Leadership Lessons Transcend the Workplace

Submitted by Christina Low, YWiB Marketing Team - photo c/o http://www.biv.com/lliwib/index.asp. In November 2011, 12 lucky girls had the opportunity to attend the 3rd annual Leadership Lessons from Influential Women in Business, presented by Business in Vancouver and the Professional Women’s Network with support from YWiB.  Sponsored by Fasken Martineau and  Vancity, and taking place at the Marriott Pinnacle in downtown Vancouver, this half day forum consisted of interactive panel discussions with some of BC's most influential business women; networking time and lunch.  This year’s overarching theme was Leadership - understanding the opportunity and the challenge, with discussions digging deeper into topics such as how to develop your personal leadership strategy, how gender affects business relationships and developing your leadership plan to strategically achieve your leadership goals.

YWiB was well-represented and of course, took away some great learnings from the afternoon.  Myriam Choma of UBC was grateful for the chance to attend and glean some inside info on the workings of the male/female work dynamic and how to succeed in both the workplace and life.  There were some surprises, too - “As a student who has not yet had to break out into the "big bad" working world, I was both shocked and outraged to hear of the harassment some of the delegates had experienced from male coworkers or superiors,” she reflected post-event.  “However, I was extremely grateful that they could use these experiences to produce thought-provoking discussions that had both the panel and delegates bringing some important lessons to light. From these discussions, I realized just how important it is to be passionate about your work, and that it is this passion which will provide you with both the will and motivation to overcome difficult situations like these. The wonderful panel also helped us understand that leadership is not always about being the first person out, making the decision. Stepping back, listening to others and contemplating decisions from the outside can be just as effective a method. These are lessons which I know will serve to be useful not just in my future workplace, but also in life in general.”

YWiB member Kiran Nagra agreed.  "I am so glad that YWiB provided me with the opportunity to attend BiV’s Leadership Lessons!” she said.  “Getting the chance to connect with successful professional women from all backgrounds and participating in the panel discussions left me feeling inspired, equipped with invaluable advice and information, and ready to take on the world!"

YWiB is proud to work in partnership with other womens' business groups such as Business in Vancouver and the Professional Women’s Network to offer opportunities like Leadership Lessons to our members and other young women in the community.  We are excited to do so again in the near future, so keep watching this space for more upcoming events!