Our July 12 When She Speaks event was on the topic of Women at the Top of Their Game. 

In a previous FountainBlue Leadership Edge Workshop, we discussed how leaders need every possible advantage to achieve success – for themselves and their teams – and perform at the top of their game. For this month's When She Speaks conversation, we gathered women who leverage the disciplines of sports - endurance, strength, flexibility, stamina, and perseverance - to address the daunting work-life demands imposed on women leaders in today's corporations.

• Moderator Roberta LaPorte, RAL & Associates
• Panelist Lisa Felder, Team in Training, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• Panelist Tracy Hughes, Global Lead for Cisco Sport and Entertainment
• Panelist Barbara Massa, Director of Recruiting Services, EMC
• Panelist Amy Rubin, Director, Digital Marketing Strategies and Programs, Intel
• Panelist Jackie Seto, Managing Director of SW, MEMS & 3D IC, Lam Research

• It provides mental sharpness and clarity, important for effective productivity, leadership and decision-making.
• It inspires emotional confidence.
• The conditioning provides the energy and endurance to perform at your best in work and personal settings.
• It supports clear communication, particularly in team sports.
• It can provide opportunities to network and meet people or connect with people regularly, which is very important in stress management and quality of life.
• It provides opportunities for collaboration particularly in team sports.
• It provides opportunities to build self-knowledge.
• It can be fun. It will also give you the opportunity to enjoy food.
• It teaches commitment.
• It is a gift to yourself.

• Always make forward progress and immediately address issues which stall progress with direct and clear communications.
• Communication is key. Communicate goals, roles, strategies working as a team.
• Building relationships on the field is like building teams in the workplace.
• When you're recovering from an injury/going on leave, find a way to maintain your work relationships.
• When under stress, use your ability to focus, see clearly, to manage the situation and also your relationships with the people involved.
• Have the stamina and perseverence to succeed despite setbacks in the workplace.
• Focus on the goal, the business results.
• Understand what your sport/your work means to you.
• We can't choose what's in front of us, but we can choose what we can do about it, in sports and at work.
• Find a way to fit in, even if it's in a male-dominated sport/business.
• Set realistic objectives/stretch goals for yourself in sports and in business.
• Take the time to have fun and enjoy your sport and your work!

• Pace yourself
• Cross-train
• Make it fun, use music or other things you enjoy
• Motivate yourself to do it - Want to do, don't make yourself do it
• Buddy up with others
• Get quality equipment like shoes
• Manage your diet
• No guilt
• Change your paradigm about what's exercise - incorporating exercise into caring for children for example
• Use exercise to manage stress
• Make it convenient to exercise, like keeping shoes at your desk
• Personal trainer
• Keep it simple 

For this month's When She Speaks session, our accomplished panelists conversed candidly about the challenges and opportunities that leadership presents and how the important practices of self-leadership and personal accountability help them to more effectively leverage their leadership style and inspire others to also lead with power, influence and integrity.