Leadership and How it relates to me.

Over the past ten weeks I have come to realize that Women as a community are very powerful and strong. I feel that if we had the courage to understand and believe that men aren't half as independent as we are, then we would move forward in society much faster. We started to get guest speakers around Week 2 of our Fall Semester. When it started out, this was a whole new experience for me and I was not even sure as to how I should contribute ideas in class. I remember that we had the first experience which was awesome during Week 4. We had 3 guest speakers in. One being Mary.B, Melanie and Andrea. Mary B spoke about networking in different ways compared to how men do it and she gave out question cards to each of us and showed us how networking can be done in that way also. You can initiate a long conversation by just asking what is on your question card? Melanie spoke about how we should never give out our business cards straight away to a person we just met, she said that we should build the trust first and then get deeper. We should build a connection with the person first and then exchange personal details. She spoke about how with a broad network you can make connections with almost everybody. Through her connections she got to know Andrea and Mary B for example. She gave examples : A person(introvert) can have lunch with somebody new everyday in order to step out of that shell. She told us how networking is not just about sending emails, it's about getting yourself out there and experiencing other people's personalities. She told us how important it is to keep track of people you meet because it can be embarrassing to reintroduce yourself to someone you just met 2 days ago. She said that you don't necessarily have to play golf to make new friends. When you meet someone ask questions,let them talk about themselves because nobody gives two hoots if you talk about yourself. This is a point all three of them stressed on. Melanie asked us who reads The Wall street Journal. She said that if any of us want to be a leader then we need to read it. She told us how, if somebody asked us out for lunch once, be the one to ask them the next time. If somebody is annoying, just reduce the connection for example : don't always email them. She kept repeating on how we should build that trust. She said how she totally trusts Andrea when it comes to dealing with her Finances. Men hit the target straight on, whereas Women beat around the bush. She used this quote ; "When you get something it's a gift, If you don't, Try again" Don't take "NO" personally, keep trying. Andrea said how she feels that Women are amazing at networking. For example : Babysitting. They get cold feet when they enter the business world. Why? She said how she feels that women always tend to think that they are incapable. She graduated from high school in 1981 and from college in 1985. Until 1987 women were not allowed to go to the bank and apply for a loan with their name unless a male accompanied them. Everything we do in here will help us when we need something out there. She quoted this. Andrea told us how she herself is a shy person but she is also an extrovert. She had attended a workshop with a guy named Bob Littell. She said how you need to genuinely care about the people you are talking to( Mary B and Melanie also addressed this point). We need to know why and what purpose we are looking for when networking. 80 - 85 % of all money decisions are made by Women. She quoted two sayings : "If you make yourself Valuable and Memorable, others will want to make You a part of their network". "There are only Two Big decisions in your life, where you are going and who's going with you. I know where I am going and who I am taking, but do you?" This is what true networking is about. Andrea also spoke about us having an image of who our mentors are and said that women always think too much about asking for favors and that that is why we are a step behind men, because they are never afraid to ask. Mary B is the CEO of Dames Bond Andrea is a Financial Analyst/Advicer Melanie is an Attorney of Law. Week 5 we had 4 guest speakers. Jean, Jean Reynolds, Susan and Tammie. The first Jean is the Director of Operations at the Ohio Health Westerville Medical Campus. She's involved with Girl Scouts. She has three children, the youngest is autistic. She has a bunch of points and quotes that get her through the day and that has brought her to where she is today. These are ; Come to work, willing to be fired Circumvent any orders that may stop you Do any job required to make your project work Find people to help you Follow your intuition about people Leverage what inspires you Don't be afraid to be creative Present peoples ideas in new ways what you know and do well in your current job may not lead to where you want to be in your next job Actively seek and serve as a mentor, never quit learning Learn to create memories Part of a leader is grooming the next generation of talent Find and pursue what you are passionate about She also mentioned a couple of books that impacted her Leadership approach: Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will The Fifth Discipline Good to Great The 360 Degree Leader Harvard Business Review Journal She briefed us on all these topics and told us that becoming a Leader was sheer hard work and commitment. The next speech was from another Jean. Jean Reynolds. She spoke about Leadership vs. Management. Lead : Learn how to fail, Embrace new ideas, Adapt to your customers needs, Desire to be the Best. She said how if you are too afraid to make a mistake, you won't reach success. No ideas, is a bad idea. Aspiring Leaders need to learn how to speak, write, read, set a positive example and care about people. She said that it is not as easy as it sounds. She told us how people don't care what you now unless they know that you care. Plan your work and work you plan. Next up was Susan and Tammie, who spoke together. They are both professionals in the field of Public Relations (PR) Susan told us that there was this thing on the internet called the Strengths Finder and she asked all of us to try to take that as it can and will help us realize our strengths built in as individuals. She spoke about being the only woman at her firm at most events and how sometimes that can be a joy ride but sometimes it can be very tough. Never say Never, is a quote that Susan highlighted. She said that Women should never think that they are incapable, because they are just as capable as men. Tammie spoke up about how she used to work for Bob Evans. It was a firm full of men and how she would constantly be called "KIDDO". Then she went on to work at a firm which was full of women and she said how the contrast was so big and different. Susan and Tammie told us that they feel that technology is taking our generation over and I totally agree with that. She said how amusing it is that men NEVER make a ' To Do List' whereas women on the other hand often do. President Krendl then had a friendly talk with us for the rest of the night. I loved this class too, every class teaches us something new, which can help us deal with the fact that we are women. Week 6 we had 5 guest speakers this week, Ryan, Nicole, an African American Lady, A German lady and Robin. Ryan came in and spoke about jobs and openings once we are all done graduating from college. Nicole spoke to us about how she specializes in Child Psychology and few other stuff. Her expertise is in Alcohol and Drug Prevention. The African American Lady whose name I did not catch is a Business Administration Major. She volunteers for an Arts Organisation. She works in the Non - Profit sector. She took courses in non - profit management. She moved to Indianapolis and got a job related to Community Development. She went to Africa and was exposed to a lot of sadness and pain that people there were going through. She worked 10 years with the Columbus Foundation. The German Lady whose name again I did not catch spoke to us about how many job vacancies are there for those of us who are interested in non - profit organisations. Robin started her working career at Wendy's. When she left it, she was offered the post as Dave Thomas's Secretary. She came to Otterbein in 1999 to complete her degree. In 2002 she got a job as Senior Director Corporate Relations. She just told us to; Love what you do, and do what you love. President Krendl then took over. The speeches at this weeks session were short as we gave our oral presentations afterwards. The oral presentations were all extremely good, I thought and I got through mine without passing out, so thumbs up. Well that's about it for this week's Women In Leadership and next week we don't have class as it's Fall Break.. Awesome!! Week 7 we had 3 speakers, Mary, Carol and Sally. Carol is the founder and the President of Slain industries. She co founded it, there are now 18 million users all over the world. She's a shareholder but is no longer connected with it. She started it in1981, with just 2 women and in 2007 she sold it to an Irish company that was a multinational. She said how back then people never shared the financial statements, but now it's not a big deal. People who look at it are only interested because they want to ensure their job security. They had an open door policy. Any time you wanted to confront the "Head Guy", you were free to do so. In 1996, she had her first disagreement with her partner. So what she did was but 25% of her partners shares and ended up having more control. Sally was next to speak. She spent a year at Otterbein. She realized that she had a passion for music and decided to go to Hollywood. Her first stop was at San Diego then she moved and lived in Hollywood. She had spent about 7 years out there. She was born and raised in Cleveland. Her mum was her first employee in the castor business. She never wanted to take "No" for an answer. Honda has been her client for about 17 years now. Her mentor is going to be Cheryl Cooper. Mary was the last speaker. Her original education is in Nursing. Her dad was an entrepreneur. Her husband gave her the check and she's been in control ever since they got married. She's all about the Finance and managing your money, and spending it wisely. This week's speakers were very business oriented and we learnt a lot. Sadly week 8 and 9 I missed. Week 10 was awesome, we had three speakers, firsly Micky Brown, an african american lady who is a supreme court judge. She spoke to us about her life and work and situations in her career which turned out challenging as she was a woman and it was so cool. She made it so interesting. I loved the session. Secondly we had Julie Greber and she was interesting too. She handed out questionnaires to all of us and did a survey about the women popularity at different events in Ohio were. Thirdly we had Val. She was an Indian. Pretty awesome too. She spoke about women and power and how we have the power to control our lives the way we want to and how we should never let anyone else control it for us. This week was pretty interesting and I really enjoyed it. I feel as though each week our speakers become more and more interesting and now I feel so confident about myself. I also find it very easy to relate to them and I feel as though we are not all that alone in this world. I feel as though, some woman, somewhere else, has been through everything that I have been through and am going through, at some point in her life too. All these women, truly fascinated me. Their stories showed me that there is hope for all women. It motivated me to never give up and to always, always stand up for myself. These things can only make us feel, how we feel, when it comes from those who have experienced it themselves. Women In Leadership is a great class, because I feel that we as a class, are fighting for the rights of women, all of the world.