Leading Ladies

By Lauren Case, Training Committee Member

At our recent Training event called "Leading Ladies: Secrets of Our Success," some lucky Junior Leaguers heard Katie Kelley, a leadership coach who specializes in preparing emerging women leaders for executive roles, speak. The focus of Katie’s talk was to help the ladies in attendance develop a personal plan for leadership development, whether the leadership goals related to business, the community, or volunteer work.

Katie started off the night by sharing ten qualities with us that she sees in leading ladies. We then spent some time grading ourselves in those ten areas, identifying three areas to work, and writing goals to to help us build skills in those areas we feel need the most attention. This self-reflection and evaluation was followed by small group discussions on the topic. 

The most popular quality to work on at my table? “Career clarity.” If you have “career clarity” you can probably answer the following questions without hesitation: What is best for my soul? What is best for my career? Do I really know what I want to do professionally? And what experiences and skills do I need to cultivate in order to uncover these answers? The wonderful ladies I had the privilege of spending much of the evening with are in all stages of their careers--just starting off, mid-career, and even second careers--and when those of us concerned that we lack this important “clarity” voiced our concerns, we were met with encouragement, advice, and networking opportunities! Katie’s discussion was relevant and timely for many of us in the room, and facilitated a supportive evening discussing career concerns, ambitions, successes, and strategies amongst old and new friends. Thanks to everyone in attendance for the thoughtful discussion and advice. 

For those of you who missed it, here are a few of the career-oriented books that are favorites of both Katie and some of the League members in attendance last Thursday:

The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield 
What Men Don’t Tell Women About Business by Christopher V. Flett 
Evolutionaries: Transformational Leadership: The Missing Link in Your Organizational Chart by Randy Harrington and Carmen E. Voilleque 
Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg 
Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek 

Katie can be contacted through her website: www.LegacyBuilderCoaching.com