NEW Leadership Summit: Action Items and Takeaways

Thank you to everyone who attended NEW Leadership Summit – what an incredible three days of learning and celebrating our 20th anniversary! Don’t forget, you can keep the celebration going through the rest of the year – just vist newonline.org/anniversary for social media graphics and zoom backgrounds galore!

Below you’ll find a list of action items and takeaways from all sessions at Summit, kindly provided by both our speakers and sharp-eared attendees.

Day 1

Passion Forward: From Passion to Profession
Mirna Valerio

It’s not about losing weight. It’s about gaining life!
Your star is rising and you need to follow it.
I have to let other people’s opinions go because I have things to do.
What am I prioritizing at the expense of myself?

Advancing Women in STEM
Jayshree Seth

The more stereotypes we break, the better outcomes we’re going to have. We need diverse perspectives to solve big problems.
Scientists solve problems and science improves lives. That context matters. When girls and women know they can solve big problems, they want to work in STEM.
Science is in the forefront. The world is united in the belief that we should value and follow science.
Your potential is exponential!

Day 2

No Need for Sight When You Have a Vision
Lex Gillette

You decide what you can do. No one else decides. You do!
Don’t just think what you want to do is possible, know it’s possible.
What are you doing to explore what’s beyond your limitations? What is one step beyond what you’re aiming at? Five steps? Ten steps?
How are you being a catalyst for someone else? Your team? Your loved ones? To help them see what is possible for themselves?
Yes, so much can go wrong. But so much can go right!
Sight reveals what is. Vision reveals to us what can be.

Igniting Allyship
Angie Beeman and Tsedale Melaku

Performative allyship is dangerous. It does not create change. Companies can’t just make statements without action.
True allyship is the public and private acts of sponsorship and advocacy we do. Using words such as collaboratives, co-conspirators, and advocates are more powerful.
DEI work can increase the amount of invisible labor performed by employees of color, and can make them feel less seen, less heard, and less valued. It’s important to look at the support and compensations DEI leaders are given.

Genuine allyship can make all the difference in helping people navigate institutions and feel heard.
Allyship plays a critical role in fostering and developing trusting relationships.
The work of an ally closely aligns with the work of a sponsor.

Creating a Vision for What’s Next
Phil Hansen

Embracing a limitation can actually drive creativity. Think differently. By intentionally creating unexpected thoughts in our brain we will automatically cause more creative thought.
Generate more ideas. It’s not about generating the perfect idea but rather about generating many ideas, one of which can be molded into something magical.
Discover a disrupter idea. Unconventional ideas come to people who are willing to push the boundaries of what is acceptable.
Systematic creativity is a way to find an unexpected idea that could turn out to be obvious in hindsight.

7 Lessons to Take Control & Get What You Want
Mariana Atencio

Authenticity is a choice you make every single day.
What makes you different and stand out is what can make you successful!
By being yourself, you will create space for others and that’s how you practice allyship.
Foster an environment where other people, especially women can show up as themselves!

Work Like a Boss
Nancy Lyons

We need everyone to possess a natural curiosity.
Experience is important when we think about the quality of what we want people to bring out.
You are responsible for the energy you bring into a room.
Grow your capacity for acceptance.
Surviving fear builds muscles that we need.
Non-judgement is capital ‘B’, boss behavior.
A lack of communication will kill culture among teams (us vs them).
Know your energy and pass along only what you want to receive.
Ditch the old school, top down, me versus others. Make work great for people. Be grateful to people. Be the change you want to see. That’s what makes you a leader today.

The Rise of Women in the Workplace
Michael Tchong

There are tsunami-like waves that lead to societal transformation and upheaval. If you know what they are in advance, you can ride the wave.
The Woman’s Acceptance Factor Ubertrend is ushering in a future where women set the agenda.
You can leverage Ubertrend-driven value changes to achieve business and career goals.

The Value of Love and Worth at Work
Amelia Dunlop

Research shows that while 90% of people value feeling as though they are worthy, only 50% of people actually experience this feeling in their day to day lives. This is the Worthiness Gap.
The Worthiness Gap matters because 84% of people say that they do their best work when they feel worthy; however, due to inequality in our current systems, many of us aren’t able to experience feelings of worthiness at work.
To reverse these systems and ensure that ourselves and our colleagues can feel worthy, we need to Elevate The Human Experience via three paths: Self, Another, and Community of Work.
First, we all benefit when we show up at work with both HEAD and HEART, embracing our vulnerabilities and learning to love ourselves in the process.
Second, we need to mirror this love and worth in others by serving as their ally – serving as a mentor, sponsor, benefactor, friend, or mix of all four.
Finally, we must deconstruct the systems currently causing others to feel unworthy and redesign them around what I call the Equitable Experience Framework, which centers itself around seeing people as individuals and valuing them before anything else.
If you’d like to dive deeper on the concept of finding love and worth at work, pre-order your copy of Amelia’s new book Elevating the Human Experience: Three Paths to Love and Worth at Work. Attendees of today’s session can preview the first chapter using this link. Visit her website at AmeliaDunlop.com.

Creating Inclusive Workplaces for Employees with Disabilities
Laurie Henneborn and Julia Swift

Any of us could acquire a disability at any time. This is not a matter of them. It is about all of us.
Having brave leaders model disclosing their disability can help others feel like they can speak up, too.
Organizations are missing out on a huge talent pool by not creating inclusive spaces for people with disabilities.

Leading in a Hybrid Environment
Leslie Lee and Lorraine Hale

Take time in virtual meetings to socialize instead of getting right to work.
Block your calendar and model good boundaries for your times to combat video-meeting fatigue and burnout.
Communicate regularly and clearly about expectations for productivity.
Create meeting-free Fridays so people can have uninterrupted time.
The future of work is changing and we need to adapt and be flexible. We also need to re-define what success means so people’s careers aren’t impacted by working from home.

Igniting the Power of Male Allies
W. Brad Johnson, Cory Onell, Arist Mastorides

We have a big gap in our aspirations to be strong male allies and our execution.
Male allyship is just the right thing to do. Period.
Men tend to get sponsored into the next position and women not as much.
Men need to ask: Am I good at holding other men accountable when they are behaving inappropriately? This is hard for men, but so important.
If I am an advocate or a mentor for a woman, I need to be a huge fan. I need to talk her up and start advocating loudly for women.
Look at everyday policies and procedures that are disadvantaging our female colleagues.
Women of color will often say, “I’m in a meeting and I feel entirely invisible. I have to work twice as hard to get as far.” What can men do? Leaders can make sure she’s been networked in and introduced to the right people. In the meeting, do I make sure she gets the mic? Help her be seen and heard.
Men: Hold yourselves accountable for women’s success.

Day 3

Paving the Way Forward
Shane Ortega

Balance is what holds the fabric of humanity together.
How do you choose to help the collective to bring in the new future?
The chief in my culture is elected to lead because he listens to all the people.
Empathy and compassion for all can change the world.

Changing the Narrative
Nate Nichols, Steffi Behringer, Kev O’Sullivan

There is a deficit of empathy and vulnerability in leadership.
Leadership is approaching others with curiosity and grace.
Make sure who you are is so loud you don’t have to say anything.
The skills that will win the day are collaboration, accountability, and transparency.
To build a more diverse workforce, stop hiring your friends. Expand your network. Make new friends, without an agenda. Just go out and talk!

Building a Strong Network
Melody Richard, Andrea Faccio, Danit Schleman

Create a personal board of directors made of close women allies to support you and push you. Hold a hand out, a hand up, and a hand down to bring women up as you progress through your career.
You don’t have to be best friends with everyone in your network. As long as you have mutual respect for each other’s perspective, you don’t have to agree on everything to benefit from the relationship.
When you get into new situations and new cultures, you have to take a step back and listen to what’s going on around you. The way you can influence and network and connect with other women may be different than what you’ve done previously.

Leading the Shift Toward Gender Inclusion
Kim Reed

Leadership is a skill, rather than an innate quality. And because it is a skill, it can be nurtured and developed. Anybody can become a stronger, better leader.
If you are invited to take a seat at the table—whether literally or figuratively—take that seat. Once you are at that table, make your perspective heard. If you have something thoughtful and valuable to add, you don’t need to wait until all of the men have had their turn to speak out of a sense of politeness or a lack of confidence—being courteous and assertive are not mutually exclusive concepts.

When you are considering mentors, be strategic. Choose somebody who can help you with your weaknesses and identify areas of opportunity. Recognize that allies come in all forms and you are not limited to mentors that look like you or share your exact experience. Don’t assume you have been paired with somebody using the same criteria that you would have applied. Don’t let somebody else—however well meaning—dictate who is going to shape the direction of your career.
If you take a seat at the table, use your voice.
Have a meeting before the meeting to start getting your ideas out there and make sure you credit for them.

Igniting Allyship for AANHPI Leaders
Sue Ann Hong, Linda Lee, Sarita Rao

Listen. Understand. Act. As a leader, now more than ever, empathy is so important right now and really being there for employees. Listen to each other. This is how we will create a more inclusive future.
How can you show up in a way that helps solve a real problem?
I tried not to stand out. To be one of the guys. I felt like couldn’t say no to things. Now, I say be yourself.
Your network is important. Build it by engaging your curiosity.
Your path to your career may not look like everyone else’s path. That’s okay. Forge your own.
My external looks will always come with assumptions. Therefore, I need to just be me and be comfortable to be in my own skin.
Being authentic takes courage.

Finding Your Voice
Mimi Dixon and Lynn Clark

When you have something to say, be prepared to get the platform to say it. I had to have a strategy and solutions to go so when I got the opportunity, I was ready.
My manager said to me, “Will you please stop asking a question before giving your point of view? You’re smart. You’re good. I promoted you. I put you in that room. You deserve to be in that room. Now use your voice. Have a crisp point of view.”
Finding your voice is a journey. I had to believe in myself. I had to learn I was in that room because I had proven I belonged there.
You are at the table for a reason. Your voice. Your point of view. I had to learn how to believe that. I had to overcome the mountain in my head that I wasn’t important and what I had to say wasn’t important.
Have an accountabilibuddy who supports you in finding your voice in meetings.

The Art of Navigating Change
Jeremy Hunter

You have to manage both the inner and outer game to be truly effective.
Mastering yourself means mastering your nervous system’s reactions.
Our connecting and support of each other is often our most powerful resource. Who has supported you and whom can you support?

Work / Life Balance in a Hybrid World
Jaclyn Ahearne, Lanell Ohlinger

We are a global company. We decided to be a camera-on organization. Technology has been a bridge for us and people have been vulnerable and opened up their lives to each other in new ways. It’s helped us make connections.
Our people do 15-minute huddles for small talk to connect with each other. Check in and slow down to connect with each other.
It’s important to be intentional about rewarding and acknowledging on-site, front line staff.
Focus on “the work” and “the why.” It’s not usually a binary decision, do I work at home or in the office. Focus in on the work. I look at connection. Where and how can you best connect? I was talking to people in 27 different states. How can we connect the most effectively? What drives collaboration, creation, and innovation the best? How can we best celebrate with each other?

The Future of Work for Women
Leilani Brown, Nicole Balkenbusch

COVID has created an opportunity to ask yourself: Do you have the resources you need? Are you happy right now? What are your non-negotiables? Then you can look for a career that gives you what you need.
Sell your productivity gains back to your employers. Make sure they are clear on how much more productive you are when you’re working from home.
Better inclusion and equity conversations talk about inclusion as it relates to remote and hybrid work and location, as well. We need to be in a place where we have opportunities for advancement and upper mobility irrespective of where we work.

Find Your Fierce
Teresa Sande

If you’re struggling with imposter syndrome there are three ways you can find your fierce:

Awareness of what Imposter Syndrome is, where it comes from, the cost if it goes unchecked, and why we experience it.
Interruption techniques to stop Imposter Syndrome in its tracks and quiet the inner critic in the moment so it doesn’t derail you.
Momentum to build a strong foundation rooted in your values, strengths, and clear vision of who you are and where you’re going.

The Power of Personal Truth
Serena Williams

Write your goals down so you can make them real.
Take a Serena spa day! Get away from the keyboard and take care of yourself.
If you have a challenge, change your thought process. Instead of thinking, “Will I ever?” change your thinking to ask yourself, “when this happens…”
Our life should be a learning process as long as we’re here.
You have to have self-confidence and believe in yourself.
When you hire women and hire people of color, you see more broadly.
Who is to say who you’re supposed to be? Is there a rule book? Everyone is so different. There’s no one way to be. Be yourself.
Around diversity, real changes come when we all support each other.
I hate losing, but the mistakes we make create us and make us better. You learn so much from it. You can take those lessons and apply them to what you do next.