To Rosie the Riveter and Other Groundbreaking Women
FountainBlue's July 12 When She Speaks event was on the topic of 'To Rosie the Riveter and Other Ground-Breaking Women'. Our panelists represented a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds, and a wide range of roles and organizations, plus of course multiple generations. But they had much in common.
They were very authentic, clear and self-aware. Clearly their life and work experiences helped to shape them, for the better.
Their successes and challenges helped them to further embrace the opportunities ahead - to seize the day and make the best of it.
They welcomed feedback and input from important others around them.
They erred toward sharing, toward helping others around them to also be more open, more inclusive.
Below is a compilation of learnings and advice for being the kind of strong and authentic leader who will help raise the bar for others, and produce lasting and tangible results.
Know who you are, what you're good at, and where you want to go. Be flexible about the plan to get from here to there as life happens despite the plans. Then keep reaching for stars.
Choose carefully the cause, the company, the team you join. This way, you can make the kind of impact which is in alignment with your values, with your talents, with your purpose.
Embrace your circumstances. There is no ONE prototype for leadership. Step in and step up despite, or because of, your background and upbringing and life/work choices. It's all in the frame of mind.
Be inclusive and supportive. Empower everyone around you to achieve more and do more. We are all learning and growing. Doing it together helps everyone.
Be grateful for all you have. Bring positive energy to all you do.
Be curious about people who are not-like-you. Having an open mind will keep you flexible, marketable and useful and perhaps happier besides!
Don't take things so personally. Frame conversations so that they are fact-based, and purpose-driven. Let your left brain take the lead when emotions run high during a conversation. What's the kernel of useful wisdom in a charged interaction? How can that support your personal growth and your relationship with the other person?
Look not necessarily to the public figures to be our heroes. In this day of communication, warts can be easily reviewed and no public figure is perfect, no matter how pure. Take the positive and constructive learnings from these public figures, but consider also what you can learn from the everyday heroes around you.
Connect on common purpose and common mission, whether at work or in life.
Focus on delivering clear and objective goals which are measurable. Change those goals with market and customer feedback.
We concluded by remarking that we can ALL be groundbreaking men and women, no matter what we're doing, where we're sitting. The more powerful we each are, the more we can do together. So let's support each other in a common leadership and innovation cause - one conversation, one leader, one organization at a time.
Resources:
11 Ways to Network Like an Industry Insider at Conferences http://www.beleaderly.com/11-ways-to-network-like-an-industry-insider-at-conferences/
Ask yourself: ‘Whose personal board of directors am I on?’https://beleaderly.com/whose-board-of-directors-are-you-on/
Who’s On Your Personal Board of Directors? https://beleaderly.com/whos-on-your-personal-board-of-directors/
Please join us in thanking our gracious hosts at Quora and our panelists for FountainBlue's July 12 When She Speaks event, on the topic of 'To Rosie the Riveter and Other Ground-Breaking Women'.
Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Beth Arnesen, Inside Sales Manager, Pure Storage
Panelist Kelly Battles, CFO, Quora
Panelist Stephanie Ho, Engineering Manager, Quora
Panelist Tiffany Iskandar, Portfolio Management Index Equity Analyst, BlackRock
Panelist Nehal Mehta, Director Global Partner Sales, Veritas Technologies
Panelist Shveta Miglani, Head of Global Talent Enablement @LiveRamp @ Acxiom and Member of Forbes HR Council
Panelist Medha Samant Director of Product Management, COO- eBay Women In Technology (eWIT), eBay