CWIL 2022 Women’s Power Summit: Top takeaways
I had the great fortune to attend the Center for Women in Law (CWIL) Women’s Power Summit in Austin, Texas. The theme this year was The Power of Transitions to Transform.
The Summit played host to some of the most impressive and powerful women in the law—general counsels, judges, law firm partners, as well as corporate board members, founders, CEOs, journalists, professors, and more. The presenters were absolute rockstars and generous with advice, anecdotes, and insights.
Future of work strategist, Heather McGowan
Here’s a ‘lucky 13’ list of the advice that most resonated with me. There were of course many more than thirteen takeaways and significantly more richness to the experience than my words can convey—but hopefully this brief list is a helpful and inspirational one!
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On empowering yourself
1/ Define what ‘success’ means for yourself. Don’t let others’ expectations or understandings of success displace what’s important to you.
2/ Name two goals you’re working toward in the next year or two. Then tell your friends and colleagues about these goals and ask if they know anyone who can help. No one can help you if they don’t know what you’re after.
3/ Before joining a new organization, do your due diligence. Find out about the organization’s culture, leadership, successes, and critiques. Learn as much as you can about your manager, peers, and team. Then decide if it’s the right place for you.
On leading people
4/ As a leader, don’t lose sight of the fact that—at the end of the day—it’s individual people who ensure the success or failure of an organization.
5/ Listening is one of the most underrated skills of a strong leader, so practice listening more than speaking. This is particularly important when transitioning into a new role.
On leading change
6/ It’s natural to resist change. But keep in mind that it’s often a gateway to unexpected opportunities.
7/ Change is hard. You can’t “positive think” your way out of it; you have to do the hard work of confronting the discomfort and working through it.
8/ Don’t rush. Take the time to correctly diagnose persistent problems to ensure solutions address root causes.
9/ When you’re leading change, think about how you can make people feel confident and excited about doing something new and different, rather than unsure or fearful.
On investing in yourself
10/ Throughout your life, bad things will happen to you, and you will make mistakes. These are facts of life. Decide today that you’ll do your utmost to take it all in stride and commit to learning from these experiences.
11/ Another fact of life: Your time on this earth is limited. So prioritize what’s most important. This means you’ll disappoint someone along the way—and that is a fact, too.
12/ Challenge yourself to read something you disagree with; invite people to challenge the assumptions on which you’ve based your perspectives.
13/ The people in your life matter more than anything else. Save the best of yourself for them.
Left to right: Lucy Lopez, GC of SpencerStuart, and me; Lucy and I worked together at McKinsey, where she was Deputy GC. Me holding Betty White during the goat yoga event on Thursday morning. Blue heron on the river, spotted during a break.