The WIN Summit Was Just What I Needed

Written by Kerry Glanz, Co-Founder of ModernDay Village

I signed up to attend the December 2020 WIN Summit on a whim. A post popped up on my LinkedIn account about this event and I thought “what do I have to lose?” You see, I’ve been out of the workforce for a long time and had only recently joined and learned how to use Linkedin. After over twenty years of being a stay-at-home mom, I made a bold move, along with my co-founder, to create a new business: ModernDay Village. Having just launched our business in the middle of a pandemic and without having a professional network to help support and guide us, we admittedly felt somewhat daunted. The excitement of launching our venture and the trepidation of finding the right steps to take made it clear that we needed to start networking to feel part of the female professional world, which drew me to that post about the WIN Summit. Attending the summit turned out to be a great decision. By the end of the day, I felt completely energized by the experience. Here are three of my top takeaways from the day:

1. Lead With Your Authentic Voice

Beth Comstock, author of Imagine It Forward and former CMO and Vice Chair of GE, was the morning keynote speaker. Here was one of the most esteemed female business leaders, and she made it clear that you don’t need to fit into one mold of what you think a leader or founder needs to sound and act like. We often hear about the most extroverted, charismatic successful leaders and founders. Beth suggested that we introspect and discover our own narratives because our personal stories are what make us truly human. It is okay to be anywhere on that spectrum between introverted and extroverted, as long as you are being true to who you are because people recognize, trust, and value authenticity. She noted that another key leadership quality is to be a “change wrangler” – someone willing to confront, encourage, and adapt to change. She referenced the “imagination gap,” in which we get caught up in the knowledge of what is and fail to imagine the possibility of what might be. She encouraged us all to harness the creativity which our younger selves thrived upon.

2. Unravel superwoman and find the woman underneath

 Dana Vollmer, another keynote speaker, is a three-time Olympian and five-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer and Founder and CEO of Dana Vollmer LLC. Dana’s speech and performance had the entire audience cheering and crying along with her - even through a virtual conferencing platform. From all her years of training and competing, she finally recognized that: “I was working so hard to be a version of myself that everyone expected me to be, but it wasn’t me.” This realization led her to develop M.E.E.

1.    Me - Similar to Beth’s aforementioned point, it is crucial to learn and define who you are. “I have to know me. Your past is your past; it influences your actions and decision-making ability,” Dana said.

2.    Energy - Uncover your source of fuel! Are you harnessing what truly drives your best work? Which items move to the top of your to-do list? “Your fuel source is the driving force to bring you success, for whatever your definition of success is.” Find what makes you happy and reassess your fuel balance so you are not operating from an empty tank. Operating on empty fuel is unproductive, unmotivating and it makes you feel run down. Find what drives you!

3.    Enough - There’s never enough! Dana said, “I thought winning gold medals and setting a world record would be enough. It’s not!” We have to believe that we are enough- we are worthy, and no justifications are needed. Define what you think is enough and be it. Be real. “The world doesn’t need another superwoman. Lay down your costume and be yourself,” Dana said.

3. Train yourself to engage in self-promotion

 Jen Shap, Agency Business Development Lead at Google led an #IAmRemarkable workshop. Jen started off with a question: “Who struggles with accepting a compliment?” Almost everyone replied in the affirmative. She said there are only two words you need to respond to a compliment: “Thank you.” Self–promoting is not bragging when it is based on facts. Like training any muscle to get stronger, we need to practice engaging in self-promotion and accept that we are all remarkable. Jen also spoke about how girls often lose confidence at around ages 10-13. As mothers and as role models, we owe it to future generations that we as women can feel proud of what we do and our accomplishments. She recommended keeping a log of all the things you’ve done and creating a polished elevator pitch about yourself.

Focusing on just a few of the speakers from the WIN Summit allowed me to highlight some of my important takeaways from the day. However, the entire day was filled with empowering and inspiring panels, workshops, and even a round of individual speed networking, which was awesome. Feeling connected and making connections with other professional women, especially during these remote times, was the best part of the day. The summit fueled my desire and need to reach out, network, learn from some wonderful women… and even self-promote!

Missed the live Summit? You can still be a part of the WIN experience!

To access WIN Summit 2020’s content and much more, experience more networking events with like-minded professional and ambitious women, and tap into a wonderful community of champions, you don’t want to miss out on joining WIN’s new membership community: WIN Woman.

LEARN MORE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kerry Glanz

Kerry Glanz, Co-founder of ModernDay Village. ModernDay Village is a national online marketplace and community for women (especially moms) to create meaningful, flexible work and for businesses and individuals to find and hire the support they need on a project-by-project basis. We empower both women with marketable skills and expertise and those juggling multiple roles and responsibilities.  www.moderndayvillage.com

READ MORE FROM THE WIN BLOG:

References:

Carnevale, P. J.. (2006). Creativity in the Outcomes of Conflict. In Deutsch, M., Coleman, P.T. & Marcus, E. (Eds.). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and practice, 2nd edition. (pp. 490-512). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Coleman, P.T & Deutsch, M.. (2006). Some Guidelines for Developing a Creative Approach to Conflict. In Deutsch, M., Coleman, P.T. & Marcus, E. (Eds.). The Handbook of Conflict1 2

Resolution: Theory and practice, 2nd edition. (pp. 478-489). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2016). Essentials of negotiation. New York: McGraw-Hill education.

Lewicki, R.J. & Tomlinson, E.C. (2006). Negotiation. In Deutsch, M., Coleman, P.T. & Marcus, E. (Eds.). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and practice, 2nd edition. (pp. 795-816). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.