Atypical Tea

EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY

“Speak up. Believe in yourself. Take risks.” - Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook CFO and author of Lean In. Taking risks is a key component for success in our careers. For many women, putting ourselves out there and taking chances is hard. Yet, without taking risks, we may miss opportunities to grow in our abilities or move into the position or career we want. During this session, attendees heard from Jenny Hosfeld and Jill Rock, two women who have taken risks, and in the process, moved forward in attaining their goals. From their stories, the audience gained inspiration and insights in how to identify opportunities, overcome imposter syndrome, and make their move.

Resources from this event:
How to Manage Your Inner Critic Video by Greta Thomas, Co-founder of Full Potential Labs
The Suprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome Video by Lou Solomon from TEDxCharlotte
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

BUILDING CREDIBILITY

Credibility is a key element of leadership, however is the bar for credibility higher for women? Does the need or method for building credibility change over the course of your career? A panel featuring Tori Utley, M.B.A, 23-year-old entrepreneur working jointly in technology innovation and addiction recovery, Tonya Burns, M.B.A, Senior Credit Analyst at Home Federal - Business Banking, and Dr. Wendy Shannon, Assistant Professor at Winona State University, spoke about how they have built credibility, as well as how they continue to sustain and grow their credibility to achieve personal goals. Attendees were left with new ideas and were inspired to continue building credibility in order to gain the support to make your own courageous maneuvers.

NAVIGATING THROUGH BARRIERS

We all know that women face challenges at work based on gender, but what if – in addition to being a woman – there is something else about you that creates additional barriers to success? Maybe you face stereotypes based on age, ethnicity, disability, or gender identity. Betty Hutchins, Manager for the Mayo Integrated Clinical Systems Project Management Office at Mayo Clinic, Regina Mustafa, currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Winona State, and Jessi Wangen, Finance Representative at Mayo Clinic, are women who have faced multiple barriers such as these. This panel shared additional challenges they have also faced and what advice they would give to others to help them be successful.

LEADERSHIP STYLES

Many people aspire to move into a management or leadership position – within their current organizations, at a different organization, or by starting their own business. Prior to making this career move, there are things we can do to prepare ourselves to be successful. A panel featuring Teresa McCormack, Owner Urban Design Studio, Larry Guse, Chief People Officer Think Bank, and Julie Valenica, Campus President Kaplan University have made the transition from employee to boss, mentored women to help prepare them for leadership roles, and started their own business. Panelists shared how they transitioned into new roles and gave advice for individuals interested in making the same move.

Resources from this event:
Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders Video by Sheryl Sandberg
20 Inspired TED Talks Every Woman Should Watch
KPMG Women's Leadership Study
Leading While Female by the Association for Psychological Science
Rethinking What Masculinity Means at the Office by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox (Harvard Business Review)
The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni

HOW TO LEAD YOUR LIFE (WORK/LIFE BALANCE? INTEGRATION? CHAOS?)
Elaine Garry, is the CEO of People's Energy Cooperative, a  wife, mother of four and now a grandmother. Elaine shared her ideas on the importance of balancing your personal life with your professional life. She also shared tools to use to form a plan for success and lessons learned from her experiences and training.

Resources from this event:
Elaine Garry's Presentation
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

PEER TO PEER LEADERSHIP (ACCOUNTABILITY/FEEDBACK/MOTIVATION)
The most effective leaders are able to lead up (people with authority over you); down (people who may report to you); and across (your peers). While all of these leadership roles have their own challenges, it can especially difficult to lead our peers. Yet, the ability to lead our colleagues can be one of the most rewarding experiences as well as a great way to develop the necessary skills to an effective leader in general. During this workshop, Catherine Davis, Business Instructor with Rochester Community and Technical College explored three elements of leading our peers: partnering versus competing with our team mates; holding our peers accountable; and, providing feedback.

Resources from this event:
WILD Atypical Tea Worksheet from Catherine Davis
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant
The 360 Degree Leadership: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization by John Maxwell
Crucial Accountability: Tools for Resolving Violated Expectations, Broken Commitments, and Bad Behavior by Kerry Pattersson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, and Ron Switzler
Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey

LEADING A SUCCESSFUL MULTIGENERATIONAL WORKPLACE
“It takes them forever to learn new technology.” “Why do they need so much attention?” “They don’t know how to communicate.” Generational differences can cause many challenges in the workplace. However, a multi-generational workplace also brings many opportunities for organizational innovation and growth. The secret is to learn how to harness the strengths of each generation so everyone can work in their most effective way. During this Atypical Tea session, Dr. Mary Davenport, Interim President at Rochester Community and Technical College, shared her stories and strategies for successfully leading a multi-generational workplace. Included in her presentation were tools related to effective generational communication and flexing your leadership style based on generational need.

Resources from this event:
Generational Differences Chart
Generation Preferences: A Glimpse into the Future Office

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COLOR YOUR WORLD OF CONFIDENT COMMUNICATION

In our kickoff event, Workforce and Development Director for the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce Julie Brock and Michon Rogers of Rochester Community and Technical College presented ways for women to stretch their creativity through coloring while setting goals to color their own world of communication as an exercise of vulnerability and authenticity.

Resources from this event:
Enneagram - Guide to Riso-Hudson Tests
Colors Assessent - Personality Assessment
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Why adults are buying coloring books - Article from The New Yorker
Adult Coloring Book - Buy yours today!

NAVIGATING NON-VERBAL CONTEXTS

Regina Seabrook of Rochester Public Schools, examined beliefs about what it means to communicate confidently exploring how body language can communicate confidence or a lack there of. Attendees also practiced strategies that supported the goal of communicating with confidence. 

Resources from this event:
Regina Seabrook's Presentation
Speak Up for Success
Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are (Ted Talk)

PROACTIVELY REACTING WHEN PUT ON THE SPOT

Often times we speak from reactions instead of well thought out responses which causes us to communicate less effectively and essentially, without confident. In this session, Theresa French of FocusWorks Training & Development discussed what it means to communication from a place of Being and principles to help us communicate more assuredly when we’re put on the spot or needing to deal with difficult conversations. 

Resources from this event:
Theresa's Presentation

WITH REASON AND SEASON

Jenna Bowman, Executive Director from the Rochester Downtown Alliance and Tessa Leung Owner of Sontes Catering and Grand Rounds Brewing Company spoke about the importance of being authentic when communicating. This includes actively listening and being diligent about connecting and retaining information. Furthermore, the importance of being vulnerable and true to one’s self was also discussed.

Resources from this event:

Brené Brown studies vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame - TED Speaker and Author of the following:

•   Daring Greatly
•   Gifts of Imperfections
•   Rising Strong