Event Summary: Women's Global Leadership Workshop

Attending the Women's global leadership workshop on April 20, 2018, was a highlight of my Events series. I gathered a lot of practical tools and tips for my toolkit. I am excited to share my Insights with you.
 
Event Highlights

• Focus: Take Charge of Your Life and Invest in Yourself
  
• Website: https://wgli.org/ | Facebook: @WGLI08  | Instagram: @wgliorg  | Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women's-global-leadership-initiative/
• Format: Keynote, Working sessions.
• Attendees: Students, Female leaders, Entrepreneurs
• Topics:
  • Women as Leaders - What makes a powerful leader?
  • Personal Experience and its Impact on Developing Leadership skills
  • Identifying Your Personal Vision and Mission
  • How to Sell Yourself - Tools for Self-Branding
• Event Page: https://wgli.org/event-list/?eid=10856

 
My Objectives – why did I attend this event?

• Gather tools and resources for my development as a leader
• Define my next phase as a leader
• Learn tips for Self-branding
• Formulate my personal mission and vision statement

 
Key Insights – what did I learn? 
Women supporting women
Diana Ruiz kicked off the event with a powerful statement "Equity starts when women support women.” Cristina Trujillo crystalized this point by saying Surround yourself with women supported and allies.
Imagine how much stronger we will be with stronger networks. My mission for “Her Perspective” is to build a community of women who support one another on their journey. Encourage the women around you and help them grow. Someone will do the same for you.
 
Know your worth and your contribution
Most women don’t know their worth and their investment. Recognizing your worth and your contribution is essential. If you do not believe in yourself and your cause, how can you expect others to believe in you? Start by knowing your strengths and weaknesses.
I  recently wrote a blog post titled  Know your worth! sharing my insights. Knowing what you are worth, and what you bring to the table will help you ask for the pay you deserve. Acknowledging your achievements will make you more fulfilled.
 
Prioritize your self-care
Cristina Trujillo hit the nail on the head with this point - "Make self-care a non-negotiable priority." Danielle DeRuiter-Williams shared the importance of taking care of yourself, knowing what you need and asking for it. She shared her experience in one of the most trying times of her life where she reached out to her closest friends for support. I used to be very good about taking care of myself, ensuring I got what I needed intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually to feel and be my best. However, in 2017 I got carried away with work and neglected my self-care. This led to me not being my best physically and in my relationship. I decided to prioritize my self-care this year. Whatever self-care means to you, please prioritize your self-care. You need to be whole to do the great things you are destined to do.
 
Simple self-branding
Nancy Marmolejo shared a simple way of communicating your strengths to the world through your brand statement. Nancy defined self-branding as a "process of establishing a truthful and authentic image or impression of who you are in the minds of others."

1. Describe what you do with power words (verbs). My top five power words were: Connect, Empower, Organize, Counsel, Plan.
2. Then formulate your statement: I (power word) (who or what) so they can (result). One of my statements was "I connect women to people and resources they need so they can be successful professionally.”

 
Who are the women you admire and why?
Rachel Harrelson took us through an exercise of thinking about why we admire some female leaders.  When we were asked to identify women whom we admire, we go to the Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and so on. Try to list women you know personally.
Three things to consider when you chose women you admire:

1. Choose women leaders close to you. It will help you feel their success is more attainable for you.
2. Formulate statements about the women you identified - She is successful because of her….
3. What qualities does she have? Look at your list; these are qualities you aspire to have.

 
My Next Steps - What am I going to do?

• Keep working on my personal brand as I grow and develop.
• Continue building a community of women who support one another.
  
• Prioritize self-care as I transition into my next phase.

 
 Final Thoughts

• Know who you are- your worth and your brand.
• Tell your story the way you want to tell it.
• Getting out there and attending events has been a great experience. Check out my other event summaries.

About the Speakers
Diana Ruiz - CEO Women's Global Leadership Initiative.
Danielle DeRuiter-Williams - Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Specialist and Organizational Development Strategist
Cristina Trujillo - Founder & Executive Producer at Reigniting Empowered Expressiveness & Motivation.
Nancy Marmolejo - Personal Branding, Leadership, Diversity. Executive Coaching for Executives, Teams, Entrepreneurs.