w2wlink.com TALKS

Elevating Women in Foodservice and Industry

A Great Business Conference. Am in DC with 3,000 other professional women and men that are advocates of the training and elevating of women into their careers and into the executive ranks.  The WFF Women’s Foodservice Forum celebrated twenty years of training with early years at 400 members and attendees at an annual meeting to this week’s highlight of 3,800 members and 3,000 conference attendees.

Women CEO and Expert Voice Leaders. I had the chance to hear Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo CEO and Fortune 500 magazine’s number one women CEO (who modestly pointed out she would rather have the press on the company and on all women then herself as an individual), Expert Voice professional and researchers – Elaine Eisenman of Babson College Exec Dean and member of public boards, Kathleen Matthews of Marriott International Communication and former DC TV anchor, Nina McLemore CEO of company named after her and seasoned business exec, and Mariel Miller, Caliper researcher of common leadership traits of high performing leaders--both in corporate  and entrepreneurial settings.   

Progress and Potential. Hearing the themes I really felt uplifted at the progress with over 50% of college graduates now being female(approaching 60%) this trend that shows when the “doors are open” that let all go through...you have the driven, try harder women racing through.  And with education achievement you will have higher salaries and more ability to reach your defined potential.   

With more senior level and executive women you have more women and men mentoring women to their potential, with all of us hearing the trends that 70% of the educated work force, in just three years, will be women and the companies that understand how to attract, retain and motivate women in their work place will have a strategic advantage.   You can see examples of success with E&Y’s workplace model changes including attracting older workers and alum relations and Wachovia Bank focused on internal women practices while wooing women clients externally at the same time and consistent in its intent to employees and clients.   

Online Tools for Professional Women. Motivating and understanding work life goals for a driven women is an area high on all of our lists look for articles on w2wlink.com.  www.w2wlink.com  A big voice on work stress is Dr. Kathleen Hall and she wrote Don't Worry, Be Happy  and has a site www.thestressinstitute.com  that has more tools on this area.  To read to hear and process the inner thoughts or thoughts spoken outside of meetings is www.workitmom.com.   An article that I read was Office Politics is Not Optional and Tips for Doing It Better.  Also How to Feel Great at Work Every Day, Deborah Brown-Volkman’s book that gives you six steps for creating more energy in your career.  Check the book out at: How to Feel Great at Work Every Day .

Learn, Grow and Share.The WFF women’s foodservice forum has a committed strategy and plan to build and execute great training.  They have regional meetings during the year – more at www.womenfoodserviceforum.com.   With over 200 companies and their women employees at this forum you have an efficient and effective training that is targeted to women’s growth and speaks to many leadership areas with a voice of women studies, learnings and case examples.   Having built a site and launched last year, w2wlink.com, with seeing a gap in the market of online information for women professionals it is so strong to see the complement of "in person" training and a conference that inspires women to keep growing all year and sharing back in their workplace and to peers.    Take a look at w2wlink.com and join a private online networking circle.    We have three new circles forming with experts on topics of Innovation, Personal Branding and Strategy.  To Learn more on Networking Circles  

Women Talking to Women

Women Talking to Women.  Over the last two weeks I have been meeting with executive women from both entrepreneurial and corporate settings and professional women in small groups at networking meetings.   Given my launch of w2wlink.com I have been sharing the vision for the site and new offerings in the tools and articles and in the networking area.

I find that a shared view by each woman I am spending time with is really appreciative at the risk I have taken with building something new from an idea and putting it into a website form.  And that the website, open online to all, in a way is very visible of the risk I have taken as a leader and as a person.  The feedback and support and the positive about the site is very affirming--and what I most appreciate is the respect for the risk and vulnerability there is in choosing to build a business from full start-up.

A takeaway.  As I meet with men and women daily in work and professional meetings I find that with men and women there is a shared appreciation for the w2wlink.com site quality and the look and feel of the website.   And so what is interesting to me is that with men we speak less of the the sense of risk that I have taken with w2wlink.com launch.   One takeaway from these conversations is that I find that I see many more men that take risk with early stage, and there are more men that are investing in early stage with again is another form of risk taking. 

Risk Taking.  One of the leadership competencies that you will see in research and correlated to leaders who get to the highest levels is that risk taking is a key competency.  This can be risk by moving from a functional comfort zone and leading in a different area, especially shifting to a more operational leadership area with p&l and metric driven responsibility.  Very measurable areas that a leader is seen as making their numbers or not.  In a conversation this week with a leader that had moved into a role that she was measured directly on training and the costs and metrics around the training.  The leader was grappling with the new measurements and how to make changes that would drive the metrics.  Here was an example we can each picture that we are now at a higher level in an area of "functional expertise" and yet when the area gets more "measurable and metric driven" it can cause stress.  This more operational aspect is really important to then work differently with our time and leadership to influence the metric.  Risk in this case was to change weekly patterns and time allocations across a month to proactively drive activities to improve the measure.  Risk is making changes and seeing if it worked in the metric.

Help others.  I would encourage each of us to support others in taking risk.  Coach others on ways to make adjustments and give examples of where we have taken risk and where we learned from mistakes and successes.   Many of us are in formal and informal network groups that support the mentoring and shared learnings.  We also have the ability to share in conversations in our day to day life.   

Double Bind: We get things done.

Female Leaders:Get things done.
Over the last few weeks I have been talking to some peers both men and women about the Tina Fey SNL Saturday Night Live skit--B*# get things done.   If you have not seen this clip I have noted the link below.  Although the skit was framing around politics if you put aside the politics of it there is an underlying layer of reality at times in business.

The reality that as a leader that is female, needing as any leader, to get results, you may be perceived as aggressive in driving at the results.  There is research you can read about on www.catalyst.com of the double bind.   That statistically women business leaders have the bind of perceptions 1)if perceived as a woman and feminine you are not equal to the job at hand at times and/or 2)as a woman leader as you drive for results you can be perceived as overly aggressive.   So too feminine or not feminine enough.

Saturday Night Live:  Get things done.
If you hit the video clip  SNL clip:  B#* get things done.(or paste http://www.youtube.com/user/freespeech33) you can see it yourself.  And I have shared it with men and women who have enjoyed seeing it and it was shared with me by a professional and he is on a board with me.   We had a interesting time talking about it over a lunch and it led to discussions and situations.   This open dialogue is what I enjoy.  The conversations and perspective sharing that I have had in work team settings, diversity meeting settings, and informal peer settings--professionals listening to each other and increasing awareness.

So although several weeks ago in coverage the ongoing conversation to me is the dialogue that continues to be the awareness for longer term is that to get things done as a women leader you may be perceived as too tough.   I had a business supplier recently comment that I was pushy -- my reality was that the supplier was late and repeated communications that the deliverable was coming and the commitments repeatedly missed--and my team and I joked and I shared the video clip.  I found it refreshing to be able to point to a media and video that made the point on perceptions and various views of reality.

Keep talking and sharing perspective.
With that I will end with "keep talking and thinking on situations at work with other professionals".  And take a look at w2wlink.com.  There are tools to help you as a professional women or as a leader developing professional women--w2wlink.com has articles on communication styles and negotiating tips from experts to support you in getting things done.  Drop me a comment and I will listen and learn with you.

Work Life Balance--In the can I have it all bucket!

Work Life Balance.  Over the last few weeks I have had several young professional women thinking through their career and asking for perspective.  In one case I have been mentoring as the professional worked to get more breadth in their job and when approached by a recruiter they interviewed and decided to accept the new role in a more dynamic group.   In another case the professional woman is in her mid-twenties and much earlier in her career.  She is just approaching year one of her first job and was being asked to state her five year plan.

For both of these women they are working through looking at their 30's and sorting out their desires around marriage and family side by side with work.   And in each case
they definitely feel that they cannot speak directly to their goals to have a family with and around work and career paths.   In the new professionals' situation she felt that she was being coached by several of us around her to just focus on what she wanted next from her work and answer the five year goal consistent with her short-term goal.    As she thought out five years she wonders if she will want to be having kids and sees the struggle to have young children and work daily.  She cannot see where she wants to be in five years right now. 

Work Mom Balance.  As we talked through that I had had my son and worked full time shortly after birth and with  a live in nanny and a job with less travel for two years found it to work.   We discussed how I waited until I was 35 as I wanted to hit a certain level of achievement and confidence at work...before I had a child.  I had to say that I have worked every year after on what was going to be my work life balance patterns.  And I have used resources, coaches and peers to get ideas.  So it is a constant assessment and process to me to have a game plan that I am actualized to and operate within that plan.   This has decreased my second guessing myself in daily or weekly situations of choices of what work or child events to go to and which to miss.

Work Culture. There was another level of the conversation in each case.   These professionals were sorting out which conversations they could have with their boss, their bosses boss, a Human Resource contact and their friends and family.   They were pleased and disappointed at times at work with the dialogue.  And they were working through an actualization to a reality that they were having to find a balance of open and closed areas in their work life balance conversations depending on the personality and culture at the office.

Tina Fey.  My husband, sportswriter, put an article on Tine Fey in front of me (Saturday Night Live first female Head Writer) where Tina spoke to working on the struggle of loving work and loving being a mom and finding a way to get the job done.    Tina shared examples where the writer team headed home with her at her child's bedtime and continuing to work with the team after her child was placed in bed.  It reminded me of my Frito-Lay Florida team being willing to come around my dining room table just after son Ben was born to finish up the business plan.  This was in '96 and my boss and team was so appreciative of my wanting to keep the business at its best...and I was learning to say hey to help I need you guys to come into my home.   And truly this was a "first ever" for all of us in working out the world of work life balance.   

Closing thoughts from Lisbeth McNabb.  Work Life Balance at each age and stage.   Take the time to reflect, listen to others, borrow the ideas you like, and keep your picture of short term and longer term what you want from life in mind.   Picture work and family and what does that look like week to week.   Then make the tradeoffs knowing that the picture can fill in over the month.   And  keep learning.

My first blog

In the musings and perspective department by Lisbeth McNabb

Welcome to my blog, talkingw2w.  I would like to share from my building a business from a start-up.  And share from a vantage point on a consumer sector that our business is working to serve fully:  professional women that are working to grow in their careers and trying to get better with the balance of their total selves—personal and professional.

A little about me

At 47 I look at the world, I read books, I see the news, I watch advertising, I talk to my sons and I almost always find myself blending views from my professional and my personal life experiences.   And given I have chosen to work every year since I graduated at 21. . . and I work more hours each week than the hours I put to anything else personal, social, or civic . . . the professional view is very developed in me.  I feel that in my 40’s and over the next years I think I should give some of myself to impact in some way the work situation for others in an area of professional women in the career work place.

How can I do that?   Keep working to share from my perspective with my kids and my husband and men and women I work with, and in sharing keep learning.   

My perception of progress today

Last week I was on a panel where 100 women, a lot of students, gave up a day at the University of Texas – Dallas to attend seminars, a luncheon with Florence Shapiro, and a panel with three women and me.    I looked at an audience of women and a few men—most of the group was in their 20’s with students and faculty in their 30’s, 40’s,50’s, and 60’s as well.   We talked about leadership and as a leader that is a woman in a business world that at each level you are increasingly a minority with achieving men as peers, and what we had learned.

In my 20’s and I did not ever have a meeting that was run to have women (or people) speak directly to helping women in work.   So one, I really have liked the last ten years that within two companies and within several associations/non-profits I have been able to give time to develop programming to support women.  And two, that both men and women around me saw this as good for business and good for the company or the people around them.  And I notice that every year both men and women increasingly see the value with less of the question of—well is focusing on women’s development treating women differently then men.  Or does it mean that you are trying to have women unfairly get a job, a promotion, or results at the sacrifice of a man.

The value of good feedback never depreciates

In my 20’s I was mentored by men and women who saw my drive and potential and gave me ideas of how to be better at my work.    When I was unclear in my communication they redirected my ideas.  When I ran over someone in my race to get the work done they coached me on slowing down and working with others to get more aligned in the race and get more done.  They gave me the chance to do first ever work and lead in areas that I had no proven record.   So I had a lot of direct feedback and direct encouragement.   

Over the years as I moved to senior manager levels and executive levels I had fewer peers and I found that I did not get as clear of feedback.   I was much more of a rarity at higher levels and I think, often with thoughtfulness someone held back feedback, not wanting to have me think they were singling me out as a women.  Sometimes people perceived my verbal style as emotional given I looked and spoke a little differently than many around me.   So given that feedback decreases with career progress at each higher level—find ways to ask for feedback.  Make it easier by letting a peer or a peer of your boss know that you are open to building your ideas with feedback.  A key takeaway-- I found that the value of good feedback never depreciates.

Bottom line of my first blog

Bottom line, there are seminars and events now that are focused on helping professional women hear lots of feedback and perspectives.   There are websites and books, including ours w2wlink.com, that pulls from experts and shares great content and learnings on professional women career fast tracking.  There are business associations and online communities to go network and develop yourself at a faster pace. 

And have some empathy when, at times, it feels like you give all day at work, you try to get a work out in, you try to be a mom, a wife, a partner and a friend and sometimes the fuel level is pretty low.  And when something goes awry at work – the place you give more time then to anything else—it can be really jarring.   So having places to get perspective and a more open look at the options—is a place I want to be and help provide and pull from other great places.