NAWCO-CI Blog

Guidelines for Posting to NAWBO-CI's Blog

This blog is open to NAWBO-CI members, corporate partners and alliance partners as a place for commentaries, insights and interactions that will benefit current and future WBOs in their professional and leadership development and in achieving success. Content that educates, inspires and assists WBOs is welcome. Unlike an individual blog which might serve as a personal diary of private thoughts or a tool for leading others to one's products and services, this is a "community" blog geared to sharing stories and experiences related to WBO issues (local, national and global), challenges and their solutions. Please submit posts as you wish them to appear to Pam@Schoffner.com. Each post will be identified by the individual, company name and website of the submitting member, corporate partner or alliance partner. NAWBO-CI reserves the right to contact you and not post material if submission is not in line with these guidelines. 

Participate: Pathways to Leadership Survey

The IWLC, host of the Iowa Women's Leadership Conferences, and the Vernon Research Group, are partnering on a landmark study in our state. The Pathways to Leadership Study will capture the stories of women in all 99 Iowa counties to better understand their paths to leadership, what has helped them and what sometimes gets in the way.

For the next five years the annual study will be conducted and the results shared. Please alert every Iowa woman you know and urge her to participate! You’ll find links to the survey on the home pages of IWLC website (www.IWLCLeads.org) or the Vernon Research Group website (www.vernonresearch.com), or connect here.

The survey will be available for completion ONLY UNTIL MAY 31.

Making the Most of Your Memberships

Many association and group memberships come up for renewal this time of year. Which ones are worth renewing or joining? Use these 4 questions to help guide your decision.

Every year around this time, as I'm planning my goals and Success Calendar for the coming year, I take a good look at the associations, groups, and organizations in which I'm involved. (If you don't currently do this, you may wish to start — you'll likely find it easier to review them as a whole rather than individually as each renewal comes due.) As with your goals and calendar, you want to be intentional with the groups to which you dedicate time, money, and energy as well.

With your list of memberships handy, assess each organization by asking yourself the following four questions:

1. What am I gaining from this group? You should experience an identifiable benefit, whether it's new clients, peer support, personal or professional development, or a stellar annual conference that reinvigorates you each year.

2. How am I contributing? You want to be more than simply a name on a roster. Do you attend meetings? Actively participate in events? Hold a leadership position that matches your strengths with the organization's needs? The old adage holds: You'll get out of it what you put into it.

3. Is this membership worth renewing? As one of MAP Professional Development's ASPIRE member recently told me, "I leave each ASPIRE meeting feeling energized and educated — the two things I most need each month!" With your goals for the next year handy, determine how/if each group will support you in reaching those goals. If "yes," then...

4. How can I enhance my membership experience in the next year? In addition to your own brainstorming, look to your responses to #2 above for further ideas.  Keeping those goals handy, also consider what other groups — ones in which you're not currently involved — might help you reach them. While you don't want to spread yourself too thin, growing your business or career really does require involvement with energizing peers, high-quality resources, and continuing growth opportunities. Choose wisely and with intention, and you will reap the benefits for the entire year! 

- Christi Hegstad, Ph.D., MAP Professional Development, who just renewed her NAWBO-CI membership.

WBO Works for Peace through The PEARL Project

NAWBO-CI member Kelly Boon is all about People Engaging in the Arts, Rejoicing in Life. On September 30 in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota Kelly wants women to come together to change the world through The PEARL Project.

"Two years ago the Dali Lama said, 'It is the women of the Western World who are going to rescue our world.' I believe we have been called," says Kelly, owner of CHAOS. "The PEARL Project is women led. This is a time for us to step up. We've all been feeling it."

The "premier monolithic White Feather Art Light Show for Peace" is at the Needles on Sylvan Lake. Kelly's dynamic White Feather Art paintings will be projected on the 100-foot spires of rock, accompanied by a First Nations drum circle and flute player. 

"This is an opportunity to honor the children and elders of the First Nations people, to bring the long overdue attention of our country to them in a 'big' way," says Kelly. 

Kelly's first event in South Dakota will set the stage for a large-scale light show at Pine Ridge Buttes in 2013. "During the Pine Ridge event we will engage people of multiple cultures and creative disciplines through interactive arts and humor," she says. "Transformation begins when we communicate and connect in beautiful ways. The First Nations people are the caretakers of the earth and are teaching us how to respect and honor our planet and each other."

Kelly invites all to join in the "healing, hope and peace" and "show the world that we know how to move mountains when we unite to show compassion."   Donate now to The PEARL Project to kick-off a world tour for peace on earth. Kelly's goal is to raise $45,000.

2012 Human Resource Trends

NAWBO-CI corporate partner Merit Resources provided these trends in human resources for companies to expect in 2012. Do they ring true for your company?

• Companies will be trying to establish more of a brand presence by tapping into social media, promoting their company culture, making better use of video and reaching out to smartphone owners.

• Businesses will be optimizing recruitment efforts as employment percentages remain stagnant. The quest to find the perfect candidates will be like digging through a haystack with so many candidates and so little opportunities.

• Employee retention strategies will need to be developed as top talents are willing to leave their current jobs for better opportunities.

• Video interviewing and tools that support video resume submissions will be used. Candidates will focus on their online personas to create an edge in employment.

• Automation will become more prevalent in both big and small business. Everything from email to hiring will incorporate automation.

• Employers will be looking for employees who are progressive and creative. These elements might give professionals the hiring edge over professionals with experience.

– Merit Resources

Danger Will Robinson, Danger!

I remember when a wise man told me he had learned that he should not make decisions when he was "hungry, angry, lonely or tired." 

It was the first time I had heard the HALT acronym. And it immediately made sense to me. When you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, your resilience is low. And that means you don't have as much energy to think things through and make good decisions.

But isn't that the problem in and of itself? We put ourselves in stressful situations without considering that we're headed into the danger zone. Let's use the HALT acronym combined with everyone's favorite excuse: "We're so busy."

We're so busy:

• We skip meals (Hungry)

• We stuff our emotions and just hope they will go away (Angry)

* We aren't truly connected with others (Lonely)

* We don't get 8 hours of sleep a night (Tired)

"Danger Will Robinson, Danger!"

Obviously the best thing to do is not get ourselves in high-risk situations in the first place. If we were wise we'd set time aside every week to take care of ourselves. We'd tell people no. We'd eat right. We'd exercise. And we'd spend time doing activities that provide us with joy and energy.

But let's face it, that's not what most of us are going to do!

So maybe a more realistic course of action is to begin by identifying our danger zones. Participants in Meyvn Group classes often say they are most as risk when they are:

• Overcommitted

• Rushing to meet a deadline

• Taking care of everyone but themselves

• Focused on one thing for too long

• Surrounded by people with no alone time

I think that's the power of HALT. You see, once we know our triggers we can be more alert. And then, when we find ourselves in a danger zone we can stop and take action to mitigate the risk. For example:

1. Asked to volunteer for yet another task? Suggest that (insert another person's name) is really better suited for this opportunity.

2. Find yourself in front of your computer for 3 hours in a row? Go for a 10 minute walk, preferably outside!

3. In a LONG meeting with no end in site? Excuse yourself and take a restroom break.

I can't tell you how many really smart and accomplished people have sabotaged their own careers simply by getting into situations where they didn't have the emotional strength to respond in a way that others found acceptable. Knowing your danger zones and identifying copying mechanisms ahead of time can be a career-saver.

- Tammy Rogers, The Meyvn Group, NAWBO-CI corporate partner; reposted with permission

Become Influential by Serving Now in NAWBO

Boardroom Bound is an organization dedicated to changing the face of boardrooms, and I not only support it's mission, I belong to this group and have taken its boardology® training.

Part of my work at TWW Consulting involves facilitating meetings with board leaders and creating criteria for board nominations. In trainings I've delivered to various chapters of NAWBO, I've stress how service on your local—and national—NAWBO board offers a developmental opportunity to prepare for being on the boards of even larger non-profit organizations and corporations.

Are you a WBO who aspires to learn and hone her skills with Roberts Rules of Order, to lead effective and efficient teams, and to interface with other WBOs around the nation? Then become a member of NAWBO, the premier dues-paying national organization for women in business, and get involved in the Central Iowa Chapter. It's the leaders who have the greatest impact and influence in the strategic advance of an organization! Officer openings include president-elect and treasurer, and board positions available include communications team lead and programs team lead. Contact Pam Schoffner, P.S. Writes, pam@schoffner.com, regarding these opportunities to serve now or in the 2012-2013 chapter year.

- T. Waldmann-Williams, TWW Consulting, tww@twwconsulting.com

Wanted: Your Ideas for Reducing Federal Debt

It's time for an interactive federal budget exercise in central Iowa and November 14 is the date!  The Des Moines Register and the Concord Coalition are partnering to hear our voices regarding a key issue of the Iowa caucus: the economy.

Community members, business leaders, students and young professionals will come together to recommend how to reduce the nation's deficit. What's your ideal plan for deficit reduction? Let's find out before the upcoming Congressional Super Committee report and the first-in-the-nation Presidential caucuses.

The free event runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, November 14, at Drake University's Olmsted Center (Parent's Hall). Limited seating is available, so preregister now.

 

Free Business-Building Seminar at Farm Bureau

Ready to spend a day focused on the strategic fit of your business, business planning, balanced executive teams, and discussing great leadership and business resources? Then sign up now for the Iowa Farm Bureau's November 2 Renew Rural Iowa Business Success Seminar, featuring Curtis Nelson, author and president of Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc. His "A Recipe for Business Success" presentation (free, 8:15 to 3:30 p.m. at Iowa Farm Bureau headquarters) is designed to help Iowa entrepreneurs uncover opportunities for improving their businesses while also providing the support and connections necessary to make those opportunities a reality.

Nelson will explore those opportunities in an interactive environment. He's directed the development and successful launch of more than 25 new business models and more then 200 new products for the communications, IT, military, transportation, medical, health, food and gardening industries worldwide. And, Nelson's a three-time veteran of Inc. magazine's Fastest-Growing Private Companies list.

Call 800-254-9670 for more information or to apply go online.

-Pam Schoffner, P.S. Writes, pam@schoffner.com

Women's Networking Opportunity

In the style of Julie Gammack's women's networking feasts of years ago, you're invited to an October 16 potluck at Plymouth United Church of Christ (42nd and Ingersoll) from 6 to 8 p.m.

Des Moines-area Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors—Bonnie Campbell, Judith Conlin, Mary Kramer, Sally Pederson and Judith Pim—have planned an event that shares information on a global issue: how international women farmer-leaders are working to address poverty and hunger in their communities. Did you know the majority of the worlds' farmers are women? Not only are women the ones who produce, purchase and prepare food each day, we're also working here and abroad to make our food system more fair and productive. So on October 16, World Food Day, bring food to share and come network with women who care about women's issues.

Guests include Nelly Velandia, Columbian farmer and national leader of the women small-scale farmer movement; Silas Samson Buru, Ethiopian farmer and part of the Oxfam Horn of Africa Risk Transfer Adaptation Program; and Judy Belas, Oxfam America's campaigns director from Boston.

Plus, it's a great opportunity for good conversation and learning with some of the most interesting women in central Iowa. And frankly, don't you just love a terrific potluck?

- Pam Schoffner, P.S. Writes

Tech Tip: RSS Feeds

Do you try to follow certain websites and find it difficult to visit multiple sites as often as you would like? Do you want to keep current on information about your industry or field of work? If you answer yes, an RSS feed may be right for you! 

As a woman business owner, I think one of the easiest ways to keep up with blog posts or news is through the RSS feed. It is a simple way to access your favorite sites or blogs. Instead of going to each individual site to read the most recent posts, the newest information is delivered to your Google Reader. Using Google Reader allows you to view the information you subscribe to from anyplace in the world. It's like reading a newspaper focused totally on the information you want to see; there's no "junk" to read around. You can even access it from your smart phone, such an Android or iPhone.

The RSS feed in typically an orange button on the home page of websites. To subscribe to a certain blog or news website, just click on this RSS feed button and copy and paste it into your Google Reader. From there you can organize your feeds into categories. Then, as often as you like—I prefer once a week—you can access your Reader and catch up on all your favorite stories.

- Gretchen Sandfort, Ponderosa Valley Wellness