Networking

I absolutely loved listening to Mary B. Relotto this past week.  She was very genuine when talking about how women network.  I think its great that she said when we network we can get on a deeper level with the other person not just talk about what we do professionally.  I am really glad the speakers talked about the personality types such as being extroverted and introverted.  I am introverted and it is a challenge for me to network because I never know what to say after introducing myself!  So, this session benefited me a lot.  I will be taking back to my manager's staff meeting some of the things the speakers talked about regarding networking.  I also LOVED the "musical chair" game we played.  What an awesome excercise to learn about other people and to see what you have in common with others. 

I really liked the chapter this week on the Leader-Member Exchange.  This is so important as I beleive we learn from each other.  The leader learns from the subordinates and the subordinates learn from the leader.  It is a circle.  When reading the chapter a lightbulb when off in my head when the chapter talks about the in-groups and the out-groups.  I have people on my team at work that I manage that would prefer to be left alone and do their job and go home.  I would really like to shift those people into the in-group so that the entire team is effective in reaching goals, confidence levels, and taking on more responsibilities to further their knowledge.  I also looked at this from my perspective as a subordinate of my manager.  We are at the mature partnership phase because I consider it a partnership when I am working on a project with my manager.  We do have open communication and I know where I stand regarding my performance. 

Team Leadership is something that I am constantly working on.  I lead a team of 10 people and upwards to 40 during our peak season.  I coach my team members to increase performance and help them reach their professional goals.  This is something that this chapter talked about as being effective. 

It has been eye-opening to me so far that things that I experience every day in my life and career this class has touched on and has given me a new perspective of how I look at myself as a leader. 

Taking Care of Yourself

I took so much away from class on 9-14.  I have always been up and down as far as exercising because it is not something that I enjoy! :(  However, after listening to Kim Fischer I see the importance of taking care of myself so that I can be better prepared to care for my family and also the people I am leading in my job.  I also like how she spun the word "exercise" (such a dreaded word for me) into an activity that I enjoy.  I am committing to eating better during the day and to stay away from the vending machine to get that candy bar to pick me up at 2:00pm in the afternoon!  I am also going to commit to get back into yoga and strength training through the week. 

Executive Coach Chastity Kuttrus provided valuable information to me.  I was impressed that she also believed in family coming first!  She also spoke about the importance of work/life balance.  She spoke about the importance of having a mentor.  I have reached out to my manager and told him I was looking for a mentor.  He is actually on a committe at my work that matches people up for mentor and mentees.  I am currently in the process of being matched up to a mentor with similarities so that we can connect.  I am looking forward to having a mentor as I think it will be a great learning experience! 

Women and Leadership Class 2

9-12-11 Class this past week was very interesting listening to the speakers.  I was particularly impressed with Mary D'Ginaro.   She is a District Court Judge in Ohio.   I had preconceived ideas that she would be very pro-work and not so much about family life.  To my surprise she was an advocate of being a mother and wife and raising her children first in her life. I admire that because being a wife and working mom of two I always feel like I need to defend that I am a mother first to my co-workers and management team.  I am glad that I am not alone in thinking that way.  It is very refreshing.  She found a balance to raising her children and also having a career.

Some highlights that I took away from the first chapter in the book, Leadership, is that leadership can be looked at as a trait and a process.  I beleive that a leader can be both.  I agree with the book that when a person is engaged in leadership they are a leader.  Leadership is definitely different than management.  I see that in my current position of a Customer Service Supervisor.  There are tasks that I do that are primarily management tasks to meet goals of the department, but the leadership skills come in to play when I am coaching my team to help develop them to reach their professional or personal goals. 

I liked the quote from Bennie and Nanus (1985) "Mangers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing".

First day of class: Women and Leadership

8/31/2011 My first impressions of the Women and Leadership class looks like this is going to be very informative and interesting.