An impressive lineup of women business leaders on this panel, tackling the topic of ‘Surviving My Biggest Mistake, Seizing my Greatest Opportunity’, featuring:
- Wendi Strong | EVP & Chief Communications Officer at USAA
- Teresa Carlson | Head of World Wide Public Sector for Amazon
- Tami Longaberger | CEO Longaberger Company
- Bonnie McElveen-Hunter | Chair of the American Red Cross
Conversation starts with asking for reaction to the Marissa Mayer’s controversial Hail to the Chief profile in Vogue:
Bonnie McElveen-Hunter: It was probably a bad choice, but it doesn’t mean she is any less smart, any less capable, any less of a leader.
Teresa Carlson: First impressions matter, and because there are so few women CEOs they matter even more.
Wendi Strong: She is standing for our community of women, representing us. It is important she understand she is making a statement about not only her personal situation – but an enormous responsibility for the way women CEOs are seen.
The panel then transitioned into a discussion about their ‘greatest failures’ but reframed as learning moments and opportunities
Wendi Strong
When in charge, take charge. But….
Wendi shared a story where she took that advice from her supervisor to heart, perhaps too much. She forgot that major decisions are not about her, but about the people that are going to help her get the important job done at the end of the day. She admitted it was poor leadership on her part to not realize that the project required collective effort and collaborative insights. And that seeking inputs and insights and consensus up front made getting alignment possible
The lesson learned was not to emulate the leadership style of the men she was surrounded by, but to rely on her own individual qualities and strengths in the workplace and as her own leader.
We must be authentic, but being authentic requires a degree of vulnerability. And we as women are more comfortable being vulnerable to be authentic and build trust.
The number one job of leaders is to build more leaders. Your most important job is to lift up those working with you.
We shouldn’t just have women. We shouldn’t just have men. We need the complementary benefits of both.
Tami Longaberger
If people think you are the strong one and you have an in with those making the decision, they have you take on their problems and tough issues. So don’t do for anyone else what they can do for themselves. You are not doing them a favor by doing their work for them
You make hundreds of decisions and half of them are mistakes, but half of them aren’t
Teresa Carlson
If you always do what you always did then you always get what you always got
Every woman out there is worth what they get. Look at your career path and ask for what you think you are worth. We worry about everyone around us. Focus on and negotiate for yourself.
Bonnie McElveen-Hunter
As women, we we don’t have an ego – we have a mission. And at the core of that is being authentic. It is more powerful than you may realize.
The most important words for leaders to say… What do you think?
To be successful in business – hire people smarter than you, give them the resources they need, be their cheerleader and then get out of the way.
As women, some of our biggest strengths are communication and collaboration. Use those skills to power your leadership.
Just stop being afraid of failure. Because failing for most of us forces us to do something we should have done but wouldn’t have if it hadn’t have been forced upon us.
Fear is fabulous. It makes us grow. When you don’t feel it, I’m worried about you. You should never get too comfortable.