resources and networks. They help
you achieve your objectives step by step, and position you with the knowledge, strength,
network and confidence to reach still further toward your goal. Whereas formal
education provides you with the knowledge and skills to perform your job,
mentors provide you with feedback, input, confidence and coaching to succeed at
your job, managing people, time, objectives, etc.
There are many different
types of mentors. There are internal mentors within your company who are
familiar with the people and processes there and can help you navigate those
waters, very helpful particularly if youre new to a company or an industry.
There are external mentors from other companies who can provide more general
coaching and support. There are technical mentors who refer you to the right
information and resources so you better understand subject matter and have
better skills to deliver on your work objectives. There are senior mentors who
can draw from their extensive experience to give you ideas and perspective in
managing a specific challenge. Former bosses might make a good mentor for you,
for example. There are peer-to-peer mentors within or outside a company, who
are sharing similar challenges. And there are even reverse mentors, like the
program at Cisco which invites Millennials to reverse-mentor execs who want to
better understand the perspectives from that generation.
Whatever type of mentor
you select, you must know first why you want a mentor and what goals you'd like
to achieve with the support of a mentor. From there, you can decide who would
be a good mentor to achieve those goals. And then you can figure out how to
approach this potential mentor so that he/she would be interested in supporting
you as a mentor. When you have the initial conversation, do what you can to
make the chemistry work for both of you while also focus on what you'd like to
accomplish and why you think this person could help you meet those objectives.
In addition, set expectations in terms of logistics - how often to meet, where
to meet, etc. and also set ground rules on what type of feedback you're looking
for, and how best to communicate with you.
Remember, your potential
mentor is likely very busy, so make it convenient and easy and enjoyable for
your mentor to meet with you, and make it easy for them to help you: you should
do most of the prep work/agenda planning and keep them posted on how helpful
their advice has been for you. Take the initiative to ensure that the
relationship is continuing to work for you both.
In starting a relationship
with a mentor, it might be like riding a bike with square tires at first, but
if you work with it, and keep building results and a positive chemistry, you
will find it rewarding for both parties. Below is a list of topics which might
be covered in mentor-mentee meetings:
Career
development and transition
Performance
Reviews
Time Management
Negotiations
Your Passion and
Bringing It Out at Work
Global Teams
Functional
Expertise
Business Problems
Reassurance and
Validation
Feedback, Advice
and Suggestions on Specific Issues
In short, a mentor can
make THE difference in the success of leaders at all levels. Finding the right
mentor is a worthwhile exercise, and BEING a mentor to others is also
rewarding, educational and energizing.
Panelist Luciana Vecchi, Globalization Business
Manager, Core Services, Adobe Systems Incorporated
Below are notes from
the conversation.
Your brand tells
people who you, and what to expect from you whether at work or at home. It
helps people decide whether to trust you, and what to trust you about.
Effective executives, both women and men, proactively build their brand, to
ensure that others think highly of them, and have the confidence that they can
execute under specific circumstances, and even in situations where they have
little connections and expertise. Indeed, your executive brand can limit or
launch your success.
Our panel concurred
that an executive brand says something about you to people you know and people
you want to know. It is a compilation of all the things that you've said and
not said, done and not done. Below are some elements of the brands developed by
our esteemed panelists:
Proactive
networking and communication independent of roles and organizations and levels
Collaborative,
consensus builder focused on results
Deep
knowledge and expertise
Persistent,
results-oriented problem solver
Forward
thinking
Passionate
Community
orientation
Authenticity:
You get what you get
To begin building
your brand, start with an understanding of who you are what you are good at and
passionate about. Recognize your weaknesses as a part of who you are and
develop a plan to compensate for them, to make them a 'win' or a 'feature',
provided that the weakness does not interfere with your ability to deliver
results. Listen to yourself and make your priorities based on whats important
to you. Always make choices that will keep you authentic, make you happy to be
who you are.
Focus on what you
would like to accomplish both personally and professionally and then strategize
on how to accomplish your goals, both in terms of the actions you need to take
and the networks you need to connect with. Ensure that what you say and what
you do, or dont say and don't do, are in congruence with who you want to be,
how you want to present yourself now, and in the future, in your personal and
in your professional life.
Some people like to
draw attention to themselves through their hair (think Don King or Donald
Trump) or accessories or socks, but even if you choose to do so, it's what you
say and what you do that communicates who you are, rather than the less.
Continue to refine
your executive brand through your communications online, in person, and in
writing, and ensure that your thoughts and actions are in alignment with your
intended brand. Continue to align your decisions and actions and review and
update the brand you'd like to communicate.
If someone says or
does something which may threaten the integrity of your brand, first figure out
who is doing it, why they might be doing it, and whether he/she is important to
you. If he/she is important to you, or could influence how important OTHERS can
perceive you, work quickly to make an authentic stand for your brand, your
reputation, through strategic actions and communications. It is your job to NOT
JUST communicate your brand, but also to defend it from being misinterpreted.
Know when to stand up to misperceptions, to subtly or more directly prove them
wrong by your words and actions, and to ignore them altogether.
Whereas previously
only the most important people had handlers and publicists and others to ensure
brand integrity for them, in todays world of technology proliferation and
constant communications, EVERYONE must build and protect their brand real-time.
The wide range of social media offerings from FaceBook to LinkedIn to Twitter
offer so many different channels for communicating your brand, but they also demand
a proactive defense of the integrity of the brand, and thorough consideration
prior to communicating online, where anyone could Google your communications,
even ones youd prefer not to be known by. It's hard to compartmentalize your
personal and professional life, and it takes judgment and discipline to ensure
that sensitive or frivolous or private information does not negatively impact
your brand.
One example of the
consequence of not doing so is that it is now common practice for hiring
managers to Google a potential candidate online. Prospects are eliminated who
don't have the judgment to proactively manage their brand. With that said,
candidates who show their authenticity by backing their brands as a thought
leader through blogs, or get involved in associations that could benefit from
your expertise and keep apprised of and even help shape industry trends through
your involvement, have the definite advantage.
Your executive brand
can take you far - even farther than you had originally envisioned, and more
likely so if you proactively build and manage it. Be true to who you are at all
times, but also be open to and even fearless about opportunities to stretch the
definition of yourself if the opportunities or circumstances arise provided
that your values and integrity are not compromised. Surround yourself with
people with similar mindsets and support each other in building and extending
your brands.
FountainBlue's March 15 When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series
event was on the topic of Agility - The Key to Building a Successful Career and featured:
Facilitator Linda Popky, L2M Associates
Panelist Amanda Dutra, Senior Vice President of Career Management,
Practice Leader for the Global Transition Center of Excellence in the Pacific
Region NA, Right Management
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Lisa Jing, Program Manager, Cisco
Panelist Shari H. Moore, GPHR, SPHR, Vice President, Human
Resources-Global and Americas Sales and Services, Hitachi Data Systems
Panelist Phyllis Stewart Pires, SAP
Below
are notes from the conversation.
Defined
as the ability to leverage passion and talent for business objectives, agility
is also about taking responsibility of your career, and having the initiative
to challenge yourself in strategic ways. It's about understanding and working
with the people around you as peers, mentors, partners, etc to focus on getting
a job well done. It's also about focusing on what you DO know already, and
applying that to your next role or challenge, and continuing to raise the bar
for yourself and those around you. It's also about being open and flexible and
resilient; choosing to learn with every experience, good or bad. It's about
accepting where you are now, not being disappointed that your career is not
going as planned, for rarely is a career one path, and rarely is it planned,
especially these days!
Global
megatrends are impacting how companies are functioning, and individuals must be
agile enough to take charge of their career path despite the rapid changes.
Below are some tips from the panelist on choosing agility:
Take
the challenges that come your way, and find a way to be successful with every
opportunity. Even if you don't succeed in the short term, or even if you fail
altogether, make that a learning experience and apply that learning to your
next adventure.
Exude
confidence rather than ego, even if you're totally out of your comfort zone.
Understand
what you're doing for whom for each new role, company or industry you adopt and
ensure that you deliver excellent results at every turn.
Leverage
mentors to help you adopt that proactive career path.
Don't
let your role limit your abilities, your effectiveness or your image. Don't let it dictate HOW
something gets done, just get it done YOUR WAY.
Emulate
the behavior of others you admire, make them informal mentors. Dare to try
doing it yourself, only do it your own way.
Sometimes
it's better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.
Own
your brand and be visible to the right people so that the right opportunities
come your way. Then open the door if opportunity knocks!
Proactively
plan your career moves with your boss.
Everyone
has their own unique value proposition. Know yours and show its value every
day.
Don't
be afraid to communicate your value in a self-confident way that's not about
ego.
When
you get the opportunity, say yes, and tell them why you would be a good choice
for that opportunity with specific examples.
Think
of yourself as a solution provider, not just someone with specific niche
experiences. Think about market needs and market trends and how the solutions
you can provide can help companies address these trends.
Learn
to negotiate and advocate for your needs. Learn to communicate both orally and
verbally, as someone who knows what they're doing and can get things done.
Build
a support network to support your short term and long term career goals.
Put
your health first - you can't help others unless you have the rest, exercise,
nutrition, energy you need.
In
conclusion, with the rapid global changes in technology and markets, and its
impact on companies large and small, our panelists recommend that everyone
proactively chooses career agility, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an extensive
network as keys to a successful career.
FountainBlue's February 12 When She Speaks,
Women in Leadership Series, on the topic ofHow to Throw More
Balls Up Higher: Juggling Work-Life Balance in Demanding Times. A recording of
the session is made available through the generous support of Adobe. http://my.adobe.acrobat.com/p53223679/
Facilitator Deborah Campbell, Director,
Member Services, Western Region, Catalyst
Panelist Karen Catlin, Vice President, Core Services, Adobe Systems Inc.
Panelist Pat Cross, Vice President, Career
Management, Right Management
Panelist Lisa Dearborn, Vice President,
Leadership Development, Hitachi Data Systems
Panelist Natascha Thomson, Director of Global Ecosystem and Partner Marketing,
SAP
Below are notes from our conversation.
Silicon Valley women leaders are challenged
by the corporate and business pressures of high-stress, high-impact positions,
while still juggling the personal demands of life and family, and squeezing in
time for yourself. Each ball - from the heavy, urgent demands in a corporate
environment to the home-and-personal demands of children, spouses, friends and
others, to your own always-addressed-last personal needs for balance, health
and growth - is important.
The panelists defined work-life balance in
simple terms: making the time to do the things you want to do; understanding
and acting on your personal priorities, ensuring that your life is more than
your work; and being at your best both at home and work.
Our panelists concurred thatestablishing
priorities
on whats important to do, and implementing plans to ensure that you allocate
time for each of these priorities is of paramount importance. You must first
take the time to reflect continually on whats important to you, and have the
discipline to ensure that the things that matter most to you come first.
They also remarked that everyone musttake
responsibility
for establishing their own work-life balance - putting their own limits on the
amount of work you take on at home and on the job, and being proactive in
managing that balance, rather than feeling resigned and victimized.
Another core theme of the conversation
revolved aroundmanaging expectations - that from others, that from
ourselves, etc. The panelists were clear about having realistic expectations of
yourself, and also establishing realistic expectations from your peers and
colleagues at work. They warned about the perils of living up to others'
expectations of you, and advised you to establish your own expectations for
yourself. They also challenged our assumptions about what is expected at work,
and invited us to set up new expectations which may require less time at work,
while delivering the same or even more quality results. (Indeed, one of our
panelists was able to work part time while raising a family and also rising the
corporate ladder!) They cautioned us about guilt and perfectionistic tendencies
will not serve our work objectives in the long time, and taking the time out to
change gears and focus on others might actually make you more effective at
work.
One strategy for managing expectations is
toset
clear boundaries
and limits for yourself and for others you interact with at home and at work.
For example, to help set expectations on the amount of time dedicated to a job,
the panelists advised us to have clear work hours and only respond during those
work hours. They also said that compromising on those boundaries for a few
minutes might only accomplish a little bit more at work, while deeply cutting
in to the other commitments you made to family, friends, self, etc.
The panelists advised us todelegate
non-essential tasks
to others at work and at home. Creating partnerships and building relationships
at work to address work requirements is one win-for-all solution. An example at
home is to negotiate clearly defined roles for members of your family, so that
everyone contributes to daily chores, while also paying for services such as
housekeeping and gardening, so that you can spend more quality time together. One
caution to this strategy is to ensure that you dont delegate core tasks at
work for example, or tasks that are relationship-building opportunities at work
or home (for example, transporting your kids to and from school or activities
might be a perfect conversation-time that you dont want to delegate).
Although the panelists remarked that women
are particularly good at multi-tasking, they advised us tofocus on single
tasks, and single relationships as often as possible. Being 100% present
with the people most important to you will help you build deep relationships,
manage stress, and set a good example while showing them how much you value
them.
The panelists recommended adoptingstress-relief
practices
to help manage the heavy demands for professional women and men. Strategies
ranged from adopting a hobby to regular meditation. Also, taking the time to
appreciate all that you have - your work, your health, your friends, your
accomplishments, your future, etc. will help you re-charge and maintain a happy
balance.
In considering all the strategies and
advice above, the overarching theme is that you are in charge of your own
balance and happiness based on your personal values, and adopting a positive,
dynamic, can-do outlook and strategy can help you make it so. The bottom line
is that work-life balance IS do-able, but not all at once for all priorities,
and not all the time.
FountainBlue's January 18 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series was on the topic of Expanding
Your Circle of Influence: With or Without Authority and featured:
Facilitator Jo Miller, CEO,
Women's Leadership Coaching Inc.
Panelist Kristine
Gallegos-Haehl, Trade Professional Manager, PG&E
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO,
FountainBlue
Panelist Gwen McDonald, SVP,
Human Resources, NetApp
Panelist Titina Ott, Vice
President, Organizational Effectiveness, Oracle
Below are notes from our conversation.
About Influence and Your Influencing Style
Influencing is to women like
catnip is to cats - we cant resist it, as evidenced by the number of people in
attendance, and the energy of all our participants and the event overall. It's
important to be able to influence others around us to build momentum, to drive
a cause forward, to rise within an organization, for personal satisfaction. A
couple of definitions of influencing are defined below:
Jo: An influencer is someone who makes a
greater difference than one person alone can make. Your circle of influence are
those with whom you collaborate, to make stuff happen.
Titina: An influencer is someone who understands
the dynamics of persuasion and how to use it to positively impact, situations,
individuals and organizations.Your
capability to influence is made up of your personal brand, knowledge and trust
that others have with you.
Linda: An influencer is a leader who draws upon
knowledge, passion, strategy and sheer will power to move things in a desired
direction for a shared cause. An effective influencer leverages 'circles of
influence' between different groups, consciously and effectively expanding how
each group member will participate in expanding that circle of influence for
all.
Effective Influencing Techniques with or without
authority:
Always lead with your values and your integrity,
but focus on generating measurable results.
You
must always feel good about yourself and what you are doing. Doing the right
thing is more important than moving the ball forward.
Be
willing to make the tough choices and do what needs to be done, but do it with
compassion and sensitivity, and where possible, maintain relationships despite
the tough choices you need to make.
Know yourself.
Know
your talents and align complementing talents around you and work together to
generate measurable results.
Be
passionate and speak your truth. But first invest the time to reflect and discover
your truth.
Have
tough compassion with high integrity.
Do your homework.
Know
your audience.
Be
strategic about who you work with and how to connect with them.
Knowledge
is important. Take the time to explore an issue and the people around the issue
and build a strategy on how to influence each stakeholder before reaching out
to them.
Understand
what your level of acceptable risk is for any situation.
Understand
the other partys' acceptable risk and what theyre willing to leave on the
table.
Invest in your network.
Work
with partners and build collaborations and relationships.
Help
everyone around you to step up.
Learning to effectively influence others is a
journey, not a destination.
Its
a journey of personal growth and discovery. Let each milestone, each setback
set you further down that path.
Understand
your past successes and failures and your current challenges. Graph how what
you did say and do and what you should have said and done, and take that
learning as you go forward.
Keep
practicing your influencing techniques. Sometimes failures are more effective
than successes in building your skill-set, depending on your mind-set!
From
failures, learn what information you didnt have, how you could have done
things differently.
Decompress
and reflect following failures to better ensure that you learn from them.
Communicate with passion and clarity.
Build
and ensure alignment between all stakeholders with clear communication on
objectives, passions, goals, results, etc.
Be
animated and passionate to better motivate others to adopt the cause.
Speak
your truth, but be aware of HOW you speak that truth to best ensure that others
respond well. Be aware also of what the other party is ready to hear and what
they would respond to best.
Be confident and persistent. Theres no
substitution for that.
Have
the confidence to initiate rather than waiting for something to happen.
However, be prepared before you initiate.
Have
the determination to make great things happen.
Dont
assume that someone needs to give you permission or authority to step up. Take
the initiative.
Dont
assume that someone else has a better idea or suggestion. Jump in and add your
two cents, even if you dont think you have the experience or perspective to
add your input.
Sometimes,
you should act and beg forgiveness later. But make sure you do your homework
before you act.
Panelist Laura Debacker, Sr.
Director of Leadership Development and Employee Engagement, Sun Microsystems
Panelist Lori Smith, Director
of HR, Cisco
Below are notes from our conversation.
In business, you have to keep moving quickly, in response
to market and customer demands. Standing still can mean a death sentence, even
if the short-term numbers look good! So corporate strategies are proactively
changed, and new corporate executive teams assume the reigns in the quest of
proactive change.
Our panel this month had participated in many of these
'changing of the guards' as an executive from the incumbent and from the
newly-hired perspective and shared their insights on how new corporate
management teams really hit the ground running by leading a smooth changing of
executive suite members, by minimizing cultural impact, while ushering in
necessary near processes, people and procedures, thereby maximizing efficient
bottom-line progress through a transition. The panelists shared the following
advice about coping with inevitable change:
·Embrace the diversity in your team, and
celebrate that everyone would respond to change differently.
oHelp
each team member cope with change, while also accepting that certain members
may not be right for the team, as things change.
oDont
take change personally, and help others not to.
oHaving
a sense of humor will help you keep your perspective during changes, and also
help address stress inherent in managing change.
oHave
realistic expectations of yourself and others. Dont try to do it all, embrace
it all yourself, and dont expect others to. But do be open to support and help
from others.
oLearn
from everyone around you, so you can identify what next to be, what next to do,
especially in an environment thats constantly changing.
·Be strategic and make change an opportunity.
oFind
the opportunity with every change, and help others around you to adjust to any
change, and find their opportunities too.
oStrategic
alignment of goals between people, groups, partners, etc. is an important
element of for implementing successful change.
·Maintain your leadership, reputation, core
values and competencies especially during change.
oBe
composed and confident during change, despite your internal feelings, to help
foster confidence around the change. With that said, also be candid and
transparent personally one-on-one about how changes are affecting you and what
you are doing to cope.
oAs
you work through change, keep your integrity and your reputation intact. Have a
strong moral compass while undergoing change, and ensure that you follow-up and
follow-through with your role in creating that change.
oAs
a leader, connect with people at all levels, and inspire them to embrace the
change by understanding why the change is needed, how it is aligned with them
personally, and how it can be best implemented. Mentor others along the way,
and be open to being mentored by others as well.
oBeing
self-aware about your own strengths and weaknesses will help you better and
more quickly adjust to the changes inevitable in any leadership role within a
company.
oBe
politically savvy, working with others to create, understand, communicate and
implement change.
oAdopt
learning agility habits and encourage the adoption for others, which would make
it easier for everyone to adapt to change more quickly.
·Visionary leadership is critical, but not enough
to ensure successful change. Leaders at all levels must be engaged in the
changed management process, and trained and empowered to implement the change.
oClear
and constant communication of change why its needed, how it will be
implemented, how it will impact others, etc., - are a critical component of any
successful change.
oWhen
undergoing change, focus on whats under your control.
oTry
sticking through change, even when it feels uncomfortable. Often, there are
long term benefits to the changes, and widespread change in corporate structure
and direction are at times necessary for growth, particular in competitive
markets.
oAs
a rule of thumb, people learn 70% through experiences 20% through peers and
networking, and 10% through more formal trainings. Keep that in mind while
youre experiencing that change and benefit from the learnings inherent in
that change.
oHelp
others develop accountability strategies to help implement change.
We invite
interactive conversations around these notes and other topics of interest to
members of the community and also welcome you to forward our notes to
interested groups, provided that you copy us on your distribution, and that you
provide acknowledgment to FountainBlue and our sponsors and speakers, as our
notes are copyrighted by FountainBlue for 2006-2010.
FountainBlues November 13 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series event, on the topic of Corporate Women on Nonprofit Boards.
Please join me in thanking our hosts at Symantec for their support of this
event and for the series! Please also join me also in thanking our lively and
engaging panel for so generously sharing their perspectives and advice:
Facilitator Wendy Beecham, CEO, FWE&E
Panelist Pamela E. Evans, Director, Executive
Programs, NetApp
Panelist Cecily Joseph, Director, Corporate
Responsibility, Legal and Public Affairs, Symantec
Panelist Marilyn Nagel, Chief Diversity Officer,
Cisco
Panelist Keren Pavese, Program Manager, Western
Division Office of Sustainability, Community Outreach & Diversity Councils,
EMC Corporation
Below are notes
from our conversation.
Our panel emphasized that serving on nonprofit boards
actually benefits them personally and professionally, provided that the board
and 1) the cause is something they feel passionate about, 2) the people are
people you enjoy serving with, 3) the projects are engaging, fulfilling, and
require your support, and 4) the workload and expectations are manageable.
Indeed, each panelist emphasized how serving on nonprofit boards helped them
with enhance their professional knowledge and understand and even impact
industry trends, with their community outreach goals, working in alignment with
corporate objectives, and with their personal development, providing enriching
experiences which stretches expertise and perspective.
If youre considering joining a board, he key to a
successful nonprofit board experience is to be strategic about which board is
right for you. Start by understanding what youre passionate about and where
you might contribute. Think also about what you get back by serving, whether
its connections or expertise or knowledge for example. Then, before making a
board commitment, you may want to consider doing some volunteer work and
getting to know the people involved. Remember that you are not just evaluating
the leader or any individual, but the whole organization as a system, so things
like how the staff and executive director and board members get along is a very
important thing to consider.
Be also knowledgeable about responsibilities and
expectations and terms, particularly when it comes to legal (do they have
insurance for board members for example) and fiduciary and
fundraising/development requirements (are their finances secure and
transparent, are you required to contribute and fundraise and if so, how much)
and terms of service (how long, how often). Treat the nonprofit board position
evaluation like a job interview, and have both parties evaluate the fit before
making a commitment.
If you are considering transferring from the corporate
world to the nonprofit world, follow some of the strategies above, including
identifying your skills and passion and getting to know the organization and
its alignment with your objectives and your alignment to theirs. Although
salaries are smaller, titles can be bigger, and the work may be more fulfilling
in many ways.
Sometimes, board participation is in alignment with
day-to-day work duties, and is part of your responsibilities in your role. Even
when its not, board participation might be positive included in performance
review meetings, particularly when direct results such as skills enhancement,
partnership development, and other tangible results are outcomes from that
participation.
If you DO decide to join a board, make sure that you do
the give/get, know what youre giving and what youre getting, and know also
when to get out, change your commitment if necessary to ensure that all
parties continue to meet objectives. If you are unsatisfied with your
participation on a board, consider also asking to change or enhance your role and
contribution, or toning down time and task requirements before deciding to get
out entirely. If you DO decide to leave, work with your nonprofit to recruit a
replacement.
The panel concluded by reiterating how personally and
professionally fulfilling it is to serve on nonprofit boards, and encourage
others to evaluate for themselves whether this is also a good option for them.
If
youre seeking a board position, visit Boardnet USA http://www.boardnetusa.org/public/home.asp and search for a
nonprofit match for someone with your skill set, education and interest.
The
Young, Nonprofit Professionals Network has a list of nonprofit resources which
may be useful for those looking at going into the nonprofit sector. http://208.106.176.241/resources/ResourceLinks.asp
CompassPoint
in Milpitas which provides a range of services for nonprofit organizations http://www.compasspoint.org
FountainBlues October 9 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of Women Leading Innovation and featured:
Facilitators Krista Henley and Rossella Derickson, Corporate Wisdom and SBODN Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP Labs Panelist Daniela Busse, Director of User Experience, SAP Labs LLC Panelist Christine Duran, Translation Technology Manager, Globalization, Core Services Group, Adobe Panelist Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program Management Group, Microsoft Panelist Jessica Roland, Director, International Product Operations, Content Management & Archiving, EMC Corporation
Below are notes from our conversation. 'Innovation' is today's buzzword - considered integral to an organization's culture, its competitive advantage. Our panel of women leaders represented how innovation is successfully approached from different perspectives in different cultures. They passionately shared the need for corporations to remain innovative, supporting incremental advancements and ground-breaking innovations as well. Whether innovations involve new processes and tools and new business models, or whether they involve novel ways to doing things and looking at things, our panelists shared their stories of how to successfully forge innovation, even in the most resistant culture and teams, and even under the most challenging of circumstances.
Below are pearls of wisdom, generously shared by the panel: As a woman leading innovation, think of yourself as someone who sets the climate, culture and direction for the organization, making it easy for your team to develop, test and deliver innovations which serve the needs of real customers. o Leverage your communication skills to motivate, engage, and otherwise drive projects forward. Encourage others to do the same. o Leverage the differences between people to spark innovation and camaraderie. How will differing viewpoints add to the equation, making the end result more likely to serve the intended audience, or improving the development and delivery system altogether, for example? o Find a way to fit in and be accepted, be credible to your team and partners. You have to be accepted as one of them before you will be accepted as a team leader, particularly as a woman in a technical position. o Dont take things personally. Find a way to always focus on the customer and the company, while taking the high road, and using your communication skills and sense of humor. The pressure to do more with less during tough times can lead to innovation in business processes. It can also incentivize teams and companies to partner with others more efficiently. So if you think of these challenges as opportunities, what more can you and your team do? Building relationships and a support base are integral to the success of any leader. Innovation leaders should socialize their programs and plans with key decision-makers to best strategize how to forge innovation in specific key areas for the organization. o Engagement of all stakeholders is a critical component of any innovation, throughout the creation and execution process. To get buy-in from your stakeholders, understand what would motivate them to get involved and speak to their interests when proposing your project. Be strategic on your innovation focus. Know what you want to innovate, why you need to innovate it, how it will be innovation, for whom it will serve, etc. Get executive sponsorship and engagement to ensure alignment of your innovation objections with those of the organization. Be strategic also about how your innovation program is executed. o Time your message to key stakeholders to optimize receptivity to your program. o Push innovation to suppliers and strategic partners where appropriate. o Be customer-focused in your innovations. o Networking outside the company with a specific purpose can lead to real short-term and long-term innovations and forge strategic partnerships benefiting both parties. Be persistent and resourceful and creative in driving the innovation process forward. Its never an easy task. People, groups, ideas, and other factors may provide roadblocks to your best-laid plans. However, understanding and expecting these types of roadblocks will help you navigate treacherous waters and build momentum for your innovation project. Know thyself: Know what youre good at and leverage that. Be confident in what you bring to the table, while also valuing the gifts of others. Be recognized: Dont just take a back seat and let others take the credit. Dont be afraid to promote your work. Be courageous and take the risks and the responsibilities as well as the rewards of leading your innovation project.
Innovation Resources were also recommended: MindMap This highly effective diagramming method illustrates thoughts, concepts, relationships, associations, and consequences all connected to a central hub representing the main idea. http://www.mindmap.com. Bright Idea, The Global Leader In On-Demand Innovation Management http://www.brightidea.com/new.bix Emulate Microsofts ThinkWeek concept, and dedicate a week which encourages innovation submissions for review by executive management and peers.
In conclusion, the panelists agreed that ongoing, customer-centric, collaborative innovation, well executed, is necessary for corporate vitality and growth. It serves the needs of the customer, while also providing a challenge for the teams produces products and services for that customer, and serving the bottom line needs for any corporation. Indeed, innovation, well executed benefits all.
FountainBlues September 11 When She Speaks, Women in
Leadership Series was on the topic of Successful
Cross-Cultural Communications and featured:
·Facilitator Francine Gordon, FGordon Group,
SDForum Womens Group
·Panelist
Roya Afshar, Software Development Director, Oracle
·Panelist
Khrystyne Heard, Manager, Human Resources, LifeScan
·Panelist Debi Hirshlag, VP, Worldwide Human Resources,
Flextronics
·Panelist Peggy Wolf, Manager, Cisco Services
Global I&D
Below are notes from our conversation.
About Cross-Cultural
Communications
When one
thinks about cross-cultural theres an assumption that its about people from
different backgrounds, but its much broader than that. It encompasses
differences in geography, languages, generations, companies, functional areas,
regions and industries. It doesnt happen just when you travel, or just when
you talk to someone over the phone. It happens with the staff, partners, and
other associates you work with.
The panelists shared some
sage advice critical for successfully communicating across- culture/
generation/ company/ area/ geography/ industry/etc.
Accept and understand
that everyones different, yet we are more alike that we are different. Close the cultural
communication gaps where appropriate, yet embrace the opportunities in the
differences because diversity in perspectives, talents, opinions, etc. lead to
new ways of thinking and doing things which may generate innovation and
financial returns for your company.
Build relationship of
trusts across
people with different backgrounds, and help others in your group do the same.
Strive to understand why there are differences, and collaborate with others
to find a way to meet common goals.
Dont be afraid to ask questions of trusted others, but first build
relationships of trust before asking.
Leverage technology and particularly social networking tools to build
relationships between people and groups who are culturally diverse.
Be the kind of authentic
leader that supports cultural diversity, and leverage that diversity for
business results.
Set the tone for others on respecting other peoples culture, recognizing
similarities, embracing differences.
Dont just listen but also HEAR what is said and intended.
Adjust the way you interact with others based on what you learn about each
culture in general and each individual within that culture.
Cultural differences impact peoples perceptions about someones directness
and aggressiveness and intentions. Someone who speaks clearly and assertively
in one persons perception might be perceived as self-serving or combative from
another persons perspective. Asking questions (particularly open-ended),
understanding objectives and intentions of interacting parties may help address
misunderstandings based on these cultural differences.
If youre open and sincere and communicate respectfully people from a
different culture will respect and appreciate your efforts and intentions and
give you the benefit of the doubt. It may help overcome language barriers and
inadvertent social faux pas.
Develop your emotional intelligence and that of your team.
Use brain maps to help make quick assessments and judgments about people
who are different than you, but dont be afraid to re-draw the map based on new
information/current interactions.
When resolving conflicts between
people with different cultures, focus on how you can make YOUR priorities and
perspective more important to that other person.
Be an expert communicator, recognizing that communication takes many forms from
verbal to written to body language.
Be sensitive to how you are communicating, how others are communicating,
and how you and others are responding to that communication and why.
Invite those who are not forthcoming to communicate and share in
alternative ways like one-on-one for example.
Manage your emotions when communicating with others. Make it a
left-brained/analytical task to understand what happened to stir your emotions.
Create a plan and manage relationships and interactions based on your
understanding of what happened, and have fact-based communications with the
other party.
To best respect and connect with others from another culture, leverage available resources and continue
to learn about cultural differences, but just use it as a guideline. It is
far better to first study, understand and respect other cultures and adjust
your understanding, assumptions and actions while actually interacting with
others from that culture.
Your knowledge of how
cultures are changing will help you better manage and lead.
In general, younger generation, far more open and inquisitive about the
world. Developing countries with access to technology are fascinated about the
world culturally and economically. Technology is leveling the playing field for
the younger generations, which will impact the workplace overall, more and more
and sooner than we think!
Above all, dont go into
the unconscious incompetence the mode of making assumptions, following
stereotypes.
FountainBlues August 14 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of Politics at Work: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and featured:
Facilitator Bobbie LaPorte, RAL & Associates
Panelist Mercedes De Luca, Global Customer Experience and Chief Information Officer at myShape.com, previously VP of Global IT at Yahoo!
Panelist Lise E Edwards, Oracle Women's Leadership (OWL), Program Manager, Oracle Human Resources
Panelist Susan Lai, Senior Director, Finance, Symantec Corporation
Panelists Eileen Sullivan, Group Director, Cadence
Below are notes from the conversation.
About Politics Lets face it office politics is a reality for everyone, regardless of the size of your organization or your position. But its good news that its a hot topic, and that people are more comfortable talking about it now than before, and supporting each other in addressing political challenges and understanding political nuances.
When asked to define politics, there was discussion about agendas and objectives and leveraging your personal influence and power, and that of others to build that agenda. The panelists concurred that at times there are unnecessary negative connotations around politics, so they advised that we know and accept that politics shapes their career and day-to-day work life.
However, there was also consensus that the WAY this is done will influence how others perceive you. Theres a difference between communicating transparently and building and leveraging relationships and achieving objectives no matter the cost to others.
Advice for Navigating the Political Waters in YOUR Organization The panelists shared lessons learned about miscommunications and misunderstandings about intent, about motives, about objectives and emphasized the need to build relationships, ask questions, seek alignment, understand objectives, and work together in alignment to achieve shared corporate goals.
Repeatedly, the panelists emphasized the importance of building relationships with people at all levels, and the need to partner with people at many levels to make things happen. And a critical factor for developing relationships is clear and open communication, with an emphasis asking a lot of questions and reaching an understanding on motivations rather than working on assumptions and judgments.
There was an equal emphasize on understanding yourself, and your own passions and objectives, and maintaining relationships while staying true to yourself. Indeed, if you remain true to yourself, you will build your own brand and people will know what to expect when they work with you.
The panelists emphasized that its important to orient discussions around whats right for the company and focus on facts and work, not taking actions and words personally.
Specific pearls of wisdom are listed below:
· Take the opportunity to interview with as many people as possible, to get to know the company and its people prior to starting there. Even after you land, dedicate some time to meeting with key influencers and develop those relationships.
· Dont lose yourself, your own sense of style. Know when and where to compromise that style.
· In every situation, you have a choice. Be the person you want to be, or you may regret what you did.
· Even if you DO regret what you did, be truthful, forthright, humble in your communications with the people you hurt along the way.
· Decide whether which is the right battle for you at the right time.
· Dont take sides.
· Dont let it get personal.
· Seek to understand before being understood.
· Be clear to the people youre working with.
· Ask for help.
· It can be tiring and lonely to constantly play political games.
· Network.
· Make your mistakes also your learnings.
· Men look at politics differently. They see it as a game, a competition, and they dont take it personally.
· Not everyone has the best interest of all in mind. Handle closely those who dont.
· Have the meeting before the meeting so that you can plan and align and avoid surprises.
· Spread your circle of influence.
· Lead with your passion.
· Be politically astute: pick up on things that are said and unsaid about a person, a group, an organization. Plan accordingly.
· Understand why someone you dont respect might be valued by others, particularly if they are respected by others high up in the management chain.
· Rise above the bullying.
· Be self-aware while being other-centric.
· Be skilled at influencing up.
· Ask for what you want.
· Mentor others. Be a mentee.
FountainBlues July 10
When She Speaks, Women in Leadership event was on the topic of Womens Leadership Styles: Whats Right for
You? and featured:
Panelist Nancy
Long, Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources, Hitachi Data Systems
Panelist Marleen
McDaniel, Serial Entrepreneur and Business Adviser
Below are notes from the
conversation.
The panelists concurred
that men and women are definitely different in their outlook, and the way they
lead and manage and communicate. Accepting that there ARE these differences,
and working with these differences will help women to better lead and succeed,
particularly in workplaces dominated by men. Understanding the cultural
tolerance for factors such as use of profanity (whether it is religious, sexual
or excremental) and being constantly aware of both the audience (gender, age,
geography, etc.) and the objectives will help leaders of either gender better
communicate clearly and lead effectively, driving results. In addition,
embracing more typically female communication and collaboration skills will
benefit leaders of either gender.
Our panelists advised
women to focus on the business objectives, backed up by information and facts,
while also considering each audience and their individual perspectives. They
also encouraged women to do more of the things that men do to make them
successful: from leveraging contacts more proactively to asking for what they
want, to promoting themselves more objectively and strategically and ensuring
that there is a support base of advocates with influence who can help them
succeed.
With that said, the
panelists encouraged us to identify and leverage our own strengths.
Interestingly, they agreed that making mistakes and trying things that dont
feel right are both very important lessons needed to help people reach their
gender-independent true north position leadership styles that are in
alignment with values, beliefs and abilities. With this type of confidence and
leadership, one can serve as a role model for teams and organizations, while
also helping determine whether the current environment is in alignment with
ones personal style.
In conclusion, the
panelists are advocating for a balance of being tough, especially when necessary,
but also being supportive, collaborative and compassionate, while focusing on
business objectives. Taking responsibility for actions, parking your ego while
focusing on facts, and transparently and clearly communicating progress are all
factors that build trust within teams and organizations, and help drive results
for the organization. Getting feedback and support from mentors, team and
others will help leaders focus on self-improvement qualities which would
benefit all. Lastly, as you climb up that corporate ladder, take the time to
connect with and support others along the way.
Resources:
She Wins, You
Win: The Most Important Rule Every Businesswoman Needs to Know by Gail
Evans.Gail Evans is a journalist and
was the first female executive vice-president of CNN. She became a best-selling
author with her first book, "Play Like a Man Win Like a Woman: What Men
Know About Success That Women Need to Learn" http://www.amazon.com/She-Wins-You-Win-Businesswoman/dp/1592400256
Nice Girls Don't
Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their
Career by Dr. Lois P. Frankel. She is the president of Corporate Coaching
International as well as the author of numerous articles and several books.
With over twenty years of experience in human resources development, she is a
frequently invited guest on talk radio, television, conferences, corporate
workshops, and retreats. http://www.amazon.com/Nice-Girls-Dont-Corner-Office/dp/0446531324
FountainBlue's June 12 When She Speaks event was on the topic of Working with Millennials and featured:
Facilitator Lisa Orrell, The Generation Relations
Expert, The Orrell
Group, author of Millennials Incorporated
Panelist Urvi Bhandari, Sales Manager, AT&T
Panelist Megan Campi, Customer Service Relationship
Manager, Cisco
Panelist Kristen Dearing, Leader of Strategic Sales,
Global Communications and Media, Sun Microsystems
Panelist Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program
Management Group, Microsoft
Panelist Shalini Govil-Pai, Lead PM, Google
Panelist Lori Smith, Director of HR, Cisco
Working with Millennials
The
Millennial Generation, otherwise known as Generation Y, is no longer made-up of
just kids and teens. Born in the early 80s and 90s, the eldest are now
graduating college and entering and impacting the professional workforce. As
the earliest Baby Boomers are starting to reach retirement age, and with the
increasing pressures for organizations large and small to recruit and retain in
key talent from the millennial generation, it is becoming increasingly more
important to understand and work with this generation of workers.
Millennials
are in general energetic with a plethora of ideas and a direct, assertive style
in communicating them, without necessarily following established business
etiquette or without respecting chain-of-command expectations (speaking to top
management over direct bosses for example). They are globally-minded and
techno-philic, leveraging social media tools such as YouTube, FaceBook, texting
and Twitter. They are used to multi-tasking (texting during meetings,
committing to many work and life projects and juggling multiple priorities), to
confidently speaking whats on their mind (directly communicating their goals and
objectives), and to being global in their interests and connections.
With
all these strengths, a noted weakness is that many Millennials are more
interested in generating ideas than in seeing them through to results and
conclusions, often distracted by the next idea. There was also a conversation
about the perceived sense of entitlement that many Millennials have, and how to
better understand and work with Millennials who are perceived as having a sense
of entitlement. There was general agreement that it is more a perception based
on the confident, direct, salary- and role- centered communications and desire
to move quickly and make a positive difference than an ACTUAL desire for
privileges and rights and title, etc, without merit. Therefore, the suggestion
from the panel is for Millennials to understand how they are coming across and
folks of younger and older generations to understand the Millennials
perspective and therefore be less likely to take offense to it.
The
panel shared some sage and practical advice on how to recruit, retain and
communicate with Millennials. The overall emphasis was on training managers to
be more resourceful, more communicative, and more flexible in understanding
what motivates Millennials, and in keeping them engaged in projects which
interest them, and specific suggestions are listed below.
Leverage the strengths and global interests of
Millennials to direct them into leadership opportunities outside work, while
also keeping them engaged at work.
Challenge managers to make their projects appear more
compelling and exciting to Millennials.
Encourage managers to open communication channels
between Millennials and senior management as an opportunity to share ideas,
motivate Millennials and even provide reverse-mentoring opportunities.
Initiate friendly competitions leveraging social media
will help Millennials participate in strategic conversations ensuring that
technologies and ideas address the needs of younger target audiences, for
example.
Help Millennials to develop patience while building
successes and skills and personal brand as they strive to achieve their
short-term and long-term career objectives.
Provide continual feedback and communications to
Millennials as they were raised in an age of instant communication and crave
this level of feedback.
Leverage global communication technology to better
attract and retain Millennials.
Take every opportunity to mentor and support
high-potential Millennials, for they are our future leaders.
Welcome and encourage play in the workplace, from
scooters to XBoxes for example, as part of the corporate culture.
Engage Millennials in strategies to better communicate
with other Millennials and every else, through social networking channels.
Leaders
and organizations will find that following the practices noted above is not
only going to better attract and retain Millennials, but it will positively
impact workers and overall culture. Indeed, Millennials speak for other workers
when they express displeasure or ideas for change, but they are more vocal and
direct about expressing their ideas, and less tolerant if change doesnt
happen. Listening to the needs of Millennials and making the changes will
positively impact working conditions for all.
FountainBlues
May 8 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of The Mentors in Our Lives and featured:
Facilitator Kim Wise, CEO, Mentor Resources
Panelist Martha Galley, Senior
Director, Windows Live Business Development, Microsoft
Panelist Ruth Gaube, VP and Deputy Executive Council, Symantec
Panelist Amy Gonzales, Regional West
Coast Director, Women Unlimited
Panelist Shivani Govil, Corporate
Strategy Group, Office of the CEO, SAP
Panelist Darcy Kiefaber, HR,
LifeScan
Below
are notes from the conversation:
Our esteemed panel shared their perspectives on
the importance of mentoring for their personal development, for the resiliency
of their organizations, and for the general support of the network and
ecosystem. Their view is that being a mentor supports your organization,
whether your mentee is within the organization or outside it; and that being a
mentee is an investment in your own success and leadership. Serving in both
roles provides benefits to all parties. Mentorship benefits include skill
development, confidence building, soft skills, political astuteness, etc., and can
support successful career management, competency development, personal and
professional development, etc., Below are some pearls of wisdom shared from the
experience of being a mentor and being a mentee:
Believe in yourself, have self confidence.
Choose what you do: just because you CAN
doesnt mean you SHOULD.
Manage a Work/Life Balance.
Trust your instincts.
Lighten up, keep things in perspective.
Be comfortable taking measured risks.
Listen to the advice that you give to
others.
Appreciate your personal skills.
Broaden your perspective by engaging with
people at all levels and backgrounds.
In general you should be strategic about the best
mentoring strategy for you considering factors such as why youd like to be
mentored, what your strengths are, what objectives you have, who you should
approach, etc., With that as a given, there are a wide range of successful
mentoring relationships mentorship across roles, across organizations, across
geographies, etc., So be strategic about how youd like to grow through
mentorship (as a mentor or a mentee) and flexible about how you get those
benefits.
As you seek the right mentor for you, be specific
about your goals and your skills, and consider tactical factors such as
location and time commitment etc., before reaching out to your targeted list of
potential mentors, generally who are two levels above where you are within an
organization. Then have the confidence to approach the targeted mentor and
impress with your clarity on goals, objectives, roles, etc., and they will be
more likely to make that mentoring commitment.
Remember that mentoring relationships are dynamic
and interactive, and be flexible enough to change your mentors and your goals
and relationship as you progress. Mentors may become mentees for example,
another mentor might be needed in another area, work/life balance challenges
might become more or less important, etc.,
Many of the best corporations are invested in the
success of their workforce and support structured and grassroots affinity and
mentoring circle programs designed to support the staff. Investigate what your
organization is doing in support of its people, and how you can contribute to
it and benefit from it.
Whether youre within a corporation, in a start-up,
in transition, or on your own, develop a mentoring plan that works for you,
benefiting yourself, your organization, your community.
FountainBlues
April 10 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity and featured:
Facilitator Camille Smith,
Founder/President, Work In Progress Coaching
Panelist Erna Arnesen, VP of
Global Services, Channels and Alliances, Cisco
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal
Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist Nancy Long, Sr Vice
President of Human Resources, Hitachi
Data Systems
Panelist Alexandra Woody, Sr. Dir.
Program Management & FPLC, Flextronics
Below
are notes from the conversation.
About Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity
Power, influence and integrity are
three inter-connected circles.
Whereas there are many ways to describe
power, the concept of integrity is more nebulous. It refers to a concept of
wholeness, of alignment with your personal values, as well as that of your
organization and your team.
Defining leadership moments are
not easy. There will be conflict, resistance, difficult circumstances. You may
test a relationship, or even jeopardize your job. If you are up to the task and
doing the right thing based on your personal assessment, your personal moral
standards, it will prepare you for more of these opportunities to learn and
grow and lead.
Leading with power, influence and
integrity takes the strength and intelligence to make plans and the courage to
execute on them, especially under difficult circumstances, especially when many
variables impact the right course of action.
Leadership goes well beyond
positional power, where someone has the authority to manage other people or
projects and might rightfully use coercion as a strategy. People can also gain
power by becoming an expert/authority on a specific topic, by
encouraging/reinforcing others around them.
Even if you have positional power,
use that power judiciously. Empowerment and engagement are much more
effectively at getting things done and building positive relationships.
Power over is about coercion,
being domineering. Power to is more about affecting change. Power with is
centered on collaboration. Power Within is centered on yourself.
Advice for Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity
Dont shrink from any
conversations with yourself, with others. Have the confidence and ability to
speak up and keep speaking up until you have nothing further to say.
Insist on a seat at the table.
Proactively manage your
relationships with others, AND your relationship with yourself.
Focus on people as they are the
most important assets.
Surround yourself with people who
can support you and believe in you.
Leadership is not painted in black
and white. Be aware of the nuances of behaviors and interactions and manage
accordingly.
Be passionate and hold to your
true north values, your personal moral standards.
It may be perceived that adhering
to your moral standards would make you less powerful, but actually the opposite
is true. When you act with integrity people take notice and give you more
power, more influence.
Figuring out whats right and
wrong might not be as difficult as deciding between one of two good things.
Focus both on your core values but
also on the core values of your organization. Ensure alignment when youre
considering joining a company, and as you work with the company.
Consider strategically who will be
impacted by actions and decisions made and plan accordingly.
Be aware that a lot of people are
watching what you say and dont say, what you do and dont do. Your next
opportunities, indeed your reputation, will be impacted by the actions and
decisions you make day to day, every day.
Bring a skill of value to the
table.
Accept but manage your emotions.
Most people are less effective at getting things done if too much emotion is
distracting them from doing the tasks at hand, or the strategic thinking needed
to achieve objectives.
Say what you will do, and do what
you say you will do.
Leadership is about doing the
right thing, even though no ones going to know. Oprah Winfrey
Have the discipline and control to
influence your power over others lives. Clint Eastwood
FountainBlues
March 13 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of Agility - The Key to Building a Successful Career and
featured:
Facilitator Sandra Wales,
President, Wales Investments, Inc.
Panelist Pat Cross, Vice
President, Career Management, Right Management
Panelist Lisa Dearborn, Vice
President, Leadership Development, Hitachi
Data Systems
Panelist Lisa Jing, Program
Manager, Integrative Health, Cisco
Panelist Patricia Wimberly, Sr.
Manager, Solutions Practice, Global Services - Western Division, EMC
Corporation
In
this century, it is much more difficult to plan your career path, as there is
more fluidity within and across corporations, across global markets, plus
better acceptance of people moving from one role or industry to another. This
month's panel will focus on agility as the key to building a successful career,
featuring women who have changed roles and industries, positions and companies.
They will share their stories of successes and challenges, and also share how
they are supporting others to do the same.
Below
are notes from the conversation:
Thoughts on Why Agility Is So Important
Being agile helps you leverage your skills
in different industries, and will help you better leverage your abilities and
strengths and better grow and expand yourself into new areas, skills and
networks.
Being agile displays your leadership
ability and flexibility, your ability to lead and succeed using skills which
are transferable from a variety of situations.
Being agile helps you position yourself
for new opportunities in new companies, roles, countries, industries.
Being agile may provide huge financial
benefits.
In the best case scenario, career agility can help you progressively
become all that you can be personally and professionally.
Thoughts on How YOU can adopt a more agile
philosophy for your career
Think about the skills and strengths that
you have and how they can be transferred to another role, company, industry.
Get clarity about what makes you special,
what youre passionate about, and plan on embracing opportunities which would
help you shine.
Be open to new possibilities, even if they
werent planned. Sometimes a negative situation is a positive one in disguise!
As one panelist remarked, Welcome the opportunity to get thrown into the deep
end!
Take the opportunity to get the education
you need to succeed, whether its an MBA, a conference or lecture,
informational interviewing, in-depth reading, etc.,
Partner with current management on your
short term and long term goals. Ask what it would take specifically to get to
the next level of your career, and be proactive in your management of your
career.
As you proactively plan your career,
ensure that you keep focusing on your strengths, and moving in the direction of
your passions and intentions.
There is generally no need to remediate a
missing skill, unless it would interfere with your ability to achieve your
goals.
Embrace new opportunities with energy and
enthusiasm, and sell to your strengths.
Dont be intimidated about your lack of
deep technical or industry knowledge, and do sell how quickly you learn, how
your current skills are an asset, and how energetic and passionate you are
about what youre doing!
Network with people of similar interests.
With that said, also network with people
with different interests!
Surround yourself with people who believe
in you and will proactively support you. Be willing to reciprocate.
FountainBlues
February 13 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic
of Juggling Work-Life Balance in Demanding Times and
featured:
Facilitator Francine Gordon,
FGordon Group and SDForum Women's Group
Panelist Jennifer Hall, VP of HR,
Intuit
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO,
FountainBlue
Panelist Kristi McGee, Senior
Director, Open Work Services Group, Sun Microsystems
Panelist Phyllis Stewart Pires,
Director of Community Experience, SAP Labs
With
the many demands Silicon Valley women leaders
are challenged by the corporate and business pressures of high-stress,
high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal demands of life and
family. In todays streamlined, fast-moving workplace, its more important than
ever to make the most of every day and every moment. Below is advice for
juggling work-life balance from or panelists.
Advice for Juggling Work-Life Balance
Successful,
balanced, corporate women are not just leading in the board and meeting rooms,
they are also making the time to engage fully with their families, contributing
meaningfully to their communities, and investigating in their personal
development, health and welfare. They integrate work-life issues and challenges
and consider both when making decisions on short term and long term goals. They
look at contributing their skills to maximize value for the organizations,
communities, people they touch. And they encourage and empower others to do the
same, generously sharing their time and advice.
Being Self-Aware
Being
self-aware, considering what your thoughts and feelings are, will help you
proactively manage your work-life balance.
Knowing
your own values, desires and skills is a first step to developing that
work-life balance. You must know who you are (your values, whats important to
you), what you want (whats a must-have, a nice-to-have and by when), why you
want it (why are these things important), how to get there (whats the plan to
get there and who can help?) etc., in order to achieve that balance of
sometimes competing desires in your life.
Setting and Communicating Expectations
Once
you know what you want and have a plan for getting there, transparently
communicate that plan to others and set their expectations on what you will do
and when, and enlist their participation and support of the plan. This may take
some negotiation, but ensure that they know what you will be contributing and
how that would benefit them as well, to make it easier for them to get
on-board. With that said, listen to their feedback and suggestions and be
willing to work together to find an alternative win-win solution. Also modify
your communication style based on who is receiving the message, and what style
works best for them, while remaining direct and transparent in your
communications.
This
strategy works when in a corporate situation, but the challenges are slightly
different for personal, long-term, especially relationships with children. It
is important for our children to understand the career choices we make, why we
are passionate about it, and even expose them to the people, company and
processes we face day to day in a corporate setting. As they grow, it is also
important to encourage them to make the right work-life choice for themselves,
choosing a career that would fulfill their needs, their interests, leveraging
their strengths.
Planning Your Time, Yet Remaining Flexible
When
youre self-aware, as you set and communicate expectations, its important to
plan your time to honor your objectives and commitments. Calendar regular times
for things that are important to you. Ensure that you have sufficient time to
be available to the important people in your life. Transparently communicate
your schedule to others so they know how and when to connect with you.
With
that said, be fluid and flexible enough to change your plans and your schedule
as things do not always go as planned! Plus the plan should be a living
document, ready to be changed as the needs of others change. No matter how
things change, focus on how your actions would impact your personal and
professional goals in the short term and the long term.
Proactively Multi-Task to Achieve Your Objectives
Your
time is limited, so your choices must be informed and conscious. Consider
creative ways that you can integrate your work and life objectives and demands.
To better integrate your work and life, it might be easier to think of yourself
as a full-time career mom, with no delineation between two main areas of your
life.
When multi-tasking, me
constantly aware of what is unique to you the qualities and abilities you
bring to the table. Think then about how you can add value in any situation,
personally or professionally.
Choose a Company That Supports Your Work-Life Choices
Even
if you follow all the advice above, you cannot succeed with your personal and
professional work-life choices unless your company supports you personally in
making those choices, and the company culture encourages you and others to do
so.
Sometimes
middle managers or the executive team may not quite understand how encouraging
healthy work-life choices in all employees support the bottom line. As a
leader, you may be able to forge some change in this direction, especially
considering that it will no longer be a womans issue, and considering that
companies that are more flexible with attract and retain higher quality
employees.
Choose Quality Family and Personal Time
Make conscious choices
between spending time with the baby versus how much time you can spend on your
career knowing that time will fly and babies will grow quickly.
Make time for yourself
every day, so that you can reflect and appreciate and get centered before you
again engage in the juggling act.
Leverage Resources
Successful
women must develop a network of others who share common challenges and who are
committed to helping you honor the commitments youve made to company, family,
community. Dont expect to do it all, and dont feel guilty because you cant
do it all!
·Partner with others in the
workplace and at home to support each other.
·Delegate non-essential tasks to
others who would benefit and learn from the additional business, even if it
wouldnt take that much time; even if you ENJOY doing it). Then you can focus
on core business issues which need your attention, and continue to learn and
evolve and stretch yourself too.
·Ask your friend to pick up your
sick child, but also be willing to watch their kids when youre available, like
on the weekends.
·Stand in the background and let
the PTA take the lead, but be willing to volunteer your strength, like
fundraising to corporations, so that you can also contribute.
·Reach out to others you work and
live and play with. Whether youre facing family, company, life-change (like
going back to work post-baby), or other issues, you will find that you are not
alone in the challenges you face, and perhaps you will build some connections
and a network so that we can together better address these challenges.
·Delegate things like kid
transport, housekeeping, and other non-essential services that need to be done,
yet dont need to be done by YOU.
·Negotiate with your husband and
family to reset their expectations about who does what around the house and
enlist them to support you in re-assigning household duties as necessary.
·Accept that you cant always be
there for your kids, for example, but make up for that by being totally present
when you are there, and making time for special activities with them.
Accept Yourself
Research
shows that best mothers are mothers who are comfortable with the work-life
choice they made, without second-guessing themselves, without feeling guilty,
without constantly comparing themselves to others. Indeed, the happiest people
accept their best efforts as good enough. They dont compare themselves to
others, especially others that they put on a pedestal. They make conscious
choices and own the decisions they made. They constantly focus on how will
they remember me and make choices that help others remember them in the most
favorable light.
FountainBlues
January 16 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series, on the topic of Breaking
Through the Glass Ceiling and featured:
Facilitator Jo Miller, CEO, Women's Leadership
Coaching Inc.
Panelist Sheri Atwood, VP of Global Solutions and
Programs, Enterprise Marketing, Symantec
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP
Labs
Panelist Jennifer Bleakney, VP, Worldwide
Distribution and Customer Support, National Semiconductor
Panelist Jan Schlossberg, Senior Mgr,
Intellectual Property & Compliance, Cisco
Below are notes from the conversation.
About the Glass Ceiling
It is
experienced differently for different people, at different organizations. It
could be fixed and hard for some, or more fog-like and fluid, or more of a
labyrinth for others. The ceiling might change as people rise within an
organization, go to other groups or organizations, etc.,
Advice on How to
Overcome Internal Barriers (Sticky Floors)
Have the confidence to ask for what you want. And
when you get it, perform above expectations/prove your value and youre more
likely to get what you ask for the next time you ask!
Focus on what makes you extraordinary and build
those skills, rather than focusing on just improving your areas of weakness.
Take charge of your own career path rather having
a victim mentality about glass ceiling limitations.
Connect with people who will help you to identify
and overcome your own barriers to success.
Advice on How to
Overcome External Barriers (Glass Ceiling)
Be a woman who helps other women, and build a
corporate culture where others want and expect that.
Enlist men at the top to mentor and support you
and other women within the organization.
Encouragement gender-independent performance
measurement so that the right people will rise to fill specific positions.
Formalize the process for advancement where you
want to go, how you will get there, what you will do to close the gap.
Encourage women to network together in a safe
environment.
Encourage women to work with men to overcome
corporate barriers to having women advance. Its not an Us vs. them
mentality. Male executive members might plan an integral role in making this
happen.
Support diversity programs as it is proven that
they stimulate both innovation and revenues.
If your corporation does not support advancing
women, perhaps its not the right organization for you.
Advice on
Climbing the Corporate Ladder
Decide what you want and what the holes you might
have for getting there. Then build the network of relationships to support your
efforts, do the hard work it takes to excel, and communicate strategically to
others about your accomplishments.
Be clear on what your objectives are. Its OK to
consciously choose parent-time first, and coast career-wise.
Know yourself, and continually ask for feedback
from respected others on how you can better perform.
Consider identifying some problem areas and
present a plan of action for addressing these problems, while also showcasing
your unique abilities.
Adopt a visible project where your impact will be
clear. Then work hard to deliver, and market well that you have done so,
particularly to people who have the influence to give you your next challenging
project.
Make your superiors look brilliant.
Choose your battles.
Select a high-impact communication style.
Study the culture of the group, team,
organization and adapt a communication style that youre comfortable with and
works with them.
Turn everyone you meet into an ally. Speak with
their language; understand their point of view. You can then think about how
your might help each other.
Be direct in your communication style.
Focus on what specifically you can improve to
increase your promoteability. It might help to ask others what that might be as
well.
Exhibit leadership and others will notice it.
Sometimes you have to make tough choices and work
long hours. Sometimes its lonely at the top. Build a support network to help
you through the rough patches. Choose the path youre on.
·Panelist Catherine Moore, Director of Business HR, Nokia Research Center
·Panelist Connie Osborne, Director of Business Development, Singer Lewak
·Panelist Preethy Padmanabhan, Director of Professional Development, iCON Inclusion & Diversity Group and Team Lead, Solutions Engineering, Cisco Systems
Below are notes from the conversation.
How Diversity in Age, Gender, Ethnicity, Geography, Industry, Organization etc., Supports a Corporations Bottom Line:
·Theres a direct relationship between having a diverse team and the number of innovative projects generated.
·Having different perspectives helps corporations to understand their different markets.
·Encouraging people from different walks of life to hear each others perspectives helps them collaborate on common goals.
·Having a different perspective can help with brainstorming and problem-solving specific business challenges.
Advice for Embracing Diversity:
·Be a connector connect people between departments, organizations, roles, genders, ages, etc., It builds your team, your organization, and yourself!
·Dont silo yourself reach out beyond yourself and the group you most identify with. It will increase your opportunities and your impact.
·When working with people with diverse backgrounds, make sure you know your stuff and are speaking their language!
·Know yourself. Believe in yourself. Be true to your values. Be confident in this.
·Do you job and show business results as best you can, despite (or because of) the diversity and perspective you bring to the table.
·If youre invited to join the table make sure that you make an impact, for you stand not just for your own record, but also for others whom you represent.
·Be bold and think outside the box.
·Be visible to the right people.
·Build deeper relationships with a larger range of people.
·Leverage technology as an equalizer, helping you and your colleagues embrace technology in your partners and teams.
·Leverage technology to forge that work-life balance!
FountainBlues November 14 When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series on the topic of Overcoming Adversity featured: ·Facilitator Mary Beth Deans, Douglas Partners ·Panelist Lilly Chung, Lead Client Service Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP; Regional Managing Principal, Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women, Deloitte ·Panelist Pat Dando, CEO, San Jose Chamber of Commerce ·Panelist Sharon Durey, Training Manager, Field Development, Content Management and Archiving, EMC Corporation ·Panelist Natascha Thomson, Director of Global Ecosystem and Partner Marketing, SAP Below are notes from the conversation for your reference. Advice for Overcoming Adversity ·Build a Rich and Deep Network oMake deep, long-term connections with quality people. oFind time for quality interactions. oLearn from others around you. ·Be Flexible for New Opportunities Adversity May Present oAccept what is presented to you, and see the opportunity thats there, rather than focus on the foiled plan. oIt doesnt matter how or why that opportunity presents itself it could be a bad thing in disguise, like a health crisis, but do take advantage and be open to it. Barge through the open door! oWhen under trying circumstances, take the time to fully consider where youd like to be personally and professionally, and ensure that your life plan/career goal takes that into account. ·Have a Positive, Can-Do Attitude oObstacles will always be there whether its health or professional or relationships. Its about your attitude and how you handle those obstacles. oEmbrace failure as a learning opportunity. oBe confident. See yourself as the person you want to be. Act like that person and you and others will believe, as perception is so important. oDont be overly critical of yourself. Manage that voice in your head to provide encouragement as well as constructive advice. ·Make Forward Progress on Your Objectives oKnow where youre headed, and accept the hurdles in the road. Just keep moving forward. oBe tough enough to learn from your mistakes, to take the criticisms and pressures which might come with the role/objectives youre striving for. oAccept that things will likely not go according to plan. oBe willing to change your plan as your objectives, values, circumstances and other things change. oDecide which battles youd like to take on in the interest of your objectives. ·When Overcoming Obstacles, Consider the Work-Life Balance Question oKnow the relationships that are important to you, like your friends and family, and dont let adverse circumstances negatively impact those relationships. ·Sometimes You Choose Adversity, As You Embrace Change oKnow what kind of change youd like to make and why, and as well as the challenges for making the change. oGet the necessary training to transition to a new role, new organization, new industry. oTake the time to learn and listen and evaluate as you proactively make changes. ·Support Fellow Women When They Face Challenges oConsider and recognize all the women who came before us, and the many opportunities theyve opened for us. They are the shoulders you stand upon. oConsider also what opportunities you are providing for women and men who follow us. They need your shoulders so they can stand taller. oCelebrate the successes of women who are aiming high, rather than focusing on the failure at the attempt. oTake every opportunity to help your sisters to succeed. Comments on Women as Leaders ·Work with others so that one day, women in leadership will be the norm, and the same expectations and compensations will be given to women as men. ·Carefully consider the role of media in the perpetuation of negative women stereotypes and what you andyour colleagues can do to influence that. ·Women can be passionate leaders for the community, and in public service. Take the opportunity to serve your community and make a difference. ·Being other-centric is a critical element of success, and perhaps women may be more open to doing this. ·Multi-tasking is another traditionally female trait which women leaders can leverage. ·Corporate women are leaving their positions for the increased flexibility and independence and opportunities of working on their own. What can corporations do to retain their top women talent, and the soft leadership skills they may be able to provide? How can we get those successful women to mentor and support the next generation? Resources ·Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life by Gail Sheehy ·She Wins, You Win: The Most Important Rule Every Businesswoman Needs to Know by Gail Evans ·San Jose Chamber of Commerce http://www.sjchamber.com/membership/join_form.php
FountainBlues October 10 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of Women Leading Innovation and featured: ·Facilitator Krista Henley and Rossella Derickson, Corporate Wisdom and SBODN ·Panelist Elizabeth Churchill, Principal Research Scientist, Yahoo! Research ·Panelist Penny Howie, Director of Training and Technical Support, Varian Medical Systems, Executive on Loan to United Way ·Panelist Janice Nickel, Senior Research Scientist, HP Laboratories ·Panelist Liz Rajaram, Director of Engineering, Cisco Network Management ·Panelist Sandra Toms LaPedis, AVP/GM, RSA Conference, EMCs Security Division 'Innovation' is today's buzzword - considered integral to an organization's culture, its competitive advantage. As women rise in leadership positions in the tech companies in Silicon Valley, how are they approaching the question of culture and innovation? How have they successfully navigated the challenges of advancement in today's high tech companies? What is their advice to the rest of us? Below are notes from the conversation for your reference. Advice for women and men who want to innovate: ·Be Strategic oInnovation is as much about keeping yourself fresh and growing, as it is keeping your team stimulated and challenge. It is focused more on executing on a good idea than it is on thinking a long time for that one breakthrough idea. oCreate a business case noting objectives, understand customer needs, financial ROI and returns, all integrated with the companys strategic goals. oRepurpose technologies for novel uses which address real market needs. oConsider the impact of inertia if youd like to forge change. What will motivate others to sign off on the change or innovation? oAlign your innovation to the companys strategic goals. oMake your companys management team look good, while you make progress on your innovation! oSelect a Group that Works for You. If youre feeling shut down often, perhaps the group, the organization, the role, the industry is not for you. Lifes too short not to make a change if youre feeling shut down. ·Develop Yourself Personally oPut yourself in new and challenging situations to solve problems which interest you oBe inspired by your work and by those you work with. oKnow yourself and your audience so that you can best communicate your strategic goals in a way that is compelling to them. oDevelop the confidence to speak your mind. oDevelop a lens that considers the person over their gender, age, ethnicity, etc., oCultivate a presence, your personal brand of competence and style. oIf you feel you, as a woman, need to prove yourself more often, consider how much of that is perception and how much is reality. oFind that voice within and invite her/him to speak up! ·Engage Others oEngage people who are different from you to add diversity and new perspectives to your team. oCollaborate across teams, roles, industries and organizations. oCommunicate within, outside, and everywhere to engage all stakeholders. oMake your passion contagious through your enthusiasm and leadership. oConsider your audience of different stakeholders and plan a communication strategy based on whats important to them and what will make a convincing case for them. oAsk for advice for others, and be open to integrate their comments and feedback. oIdentify and connect with people who can connect you to important others. oEncourage and inspire others to push their personal envelopes, and the limits of the group and organization. oIts not about whether you engage men or women, its more about the people you are interacting with as people. oDraw out the introverts in the team, and invite them to contribute. oWelcome perspectives of naysayers and consider their objections when making your business case to management. oValidate the perspectives of others while folding in your own perspectives and thoughts and driving your program forward. ·Be Persistent oKeep changing, moving, shifting forward toward your strategic objectives. oBe tenacious and passionate and persistently stubborn about your cause, while backing up your position with data, information and facts, based on interactions with customers and analysis of the market. oWork for and with people who will invest in you, and help you to succeed, in a corporate culture and environment which would support and reward your ideas and persistence. oDevelop your own personal leadership and innovation and communication style and make it work within your corporate culture. Resources, Books on Corporate Innovation ·Teaching the Elephant to Dance: The Managers Guide to Empowering Change,by James A. Belasco http://www.belasco.com/elephant.htm, order at http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Elephant-Dance-Managers-Empowering/dp/0452266297/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223683555&sr=1-1 ·Sacred Cows Make the Best Hamburgers by Joann Roberts, http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Cows-Make-Best-Hamburger/dp/1880715139 ·Awakening Social Responsibility, http://www.corporate-wisdom.com/book_details.html
Below are notes from FountainBlues September 12 Women in Leadership Series on the topic of The Feminine Face of Leadership featuring: ·Facilitator Beata Lewis, Bridging Lives ·Panelist Azlina Ahmad, Director of Engineering, Cisco ·Panelist Jessica Chan, R&D Group Director, Cadence ·Panelist Karen Pieper, Director of Synthesis at Tabula, Inc. ·Panelist Samantha Thomas, CSO, Information Security, California State Department of Financial Institutions ·Panelist Kathleen Murtha, QA Automation Manager, EMC Corporation Below are notes for your reference: How are women technology leaders different from male leaders? ·There are individual variations in leaders and leadership styles, not just gender specific ones. Consider looking at the individual people you work with rather than focusing on just the gender. ·Women leaders may tend to focus more on organizational challenges while male leaders may tend to focus more on the technical challenges. ·Societal expectations about leaders better overlap with expectations for men than women. However, that may be changing with the emerging trend favoring collaboration and finesse in problem-solving and communication may lean toward more typically female leadership styles. ·Cultivate a balance of traditionally male and female leadership skills. What do women need in order to succeed and lead in their chosen technology (or other) field? ·Be Self-Aware oKnow yourself your abilities, your strengths, your passions. Leverage what you know about yourself to engage in work you find fulfilling, with people who will complement you. oDont be too hard on yourself. oUnderstand how you are being perceived by others, and make changes in your actions or appearance if you are doing something which makes you appear less competent/effective in their eyes. oNotice that you can only choose to change yourself, you cannot change others around you nearly as well! oBuild an alignment of how you see yourself and how others perceive you. ·Take Action and Lead oLead by example. oPersevere. oLeverage your soft skills in getting people to collaborate, in forging agreements. oCommunicate expectations and roles. oProactively communicate when there are problems. oUnderstand your audience and tailor your communications and deliverables based on their objectives. ·Build relationships oLeverage the strengths of others around you. oBuild and earn trust. oTreat people the way they would like to be treated. oAccept that everyone is different and leverage those differences. ·Be confident oHave the confidence to set boundaries about what you will do, when you will work, how you will interact with your superiors and staff, etc., oEmbrace failure and learn from it. Keep forging ahead despite failures. ·Manage Stress oLook at the bigger picture is it really important now? Weeks or months or years from now? Take action if its important. oLearn to say I dont know or I cant oPut job stresses in perspective if you have a plan B in case the job doesnt work out, the work might be less stressful oBuild boundaries for time spent on the job oBe passionate about what you do, and take control of your career destiny oUnderstand the value you are adding, even if short term challenges are causing stress ·Help Others to Manage Stress oAsk them how you can help oRedistribute workload and reset expectations as necessary oSupport them in addressing personal challenges oDevelop processes so that your team understands how to handle most situations, particularly if emergencies arise How can women technology leaders shape leadership practices to be more inclusive of others, including women? ·Earn the respect of men and women through your individual actions and your leadership. ·Choose to empower other women leaders, and encourage and support them. ·Consider your own pre-conceived ideas about women and leaders and how you and those around you can be more flexible and inclusive in how you view women as leaders. ·Connect and relate well with others, and support your network and community. Resource: ·Below is an excerpt from Beata Lewiss article on Balanced Leadership: Integrating Feminine and Masculine. Please e-mail Beata at beata@bridginglives.com if you would like a PDF copy of the full article. Achieving balanced leadershipfor women and menmeans dedicating our attention to what produces health and vitality. We live in an era foretold by numerous traditions as being about the re-emergence of the feminine and reconciliation of the whole. It is understandable and predictable that both men and women regularly dis-identify with their innate and essential feminine nature in a culture that diminishes and derides the positive value of the feminine. If we are going to fulfill any promise of becoming qualitatively different leaders, we must reclaim aspects of our dis-identified selves for the sake of being more fully generative and honoring our complex wholeness. Emerging models of leadership such as transformational and integral leadership are based on a fundamentally different approach to human motivation, interaction and accomplishment. Balance and integration can arise from a conscious emphasis on relationship, on alternative ways of perceiving and using power and on what makes living systems function and evolve.
FountainBlues August 14 When She Speaks Women in Leadership event was on the topic of The Value of Culture and featured: ·Facilitator Cathy Light, Business Builders and Assessment Leaders ·Panelist Denise Herrick, VP of HR, Panasas ·Panelist Dr. Bee Ng, Director Learning and Development, Intuit ·Panelist Titina Ott, Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness &Managing Director of Women's Leadership, Oracle ·Panelist Mary Stanton-Stern, HR Director, EMC Corporation ·Panelist Erica Wright, Director of Human Resources, Life Sciences Solutions Unit, Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis, Agilent Below are notes from our conversation for your reference. About Corporate Culture and Its Value to the Organization: ·A corporate culture is the personality of an organization, its brand, the way people think about how the company gets things done. ·A corporate culture provides guidelines on working together for a common vision. oGenerally the executive management defines the culture, and changed must involve them. oOne must believe in leaders and their words in order to believe in an organization. ·In a Bain & Company survey, 91% of surveyed leaders said that culture is equally as important as strategy and 81% of leaders in a different survey said that without a winning culture, an organization is doomed to mediocrity. ·An organizations culture is dynamic and evolving. oA culture of customer success and innovation might be a better fit now, whereas previous cultural emphasis might have been on globalization and prior to that entrepreneurship and initiative. ·Based on information from Assessment Leaders, winning shared values that leaders mention include: oIntegrity and honesty oEmpowering leadership oOpenness and trust oTeamwork and mutual respect oCaring oOpenness to change oQuality, service and a customer focus oRespect for the individual and for diversity oWinning and being the best oInnovation oPersonal Accountability oA can-do attitude oBalance in Life oCommunity involvement and social responsibility Benefits of Having a Great Culture: ·Increases trust, which is hard to come by and easy to lose. ·Products and processes may be easily emulated, but it takes time and the right people to build a great culture and organization, which is not so easily copied. ·A culture of learning and acceptance will help the organization to grow its people and its culture. Advice for Creating a Great Culture: ·Communicate and celebrate culture. oBe transparent and clear in your communications of what youll do and what you wont do and why. oKeep repeating the messages for change. ·Measuring Progress: oQuantify and measure the value of culture and communicate progress transparently and regularly. oFocus on results and accountability. oAlign performance measurements to corporate goals. oDo a cultural audit and set new expectations. ·Strategic Alignment: oAlign the values of the executive team and staff. ·Be a Change Agent: oBe proactive and managing people who are not in alignment with the corporate culture, or who are resistant to changes in corporate culture and direction. oManage the drivers of culture including organizational structure, decision rights, talent management, performance management, etc., oMotivate involvement with access to senior executives. oHire and groom people who seek to be awesome leaders. oPromote the companys culture from within and train people at all levels to be in alignment with that culture in words and in actions, in a way they feel comfortable doing. oRepeat the message for change. People need to hear things multiple times before they fully understand and it sinks in what it is your trying to achieve. ·Be Creative: oThere are many ways to implement and grow a successful culture within an organization. Its no one size fits all. ·Involve Your People: oInvolving staff at all levels in personal and corporate development goals tends to increase accountability, involvement and results. oEmpower staff by welcoming feedback (anonymous or otherwise) and involve them in proactively making improvements and regularly measuring results.
Our July 10 When She Speaks event was on the topic of Women at the Top of Their Game and featured: Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue Panelist Sandra Hassett, Director of Customer Service, LifeScan Panelist Barbara Massa, Senior Director, Recruiting Services, EMC Corporation Panelist Patricia Perry, Vice President, Digital Health Group, Intel Corporation Panelist Amy Rubin, Marketing Director, Sandisk Panelist Jackie Seto, Vice President, Product and Strategic Marketing, Lam Research Below are some notes from the conversation. Benefits of Being Fit: ·Having the clarity and focus to act decisively and effectively ·Possessing a heightened awareness, and greater attunement to your environment ·Having the energy to perform well under challenging conditions ·Providing a fitness role model for others with whom you interact Advice for leveraging the disciplines of sports to the work context: ·Apply teamwork concepts from the field to the work environment. ·Set an example of being goal-focused at work, as you are while doing sports. ·Navigate the bumps in the road in sports and in a work situation. ·Bring the same can-do attitude from your sport to your work. ·Leverage the confidence you build from achieving self-set sports goals. ·Have a constancy of purpose on the field and at work. ·In sports and at work, make a commitment, communicate it, and follow through on it. ·Know yourself, your abilities and areas of development and create a team to complement your own abilities both on the field and off. ·Select your team carefully. Deselect where appropriate, and do it quickly. ·Be passionate both on the field and off. ·Create fitness and work objectives and work with accountability partners to achieve them. Advice for integrating fitness and sports into your work and life: ·Proactively make choices to fit your objectives in sports and at work. ·Making choices means that you cant have it all. Actively decide what youll have to compromise on and accept that. Re-evaluate your choices regularly. ·Communicate the choices youre making to the people they will impact your team, your family and others. ·Involve your family and friends in your fitness and sports lives. ·If you fall off the fitness wagon, find a way to get back on gradually. But choosing fitness and health and making it a high priority is the best way to ensure ongoing health, as overcoming a history of bad health practices may be daunting. ·Integrate fitness into your life. Make it a requirement. ·If you need to give up sports and fitness for personal or professional reasons (family planning, injuries, job changes, etc.,) find a way to continue the routine, albeit with lighter time or energy commitments, and resume heavier involvement if/when you can. Kernels of wisdom: ·Just get started with something that fits you. The first mile is the hardest! ·Run your own race, play your own game. Dont compare yourself to the over-achievers. ·To finish in an upright position, while still running, is to win! ·Be kind and gentle to yourself. Listen to what your body is telling you and be flexible enough to meet their needs. ·What works for someone else might not work for you. Fitness and health and how you do it are individual choices. ·Define your personal leadership brand and communicate it to others with words and actions. In other words be visible in the right one, a way you proactively designed. ·Take risks and get out of your comfort zone to keep yourself evolving and growing. ·Fight for what you believe in, but choose your battles carefully. Fight the ones you need to win. ·Be aware of how youre communicating in a work situation. The qualifiers women may use may negatively impact how others perceive their confidence and competence. Dont say In my opinion, I think, but lean more toward If we do X, then Y . . . ·Do well what youre doing now, with a focus on developing others, delivering for your team and company, building relationships, and continual growth. ·Create a personal board of directors to help you get grounded about yourself, your needs, your objectives, your progress. ·Be authentic in everything you do. Resources: ·This Is How We Do It: A Practical Guide for the Working Mother http://www.amazon.com/This-How-We-Do-Practical/dp/0452288169
Our June 12 meeting was on the topic of Staying on Top in a Changing, Global World and featured: ·Facilitator Amy Gonzales, Women Unlimited ·Panelist Judy Armstrong, former CIO, Logitech ·Panelist Shirley Olerich, VP of Human Resources, Adaptec ·Panelist MeMe Rasmussen, VP and General Counsel, Adobe Systems ·Panelist Lisa Simpson, VP, Business Operations, Market Analysis and Messaging, Alcatel-Lucent The World is changing - getting bigger, but better connected, with more opportunities, and more barriers. ·Are there more opportunities for women in lead in a more global world? ·What are some unique challenges and opportunities for women to take that next leadership step? ·How will networking, mentoring and education support that growing community of women leaders with global impact? Below are some advice and insights from the conversation: About Managing Change ·Change is inevitable, but the weight, scope and constancy of it has really escalated for corporate women, particularly in Silicon Valley, and especially as global teams and issues are involved. ·Recognize that it is normal to be afraid during times of change, and to be protective of your team during times of change. ·If the change is too difficult for someone to adapt to, consider if that person is the right person for the organization. ·Change is easier to adapt to as you rise within an organization as you get access to the information sooner, you have more information, and you are more likely to be proactively managing the change. ·Try visceral tasks to learn to let go of control, which is the greatest hurdle to adjusting to change. An example of doing this is sky-diving or learning how to do the flying trapeze. Advice for Those Managing Change: ·Have a clear goal and commitment to your career/goal/values and priorities. oBe self-aware of your skills, your values, goals, etc., oAddress leadership issues and challenges during change using your own voice, your own style and standards. oConfidence starts from within, but is expressed externally through words, tone, actions, body posture, etc., ·Have a clear viewpoint while taking the initiative. oDont just go with the flow, but provide grounded, strategic insights while managing change, showing that you understand the business motivations for the change. This will impress senior management and also motivate and impress your team. oHave a clear, balanced perspective despite the emotional issues which arise internally within yourself and externally in your team, across the organization, as a result of change. ·Take the initiative when changes occur, as opportunities will also present themselves as well during times of change. oAct your way into a new way of thinking, rather than thinking your way into a new way of acting, which takes longer. oHave the confidence and believe that you can take a leadership role during times of change. oBe outgoing and gregarious no matter what levels of change youre experiencing. oBe proactive and take the initiative even if it takes you out of your comfort zone. oTake the must-be-done tasks that others are avoiding, even if you dont want to do it, even if you dont have the background to do it. It will make a great impression to management and the whole organization, expose you to new areas which may be interesting, and may lead you to the next opportunity ahead. §Do this in addition to your regular assignments. ·Have a positive, proactive attitude as that will help you to: obest adjust to inevitable changes olead your team through these changes and obe noticed and recognized by management for helping companies navigate the changes ·Embrace change as it will provide opportunities that will help you do something completely different, which will expand your skill set and your impact. oWhen you embrace change, remember that its not how hard you fall, but how high you bounce. ·Gather information from the right sources so that you can best be prepared to proactively manage change. oKnow who is in the know and make a point of connecting regularly with them. oPeter Drucker would say that Knowledge is Power. oKnowledge/information controls your access to opportunities and advancements. ·Be a good listener, and know who you should listen to. Advice for Managing Global Issues: ·Identify yourself as part of a global community, not just representing one ethnic/gender/cultural group. ·Expect to be treated with respect. ·Dont focus on feeling inferior as a woman executive, or be overly apprehensive about cultural differences. Female stereotypes are not as strong as they once were. The focus is more on representing executive management in a company, or representing being an American for example, not about being female. ·Honor the other culture by saying a few phrases in their language, honoring their customs, etc., ·Look for the similarities between cultures, between people of other cultures. ·A family provides a built-in support system if you need to transfer to another global location. If youre moving to another country and dont have a family, build a strong support structure quickly. Other General Advice for Women Leaders: ·Work life balance is more difficult for women leaders as they still have primarily responsibilities at home. o75% of executive men have non-working partners, but 74% of executive women have working partners. ·Women need to better support each other in order for more executive women to succeed. ·Social networking opportunities may help women better support each other. ·Act on whats important to you. Put your family first, despite the work requirements. ·Act like the leader you want to be, not the role you currently have. ·Integrate all facets into your life. Resources: ·Coming Up for Air: How to Live a Balanced Life in a Workaholic World, Beth Sawi ·She Wins, You Win, Gail Evans
FountainBlue's May 8 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of The Mentors In Our Lives and featured:
Panelist Maria Schaffer, Strategic Alliances, Cisco
Below are notes from our conversation.
What is a Mentor:
·A mentor is different than a coach, as a coach is more goal specific, and more likely paid. ·A mentor is different than a manager, as there are also work-related requirements for managers, and they are more tied to your work support team. ·A mentor is someone who will provide you with honest feedback, someone who can provide a neutral, experienced sounding board. A Good Mentor: ·Helps you see yourself as bigger than you are, and challenges you to stretch to that level, find that BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) for yourself or for your organization or team. ·Pushes and encourages you when you would have stopped. ·Connects you to others who may be able to help you get to that next level. ·Help you say no and establish limits. ·Helps you say yes to opportunities that would stretch you. ·Helps you to envision the next level and push your limits. Advice for Creating and Maintaining Successful Mentoring Relationships: ·Understand your objectives for a mentoring relationship. Adjust them as necessary during the relationship. oTo help identify your objectives and strategize on who might be able to help, ask yourself Where are you now, Where do you want to me and whats the progress? oCommunicate those objectives effectively and continually. oAs a mentor, make sure that the potential mentee is seeking a mentor-mentee relationship, not just an informational interview. oStart giving to get while seeking a mentor, be willing to mentor someone else yourself. It helps you build clarity on what you do well, and how youd like to improve. oConsider many different ways which you could benefit from a mentoring experience, or how you could benefit others as a mentor. oEnsure that there is a mentor-mentee fit before starting a mentoring relationship. If there isnt a fit and you realize its not benefiting both parties, take action to make changes or discontinue the mentor-mentee relationship. ·Decide what type of mentoring relationship youre seeking. oConsider having situational, short-term mentors around a specific issue or learning. oConsider having a career-changing mentor, if thats your current challenge. oSuper-Mentors are long-term mentors who proactively support you in growing, and empower you to make your own decisions and take your own actions. oIts difficult to find a single mentor for all the areas for which you might want mentoring. Consider having a personal board of advisers who could mentor you in different ways. ·Ensure that you have found the right mentor oTrust is the most important element in a mentor-mentee relationship. oChemistry is the second most important. oA mentors ability to listen is key. Mentors do not provide solutions, but probe and question and challenge mentees to do it for themselves. oMixed gender mentor-mentee relationships can be useful as they help women make connections with influential men (and vice versa) and help men to understand women (and vice versa) oDiversity of gender, culture, age, experiences, etc., can make the mentee-mentor relationship richer, depending on the objectives of both parties ·Consider process questions before asking someone to mentor you things like how often to meet, how to communicate (e-mail, phone, in-person), objectives, relationship evaluation frequency and method, etc., oDont be afraid to ask someone to mentor you. oCelebrate success and learnings, regardless of how long and how well you and your mentor/mentee have connected. oBring closure to a mentor-mentee relationship. ·Put energy into the mentor-mentee relationship as you get out what you put into it. ·Mentorship opportunities are leadership lessons as well as tactical opportunities for advancement. Advice for Establishing Mentorship Programs: ·Take care of process details so that mentors and mentees can focus on identifying mutually beneficial partnerships. ·Pay close attention to the matching process. If thats done correctly, the relationship would likely work out. ·Ensure a commitment of both parties. ·Coordinate logistics, create meeting opportunities, facilitate communications and the sharing of knowledge. ·Dont mandate relationships. ·Secure executive sponsor. ·Ensure match of style, level of commitment (length of time, number of activities planned), chemistry, skills (is the skill sought by mentee something mentor can/wants to offer) and outcomes. ·Consider raffling off mentor relationships for people who are especially sought after as mentors. Mentoring Resources: ·Kim Wise, Mentor Resources http://www.mentorresources.com/ ·Power Mentoring http://www.amazon.com/Power-Mentoring-Successful-Proteges-Relationships/dp/078797952X
Our April 10 When She Speaks event was on the topic of Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity and featured: ·Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue ·Panelist Bettina Koblick, VP of HR, Global Talent, Symantec ·Panelist Su Lim, Director of Business Development, EMC Corporation ·Panelist Bev Strand, Diversity and Inclusion, Cisco ·Panelist Barbara Williams, Sr. HR Manager, Sun Microsystems and President of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Oakland Bay Area Chapter Our conversation was based on a recent survey of senior business leaders in Fortune 500 organizations on their thoughts on what was holding women back: a glass ceiling or what Becky Shambaugh calls Sticky Floors: the concept that our own self-limiting behaviors, beliefs and assumptions create some of the biggest barriers to advancement. http://www.shambaughleadership.com/news/know_thyself_and_your_sticky_floors/ The March 12, 2008 survey report identified the Top Five Limiting Behaviors or Sticky Floors: 1. The Need for a Greater Sense of Self Awareness 2. Better Work/Life Balance 3. Not Building Strategic Relationships 4. Not Making Your Words Count 5. Lack of Political Savvy Below is a summary of notes from our conversation, focused around these behaviors: We agreed as a group to define Power as the ability to get things done on agreed-upon objectives, while influencing and collaborating with key stakeholders and adhering to a strong authentic moral compass/mantel. ·Advice on Creating a Greater Sense of Self-Awareness oBe open and receptive. oSpend the time to understand yourself your passion, strengths, objectives. oPlan your actions based on your personal and professional needs/goals. oBe resourceful, resilient, strong-willed, assertive without being aggressive. oAccept and learn from your mistakes. oAssociate regularly with people who will help you know who you are. oWatch your willingness in every situation. Are you willing to do whats needed? Is it the right thing to do for your abilities and objectives? If not, what actions should be taken? oDefine success and reflect often on your progress. ·Advice on Work/Life Balance oKnow when your life is out of balance and make plans to fix it. oSet limits and enforce them. oConsistently communicate those limits/boundaries to others in words and actions. oPractice the BE/KNOW/DO advice mentioned last month. Know who you want to be, what you want to know, what you want to do, and plan and act accordingly. oModerate the voice in your head that keeps you stretching too much beyond your passion or comfort zone. ·Advice on Building Strategic Relationships oWorking with a wide range of stakeholders up and down the chain is essential to your success, regardless of your role or level oStrategic relationships are the building blocks to your personal and professional success and that of your project and team oProactively repair relationships as necessary oLISTEN to the other persons goals oTreat everyone with respect ·Advice on Making Your Words Count oSpeak with authenticity and conviction. oKnow your strategic objectives before speaking oExplain your objectives and your role. oBe direct and authentic and transparent in your communication. oWhen in a conflict situation, try to manage your emotions and mood. Take the time to think and reflect and plan if possible. If not possible, try not to have/show as much buttons or triggers. ·Advice on Being Politically Savvy oAsk for help oChoose to make a positive difference in others lives oPeople are not disposable. Empowering one is empowering all. oHelp each other to succeed with passion and purpose. oLook for advocates and sponsors. oWatch and learn from the behavior of successful others. oListen to your intuition, particularly in politically charged situations. The rules arent spelled out always, but your intuition may guide you in these situations. ·Other Advice on Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity oBe a risk-taker, but be willing also to pay the price for choosing to do so. oTake control of an emotionally charged situation, and help others to do the same. oRemember that an emotionally-charged generally not personal, and generally will not impact you in the long term, if you choose to manage your mood. oSpend a disproportional amount of time on top performers. oEmbrace your femininity and individuality. Dont try to be a man! oModify your message and communication based on who youre interacting with. Our March 13 event was on the topic of Work Life Balance: The Juggling Act and featured: ·Facilitator Kristi Royse, KLR Consulting ·Panelist Raji Arasu, Senior Director, Technology, eBay ·Panelist Lisa Jing, Program Manager, Integrated Health Team, Cisco
·Panelist Allison Leopold Tilley, Partner and Co-Head Corporate Securities & Technology Section, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
·Panelist Linda Levenson, CEO, Morphosis Rejuvenation Studio
·Panelist Catherine Moore, Director Business HR, Nokia Research Center
Silicon Valley women leaders are challenged by the corporate and business pressures of high-stress, high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal demands of life and family. In todays streamlined, fast-moving workplace, its more important than ever to make the most of every day and every moment. Below are some take-aways from the conversation. What Is Work-Life Balance? ·The definition is different for everybody ·Nobody has all the answers, but many women are facing the same challenges, and everyone may have an idea which might help you find better balance. ·Integrate work into the life balance. Work is as important as other elements in life including community, family, spirituality, learning, etc., ·Life balance is about understanding your own boundaries and limits and communicating that clearly to others. Getting Your Priorities Straight ·Have clarity on your own limits and clearly communicate boundaries to others by saying no. ·Take proactive responsibility for your work-life balance makes you stronger to help your family, your friends, your community, your organization. ·Invest in yourself, so that you feel good about yourself. ·Know what you do well, and what you want to spend your time doing. Delegate other things. Dont spend your time on things that dont matter. ·Your family, your children will always matter, and your time and focus should reflect that you know that. ·Your top priorities may fluctuate day-to-day, hour-by-hour, so keep fluid on priorities. Strategies for Creating a Better Balance for Yourself ·Work with people you like. ·Do the kind of work you love. ·Try greeting each day being grateful for the day, taking the opportunities to live, love, learn, serve and enjoy. ·Plan well, but also expect and accept the unexpected. ·Get up early, and maybe get some downtime to yourself before everyone else is up. ·Consider leaving the drapes open at night. ·Get some sleep at least 6-7 hours a night. ·Organize the night before so youre prepared for the morning rush, particularly when youre in an active household. ·Consider giving yourself an appreciative hug every morning. ·Celebrate your successes, perhaps keep mementos of those successes to help you remember them, and read and see those mementos especially when youre feeling down. ·To help you build clarity and focus for yourself, create a Be, Have, Do chart, which helps you understand and focus on the type of person you want to be, the material things you want to have, and the things that you want to do in your life. ·Many successful people get overwhelmed and overcommitted particularly with work and client issues and find it difficult to push back and say no. oHave the confidence to set your limits and make proactive choices for life balance for yourself, your family, your community, your organization. oKnow that youll be contributing more at work after youve successfully set and communicated those boundaries. oWhen you say no, others will have the opportunity to grow as well, and responsibility and success can be more distributed. ·Lower your standard of excellence for some things. ·Check in with yourself, does the mix of life balance feel right? What is lacking attention? ·Technology, like e-mail and phones, are tools. Dont let them overrun your life. Make boundaries and limits that work for you. oLeverage efficiency strategies like filtering and tagging and auto-archiving of e-mails to help manage volume of information and quickly identify greatest priority action items. oSet up processes in place to best manage volume, like a one-touch e-mail strategy, or check in to e-mail less often, etc., ·Combine business and personal objectives inviting clients to family-friendly functions for example. ·Accept that having family/children responsibilities is part of who you are and what you bring to the table at work. Dont hide this from clients, partners, etc., ·Involve your kids in your work life. ·Schedule time for the important people in your life. ·Use the divide and conquer strategy in partnership with your spouse. ·Dont over-commit, personal or business obligations. ·In Silicon Valley, there is a lot of arrogance, greed, and an uncaring attitude towards employees, making it more difficult here to achieve a satisfying life balance. However, see the bottom line below. Bottom Line: Yes, you can have it all, (perhaps not all at the same time) if you: prioritize, leverage tools, know yourself, understand boundaries, manage your attitude, connect with others going through similar challenges, make compromises, lower expectations, etc.,
Resource: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life Stewart D. Friedman Reprint #R0804H
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Our Valentine's Day When She Speaks session was on the topic of 'The Up and Comers' and featured: ·Facilitator Nancy Monson, Nancy Monson Coaching
·Panelist Lori Fraleigh, Manager, Developer Tools, Motorola
·Panelist Terri Jordan, VP, Tech Operations, eBay ·Panelist Sridevi Koneru, Director, Engineering, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco ·Panelist Katy Levine, Cisco ·Panelist Connie Lin, Manager, Strategy and Analytics, The Zitter Group ·Panelist Susan Mernit, Senior Director for the Yahoo! Personals products ·Panelist Kathleen Murtha, QA Automation Manager, EMC Corporation ·Panelist Keren Pavese, Program Manager, West Coast Executive Briefing Center, EMC Corporation ·Panelist Eileen Sullivan, Group Director, Cadence Below are some take-aways from our conversation: Advice for Climbing the Corporate Ladder: ·Follow you passion. ·Advancement is a process and a journey, not a destination. With that said, remember to celebrate your progress along the way! ·Adopt your own personal style for advancement. What works for one person doesnt necessarily work for someone else. ·Leadership is more about the choices you make than the abilities you have. ·Learn from people you admire. ·Successful high tech women leaders did not necessarily plan to become high tech leaders. They come from many paths, but all are talented, persistent, flexible, leaders who embrace learning experience and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. ·Plan for your advancement/destination. Know what it looks and feels like, but dont necessarily plan how youll get there or when. Reflect on this often, with positive intention. ·Tie your own goals to those of the corporations. ·Proactively shape your own role based on your skills and interests and the needs of the corporation. ·Understand and play to your strengths and work with others to strengthen areas of weakness. No one is asking you to do it all! ·Reevaluate regularly where you are headed to ensure that you still want to get there. ·Dont be afraid to think differently and forge new ground, suggest new strategies. Do make sure the suggestions and ideas are well thought out. ·Consider many factors in your current work situation, from company size to team dynamics to company strategy etc., Make sure that it is a culture/environment where you can continue to learn and grow and have fun. If its not, be willing to do something about it. ·Take yourself out of your comfort zone. Assume risks, try new things, embrace failure. ·Seek a wide variety of experiences to develop your breadth of skills and experiences in roles, in industries, across companies. ·Have the confidence to change negative, unproductive behavior cycles as it will benefit everyone in the relationship. Help others to develop that same level of confidence. ·In business, choose decisiveness over perfection. Its often more important to continue building momentum, going forward than it is to be 100% sure and correct. ·Do the best you can with the task in front of you. Say what you will do, and do what you will say. This kind of follow-through and clear communications will build your reputation for getting things done. ·Empowering your team is as important and even more so than achieving milestones and making progress. ·When transitioning to another role or company, know what youre able to/want to contribute and what the needs of the company are and how you can help meet those needs. Talk about your vision and execution ideas and be prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. Network for Success: ·Work with other groups or projects within your organization so that you can build contacts within the company while assisting with programs of interest to you. ·Having contacts in different groups, at different levels will help facilitate any transition you might make, planned or unplanned, within or outside a group or organization. ·Help others in your network to do the same. ·Treat people at all levels well. ·Everyone has a piece of the puzzle. ·Together we are stronger. Thoughts on Overcoming Obstacles: ·Consider carefully the obstacles that youd like to overcome and ensure that it fits your skills, direction and interests as well as that of the company. ·Once youve determined that its worthwhile to overcome the obstacle, remember that its all in your mind-set. Be determined to overcome obstacles. ·Engage others to help you overcome the obstacle, as mentors, partners, friends, colleagues, etc., ·Encourage and support others as they overcome their obstacles. ·Trust your intuition and instincts, and refine your intuition through experience (as advised in Blink) ·Balance your interests for now and for the future and consciously make choices based on your objectives. (e.g. be proactive rather than reactive) ·Take small steps consistently heading to the same objective. ·Surround yourself with people who will support you and advocate for you and mentor you. ·Remember that you are not alone. Others are walking similar paths, or had similar challenges. What can you learn from them? How can you help others? ·The difference between success and failure is often persistence. Thoughts on Work-Life Balance: ·Know your own objectives for balancing work and life, and make decisions based on those objectives. Be disciplined enough to choose balance, even if our work environment, demands and tools makes it easy for us to emphasize work needs. ·Remember its in the companys best interest to help you balance your work and life needs. A happier employee will be more productive and more loyal to the company. ·Integrate work and life when possible. ·For perfectionists, give yourself less time to do the same thing. ·Delegate and trust your team/partners, etc., ·Be yourself, your whole self. Dont make excuses as you integrate life into work (e.g. childcare juggling with work demands) ·Ask yourself regularly are you being challenged? Making a difference? Having fun? Be willing to make changes in work or personal life if youre not.
Our January 10, 2008 FountainBlue's When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series was on the topic of The Glass Ceiling And Other Tragedies and featured:
Facilitator Linda Prowse Fosler, Linda Prowse Fosler and Associates
Panelist Sarah Jane Militello, former Manager at HP, former General Manager at Agilent, President Varnare LLC
Panelist Marilyn Nagel, Director, WW Diversity & Inclusion, Cisco
Panelist Conchita Franco Serri, Ed.M., J.D., former Director of Affirmative Action, Santa Clara University; President Serri Compliance Training
Our January 10 Event: The Glass Ceiling And Other Tragedies It has been 22 years since the term glass ceiling was coined by the Wall Street Journal to describe the apparent barriers that prevent women from reaching the top of the corporate hierarchy; and it has been twelve years since the American government's specially appointed Glass Ceiling Commission published its recommendations. In 1995 the commission found that women had 45.7% of America's jobs and more than half of master's degrees being awarded. Yet 95% of senior managers were men, and female managers' earnings were on average a mere 68% of their male counterparts'. Twelve years later women account for 46.5% of America's workforce and for less than 8% of its top managers. Join us for a stimulating panel and discussion about why progress is so slow and what we must do to effect real, and rapid, change. Below are notes from the conversation: Thoughts about why there is a glass ceiling for corporate women looking to advance within the organization: ·Its a numbers game, there are simply more men in the workplace because many women elect to stay at home undertaking child-rearing or elder-care responsibilities. ·Most men simply have more corporate experience than most women, and are therefore more likely to be promoted. ·There are simply not enough high-level positions so fewer deserving men and women are promoted, which may be perceived as a glass ceiling by the women seeking promotions. ·There is discrimination and lack of understanding in some executive circles within an organization and the leaders may just not be comfortable with including women within the circle. ·There are more men in senior level positions now, and they may be more willing to promote other men to these positions. ·The language used to describe the contributions of male and female employees may positively or negatively impact whether someone rises within an organization. ·The ongoing subtle discrimination by peers in a corporate environment may negatively impact the confidence of corporate women looking to advance. ·The majority of women have been conditioned not to seek promotion and advancement and their performance negatively impacts the average successes of corporate women in general in everything from salary to likelihood of promotion, etc., Advice for how to address these challenges, for yourself and fellow corporate women: ·When communicating with new people, groups, executives, partners, etc., seize the first opportunity to establish your credibility your intelligence, creativity, energy, leadership and other attributes. ·Look at every challenge as an opportunity. ·Dont be overwhelmed by bigots and others who will not support your advancement. Consider them a minority and act that way. ·Electing to work on the west coast in high tech may be an advantage as your peers may be more open minded to having women advance. ·Focus on delivering measureable results and communicating them effectively. ·Read the political environment, understand the objectives of others and plan and act based on that knowledge. ·Create collaborative win-win scenarios so that everyone succeeds. ·Do what you love to do. ·Be outspoken about subtle (or blatant) discrimination or slights of yourself and others around you and speak clearly and unemotionally about it. Empower others to do the same. ·Use the typically female leadership skills like winning without making someone lose, create a whole thats bigger than the sum of its parts, nurture others in group, all while delivering results. ·Be open-minded, conversation and people oriented, and intelligent and business minded, but collaborative. ·Recognize your own value to the company. ·Act like youre entitled to have the same privileges as your male peers. ·Measure your own progress, and that of women within your organization and beyond. ·Support each other in your advancement. Participate in activities which allow you to do so, like joining leadership/mentorship groups within your organization or attending networking events. ·Be attentive to the connotations of the language used to describe your behavior and that of fellow women within your organization. ·Support other women in the community in general, and help raise the average level of confidence and results for all women. ·There will be a shortage of talent, and therefore an opportunity to help women to advance, to re-enter the workforce, etc., ·Educate those in leadership positions within your organization on the value of the typically female leadership style.
Other Interesting Facts: Norway had passed legislation requiring all publicly held companies to have 40% women board members quota by Jan. 1, 2008 or they would be closed. Now comes enforcement, but generally they are seeing 38% reached. See link, "Smashing the Glass Ceiling." Perhaps we should "intention" that we get strong women from Norway to support GWLN.
Norway now leads the globe in gender equality at board level, with a higher percentage of women at the uppermost echelons of its firms than any other country.
Our December 13 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership event was on the topic of Leveraging Diversity for Business Results.
Facilitator Maria Hernandez, MGH Consulting LLC
Panelist Sharon Durey, Training Manager, Inside Sales, EMC Corporation
Panelist Wilma Flanagan, Partner and Managing Director for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Pacific Northwest Consulting Group
Panelist Sharon Hughes, Director of HR, LifeScan
Panelist Carin Taylor, Senior Manager of Global Diversity, Cisco
This month, we celebrated the successes of women leaders who foster diversity within their organizations and demonstrate how and why diversity stimulates innovation, engages teams, and delivers results. Our esteemed panel shared their success stories, talked about how they rose to positions of authority, despite representing diverging viewpoints, and provided advice on how to embrace diversity within a team and an organization. Below are notes and advice for your reference.
The Merits of Diversity Within An Organization
Having a global mindset will help address global target markets and customers and their needs.
Diversity will help address recruitment and retention challenges which will become more prominent with the aging of the baby boomers.
Having a larger, more diverse pool of potential leaders is beneficial for any organization.
Diversity helps people expand beyond chronic egocentrism and can lead to more productive and happier employees.
Collaboration between people with diverse perspectives - different roles, different organizations, different management levels, different industries, etc., have many benefits.
It can lead to informal connections between people with different backgrounds, broadening the perspectives of each party.
The differing perspectives can help solve real business challenges.
The differing perspectives can foster new innovative thinking and solutions.
More open-minded people within organizations will support real business objectives, from retention and recruitment to productivity and problem-solving.
Ideas for Leveraging Diversity for Business Results
Help management embrace diversity, not just in words but in deeds.
Empower employees to take initiative and make a difference supporting causes benefiting the organization and community in ways they feel passionate about.
Recognize, reward and support successes from these efforts.
Encourage cross-pollination between roles, industries, organizations, groups, etc.,
Create an infrastructure which supports employees in taking that initiative. Provide the logistical, marketing, communication, leadership, etc., support necessary to support that growth.
Accept that we are all different, and build a culture tolerant of differences/celebrating differences.
Provide mentoring opportunities at all levels and even try reverse-mentoring.
Know yourself and the lens through which you see the world. Be uncomfortable to try on other people's lenses. Accept that others see their world through those lenses and find a way to communicate and work toward common business (or personal) goals.
Be customer-centric, but also focus on servicing your staff. They will ensure that the community and stakeholders receive value in return.
Embrace diversity of thinking and being - mind, body and spirit - in yourself and others.
When speaking to management about diversity, speak in terms of measurable ROI.
When speaking to others who are not embracing diversity, particularly when they are in leadership roles, understand what will hit them in the heart, really resonate with them.
Make departments other than HR responsible for delivering ROI on diversity initiatives.
Create a culture where everyone speaks about diversity, where we are all less defensive about how we talk about diversity.
Be courageous. Set the example. Speak up.
Resources:
Read The Medici Effect to see how the convergence of people from different background led to a renaissance.
Consider using the Herman Brain Dominance Instrument, to better understand how you look at yourself and others
Our November 8 topic was on Female Intrapreneurs and featured:
Panelist Sheryl Chamberlain, Director, Global Alliances, EMC Corporation
Panelist Cecily Joseph, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Symantec Corporation
Panelist Diane Pennica, Senior Scientist in Molecular Oncology, Genentech
These successful female intrapreneurs have successfully adopted the entrepreneurial spirit in a corporate setting and shared their success stories, talked about the advantages of being entrepreneurial within a corporation, and provided advice on addressing obstacles and fostering the intrapreneurial spirit throughout the organization. Below are some thoughts from our conversation and attached is Nina's PowerPoint presentation on intrapreneurship.
Thoughts on building intrapreneurship in your organization:
Know yourself:
Have confidence in your ability, but earn that confidence by continuing to deliver results.
Know yourself, your passions, abilities, strengths.
Take Bold Action, Despite Obstacles:
Choose initiative over complacency. Don't necessarily wait until you have the role, authority, permission, etc., to make something happen.
Failure is an opportunity in disguise. Leverage your learnings from your failures to build a path to success.
It's an ongoing journey. Celebrate successes, learn from failures and keep making progress.
Be persistent and have faith in your vision and idea, despite the obstacles and the naysayers. Success will bring forgiveness.
Involve Stakeholders
Relationships matter. Build support for your causes with a wide range of stakeholders. Ensure that each stakeholder group is involved in your project's success, and that each group benefits from the project in specific ways.
Know when to let go of a concept you created, and empower others to take ownership and extend the vision and the impact.
Be Strategic
When coming up with an entrepreneurial, innovative idea, adopt the perspective of the corporate mission and values, and that of the customer and the market. This will help ensure that your idea is viable and sustainable.
Be well positioned to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
FountainBlue's October 11 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series on the topic of Women Leading Innovation, sponsored by EMC Corporation.
'Innovation' is today's buzzword - considered integral to an organization's culture, it's competitive advantage. As women rise in leadership positions in the tech companies in Silicon Valley, how are they approaching the question of culture and innovation? How have they successfully navigated the challenges of advancement in today's high tech companies? What is their advice to the rest of us? These and other questions were addressed by our esteemed panel which included:
Panelist Jenny Dormoy, Director Customer Deployability, EMC
Panelist Joy Mountford, VP User Experience and Design, Yahoo! Inc.
Panelist Marie Tahir, Director of Technology Innovation Group, Intuit
Below are comments from the conversation:
The Importance of Innovation:
It encourages individuals and organizations to think and act differently.
It fuels growth.
It provides opportunities to stand out.
It embraces learning and keeps people engaged and developing. We are only limited by the constraints we put on ourselves.
Innovation is not just in technology, but also in social structures, in processes, in other things.
Innovation is distinct from new knowledge or invention or creativity. The difference is that innovations are actually adopted and change people's lives.
About Innovative Leaders
There is no prescription/path for creating innovative leaders. They come from a variety of backgrounds, some traditional, some not.
Innovative leaders:
Foster innovative thinking and leadership in others,
Approach problems in new ways,
Focus on delivering business and social results,
Leverage their diverse background, training and experience and apply that knowledge to new situations,
Are flexible enough to take advantage of opportunity as it arise,
Are passionate and committed,
Are advocates and ambassadors who know how to build partnerships
Consistently drives movement/momentum for their teams and organizations,
Surround themselves with people with complementary skillsets
Know their own abilities and limitations
Suggestions for fueling creativity/out-of-the-box thinking in yourself, your team and your organization and bringing ideas into innovation - something that's adopted and changing people's lives:
Surround themselves with people from differing perspectives
Communicate transparently and clearly objectives, abilities, desires,
Balance the need to plan the the need to be spontaneous,
Embrace failure, are wary of complacency,
Reward risk-taking in their team and organization,
Encourage out-of-the box thinking
Actively seek inspiration from other stakeholders, even/and particularly if they do not share their own perspective,
Understand the perspectives of other stakeholders and communicate to them based on understanding their motivations
Celebrate and showcase the successes of others.
FountainBlue's September 13 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series on the topic of Leadership Styles: What's Gender Got to Do With It? featuring our facilitators:
Moderator Bonita Banducci, Banducci Consulting
Panelist Carolyn Crandall, Vice President Marketing and Channels, Seagate
Panelist Pat Cross, VP, Career Management Consulting, Right Management
Panelist Eileen Fussner, Vice President of Channel Sales for the Content Management & Archiving division, EMC Corporation
Gender is defined as 'the social meaning we bring to our biological differences'.
Traditionally, the focus of concern about gender differences has been on the differences in family roles. But work and family roles for men and women are both evolving, and co-affecting each other as they evolve.
Archetypes (not stereotypes) About a Woman's Leadership Style
We must speak in generalities, as not all women and not all men fit the descriptions of typical male or female leadership styles. In other words, we think about archetypes rather than stereotypes.
As an archetype (rather than a stereotype), women, in general, are more collaborative, more ready to share information, communicate more between functions (multi-tasking), more attuned to the customer voice, make more values-based decisions, and consider 'fire-prevention' more frequently.
Women are more sensitive to nonverbal communications and may therefore read people more accurately. This is not formula-based, more intuitive/instinctual.
Women tend to value relationships and people more, and value integrity.
Women tend to emphasize communication
Factors That Impact a Woman's Leadership Style:
Women in general tend to consider work/life balance issues and questions as they advance the corporate ladder.
Women in general tend to multi-task and think/drill down deeply about ramifications of a particularly issue. This may be perceived negatively by men and women as a trait which hinders progress, however, it might be the right thing to do at the right time.
Advice for Supporting Women Leaders:
First understand, appreciate and value the impact of their leadership styles on the organization, and then communicate it to others within an organization in a positive way that gets noticed.
Support other women in communicating directly and diplomatically our needs and intentionally lobby for our needs.
Blow our own horn! Positively position yourself and communicate successes without shameless self-promotion. Think of promoting yourself as framing a relationship in a different way, which might be especially difficult given the way girls, particularly Asian girls are acculturated.
Consider the right time and place to think about the big picture and to think about working out the ramifications/details of a proposed plan.
Understand what you bring to the table - Your strengths, attributes, things that you want to work on, what you want, what you're passionate about.
Frame your assets and attributes in the context of your performance review so that your strengths and accomplished will be better recognized and appreciated.
Balance listening and speaking - Listen first, but then speak to show that you heard and will integrate their words into your actions and plans.
When negotiating, be willing to walk away.
Open your heart while in communications. It helps to build trust in relationships.
See issues from everyone's perspectives and help people communicate their perspectives to everyone else. Find the middle ground. Be the peace-maker.
Insist on finding the right job, the right boss, the right company, the right industry for you.
When dealing with conflict, remember that being loud doesn't make the other person right. Try not to take the conflict personally. Have confidence in presenting your position.
Taking acting or improv classes may help to build the resiliency to handle conflict, work with strong emotions, creatively problem-solve relationship issues on the spot.
Questions to Consider:
What are some archetypes you have seen with women leaders from your network and experience? Which of these traits would you adopt for yourself?
What is your skillset and your passion and interest?
How can you clearly appreciate and acknowledge your accomplishments without standing out in a negative way?
What and who will help you stretch yourself?
How can the focus on relationships vs. the focus on differences help resolve day-to-day issues?
Our August 9 topic was Corporate Social Responsibility and the Bottom Line.
In this conversation, we brought the 'doing good while doing well' question to the foreground and spoke candidly about how to ensure that what businesses are doing for our communities is also good for their bottom line.Each panelist brought a different perspective of how they and their organization are focused on balancing their obligations to their people and their communities and their obligations to their partners, investors, and other corporate stakeholders. Our esteemed panel include:
Moderator Theresa Wilson, Partner, Lighthouse Blue
Panelist Brenda Hendricksen, AMD
Panelist Tracy Meersman, EMC
Panelist Joni Podolsky, Director of Community Programs, The Entrepreneurs' Foundation
Panelist Kathy Wheeler, Senior Manager, Global Community Involvement, Cadence
Below are notes from the conversation, and we invite your questions, comments and insights athttp://fountainblue.pbwiki.com.
The importance of corporate social responsibility
Historically, companies have moved from just being philanthropists and benefactors to becoming active partners in the community, providing everything from co-program development, to active volunteerism from corporate executives and staff members, to providing space and services to partner community organizations.
Companies that actively participate in the local community and proactively participate as global citizens are better perceived by the partners, customers, staff, etc.,
Companies that earn high marks on social responsibility have measurably better employee retention rates, a great benefit to the bottom line.
Companies that are active partners in the community are more likely to get public official support at the local, state and federal levels, which is very important when issues such as import/export legislation, traffic/zoning questions, etc., arise. Resolving these types of issues directly or indirectly also impact the bottom line.
An integrated social responsibility program (courtesy of Joni Podolsky, The Entrepreneurs' Foundation, JPodolsky@efbayarea.org)
There are two converging directions for creating an integrated social responsibility program: a Grassroots approach and a Compliance approach. See description and chart below.
The grassroots approach can lead to employee relations where employees decide what they're passionate about supporting in the community, strategic planning in partnership with community organizations, and even to strategic grant-making.
The compliance approach can move to employee relations and services (addressing the harassment and other policy-oriented compliance issues around employees), governance and ethics questions and issues, and then to transparency to all stakeholders.
Contact Joni Podolsky with your questions and thoughts as she develops and expands her theory on creating an integrated corporate social responsibility program.
Factors that impact the success of corporate social responsibility programs:
Companies are able to articulate core values and model business behavior that reflects those values, they can do well while doing good, benefiting investors, customers, partners, employees as well as other stakeholders. Example: AMD's core value of people first, products and profits will follow
Companies that proactively look for the intersects between community needs and business goals are more likely to succeed with their corporate social responsibility program.
Companies that partner with their employees to support issues and causes they're interested in, those that are in alignment with corporate goals, are more likely to succeed.
Social responsibility cannot be legislated beyond the current and general anti-discrimination and environmental responsibility policies. Through senior executive leadership, companies scoring high on social responsibility are defining and articulate corporate values, values which executives and staff and use when making critical business decisions.
Examples of what you can do to encourage social responsibility at your organization
Use corporate intranet to provide info about how to easily get involved in the community, partnering with HR
Junior Achievement/National Semiconductor model, you stay at your desk, but kids come in.
Adopt a family program
Bowlathon for Junior Achievement
Host off-sites for nonprofits
Add more socially conscious investments to 401K
Ask managers to do team building exercises
Combine company celebrations with volunteer places
Contact Theresa Wilson of Lighthouse Blue if you're interested in hearing a presentation on 'Ten reasons businesses get involved in the community'. meringo4@yahoo.com
Contact Joni Podolsky to find out more about the Entrepreneurs' Foundation and how they help early and later stage companies develop and implement their corporate social responsibility plans. JPodolsky@efbayarea.org
Our July 12 When She Speaks event was on the topic of Women at the Top of Their Game.
In a previous FountainBlue Leadership Edge Workshop, we discussed how leaders need every possible advantage to achieve success for themselves and their teams and perform at the top of their game. For this month's When She Speaks conversation, we gathered women who leverage the disciplines of sports - endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, and perseverance - to address the daunting work-life demands imposed on women leaders in today's corporations.
For this month's When She Speaks session, our accomplished panelists conversed candidly about the challenges and opportunities that leadership presents and how the important practices of self-leadership and personal accountability help them to more effectively leverage their leadership style and inspire others to also lead with power, influence and integrity.
Moderator Roberta LaPorte, RAL & Associates
Panelist Lisa Felder, Team in Training, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Panelist Tracy Hughes, Global Lead for Cisco Sport and Entertainment
Panelist Barbara Massa, Director of Recruiting Services, EMC
Panelist Amy Rubin, Director, Digital Marketing Strategies and Programs, Intel
Panelist Jackie Seto, Managing Director of SW, MEMS & 3D IC, Lam Research
Below is a compilation of notes from our session.
How incorporating the disciplines of sports - endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, and perseverance - can address the daunting work-life demands imposed on women leaders in today's corporations:
It provides mental sharpness and clarity, important for effective productivity, leadership and decision-making.
It inspires emotional confidence.
The conditioning provides the energy and endurance to perform at your best in work and personal settings.
It supports clear communication, particularly in team sports.
It can provide opportunities to network and meet people or connect with people regularly, which is very important in stress management and quality of life.
It provides opportunities for collaboration particularly in team sports.
It provides opportunities to build self-knowledge.
It can be fun. It will also give you the opportunity to enjoy food.
It teaches commitment.
It is a gift to yourself.
Advice on how to incorporate sports concepts in the workplace
Always make forward progress and immediately address issues which stall progress with direct and clear communications.
Communication is key. Communicate goals, roles, strategies working as a team.
Building relationships on the field is like building teams in the workplace.
When you're recovering from an injury/going on leave, find a way to maintain your work relationships.
When under stress, use your ability to focus, see clearly, to manage the situation and also your relationships with the people involved.
Have the stamina and perseverence to succeed despite setbacks in the workplace.
Focus on the goal, the business results.
Understand what your sport/your work means to you.
We can't choose what's in front of us, but we can choose what we can do about it, in sports and at work.
Find a way to fit in, even if it's in a male-dominated sport/business.
Set realistic objectives/stretch goals for yourself in sports and in business.
Take the time to have fun and enjoy your sport and your work!
Suggestions from the break-out groups on how to incorporate exercise into your lives:
Pace yourself
Cross-train
Make it fun, use music or other things you enjoy
Motivate yourself to do it - Want to do, don't make yourself do it
Buddy up with others
Get quality equipment like shoes
Manage your diet
No guilt
Change your paradigm about what's exercise - incorporating exercise into caring for children for example
Use exercise to manage stress
Make it convenient to exercise, like keeping shoes at your desk
Personal trainer
Keep it simple
Our June 14 When She Speaks Women in Leadership event was on the topic of Optimizing Your Team, featuring:
Moderator Rossella Derickson and Krista Henley, Corporate Wisdom and SBODN
Panelist Sheryl Chamberlain, Global Alliance Manager, EMC, Director ATW Mentorship Program
Panelist Vickie Grove, Development Director, Child Advocates
Panelist Amy Heidersbach, Vice President, Product and Merchant Marketing, VISA
Panelist Hali White, Director Process Excellence Office, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Below is a compiled set of advice from the panel how how to optimize teams:
Build Community within Teams
Build connections between team members
Celebrate successes
Make sure that everyone sees everyone's interests/agenda
Make sure that everyone feels valued, doing the kinds of things they want to do and are good at
When there's conflict on the team, address it head-on and quickly
Successful Team Members Have Emotional Intelligence
Good team members are engaged in helping others on the team to succeed
Good managers and leaders find ways to showcase everyone, get everyone's performance peaked, within setting up a competition between team members
Good team members have the confidence and emotional maturity to see the world as one of abundance, (when others succeed, the possibilities get bigger for everyone else) rather than one of scarcity (when others succeed, there's less of something for everyone else). Good managers understand that and work with that reality.
Communication Skills are Essential
Understand the motivations of all team members and partners
Take each members'/partners' motivations into account
Continually inspire and empower others to succeed.
Leverage technology to facilitate communications. Conference calls and WebEx solutions are an important part of team communications, but in-person meetings are very important, particularly in the formative stages of a relationship.
See also the list below as communications is a critical aspect of leadership.
Leading Great Teams Involves Vision and Execution
Communicate organizational, team, and individual objectives regularly and effectively. (See also communication tips above.)
Manage conflict to ensure that the objectives of all team members and partners are met. This might mean facilitating difficult conversations, providing consequences for non-productive behavior, constantly engaging and inspiring everyone to 'get with the program' and do their share to contribute to a common cause.
Set high but achievable expectations, leveraging the strengths of everyone on the team.
Make tough choices.
Great Teams Create Collaborative, Win-Win Solutions Engaging Others
Defines role based on ability and passion and interests.
Get buy-in from all team members and partners.
Manage to the person, enlisting everyone's support for the objectives of the person, team and organization, and communicating how each person's tasks/roles supports the objectives at all three levels.
FountainBlue's May 10, 2007 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of The Mentors in Our Lives.
Since the launch of our When She Speaks Series, we have had monthly conversations in celebration of women in leadership positions. Invariably, our conversations touched on the mentors, leaders and role models upon whose shoulders we stood, and the support and guidance we are consciously and unconsciously providing for those who come after us.
We focused on The Mentors in Our Lives in our May session. Whether they are professional mentors or personal coaches and advocates, every successful woman and man we have come across will willingly share stories of the people who have touched their lives, and impacted their life direction. For this event, our esteemed panel of influential women shared their personal and professional stories about how the mentors in their lives have impacted their thinking and development, and how this has, in turn, stimulated her thoughts and actions in support of others. Our discussion will be led by:
Moderator Catherine Ngo, General Partner, Startup Capital Ventures
Panelist Joan Banich, Brand Identity Manager, Cisco
Panelist Katy Dickinson, Director, Business Process Architecture, Sun Microsystems
Panelist Shelli Hendricks,Education Consultant, EMC and Director Mentorship Program, ATW
Panelist Carol Muller, Founder and CEO, MentorNet
Panelist Eileen Sullivan, Group Director of IT, Cadence
Below is a compilation of advice for your reference.
Mentors are important:
Great people have become great with the support, encouragement, connections, advice, etc., of other great people.
Great people are also willing to help others to develop, providing they prove worthy of the time investment, because great people are also busy people!
Successful mentoring relationships have led to better promotion, better retention, better job satisfaction, better community etc., so there's a good business case to invest in corporate mentoring programs.
Successful mentor-mentee relationships are very rewarding personally and professionally.
Know what you're looking for: Be specific about your needs, Research who can address those needs, Investigate how to best approach that person.
If there is a support infrastructure that supports your organization, use it. Examples include Cadence's Women's Forums or Cisco's Women's Action Network grassroots programs, Sun's mentor-mentee matching program which matches you with one of 15 mentors you identified yourself, or EMC's list of tools and resources to help support the mentor-mentee relationship.
Gender of the mentor is not as important as the goal/strategy for the relationship.
Stretch your comfort zone about who would be a good mentor for you. Maybe working with someone with a different gender, ethnicity, role etc., would be more beneficial.
Remove the word 'mentor' when approaching someone you're not comfortable with.
Consider making 'situational' instead of a long-term relationships.
Advice for people running informal or formal mentorship programs, within the workplace or outside of it:
Encourage the type of mentor-mentee relationship and community which supports empowerment as empowering one is empowering all.
Help those in your group connect with resources and people within the organization as well as external associations and organizations like FountainBlue, ATW, GWLN for additional connections and resources.
Create tools and resources to help people participating in mentoring program identify mentors, manage the logistics of the relationship, establish and revisit goals, measure results, build the mentorship relationship, sunset the relationship etc.,
Be flexible about developing the program - mentors and mentees vary in their needs, so the focus is on how to help them communicate objectives up front, continue to develop the relationship, etc., not on enforcing a specific program to cover specific topics over a specific period of time.
Create a mentoring circle so you can leverage the perspectives of many.
Connect with others running mentor-mentee programs, both formal and informal/grassroots ones. Share ideas and resources.
It helps to have an executive sponsor.
Help people ensure a good ongoing mentor-mentee match. Continually evaluate and communicate the value of the relationship, how to address conflict, how to move on when the relationship is no longer working, etc.,
Comments on how others can support you in a mentorship relationship:
Offer others constructive feedback for areas of growth.
Suggest mentors/ Share your network.
Share resources - from tools to networking opportunities.
Advocating for a new-hire mentorship program might help the mentoring concept take hold for your organization.
Sharing the success statistics might help make the case for mentorship.
Questions from the audience we didn't have time to address (comments are welcome on our wiki, http://fountainblue.pbwiki.com).
Establishing mentor/mentee relationships/programs in small/start-up environments.
The role of HR in building mentorship programs.
Using your boss as a mentor.
Difference between a mentor and a friend.
Developing a mentorship relationship when company doesn't have a program.
Join ATW http://www.atwinternational.com/member_benefits.aspx and ask about their mentor-mentee programs. Let us know if you made a contribution or if you joined so that we can e-mail you a free audio or video file of the program.
Join GWLN http://www.gwln.org, become an active member and attend their monthly Women at the Well sessions or support their annual Women Leaders of the World program.Make a contribution and let us know that you joined so that we can e-mail you a free audio or video file of the program.
This Month's Topic: Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity
In our March Leadership workshop, we talked about balancing power, influence and integrity, identifying power as the ability to do or act, Influence as the capacity to be a compelling force and affect others, and integrity as wholeness and perfect condition.
For this FountainBlue When She Speaks program, we will partner with the Global Women's Leadership Network (GWLN) in support of their International Women's program as we feature successful women who lead with power, influence and integrity.
We would also like to thank our esteemed panelists for their wise, inspiring, engaging, and thought-provoking remarks.
Moderator
Camille Smith, Work In Progress Coaching; Leader, GWLN
Panelist Michele Forte, Senior Director of Development, CARE
Panelist Afsaneh Laidlaw, Senior Director of Engineering, Cisco
Advice for Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity:
Integrity is paramount, although one is not automatically a leader because of it, one cannot lead effectively without it. Good companies can go bad unless people with integrity are leading.
Influence is also key - Many times, we are asked to lead when you don't have the authority to do so.
Leading in a business context is measured by results and how they fit in the overall business strategy.
Having a passionate vision is a critical element of leadership.
Trust and respect others, at all levels in all roles.
Empower others to also contribute and challenge them to achieve to their potential.
Communicate clearly, often, and courageously.
As a leader, your every actions will impact others in ways you may not foresee. This is a double-edged sword - Plan and act accordingly.
Building deep, long-term, trust-based relationships is the foundation of influence for any leader.
Directive leadership doesn't work. A more collaborate, influence-based approach is more effective.
Be invested, not threatened by, the overall leadership of your organization. Mentor and coach and recruit other leaders as together we are stronger still.
To remain an effective leader, consciously lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle and find others to help you to do so.
For example, take the 'slices of work/life' concept Meg Whitman referred to.
Leverage technologies to help manage that balance.
Manage your work hours and your behavior to force that time for other activities.
Don't look necessarily for the perfect job, but for a boss that is invested in your long-term growth.
Sometimes holding the leadership course is tough - full of contrarians, people with conflicting motivations and agendas, etc., Surround yourself with supporters who can help ensure that your vision is best for the company, and influence others to adopt the course.
Having a high standard for yourself is different than having the same high standards for others. Although others' standards may not be as high, for example, their results may be more practical or more effective in ways you may not have anticipated. Being more flexible about standards for others will help ensure their continued engagement and also may help produce unanticipated and positive approaches or results.
What is Leadership?
Leadership is not just about having a technical background or about about the right title/authority.
Leadership is about developing and maintaining a track record worthy of support and trust, a track record which consistently shows you envisioning, communicating and acting on the best interest of your organization, yourself and others. A track record which generates strategic and measurable results.
Leaders leverage their strengths and attributes to support and empower others and to generate results they may not have thought possible.
Leaders take into account the culture and context of the people they work with, and don't allow factors such as gender, culture and other factors to impact their ability to lead.
Leaders overcome stereotypes and judgments by focusing on delivering results, without the distraction of overly-focusing on others' mis-perceptions and stereotypes.
Leadership is a process of discovery, a journey not a goal.
We encourage an ongoing conversation on this topic. Questions and comments on the remarks above are welcome. In addition, below are questions submitted by the audience for your reflection and comment:
What was your greatest challenge as a leader in a global organization, leading across cultural boundaries?
What is the toughest leadership lesson you've learned in your career thus far?
How do you respond when your boss, peer or others make a mistake, how do you respond?
How do you incorporate your faith (religion) into your leadership?
How have you most effectively engaged in self-promotion (the good kind)?
When did you learn that you were a leader?
How do you teach leadership to your daughter, in America?
What career mistakes have you learned the most from?
How do you spot future leaders?
Looking back to when you started your career, did you imagine yourself in this type of leadership position?
What is the difference between leadership and management?
How have you handled the gender bias by men toward women or cultural biases?
Have you been bullied by men, and if so, how did you respond?
Our March 9 event was on the topic of Women in Policy
With the latest election results, Silicon Valley, California has the distinction of having two women representatives in the Senate as well as the speaker of the house. This month's conversation will focus on having women in policy at the local, state, regional and national levels and their impact on our business and personal lives. We will feature the personal and professional stories of the women policy-makers on our panel and share advice on how best to navigate the political landscapes to make the kind of sustainable impact that benefit men and women, in business and in life.
We wish to thank and acknowledge our speakers for their candid and inspiring practical advice on how to support women in forging change at home, in our communities, and at work.
Facilitator Leslee Guardino founder of the Women's High Tech Coalition and Partner at Canyon Snow
Panelist Cindy Chavez, former Vice-Mayor, City of San Jose
Panelist Kathleen King, City of Saratoga City Council
Panelist Liz Kniss, Supervisor, County of Santa Clara
Panelist Bev Strand, Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Worldwide Diversity & Inclusion, Cisco, Member, California Commission on the Status of Women.
Panelist Michelle Wright-Conn, Cisco Global Policy and Government Affairs
Below is additional information and advice on how to support women forging change at the policy and business level:
There has been little change in the last 40 years:
Women are still not earning at the same levels as men.
Women are still balancing home and work challenges, being required to do more, multi-task better, work longer hours.
Women bring a different perspective to policy: It's not just a gender difference, a woman's overall experiences, views and approach are different.
Advice on how to support women forging change:
Consider the globalization of talent and how it impacts our policy, personal and business perspectives.
Be exposed to diverse perspectives.
Take on a challenge, and help others also be one inch taller as they do the same.
A woman's more collaborative approach might better address the war, healthcare and image issues currently posed at the national level.
Perhaps adopting a mandate on the percentage of women in office would have a positive impact on policy, much like it had for Rwanda.
Take the initiative to find out who is running for which office, whether they're men or women and make a point of supporting women and men forging positive change. Your voice matters!
Be more confident in the abilities of other women.
Advice for yourself, as you lead at work and in community:
Leverage the more intuitive, more self-aware nature women might have.
Support technology, and women in support innovation and technology at the policy level.
Think outside the box; view things with a different lens.
Expect to be treated with dignity and respect, and make a stand when this is not the case, for yourself, for your colleagues, for those who will come after you.
Doing the right thing for people generally is also doing the right thing for the economy.
On February 9, 2007, our When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of Healthy Lifestyle Choices. Our panelists included Geetha Rao; Lisa Jing, HR Manager, Integrated Healthcare Initiative at Cisco; Julie Johnston, HR Benefits Manager at El Camino Hospital; Linda Williams, CEO of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. And thank you to each of you, for your active participation in this event, which helped make it a success for everyone.
Below are comments and advice on making healthy lifestyle choices from our panel, and the collective wisdom of the audience.
Take responsibility for your physical and mental health
Frame your thoughts without the 'shoulds' and 'supposed to's' imposed on us by others in our lives
Proactively manage the stress in your life
Anticipate the many small decisions we make day-to-day (like take the stairs or elevator; chips or salad; soda or water; portion size, etc.,) and consistently make the healthier choice.
Arm yourself with facts so that you can make those right small decisions which can make such a big difference
Be centered in yourself and your interests, values and needs and act based on your identified priorities. Recognize and accept that there may be trade-offs to making those prioritized choices.
Choose regular exercise and make it a priority
Make the time for yourself
Meditate
As women, our own personal needs come behind those of our children, our spouses, our parents, etc., Make taking care of ourselves as important as taking care of our careers. Be relentlessly assertive about your health and well-being.
Practice safer sex and protect themselves against STDs because the consequences are often more severe for women
Serve the community, give back. It provides fulfillment and helps provide balance in your life.Support yourself and your family in making healthy lifestyle choices
Encourage others in your life to take responsibility as well
Encourage frequent 15-second hand-washing
As a parent, become confident sex educators, as they are the preferred sex educators for our youth (first is parents, second schools, third is peers, fourth the media, but in actuality, the reverse is true). Help other parents do the same.
Planned Parenthood's book, Let's Talk About S-E-X/ A guide for kids 9 to 12 and their parents might help us become more comfortable sex educators for our children. Order this book through Amazon.
Be an advocate for HPV immunization for 9-12 year old children, which guards against 4 HPV viruses, which could lead to cervical cancer.
Corporations like Cisco take an active interest in the health and well-being of its employees and their families
It supports the bottom line for corporations to proactively support its employees and families - 18% of the employee population spends 81% of the cost of healthcare for an organization, so proactively working with employees to head-off long-term health conditions and challenges is in the best interest of both the employer and the employee
When employees have a better quality of life, they are happier, feel better, easier to work with, and more productive
Our January 12, 2007 our When She Speaks Women in Leadership Series event was on the topic of Succeeding in a Man's World. Our panelists were Patti Wilson, CareerCompany; Linda Fosler, Linda Prowse Fosler & Associates; Francine Gordon, President of FGordon Group and President of ATW for 2007; Mona Hudak Senior Diversity and Inclusion Program Manager from Cisco Systems; and Panelist Praveena Varadarajan, director of engineering at Sun Microsystems. Below are some big-picture take-aways from the meeting:
Historical events have impacted a woman's participation and leadership in the workplace
in the 40s, women went to work to support our country, and our men who were serving in the war.
in the late 40s when the men returned, the women gave up their jobs
in the late 50s women who went to college were generally looking for a husband and got married and raised families
in the 60s, more women were in the workplace, but the types of jobs available for women such as teaching, nursing, administration, were generally lower level or more lowly paid
in the 70s, more women entered the workforce out of necessity. They were known as the 'displaced homemaker'.
in the 80s, with affirmative action, there was a rise in women in non-traditional women jobs from firemen to engineers
in the 90s, with the dot com boom, salaries for men and women jobs were fairly comparable
now, in the 2000s, women are back to earning .7-.8 for every dollar a man does, and are not well represented in traditionally male professionals and at the most senior levels
Advice for women seeking to succeed in a man's world:
Be a good leader
Be true to yourself
Have passion and desire for what you are doing
Know yourself - your strengths and challenges
Have a strong moral compass
Don't tie your ego with your position
Stop competing with your self
Work Hard
Focus on relationships
Be trustworthy, have integrity
Collaborate
Bring out the best in other
Leverage your strengths and partner with others to help you address your areas of need
Focus on the ideas rather than the politics
Have high standards and make plans to achieve them
Decide to be successful
Correct the mistakes you make
Be competent, and do your homework
Know when to cut your losses
Be powerfully focused
Don't shy from conflict, but don't invite it
Be better today than you were yesterday, better tomorrow than you were today
Communicate your effectiveness as a leader
Behave as if you belong at the table
Don't downplay your accomplishments
Don't give away your power
Take the initiative at meetings when appropriate
Have and project confidence:
Watch your body movements and amount of space you take at a table
Monitor your voice intonations
Communicate your confidence with your handshake
Consider the cultural and personal background of those you're interacting with. Be sensitive to the feedback you are receiving regarding the confidence you are projecting.
Be opportunitistic
Be prepared and take advantage of serendipitous opportunities as they present themselves
Ask for help when you need it
Find ways to support others and give back
Find a way to fit into male-dominated culture
Accept that the high tech world in Silicon Valley is a man's world and work from there
Be conversant about sports and/or participate in male dominated sports like golf
Be comfortable and confident about being a woman
Leverage traditionally female strengths, from collaboration to communication, from empathy to multi-tasking
Don't conform to standards that don't fit your identity as a woman, as a leader
Don't use femininity in negative ways
Advice on how to integrate work and life as you're rising up the corporate ladder:
Collaborate with your spouse as a partner
Plan your work around your family's needs. Sometimes working in a global economy with late-evening phone calls helps you make that balance.
Please join us in thanking all our facilitators, sponsors an speakers for FountainBlue's 2009 When She Speaks events.
Facilitator
Jo Miller, CEO, Women's Leadership Coaching Inc.
Panelist Sheri Atwood, VP of Global Solutions and Programs, Enterprise
Marketing, Symantec
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist Jennifer Bleakney, VP, Worldwide Distribution and Customer Support,
National Semiconductor
Panelist Jan Schlossberg, Senior Mgr, Intellectual Property & Compliance,
Cisco
It has
been 22 years since the term glass ceiling was coined by the Wall Street
Journal to describe the apparent barriers that prevent women from reaching
the top of the corporate hierarchy; and it has been twelve years since the
American government's specially appointed Glass Ceiling Commission published
its recommendations. In 1995 the commission found that women had 45.7% of
America's jobs and more than half of master's degrees being awarded. Yet 95%
of senior managers were men, and female managers' earnings were on average a
mere 68% of their male counterparts'.
Twelve years later women account for 46.5% of America's workforce and for
less than 8% of its top managers.
Join us for a stimulating panel and discussion about why progress is so slow
and what we must do to effect real, and rapid, change.
Facilitator
Francine Gordon, FGordon Group and SDForum Tech Women's Program
Panelist Jennifer Hall, VP of HR, Intuit
Panelist Kristi McGee, Senior Director, Open Work Services Group, Sun
Microsystems
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Phyllis Stewart Pires, Director of Community Experience, SAP Labs
Silicon
Valley women leaders are challenged by the corporate and business pressures
of high-stress, high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal
demands of life and family. In todays streamlined, fast-moving workplace,
its more important than ever to make the most of every day and every moment.
This month's When She Speaks event focuses on how successful women are
juggling these often-competing goals and what we can do to adjust our own and
others' expectations on us, in order to ease the load and the stress. Our
speakers will share their stories, commiserate with us, and challenge us to
re-evaluate our roles, our priorities, and our own expectations for
ourselves.
Facilitator
Sandra Wales, President, Wales Investments, Inc.
Panelist
Pat Cross, Vice President, Career Management, Right Management
Panelist
Lisa Dearborn, Vice President, Leadership Development, Hitachi Data Systems
Panelist
Lisa Jing, Program Manager, Integrative Health, Cisco
Panelist
Patricia Wimberly, Sr. Manager, Solutions Practice, Global Services - Western
Division, EMC Corporation
In this
century, it is much more difficult to plan your career path, as there is more
fluidity within and across corporations, across global markets, plus more
acceptance of people moving from one role or industry to another. This
month's panel will focus on agility as the key to building a successful
career, featuring women who have changed roles and industries, positions and
companies. They will share their stories of successes and challenges, and
also share how they are supporting others to do the same.
Facilitator
Camille Smith, Work In Progress Coaching
Panelist
Erna Arnesen, VP of Global Services, Channels and Alliances, Cisco
Panelist
Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist
Nancy Long, Sr Vice President of Human Resources, Hitachi Data Systems
Panelist
Alexandra Woody, Sr. Dir. Program Management & FPLC, Flextronics
We
admire and applaud the heroes and mentors in our lives who are leading with
power, influence and integrity. For this event, we will meet a panel of women
who are successfully leading with power, influence and integrity, who will
candidly share their barriers to and best practices for more effectively
leading others and producing results that create successful businesses and
fulfilling lives.
Panelist
Martha Galley, Senior Director, Windows Live Business Development, Microsoft
Panelist
Ruth Gaube, VP and Deputy Executive Council, Symantec
Panelist
Amy Gonzales, Regional West Coast Director, Women Unlimited
Panelist
Shivani Govil, Corporate Strategy Group, Office of the CEO, SAP
Panelist
Darcy Kiefaber, HR, LifeScan
As
leaders, we appreciate the mentors, leaders and role models upon whose
shoulders we stood. We carefully consider the support and guidance we are consciously
and unconsciously providing for those who come after us. This month's event
will focus on our mentoring relationships, how we can share more of what we
know with others and how we can identify the potential mentors available to
us. Our panelists will share the ways that their mentors have impacted their
thinking and development, and how this has, in turn, stimulated thoughts and
actions in support of others. In addition, well discuss how you can promote
mentoring in your organization.
Facilitator
Lisa Orrell, The Generation Relations Expert, The Orrell Group, author of
Millennials Incorporated
Panelist
Urvi Bhandari, AT&T
Panelist
Megan Campi, Customer Service Relationship Manager, Cisco
Panelist
Kristen Dearing, Sun Microsystems
Panelist
Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program Management Group, Microsoft
Panelist
Shalini Govil-Pai, Lead PM, Google
Panelist
Lori Smith, Director of HR, Cisco
The
Millennial Generation otherwise known as Generation Y is no longer made-up of
just kids and teens. The eldest are now graduating college and entering the
professional workforce.
How will this affect corporations looking to recruit and retain them?
What is unique about this generation, and how and why should corporations
recruit and retain them?
Our panel of esteemed hiring managers and HR professionals work closely with
Millennials and proactively plan recruitment and management strategies for
these uniquely prized workers.
Panelist
Nancy Long, Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources, Hitachi Data
Systems
Panelist
Marleen McDaniel, Serial Entrepreneur and Business Adviser
In
other months of our When She Speaks Series, we touch upon the gender issue
tangentially, but this month, the gender issue will be the theme. Questions
may include:
What makes an effective woman leader, particularly one in a high tech world?
What are some typically feminine leadership traits, and how can they be
leveraged in a male-dominated world?
How does one interact with other women, and their unique leadership styles?
How can one better understand her one style, and proactively expand it?
These and other questions on gender and leadership in high tech will be
explored by our panel this month.
Panelist
Mercedes De Luca, Global Customer Experience and Chief Information Officer at
myShape.com, previously VP of Global IT at Yahoo!
Panelist
Lise E Edwards, Oracle Women's Leadership (OWL), Program Manager, Oracle
Human Resources
Panelist
Susan Lai, Senior Director, Finance, Symantec Corporation
Panelist
Eileen Sullivan, Group Director, Cadence
Lets
face it office politics is a reality for everyone, regardless of the size
of your organization or your position. As professionals we have all dealt
with the challenges of doing our job while watching our backs, managing up,
and dealing with difficult co-workers who treat others around them badly.
With all the advances women have made in the workplace, why is this issue
still holding us back? Our panel of high tech leaders will share how they
have achieved their leadership positions by successfully navigating office
politics, amplifying others contributions (menand women), and generously supporting high
potentials on the leadership track.
These and other questions on navigating politics in the workplace will be
explored by our panel this month.
Panelist
Peggy Wolf, Manager, Cisco Services Global I&D
In our
fast-paced, global world, both men and women leaders are faced with the need
to communicate clearly and rapidly to teams in all corners of the globe and
drive results. Gender and culture and other factors affect how well any exec
can perform. This month's panel of women executives will share their secrets
on how to effectively communicate across cultures to drive results.
Innovation'
is today's buzzword - considered integral to an organization's culture, its
competitive advantage. As women rise in leadership positions in the tech
companies in Silicon Valley, how are they approaching the question of culture
and innovation? How have they successfully navigated the challenges of
advancement in today's high tech companies? What is their advice to the rest
of us?
Panelist
Pamela E. Evans, Director, Executive Programs, NetApp
Panelist
Cecily Joseph, Director, Corporate Responsibility, Legal and Public Affairs,
Symantec
Panelist
Marilyn Nagel, Director, WW Diversity & Inclusion, Cisco
Panelist
Keren Pavese, Program Manager, Western Division Office of Sustainability,
Community Outreach & Diversity Councils, EMC
Corporate
leaders have the experience, impact, and authority to support their
communities, yet often times, they don't have the time or bandwidth to
actively participate in nonprofit boards. This month, we will feature some
inspirational corporate women who are passionate and dedicated to their
corporate AND their community causes, and they will share how supporting one
cause, benefits the other.
In
business, you have to keep moving quickly, in response to market and customer
demands. Standing still can mean a death sentence, even if the short-term
numbers look good!
So corporate strategies are proactively changed, and new corporate executive
teams assume the reigns in the quest of proactive change.
Our panel this month has participated in many of these 'changing of the
guards' as an executive from the incumbent and from the newly-hired
perspective. They will share their insights on how new corporate management
teams really hit the ground running:
- by leading a smooth changing of executive suite members,
- by minimizing cultural impact, while ushering in necessary near processes,
people and procedures, and
- by maximizing efficient bottom-line progress through a transition?
FountainBlue's December 8, 2006 event was on the topic of Creating a Work-Life Balance
Silicon Valley women leaders are challenged by the corporate and business pressures of high-stress, high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal demands of life and family. This month's When She Speaks event focuses on how successful women are juggling these often-competing goals and what we can do to adjust our own and others' expectations on us, in order to ease the load. Our speakers will share their stories, commiserate with us, and challenge us to re-evaluate how roles, our priorities, and our own expectations for ourselves.
Facilitator Michele Bolton, a founding partner of ExecutivEdge of Silicon Valley, LLC, http://www.executivedge.com, an executive development and management consulting firm. Michele is a former professor of management, having recently retired from nearly twenty years on the faculty of the College of Business at San Jose State University, having taught MBA courses in visionary leadership, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and team building. She is the author of The Third Shift: Managing Hard Choices in our Careers, Homes and Lives as Women.
Panelist Jan Schlossberg manages the Hardware Product Standards team at Cisco System, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco employs more than 47,000 employees worldwide, 24% of whom are women, and frequently appears on Working Mother magazine's "100 Best Companies" list. Jan will share the joys and challenges of standardizing hardware innovations across 80 product families while raising young children in a dual-income family
Panelist Jennifer Gill Roberts is currently a partner at Maven Ventures. Having served as a serial VC for high technology companies across the valley and beyond, Jennifer has helped a wide range of early- and later- stage start-ups with access to funding and consultation on their business strategies. Jennifer will share how she juggles the intense business demands while raising three children alongside her husband.
Panelist Nivisha Mehta is currently the development director for South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital http://www.southasianheartcenter.org/. Nivisha will share how she has successfully juggled her work interests in support of nonprofits across the region and her growing young family.
Panelist Kristi Royse is currently President of KLR Consulting, http://www.klrconsulting.com a successful consulting practice focusing on team and organizational challenges for executives in the valley. Kristi will share how she successfully balances her business interests with that of her family.
Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice for your Creating a Work-Life Balance, drawn on the wisdom of our facilitators and participants. We also invite your comments on these notes.
Set realistic goals about what you can accomplish, based on your resources and strengths and support networks and manage your activities based on those goals.
Visualize success. Look forward, not backwards.
Embrace the positives about yourself, don't focus on the negatives.
If it's a goal worth achieving, focus on achieving that goal, even is it's harder than you thought it would be, and if it takes longer than you thought it would take.
Be realistic and strategic about your standard for balance
Define what you mean for balance in which areas (work, life, family, friends, etc.,) over what period of time (day, week, month)
Define success for you
Manage your activities and self-talk based on your defined standards
Accept that you can't always keep all the balls in the air. One of them is going to drop. That's OK. Just pick it up once in a while and keep juggling.
Being balanced is about being happy.
Advice for professional women who chose to have a family
If you have made a career choice, don't second-guess yourself if/when your children, for example, ask for more time from you.
If you have young children and need to spend more time with them, considering finding a situation a work with the flexibility to do it.
If you have chosen a high-pressure career which doesn't support raising a family, and you decide to do it, don't think too much about when a good time will be. Just do it and find a way to make it work afterwards.
As business professionals, consider your opporutnities to volunteer and make sure that you can make a good impact which best utilizes your skills, acknowledges the needs of your children, and supports the organization.
Tell your children why you are doing what they are doing. Share your work with them.
Get your children invested in the success of your chosen career.
Create an inspirational vision for your life and work, and strive toward achieving that
Know yourself - your strengths, your passions. Focus on your strengths and build on them. Follow your passion. Enjoy what you do.
Model your values in your work, in your life
Live autentically, with curiousity, with passsion and with fun.
Manage your energy so that you're happy, living the life you want.
Delegate tasks, leverage resources for tasks that do not provide core value for people closest to you
Leverage resources around you - family, hired help from gardener to babysitter to cook to handyman
Build a support network to support yourself personally
Continue the conversations with others
Make time for your family and friends
Work with your support network so that you can get personal time
Enjoy each other. Take the time to communicate.
Seek mentors. Learn from others.
Dedicate time for your personal and physical health. Exercise can be a great stress-reducer for example.
Do what you have to do to be successful at your chosen task. Enjoy doing it. It doesn't get any better than that!
For more information:
Michele's book is available at The Third Shift: Managing Hard Choices in Our Careers, Homes, and Lives as Women is available on Amazon.com
For more information about Nivisha's organization, visit the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital http://www.southasianheartcenter.org/. The mission of center is to dramatically reduce the high incidence of coronary artery disease among South Asians, and save lives, through a comprehensive, culturally-appropriate program incorporating education, advanced screening, lifestyle changes, and case management. Join us in supporting this great cause by visiting http://www.southasianheartcenter.org/support/donatenow.html.
FountainBlue's November 10 When She Speaks session was on the topic of Fostering Women Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries. The event featured facilitator Linda Alepin, head of the Global Women's Leadership Network, panelist Remi Matsumoto, Founder and President of the Hina Coral Restoration Network and panelist Praveena Varadarajan, Director of Engineering at Sun Microsystems.
Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice for your reference, drawn on the wisdom of our facilitators and each of you as participants.
We in Silicon Valley are sheltered from the realities of the difficulties of others in developing countries
Men and women from around the world life for under $2 a day
There is a gender gap in entrepreneurship, over 1 in three entrepreneurs are women. Visit
Women entrepreneurs are more likely to share their wealth and experience with their families and larger community.
Where women are empowered, the country's general economy benefits
Companies and leaders benefit from fostering entrepreneurship
It builds a larger target market
It encourages partnerships
It stimulates and rewards results-oriented entrepreneurial thinking
It encourages and supports innovative thinking
As leaders, we need to foster entrepreneurship
Encourage hard-working, committed, resolved and focused entrepreneurs - the drive is imperative to success
Expose potential entrepreneurs to hear great leaders speak. This can spark a vision, drive, and the entrepreneurial spirit and also help budding leaders to build connections.
Encourage respectful debate - it stimulates critical and innovative thinking and building of bonds and connections between like-minded people
Provide support structures and educational opportunities
Work with technology organizations to encourage providing technology solutions to entrepreneurs around the world
Encourage compassionate dialogue between countries, organizations, leaders, to develop empowering, collaborative, win-win solutions in support of successful entrepreneurial ventures, providing tangible results
Encourage the creation of social treaties, alongside the political treaties
Look for opportunities to encourage more women participation in entrepreneurial ventures
Encourage the sharing of women's stories; leverage technologies for easy distribution of these compelling stories
Take Action
Social entrepreneurship - innovative solutions for one of society's pressing problems coupled with action. Includes a model, an approach, a strategy for proliferation.
Identify and support the many groups in the region and in the world support the cause of women entrepreneurship:
Global Women Leadership Network: Whole Woman, Whole Leader, Whole World,
E-mail us at info@FountainBlue.biz if you would like to join us in an ongoing effort to collaborate between technology companies in Silicon Valley in support of fostering women entrepreneurship in developing countries
The October 13 "When She Speaks" Women in Leadership Event: It Takes a Village: The Case for Collaborative Leadership featured:
Patricia Savitri Burbank from One World Children's Fund
Dyan Chan from Lighthouse Blue
Katharine Fong from the San Jose Mercury News
Mona Hudak from Cisco Systems
Rosemary Straley from the Hillary Rodham Clinton Support Network
Below is a Summary of Notes and Advice on Collaborative Leadership provided by the facilitators and the audience in general.
Qualities of Collaborative Leadership
Engagement and Empowerment, Belief in a common mission.
Open you mind to perspectives different than your own
Be part of the village - help others, seek help yourself; Grow your village
Engage people of diverse talents and perspectives; Draw out the best in others, be around people who bring out the best in you
Develop Shared Values and Shared interest in getting common results
Consensus/Collective voices heard
Rally people to a common cause
Relationships with Trust, Honor and Integrity, Loyalty. These are not negotiable.
Direct, clear, honest, open communications
Humility
Let the best ideas win, not just your idea - Park your ego for the greater good!
Avoid having your ego too closely tied to your position
Continuous Improvement
Be better tomorrow than today
Recognize that there will be a time when you don't have to compete with yourself
A measure of success is whether the problems you're solving today are the same problems as yesterday
Be a Collaborative Leader!
Seek Leadership Opportunities
Share your stories. Listen to the stories of others.
Involve others in decision-making.
Get along first. Nobody will go along if they don't get along!
Provide consistent, gentle, persistent nudges in the right direction
Build a community of support, encouragement and engagement to a common purpose
Obstacles to Collaboration
What they say (be collaborative) is not what we get rewarded for (individual performance)
It takes time to create successful relationships
The foundation of every collaborative effort are deep relationships based on trust and openness, focused on common values and common goals
Our facilitator and panelists for FountainBlue's September 8, 2006 When She Speaks Event on Education is Fundamental: How Entrepreneurs and Executives Can Support the Push for Quality were: Usha Sekar, Geoff Ainscow from the Sunnyvale School District Education Foundation, Hillary Aitken from BUILD, and Paula Wasowska from Cisco. Below are some notes from our discussion.
Facts About Our Schools
Schools can be resistant to change and innovation.
We as a culture need to have a greater interest in the needs of our children. The most dominant factor in a child's education is the parent, the second most dominant are teachers. Class size is a distant third. Yet we as a culture do not support our teachers as well or as much as we should.
California schools rapidly went from being the best educational system in the US in the 1970s to the worst in the nation in 1998.
What Executives and Entrepreneurs Can Do to Support the Push for Quality, Despite the Challenges
A public-private partnership with clear leadership, direction, and focus on results is not only necessary but urgently needed.
Get educated and involved.
Research online and other resources already available
Believe that you can make a difference acting locally, impacting globally, sharing your time, talent and dollars. (Usha will follow up with more information on how we can continue the conversation, investigate what's working and mobilize for action.)
The problem is immense, so break it down into smaller pieces.
Develop a clarity of path on specific actions to be taken.
Focus on the big picture, what really matters.
Join forces with like-minded, passionate individuals who are committed to make changes and with the knowledge, skills, resources to make a difference.
We can learn from how others how other cultures
Countries that invest in their children are investing in the economic future of their country.
Example: although Ethiopian children may not have shoes, there is an investment in computers at their schools because the community leaders recognize that the education of these children will allow them to meet their basic needs and well beyond that.
Do not compare ourselves to ourselves, look cross-culturally success stories and emulate the working models.
Example, in Sweden, schools are well funded, they are the hub of a community. There is cross-age tutoring where children teach their grandparents computer skills for example.
Influence policy to make sustainable changes for our educational system. (FountainBlue will have a follow-up event on this topic.)
Our panelists for the August 11, 2006 Panel on Global Perspectives were Catherine Zinn of DLA Piper, Catherine Ngo of Startup Capital Ventures, and Michelle Messina of Explora International. Below are some notes from that session.
Perspectives on China
Silicon Valley and America have 20 years plus of venture capital experience over China.
China has a large, educated and technology-rich younger population that is also entrepreneurial and eager to learn.
The Chinese government has a heavy influence in the future direction of business in China for the future of individual venture investments, but also for the future of business overall in China. (For example, a policy on M&A activities with foreign companies buying Chinese firms will impact the deal flow into the region.)
The general direction of investment in China is favorable, but there may be negative regulatory overlay with minor setups from time-to-time
Perspectives on Mexico and Europe
There's a misperception that technology only takes place in India and China.
Mexico's mostly agrarian economy is already benefiting from the benefits of technology and entrepreneurship, but it's a long road ahead.
When entering foreign countries, follow the money about what governmental organization or association has the authority and funds to support economic development efforts supporting its citizens.
Since 50% of the population in Mexico is below the poverty line, consider where you would like to make a business impact.
Perspectives about America
We as a people can be culturally self-centered, close-minded and arrogant
Silicon Valley may be a bit more flexible as it is more entrepreneurial, more facile at following the money
Americans have short attention spans and are good at filtering out information quickly
Silicon Valley celebrates diversity: large percentage of foreign-born people in the valley, almost a hundred languages spoken, large percentage of non-us-born CEOs getting investment dollars, etc.,
Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial, innovative spirit, solid infrastructure and collaborative nature are a competitive advantage admired by other regions.
On Entrepreneurship
Building companies helps build countries
Leverage the power of women - women entrepreneurs in particular
Entrepreneurship is a growing religion - it is an opportunity to build positive support and fervor particularly in divided countries
On Personal Leadership
Don't let the nay-sayers stop you
Play to your strengths; do what you love
Seek out good mentors
Cultural differences are here to stay. It's important to understand when they become an impediment in business
Stay centered in your passions an beliefs and work toward your goals
Push hard and fast on your strategic goals. Be willing to take consequences for making your stand.
But take a chance
Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks - the upside is worth it
Embrace change - it is often a disguise for opportunity
Be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves
Empowering your team is good for you!
Surround yourself with people smarter than you are, people you can learn from
Empowering others enables much bigger successes
Treat others well and fairly
People often rise to the expectations that you set for them - set them high
Keep reaching for stars!
Fold accountability into your life and your goals
Learn from mistakes and don’t be afraid to make them
Measure your impact and reinvest where it makes sense
Adopt and embrace a work ethic focused on the results you're seeking.
The facilitator and panelists for the June 9, 2006 "Leaving a Legacy" were Ann Tardy of LifeMoxie http://www.LifeMoxie.com, Jennifer Rowe of Community Foundation Silicon Valley http://www.cfsv.org and facilitator Linda Holroyd of FountainBlue. Their advice is below:
Legacies don't have to be big gifts.
It's the little things that you do that could leave a legacy - The things you do for your spouse, parents, children, co-workers, grocery store workers, etc.,
Consider who you would use for your reference. What would they say about you and what do you hope that they say about you?
Take a leap of faith, a chance to live a tale-telling life, a story worth telling! Don't put on blinders.
A legacy is not always positive. But when it's not, forgive yourself, and forgive others who have left negative impressions on you.
Dare to dream a bigger dream.
Celebrate your progress together.
Share your stories.
Below are themes and speakers from our 2007 When She Speaks events.
Date
Title
Panelists
Friday, January 12
Succeeding
in a Man's World
Patti
Wilson, The Career Company
Panliest Linda Prowse Fosler, Prowse-Fosler and Associates
Panliest Francine Gordon, ATW and FGordon Group
Panliest Mona Hudak, Cisco
Panliest Praveena Varadarajan, Sun Microsystems
Friday, February 9
Healthy
Lifestyle Choices
Facilitator
Geetha Rao
Panliest Lisa Jing, Cisco Systems, Integrated Health Initiative
Panliest Julie Johnston, El Camino Hospital
Panliest Linda Williams, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Friday, March 9
Women
in Policy
Facilitator
Leslee Guardino, Canyon Snow
Panelist Cindy Chavez, former Vice-Mayor, City of San Jose
Panelist Kathleen King, City of Saratoga City Council
Panelist Liz Kniss, Supervisor, County of Santa Clara
Panelist Bev Strand, Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Worldwide Diversity
& Inclusion, Cisco, Member, California Commission on the Status of
Women
Panelist Michelle Wright-Conn, Cisco Global Policy and Government Affairs
Thursday, April 12
Leading
with Power, Influence and Integrity
Facilitators
Camille Smith, Work In Progress Coaching
Panelist Michele Forte, Senior Director of Development, CARE
Panelist Afsaneh Laidlaw, Senior Director of Engineering, Cisco
Panelist Tammi Smorynski, Intel Capital
Panelist Natascha Thomson, Senior Manager, Market Intelligence, EMC,
Women's Leadership Forum at EMC
Thursday, May 10
The
Mentors in Our Lives
Moderator
Catherine Ngo, Startup Capital Ventures
Panelist Joan Banich, Cisco
Panelist Sheryl Chamberlain, Global Alliance Manager, EMC and Chair of
Mentorship Program, ATW
Panelist Carol Muller, MentorNet
Panelist Eileen Sullivan, Cadence
Thursday, June 14
Optimizing
Your Team
Moderator
Rossella Derickson and Krista Henley, Corporate Wisdom and SBODN
Panelist Sheryl Chamberlain, Global Alliance Manager, EMC, Director ATW
Mentorship Program
Panelist Vickie Grove, Development Director, Child Advocates
Panelist Amy Heidersbach, Vice President, Product and Merchant Marketing,
VISA
Panelist Hali White, Director Process Excellence Office, Hitachi Global
Storage Technologies
Thursday, July 12
Women
at the Top of Their Game
Moderator
Roberta LaPorte, RAL & Associates
Panelist Lisa Felder, Team in Training, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Panelist Tracy Hughes, Global Lead for Cisco Sport and Entertainment
Panelist Barbara Massa, Director of Recruiting Services, EMC
Panelist Amy Rubin, Director, Digital Marketing Strategies and Programs,
Intel
Panelist Jackie Seto, Managing Director of SW, MEMS & 3D IC, Lam
Research
Thursday, August 9
Corporate
Social Responsibility and the Bottom Line
Moderator
Theresa Wilson, Partner, Lighthouse Blue
Panelist Brenda Hendricksen, AMD
Panelist Tracy Meersman, EMC
Panelist Joni Podolsky, Director of Community Programs, The Entrepreneurs'
Foundation
Panelist Kathy Wheeler, Senior Manager, Global Community Involvement,
Cadence
Thursday, September 13
Leadership
Styles: What's Gender Got to Do With It?
Moderator
Bonita Banducci, Banducci Consulting
Panelist Carolyn Crandall, Vice President Marketing and Channels,
Seagate
Panelist Pat Cross, VP, Career Management Consulting, Right Management
Panelist Eileen Fussner, Vice President of Channel Sales for the Content
Management & Archiving division, EMC Corporation
Panelist Vinie Zhang, Vice President, Hitachi Corporate Ventures
Thursday, October 11
Women
Leading Innovation
Moderator
Beata Lewis, Bridging Lives
Panelist Karri Carlson, Senior Product Manager, AOL, LLC
Panelist Jenny Dormoy, Director Customer Deployability, EMC
Panelist Joy Mountford, VP User Experience and Design, Yahoo! Inc. Panelist Marie Tahir, Director of
Technology Innovation Group, Intuit
Thursday, November 8
Female
Intrapreneurs
Facilitator
Kimberly Wiefling, Wiefling Consulting
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Senior Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist Sheryl Chamberlain, Director, Global Alliances, EMC Corporation
Panelist Cecily Joseph, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Symantec
Corporation
Panelist Diane Pennica, Senior Scientist in Molecular Oncology, Genentech
Thursday, December 13
Leveraging
Diversity for Business Results
Facilitator
Maria Hernandez, MGH Consulting LLC
Panelist Sharon Durey, Training Manager, Inside Sales, EMC
Corporation
Panelist Wilma Flanagan, Partner and Managing Director for Computer
Sciences Corporation (CSC) Pacific Northwest Consulting Group
Panelist Sharon Hughes, Director of HR, LifeScan
Panelist Carin Taylor, Senior Manager of Global Diversity, Cisco
Below are themes and speakers for our 2008 When She Speaks Series.
Date
Title
Panelists
Description
1/10/2008
The
Glass Ceiling And Other Tragedies
Facilitator
Linda Prowse Fosler, Linda Prowse Fosler and Associates
Panelist Sarah Jane Militello, former Manager at HP, former General Manager
at Agilent, President Varnare LLC
Panelist Marilyn Nagel, Director, WW Diversity & Inclusion, Cisco
Panelist Conchita Franco Serri, Ed.M., J.D., former Director of Affirmative
Action, Santa Clara University; President Serri Compliance Training
It
has been 22 years since the term glass ceiling was coined by the Wall Street
Journal to describe the apparent barriers that prevent women from reaching
the top of the corporate hierarchy; and it has been twelve years since the
American government's specially appointed Glass Ceiling Commission published
its recommendations. In 1995 the commission found that women had 45.7% of
America's jobs and more than half of master's degrees being awarded. Yet 95%
of senior managers were men, and female managers' earnings were on average a
mere 68% of their male counterparts'.
Twelve years later women account for 46.5% of America's workforce and for
less than 8% of its top managers.
Join us for a stimulating panel and discussion about why progress is so
slow and what we must do to effect real, and rapid, change.
2/14/2008
The
Up and Comers
Four-Star
Panel
Facilitator Nancy Monson, Nancy Monson Coaching
Panelist Katy Levine, Cisco
Panelist Connie Lin, The Zitter Group
Panelist Keren Pavese, EMC Corporation
Five-Star Panel
Facilitator Nancy Monson, Nancy Monson Coaching
Panelist Terri Jordan, VP, Tech Operations, eBay
Panelist Sridevi Koneru, Director, Engineering, Wireless Networking
Business Unit, Cisco
Panelist Susan Mernit, Senior Director for the Yahoo! Personals
products
Panelist Kathleen Murtha, EMC Corporation
Panelist Eileen Sullivan, Group Director, Cadence
Women
are making a difference in at all levels within corporations. In honor of
Valentines Day, FountainBlue is pleased to partner with ATW and GWLN and EMC
Corporation to produce a half day, interactive program which celebrates women
in leadership roles and their contributions.
Join us as we applaud their contributions and investigate questions such
as:
What are the secrets to being recognized as an up and comer?
How did they get help along the way?
How can up and comers make work-life balance choices while climbing the
corporate ladder?
How can we as women support each other whether were on the leadership
tract or not?
How are up-and-comers giving back to the community?
The event will provide much food for thought for women at all levels within
organizations, whether they are up and comers or not.
3/13/2008
Work-Life
Balance
Facilitator
Kristi Royse, KLR Consulting
Panelist Raji Arasu, eBay
Panelist Lisa Jing, Program Manager, Integrated Health Team, Cisco
Panelist Allison Leopold Tilley, Partner and Co-Head Corporate Securities &
Technology Section, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Panelist Linda Levenson, CEO, Morphosis Rejuvenation Center
Panelist Catherine Moore, Director Business HR, Nokia Research Center
Silicon
Valley women leaders are challenged by the corporate and business pressures
of high-stress, high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal
demands of life and family. In todays streamlined, fast-moving workplace,
its more important than ever to make the most of every day and every moment.
This month's When She Speaks event focuses on how successful women are
juggling these often-competing goals and what we can do to adjust our own and
others' expectations on us, in order to ease the load and the stress. Our
speakers will share their stories, commiserate with us, and challenge us to
re-evaluate how roles, our priorities, and our own expectations for
ourselves.
4/10/2008
Leading
with Power, Influence and Integrity
Facilitator
Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Bettina Koblick, VP of HR, Global Talent, Symantec
Panelist Su Lim, VP of Business Development, EMC Corporation
Panelist Bev Strand, Diversity and Inclusion, Cisco
Panelist Barbara Williams, Sr. HR Manager, Sun Microsystems and President
of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Oakland Bay Area Chapter
We
admire and applaud the heroes and mentors in our lives who are leading with
power, influence and integrity. For this event, we will meet a panel of women
who are successfully leading with power, influence and integrity, who will
candidly share their barriers to and best practices for more effectively
leading others and producing results that create successful businesses and
fulfilling lives.
Panelist Maria Schaffer, Strategic Alliances, Cisco
As
leaders, we appreciate the mentors, leaders and role models upon whose
shoulders we stood. We carefully consider the support and guidance we are
consciously and unconsciously providing for those who come after us. This
month's event will focus on our mentoring relationships, how we can share
more of what we know with others and how we can identify the potential
mentors available to us. Our panelists will share the ways that their mentors
have impacted their thinking and development, and how this has, in turn,
stimulated thoughts and actions in support of others. In addition, well
discuss how you can promote mentoring in your organization.
6/12/2008
Staying
On Top In a Changing Global World
Facilitator
Amy Gonzales, Women Unlimited
Panelist Judy Armstrong, former CIO, Logitech
Panelist Shirley Olerich, VP of Human Resources, Adaptec
Panelist MeMe Rasmussen, VP and General Counsel, Adobe Systems
Panelist Lisa Simpson, VP, Business Operations, Market Analysis and
Messaging, Alcatel-Lucent
The
World is changing - getting bigger, but better connected, with more
opportunities, and more barriers.
Are there more opportunities for women in lead in a more global world? What
are the unique challenges and opportunities for women to take that next
leadership step? How will networking, mentoring and education support that
growing community of women leaders with global impact?
This month's program will feature some of these women leaders as they share
the challenges of leading in a changing, ever more global world.
7/10/2008
Women
at the Top of Their Game
Facilitator
Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Sandra Hassett, Director of Customer Service, LifeScan
Panelist Barbara Massa, Senior Director, Recruiting Services, EMC
Corporation
Panelist Patricia Perry, Vice President, Digital Health Group, Intel
Corporation
Panelist Amy Rubin, Marketing Director, Sandisk
Panelist Jackie Seto, Vice President, Product and Strategic Marketing, Lam
Research
For
this month's When She Speaks conversation, we will gather women who leverage
the disciplines of sports - endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, and
perseverance - to address the daunting work-life demands imposed on women
leaders in today's corporations.
We will cover the challenges and opportunities that leadership presents and
how the important practices of self-leadership and personal accountability
help them to more effectively leverage their leadership style and inspire
others to also lead with power, influence and integrity.
8/14/2008
The
Value of Culture
Facilitator
Cathy Light, Business Builders and Assessment Leaders
Panelist Denise Herrick, VP of HR, Panasas
Panelist Dr. Bee Ng, Director Learning and Development, Intuit
Panelist Titina Ott, Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness
&Managing Director of Women's
Leadership, Oracle
Panelist Mary Stanton-Stern, HR Director, EMC Corporation
Panelist Erica Wright, Director of Human Resources, Life Sciences Solutions
Unit, Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis, Agilent
Leaders
define the overall direction of an organization, and whether it achieves
results for its stakeholders and shareholders. How leaders conduct
themselves, and communicate and work with those around them sets the tone for
an organizations culture. This months When She Speaks panel will profile
examples and counterexamples of company cultures and share advice on how you,
as a leader, from any chair, can positively impact the organization for which
you work.
9/12/2008
The
Feminine Face of Leadership
Facilitator
Beata Lewis, Bridging Lives
Panelist Azlina Ahmad, Director of Engineering, Cisco
Panelist Jessica Chan, R&D Group Director, Cadence
Panelist Karen Pieper, Director of Synthesis at Tabula, Inc.
Panelist Samantha Thomas, CSO, Information Security, California State
Department of Financial Institutions
The
pre-dominant gender of leaders, particularly in the high tech sector, are
males. But the questions arise:
How are women who gravitate to technology fields different than their
peers?
What unique challenges do women leaders in science face?
What do women need in order to succeed and lead in their chosen technology
field?
How can women technology leaders shape leadership practices to be more
inclusive of others, including women?
10/10/2008
Women
Leading Innovation
Facilitator
Krista Henley and Rossella Derickson, Corporate Wisdom and SBODN
Panelist Elizabeth Churchill, Principal Research Scientist, Yahoo! Research
Panelist Penny Howie, Director of Training and Technical Support, Varian
Medical Systems, Executive on Loan to United Way
Panelist Janice Nickel, Senior Research Scientist, HP Laboratories
Panelist Liz Rajaram, Director of Engineering, Cisco Network
Management
Innovation'
is today's buzzword - considered integral to an organization's culture, its
competitive advantage. As women rise in leadership positions in the tech
companies in Silicon Valley, how are they approaching the question of culture
and innovation? How have they successfully navigated the challenges of
advancement in today's high tech companies? What is their advice to the rest
of us?
11/14/2008
Overcoming
Adversity
Facilitator
Mary Beth Deans, Douglas Partners
Panelist Lilly Chung, Lead Client Service Principal, Deloitte Consulting
LLP; Regional Managing Principal, Initiative for the Retention and
Advancement of Women, Deloitte
Panelist Pat Dando, CEO, San Jose Chamber of Commerce
Panelist Sharon Durey, Training Manager, Field Development, Content
Management and Archiving, EMC Corporation
Panelist Natascha Thomson, Director of Global Ecosystem and Partner
Marketing, SAP
As
we have heard from many past sessions, the leaders and heroes of today had
experienced and overcome much adversity before achieving success. This event
invites successful women to share their tales of adversity and offer advice
and inspiration for the rest of us as we face our own obstacles.
Panelist Catherine Moore, Director of Business HR, Nokia Research
Center
Panelist Connie Osborne, Director of Business Development, Singer
Lewak
Panelist Preethy Padmanabhan, Director of Professional Development, iCON
Inclusion & Diversity Group, Cisco Systems
This
month, we will celebrate the successes of women leaders who foster diversity
within their organizations and demonstrate how and why diversity stimulates
innovation, engages teams, and delivers results. Our esteemed panel will
share their success stories, talk about how they rose to positions of
authority, despite representing diverging viewpoints, and provide advice on
how to embrace diversity within a team and an organization.
Below are topics and speakers from our 2009 series.
Facilitator
Jo Miller, CEO, Women's Leadership Coaching Inc.
Panelist Sheri Atwood, VP of Global Solutions and Programs, Enterprise
Marketing, Symantec
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist Jennifer Bleakney, VP, Worldwide Distribution and Customer
Support, National Semiconductor
Panelist Jan Schlossberg, Senior Mgr, Intellectual Property &
Compliance, Cisco
It
has been 22 years since the term glass ceiling was coined by the Wall Street
Journal to describe the apparent barriers that prevent women from reaching
the top of the corporate hierarchy; and it has been twelve years since the
American government's specially appointed Glass Ceiling Commission published
its recommendations. In 1995 the commission found that women had 45.7% of
America's jobs and more than half of master's degrees being awarded. Yet 95%
of senior managers were men, and female managers' earnings were on average a
mere 68% of their male counterparts'.
Twelve years later women account for 46.5% of America's workforce and for
less than 8% of its top managers.
Join us for a stimulating panel and discussion about why progress is so
slow and what we must do to effect real, and rapid, change.
Facilitator
Francine Gordon, FGordon Group and SDForum Tech Women's Program
Panelist Jennifer Hall, VP of HR, Intuit
Panelist Kristi McGee, Senior Director, Open Work Services Group, Sun
Microsystems
Panelist Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Phyllis Stewart Pires, Director of Community Experience, SAP Labs
Silicon
Valley women leaders are challenged by the corporate and business pressures
of high-stress, high-impact positions, while still juggling the personal
demands of life and family. In todays streamlined, fast-moving workplace,
its more important than ever to make the most of every day and every moment.
This month's When She Speaks event focuses on how successful women are
juggling these often-competing goals and what we can do to adjust our own and
others' expectations on us, in order to ease the load and the stress. Our
speakers will share their stories, commiserate with us, and challenge us to
re-evaluate our roles, our priorities, and our own expectations for
ourselves.
·
Facilitator Sandra Wales, President, Wales Investments, Inc.
· Panelist Pat Cross, Vice President, Career Management, Right
Management
· Panelist Lisa Dearborn, Vice President, Leadership Development, Hitachi
Data Systems
· Panelist Lisa Jing, Program Manager, Integrative Health, Cisco
· Panelist Patricia Wimberly, Sr. Manager, Solutions Practice, Global
Services - Western Division, EMC Corporation
In
this century, it is much more difficult to plan your career path, as there is
more fluidity within and across corporations, across global markets, plus
more acceptance of people moving from one role or industry to another. This
month's panel will focus on agility as the key to building a successful
career, featuring women who have changed roles and industries, positions and
companies. They will share their stories of successes and challenges, and
also share how they are supporting others to do the same.
Facilitator Camille Smith, Work In Progress Coaching
Panelist Erna Arnesen, VP of Global Services, Channels and Alliances,
Cisco
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist Nancy Long, Sr Vice President of Human Resources, Hitachi Data
Systems
Panelist Alexandra Woody, Sr. Dir. Program Management & FPLC,
Flextronics
We
admire and applaud the heroes and mentors in our lives who are leading with
power, influence and integrity. For this event, we will meet a panel of women
who are successfully leading with power, influence and integrity, who will
candidly share their barriers to and best practices for more effectively
leading others and producing results that create successful businesses and
fulfilling lives.
Facilitator Kim Wise, CEO, Mentor Resources
Panelist Martha Galley, Senior Director, Windows Live Business
Development, Microsoft
Panelist Ruth Gaube, VP and Deputy Executive Council, Symantec
Panelist Amy Gonzales, Regional West Coast Director, Women
Unlimited
Panelist Shivani Govil, Corporate Strategy Group, Office of the CEO,
SAP
Panelist Darcy Kiefaber, HR, LifeScan
As
leaders, we appreciate the mentors, leaders and role models upon whose
shoulders we stood. We carefully consider the support and guidance we are
consciously and unconsciously providing for those who come after us. This
month's event will focus on our mentoring relationships, how we can share
more of what we know with others and how we can identify the potential
mentors available to us. Our panelists will share the ways that their mentors
have impacted their thinking and development, and how this has, in turn,
stimulated thoughts and actions in support of others. In addition, well
discuss how you can promote mentoring in your organization.
Facilitator Lisa Orrell, The Generation Relations Expert, The Orrell Group,
author of Millennials Incorporated
Panelist Urvi Bhandari, AT&T
Panelist Megan Campi, Customer Service Relationship Manager, Cisco
Panelist Kristen Dearing, Sun Microsystems
Panelist Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program Management Group,
Microsoft
Panelist Shalini Govil-Pai, Lead PM, Google
Panelist Lori Smith, Director of HR, Cisco
The
Millennial Generation otherwise known as Generation Y is no longer made-up of
just kids and teens. The eldest are now graduating college and entering the
professional workforce.
How will this affect corporations looking to recruit and retain them?
What is unique about this generation, and how and why should corporations
recruit and retain them?
Our panel of esteemed hiring managers and HR professionals work closely
with Millennials and proactively plan recruitment and management strategies
for these uniquely prized workers.
Facilitator Rosemarie Carbone, Serial VP of HR
Panelist Nora Calvillo, Senior Product Manager, Adobe
Panelist Michaela Guiney, Product Engineering Director, Cadence
Panelist Nancy Long, Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources,
Hitachi Data Systems
Panelist Marleen McDaniel, Serial Entrepreneur and Business Adviser
In
other months of our When She Speaks Series, we touch upon the gender issue
tangentially, but this month, the gender issue will be the theme. Questions
may include:
What makes an effective woman leader, particularly one in a high tech world?
What are some typically feminine leadership traits, and how can they be
leveraged in a male-dominated world?
How does one interact with other women, and their unique leadership
styles?
How can one better understand her one style, and proactively expand
it?
These and other questions on gender and leadership in high tech will be
explored by our panel this month.
Facilitator Bobbie LaPorte, RAL & Associates
Panelist Lise E Edwards, Oracle Women's Leadership (OWL), Program
Manager, Oracle Human Resources
Panelist Susan Lai, Senior Director, Finance, Symantec Corporation
Panelist Eileen Sullivan, Group Director, Cadence
Another Panelist to be confirmed
Lets
face it office politics is a reality for everyone, regardless of the size
of your organization or your position. As professionals we have all dealt
with the challenges of doing our job while watching our backs, managing up,
and dealing with difficult co-workers who treat others around them badly.
With all the advances women have made in the workplace, why is this issue
still holding us back? Our panel of high tech leaders will share how they
have achieved their leadership positions by successfully navigating office
politics, amplifying others contributions (menand women), and generously supporting high
potentials on the leadership track.
These and other questions on navigating politics in the workplace will be
explored by our panel this month.
Facilitator Francine Gordon, FGordon Group and President SDForum Tech Womens
Group
Panelist Roya Afshar, Software Development Director, Oracle
Panelist Khrystyne Heard, Manager, Human Resources, LifeScan
Panelist Debi Hirshlag, VP, Worldwide Human Resources, Flextronics
Panelist Neerja Raman, Research Fellow, Stanford University, MediaX
Distinguished Visiting Scholar
Panelist Peggy Wolf, Manager, Cisco Services Global I&D
In
our fast-paced, global world, both men and women leaders are faced with the
need to communicate clearly and rapidly to teams in all corners of the globe
and drive results. Gender and culture and other factors affect how well any
exec can perform. This month's panel of women executives will share their
secrets on how to effectively communicate across cultures to drive results.
Facilitators Krista Henley and Rossella Derickson, Corporate Wisdom and SBODN
Panelist Nina Bhatti, Principal Scientist, HP Labs
Panelist Daniela Busse, Director of User Experience, SAP Labs LLC
Panelist Christine Duran, Translation Technology Manager, Globalization,
Core Services Group, Adobe
Panelist Claudia Galvan, Lead, International Program Management Group,
Microsoft
Panelist Jessica Roland, Director, International Product Operations,
Content Management & Archiving, EMC Corporation
Innovation'
is today's buzzword - considered integral to an organization's culture, its
competitive advantage. As women rise in leadership positions in the tech
companies in Silicon Valley, how are they approaching the question of culture
and innovation? How have they successfully navigated the challenges of
advancement in today's high tech companies? What is their advice to the rest
of us?
Facilitator Wendy Beecham, FWE&E
Panelist Pamela E. Evans, Director, Executive Programs, NetApp
Panelist Cecily Joseph, Director, Corporate Responsibility, Legal and
Public Affairs, Symantec
Panelist Marilyn Nagel, Director, WW Diversity & Inclusion,
Cisco
Another Panelist to be confirmed
Corporate
leaders have the experience, impact, and authority to support their
communities, yet often times, they don't have the time or bandwidth to
actively participate in nonprofit boards. This month, we will feature some
inspirational corporate women who are passionate and dedicated to their
corporate AND their community causes, and they will share how supporting one
cause, benefits the other.
In
business, you have to keep moving quickly, in response to market and customer
demands. Standing still can mean a death sentence, even if the short-term
numbers look good!
So corporate strategies are proactively changed, and new corporate executive
teams assume the reigns in the quest of proactive change.
Our panel this month has participated in many of these 'changing of the
guards' as an executive from the incumbent and from the newly-hired
perspective. They will share their insights on how new corporate management
teams really hit the ground running:
- by leading a smooth changing of executive suite members,
- by minimizing cultural impact, while ushering in necessary near
processes, people and procedures, and
- by maximizing efficient bottom-line progress through a transition?
Below are topics and speakers for our 2006 When She Speaks events.
Date
Title
Panelists
Friday, May 12
Overcoming
Adversity
Christine
Comaford-Lynch, Mighty Ventures
Linda Holroyd, FountainBlue
Friday, June 9
Leaving
a Legacy
Ann
Tardy, LifeMoxie
Jennifer Rowe, Community Foundation Silicon Valley
Catherine
Zinn, DLA Piper
Michelle Messina, Explora International
Catherine Ngo, Startup Capital Ventures
Friday, September 8
Education
is Fundamental: The Need for a Public-Private Partnership
Usha
Sekar
Geoff Ainscow, Sunnyvale School District Education Foundation
Hillary Aitken, BUILD
Anna Song, Santa Clara County Board of Education
Paula Wasowska, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group
Friday, October 13
It
Takes a Village: The Case for Collaborative Leadership
Katharine Fong, San Jose Mercury News
Patricia Burbank, One World Children's Fund
Dyan Chan, Lighthouse Blue
Mona Hudak, Cisco
Friday, November 10
Fostering
Women Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries
Linda
Alepin, Global Women Leadership Network
Panelist Remi Matsumoto, Founder and President of the Hina Coral
Restoration Network
Praveena Varadarajan, Sun Microsystems
Friday, December 8
Creating
a Work-Life Balance
Michele
Bolton, ExecutivEdge
Jennifer Gill Roberts, Maven Ventures
Jan Dukes-Schlossberg, Cisco
Nivisha Mehta, El Camino Hospital Foundation
Kristi Royse, KLR Consulting
The facilitator and panelist for the May 12, 2006 "Overcoming Adversity" program were Linda Holroyd and Christine Comaford-Lynch of Mighty Ventures http://www.mightyventures.com. They offer the following advice.
Follow You Heart
Lead with Integrity
Have Courage
It's All In Your Attitude
Keep Raising the Bar
Leverage Your Strengths
Persistence Pays
Learn from Your Mistakes, Forgive Others for Theirs
Collaboration is Key
Celebrate Your Successes and Enjoy the Ride
Sometimes you have to look the part, so do it
"No" often means "maybe"—ask in a more compelling way
Take 100% responsibility for your life—you are no one’s victim
Practice the Law of Attraction to draw what you want into your life—see the film "The Secret" (www.thesecret.tv)
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