What a fantastic event last Friday at the Women’s Vision Foundation 2012 Women’s Success Forum! This year, we had 14 Brocadians attend this annual event and it was fun to share the rewarding experience with these other attendees. The theme this year of “Waves of Change” definitely felt appropriate. Since the last Success Forum I have seen a lot of change in my own career: a promotional move with new responsibility, a new team and a new manager, going back to school for my MBA, and an announcement of a new CEO. I guess what they say about “change being the only constant” is true. Therefore, I think that everything that you learn at the Women’s Success Forum each year is valuable in preparing for and dealing with change. Speakers share their stories and advice on communication, leadership, self-discovery, motivation, diversity, management, and much more!

The keynote speaker, Dr. Brené Brown was a crowd favorite for sure. She spoke about vulnerability and how societal interpretations of courage and weakness are misunderstood. For example: a CEO brought in to turn around a company shows vulnerability when she admits mistakes and asks for help from her direct reports will appear courageous although she may feel weak. Through personal experiences and her in-depth research, Brené taught the audience that being honest and trusting is double sided and you often need to be the initiator. One tip she gave was when giving feedback to sit next to them rather than across from them. I learned that I need to identify what my defensive reaction to fear is so that I can avoid shutting myself down to other’s vulnerability and learn from them instead.

For the first breakout sessions, I attended “Personality Poker” with Stephen Shapiro. From a full deck of 52 cards, we had to find 5 cards that defined us and then relate that back to what type of innovator we are. My cards that I choose were: Analytical (9S), Sociable (QH), Direct (JC), Considerate (5H), and Creative (9D). These cards are a great icebreaker for team building and identifying strengths and weaknesses of you and your peers. For example, I was given the Intellectual (AS) card which helps me understand how others perceive me. “Who people see us as is ultimately who we become.” I am weighted in the Define Challenges (S) part of innovation process yet with a healthy balance of Execution through Engaging with Others (H). I am weak in the Create (D) category. What are your weaknesses and who has those characteristic strengths to balance you and make your team successful? Find yours here: Personality Poker online.

The next event that I attended was on followership by Ira Chaleff. He was so easy to listen to and I loved his videos that fully demonstrated what a good and bad follow/leader combination looked like. What really spoke to me is what Ira said about “the first follower is most important. Without him, there is no leader. The first follower shows others how to follow and turns the leader’s action into a movement with many followers.” By using the courage recommendations from Brené, a leader needs to remove barriers to allow followers to be courageous and followers in turn will speak up about your company’s blind spots.

The event closed with appetizers, prize drawing, and another guest speaker. One Brocadian won Nuggets tickets! Thank you Women’s Vision Foundation for the inspirational Friday and the many empowering ideas to take back and apply.