What a wonderful event at Women in Technology International (WITI): fun, relaxed atmosphere, informative panelists, great location, Peak10, and fabulous sponsors, AppleOne. As the panel moderator, I learned a great deal from the facial expressions I observed from the audience and comments I received from attendees, it seemed that everyone enjoyed the dialogue and took home a few nuggets that they can apply to their own careers. The articulate responses to questions by our panelists, Stephanie Sylvestre of OPC, Michelle Nason of Citrix & Beth Morgan of Verizon-Terremark demonstrated and reinforced that effective communication is key to being an effective leader.
Stephanie engages the power of love in her management style, loving her team members and her job in equal measure. She was encouraged early on by her father to be a leader, believes that generational differences in the workplace are a made up problem, and is convinced that finding a mentor you trust and especially mentoring others is the key to becoming a successful leader.
Michelle considers listening to be a key to effective management and she likes to engage her team in fun activities to
help relieve the stresses of work and to set the stage for a collaborative environment. She has been greatly influenced by her children to lead a more balanced life. Her son asked her why she and dad were always working. This made
her ask herself, why am I working at home when I should be interacting with my children? So she made a decision to put away the computer and phone and spend more quality time with her family.
Giving back to her community, mentoring, and making connections between colleagues are ways that Beth makes a difference. One of the biggest challenges that she has faced in her career has been the adjustment from an entrepreneurial to a larger more structured work environment. Coaching herself and her team to make the adjustment has been a challenge, but well worth learning how to navigate effectively in a new culture.
All of the panelists agreed that the best employees are honest with a high degree of integrity. They described the qualities of a top notch team as: Competent, Compassionate, Confident, and Customer focused. Most importantly, trust between managers and their teams is the glue that keeps everyone in sync.
My personal take-aways / action steps:
1) Seek out a new mentor and mentee.
2) Focus on being a more effective listener.
3) Help my clients learn how to communicate more effectively in the workplace . .
. to further their careers
What did you take away from the event? Are you challenging yourself to
take action? Please post and let the panelists know how they have helped to shape and improve your career!
Clare
Stephanie engages the power of love in her management style, loving her team members and her job in equal measure. She was encouraged early on by her father to be a leader, believes that generational differences in the workplace are a made up problem, and is convinced that finding a mentor you trust and especially mentoring others is the key to becoming a successful leader.
Michelle considers listening to be a key to effective management and she likes to engage her team in fun activities to
help relieve the stresses of work and to set the stage for a collaborative environment. She has been greatly influenced by her children to lead a more balanced life. Her son asked her why she and dad were always working. This made
her ask herself, why am I working at home when I should be interacting with my children? So she made a decision to put away the computer and phone and spend more quality time with her family.
Giving back to her community, mentoring, and making connections between colleagues are ways that Beth makes a difference. One of the biggest challenges that she has faced in her career has been the adjustment from an entrepreneurial to a larger more structured work environment. Coaching herself and her team to make the adjustment has been a challenge, but well worth learning how to navigate effectively in a new culture.
All of the panelists agreed that the best employees are honest with a high degree of integrity. They described the qualities of a top notch team as: Competent, Compassionate, Confident, and Customer focused. Most importantly, trust between managers and their teams is the glue that keeps everyone in sync.
My personal take-aways / action steps:
1) Seek out a new mentor and mentee.
2) Focus on being a more effective listener.
3) Help my clients learn how to communicate more effectively in the workplace . .
. to further their careers
What did you take away from the event? Are you challenging yourself to
take action? Please post and let the panelists know how they have helped to shape and improve your career!
Clare
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