When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series:

Leading with Power, Influence and IntegrityHosted at and Sponsored by: Cisco

• Moderator Camille Smith, Work In Progress Coaching; Leader, GWLN
• Panelist Michele Forte, Senior Director of Development, CARE
• Panelist Afsaneh Laidlaw, Senior Director of Engineering, Cisco
• Panelist Tammi Smorynski, Intel Capital
• Panelist Natascha Thomson, Senior Manager, Market Intelligence and Women's Leadership Forum, EMC

   

For this session, and in each of our other When She Speaks sessions, our women panelists shared their stories, their challenges, and their advice with the audience. Each session celebrated the successes of the featured women on the panel, as well as others in the audience. We also provided connections between like-minded attendees to foster ongoing discussions on this and other related topics in order to continue celebrating our successes, our accomplishments, our dreams while addressing our challenges together, in community.

Advice for Leading with Power, Influence and Integrity:

• Integrity is paramount, although one is not automatically a leader because of it, one cannot lead effectively without it. Good companies can go bad unless people with integrity are leading.
• Influence is also key - Many times, we are asked to lead when you don't have the authority to do so.
• Leading in a business context is measured by results and how they fit in the overall business strategy.
• Having a passionate vision is a critical element of leadership.
• Trust and respect others, at all levels in all roles.
• Empower others to also contribute and challenge them to achieve to their potential.
• Communicate clearly, often, and courageously.
• As a leader, your every actions will impact others in ways you may not foresee. This is a double-edged sword - Plan and act accordingly.
• Building deep, long-term, trust-based relationships is the foundation of influence for any leader.
• Directive leadership doesn't work. A more collaborate, influence-based approach is more effective.
• Be invested, not threatened by, the overall leadership of your organization. Mentor and coach and recruit other leaders as together we are stronger still.
• To remain an effective leader, consciously lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle and find others to help you to do so.
  • For example, take the 'slices of work/life' concept Meg Whitman referred to.
  • Leverage technologies to help manage that balance.
  • Manage your work hours and your behavior to force that time for other activities.
• Don't look necessarily for the perfect job, but for a boss that is invested in your long-term growth.
• Sometimes holding the leadership course is tough - full of contrarians, people with conflicting motivations and agendas, etc., Surround yourself with supporters who can help ensure that your vision is best for the company, and influence others to adopt the course.
• Having a high standard for yourself is different than having the same high standards for others. Although others' standards may not be as high, for example, their results may be more practical or more effective in ways you may not have anticipated. Being more flexible about standards for others will help ensure their continued engagement and also may help produce unanticipated and positive approaches or results.

What is Leadership?

• Leadership is not just about having a technical background or about the right title/authority.
• Leadership is about developing and maintaining a track record worthy of support and trust, a track record which consistently shows you envisioning, communicating and acting on the best interest of your organization, yourself and others. A track record which generates strategic and measurable results.
• Leaders leverage their strengths and attributes to support and empower others and to generate results they may not have thought possible.
• Leaders take into account the culture and context of the people they work with, and don't allow factors such as gender, culture and other factors to impact their ability to lead.
• Leaders overcome stereotypes and judgments by focusing on delivering results, without the distraction of overly-focusing on others' mis-perceptions and stereotypes.
• Leadership is a process of discovery, a journey not a goal.

We encourage an ongoing conversation on this topic. Questions and comments on the remarks above are welcome. In addition, below are questions submitted by the audience for your reflection and comment:

• What was your greatest challenge as a leader in a global organization, leading across cultural boundaries?
• What is the toughest leadership lesson you've learned in your career thus far?
• How do you respond when your boss, peer or others make a mistake, how do you respond?
• How do you incorporate your faith (religion) into your leadership?
• How have you most effectively engaged in self-promotion (the good kind)?
• When did you learn that you were a leader?
• How do you teach leadership to your daughter, in America?
• What career mistakes have you learned the most from?
• How do you spot future leaders?
• Looking back to when you started your career, did you imagine yourself in this type of leadership position?
• What is the difference between leadership and management?
• How have you handled the gender bias by men toward women or cultural biases?
• Have you been bullied by men, and if so, how did you respond?

Book resources:

Most Admired Leaders and Why:

Recommended Leadership Training Courses: