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W.I.N. Conference Articles
W.I.N 2005 feedback from a Partner Network
This year marked the eighth annual Women’s International
Networking (WIN) Global Leadership Forum, held on
6–8 October in Geneva. Nearly 500 women and men
convened on the subject of “Leadership for the
Future”. The Professional Women’s Association of
Milan has been a partner network of WIN since the
conference began in Milan in 1998, as have other
member associations of the European Professional
Women’s Network.
I am often asked what WIN is like, what it is all
about. In the words of the website, the annual
forums are “designed for women and men who want to
be part of shaping the newly emerging paradigm of
leading results through authentic action”.
But what does this really mean?
The interpretation of such a phrase would surely vary from
one participant to the next. However, I think all would
agree that the conference provides:
- the possibility to gain relevant skills and knowledge via
specialized workshops;
- the chance to make new business, associational and personal
contacts, and to renew existing ones, during the many
networking occasions built into the programme;
- and especially – and here is where the “shaping the
newly emerging paradigm” comes in – the
opportunity to gain inspiration, motivation and new
ideas, through the plenary speaker sessions and debates.
This year, four key concepts threaded their way through the
presentations, all essential components of successful
leadership in the 21st century. These, in my view, represent
the meaningful and inspiring core of the conference.
Know your strengths and believe in yourself
Nearly all of the speakers emphasized this trait, in as many
different ways: Know yourself, what makes you tick, what
gives you energy. Find the environment that you thrive in
and that is best for you. Know what you’re good at and like
to do, and do it. Identify your distinctive competencies.
Don’t try to improve from incompetence to mediocrity; it’s
much easier to go from good to excellent. Draw on your
gifts. Don’t submit to your fears and insecurities. Get out
there and use 100% of your potential.
One woman’s story, that of Victoria Petrova, was
particularly striking. Victoria followed her dream, trained
as a doctor and became a cardiologist. However, she could
not afford to remain in that profession. Since Russia ’s
centralized medical system paid so poorly, she could not
come close to supporting herself and her family. Therefore,
she became a secretary in the better-paying world of
business. Victoria worked her way up step by step, believing
in her abilities and persevering, despite difficult moments.
She is now head of Human Resources at Rusal, the third
largest aluminium company in the world.
Presenters repeatedly referred to the phenomenon that men
think they are better than they really are, whereas women do
not think they are as good as they truly are. One
often-quoted statistic: men apply for a position and think
they can do it well if they master 60% of the job, whereas
women tend to do so only if they know 100% (or more!) of the
job. According to Mr Alex Tosolini, a firm believer in the
abilities of women – and, incidentally, General Manager of
Procter & Gamble, Poland and the Baltic States – women need
to learn to be arrogant in order to close further the gap
with men in the corporate world. His reasoning: if women
start learning to be arrogant, they might start realizing
that they are better than they think … and it is unlikely
that they will actually become arrogant in the process.
Know where you are going and make the right choices
The second prerequisite for effective leadership is being
clear on your goals, setting the bar high, and pursuing them
relentlessly: As long as you have the passion for it, you
can do whatever you want. Stop talking about it and start
making it happen. Go after opportunities when they arise.
But don’t choose the easier roles. If you don’t push,
stretch and challenge yourself, you will be contributing to
that infamous glass ceiling by inadvertently limiting your
possibilities for advancement. Rediscover the courageous
person that you are. Take risks!
Women are more and more assertively choosing their
priorities these days. This may be considered as making
sacrifices, yet it really boils down to making strategic
choices and accepting them. Women are taking control of
their lives, not letting outside factors control them.
Work–life balance, anyone?
Food for thought, on the subject of choices: Alex Tosolini,
originally from the Turin area, knowingly chose to work for
a company that rewards performance (Procter & Gamble),
rather than working for the main local Italian employer …
because of the high levels of nepotism that still exist in
Italy .
Build bridges, make connections
In today’s world it is becoming increasingly necessary to
establish connections – between individuals, departments,
companies, cities, governments, and so on. The world is
becoming “inter-reliant”. Good leaders “create
a common platform”, have “cross-boundary
rotations”, and “encourage open collaboration
between eco-systems”. In short, they network
effectively. The ability to build bridges, relationships and
partnerships is crucial to achieving success.
Women, as it turns out, are better at relationship-building
than men. Women excel at working well in groups and have
higher levels of social intelligence, i.e. the ability to
communicate with, motivate, understand and leverage the
skills of others.
As one presenter quoted, “It’s time to realize, brethren,
that a woman is not just a female man” (Ogden Nash). Women
are capitalizing on their differences, differences which are
major strengths in today’s bridge-building world. Hence the
inevitable conclusion drawn: the future is for women.
Believe in the future and your impact on it
Yes, the future is indeed for women, and it is also
unpredictable in other ways. Consider the following titbit
of data: 80% of the technology that will be used in the next
10 years has yet to be invented. The future is not
traced out. Bottom line: we can all have an impact, no
matter how big or small. Effective leaders believe so, and
live and lead accordingly.
“No person can make a greater mistake than [s]he who did
nothing because [s]he could only do a little.” (adapted from
Edmund Burke)
As every year, there were a number of accomplished leaders
at the WIN conference – leaders from the business world,
from academia and think tanks, from NGOs and non-profit
institutions. They were of varying nationalities and ages,
some men, mostly women, different in many respects. Yet
there was a clear common denominator: all of these leaders
displayed the traits mentioned above. They “walked
the talk”, as it were. Confidence in their abilities,
passion, enthusiasm and determination in pursuing their
goals and belief that they could indeed make a difference
brought them to where they are today. May they be a model
for us all.
See you at WIN 2006!
Valerie Ryder
President, PWN of Milan
Board member, European Professional Women’s Network
Valerie Ryder, Director of Ryder & Associates
(www.ryderassociates.com)
is an executive coach and consultant specialized in
leadership, career development and change management in
international environments. Her focus has always been on
bring out the 'professional best' in her clients, colleagues
and staff; she has trained, mentored and developed countless
numbers of women over the past two decades. She is a
long-time friend of W.I.N. and believes that the future is
for women
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