LAS VEGAS – The Foundation for Women’s Leadership and Empowerment (FWLE) hosted its annual Women’s Leadership Conference at the MGM Grand Convention Center in Las Vegas on September 4 and 5. The conference, themed “Ourselves,” provided an immersive and interactive learning experience for attendees to share insights, participate in workshops, and network with other women leaders.
Education at the event is also divided into three tracks: Emerging Leaders (Foundations), Emerging Executives (Growth), and Executives (Capabilities). These tracks not only help attendees attend educational sessions that are most relevant to their organizational level, but also provide attendees with a network of peers with whom they can discuss common challenges.
Trade Show Executive I was there in person and summarized some key takeaways from the FWLE Women’s Leadership Conference keynote and the Women Leaders Roundtable.
Key Point 1: Confidence is not a trait, but something you need to practice.
In the event’s opening keynote, leadership author and speaker Selena Rezvani shared tips for boosting confidence in the workplace. From paying attention to body language (like hand gestures while speaking), using “I” statements to speak with authority, to how to best recover from missteps, Rezvani encouraged attendees to practice confidence so it becomes natural.
Takeaway #2: To close the capital investment gap between male-led and female-led startups, more women need to become investors.
According to CNBC, during a fireside chat with AI CEO, entrepreneur, investor and board member Susan Sly, she highlighted the investment gap between male-led startups and female-led startups, even though female-owned startups generate twice the return per investment dollar of male-owned startups. She encouraged more women to become check writers to help support female entrepreneurship and close the investment gap.
Key Point 3: Delegation is essential to the effective performance of leadership responsibilities.
At the Women Entrepreneurs Roundtable, Alicia Taylor, owner of Mortgage Solutions, LLC, explained that when she first started her mortgage company, she had a hard time delegating tasks to her team, choosing instead to take on more tasks herself. She shared that when she began delegating tasks and trusting her team with her training, she was able to spend more time running the business and strategizing.
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Takeaway #4: Different types of psychological avoidance can hinder your success in stressful situations.
In her keynote, “Bold Action: Three Simple Science-Based Steps to Be Bold in Change,” Dr. Luana Marquis explains that different types of psychological avoidance (withdrawal, reaction, and reservation) can give people an immediate emotional release, but in the long run, prevent them from being successful and reaching their full potential. Shifting your mindset and thinking is essential to overcoming avoidance and facing challenges head-on.
Takeaway #5: Knowing numbers is essential to advancement into leadership positions.
During the Women Presidents and CEOs Roundtable, each panelist said a key skill they needed to reach their current positions was financial acumen and understanding what the numbers behind a company’s success meant. Orzse Hodi, president of Dole Packaged Foods USA, shared how early in her career she sought out colleagues on the finance team to help her better understand finance, which ultimately helped her land the position at Dole.
Point 6:
Executive coach and keynote speaker Justin Patton shared that trust is your greatest competitive advantage because it keeps people (from your employees to your colleagues to your customers) coming back for more. During his keynote, Patton shared six “Trust Moves” with the audience, which are: Have the courage to trust first, communicate below the waterline, honor the best in yourself, continue to engage emotionally, put empathy before information, and see the strength and recognize it.
Stay tuned to TSE’s Young Professionals section for a guide to building your network as a young professional, as well as insights from the Networking 101 session at the Women’s Leadership Conference.
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