Recap WITI Orange County - October 8

Did you know that women (age 16 years and over) make up 52% of the US workforce? And that 9 out of 10 women need to work. With that many women needing to work and only earning 77 cents for every 'man' dollar earned in 2011, women need to (better) manage their careers to earn just as much as men. Did you know that women have to have 100% of the skills required for a job to be considered for a position, yet men only need 70% of the skills required for consideration? Is this a perception or reality? In either case, women should be applying for positions even if they do not meet all the criteria to get their foot in the door for the interview.



WITI's guest speaker, Dr. Tammy Wong, CEO of Fostering Executive Leadership (http://FosteringExecutiveLeadership.com), led an interactive session sharing her insights about cultural norms, body language, learned behavior, management styles, and most of all, tips and tricks on how to get ahead. How do you get that extra 23 cents an hour more?

Did you know that leaders are made? About 70% of leaders are made and 30% have inherited DNA (natural born leaders). So what is stopping women from learning these skills? A woman may have the potential for leadership but if opportunities are not available, the skills will remain dormant. So how does a women determine if her company is ripe with opportunities for women?

- Is there a diversity group or women's group in the company?
- Can you find a mentor (man or woman)? That is, are there opportunities for mentoring and/or is mentoring encouraged?
- Is there a woman on the Board?
- Company culture will always trump your individual style...so what is your company culture? And is it right for you?

Why is managing UP so important? Who is the person that does your review? It is the people above you that will guide you, assign you new projects to work on for growth, give you merit increases, and promote you. Those in higher levels will also seek out those with "potential”. In order to get ahead, you cannot continue to do the same job over and over again. If you play small, you stay small. You need to get out of the double lines on the road...Just make sure you are risk informed...And do not leap blindly. You do not want to unnecessarily crash and burn. The number one strategy to getting ahead is mentoring. Find someone (man or woman) who is willing to mentor you and stick with it.

Do you know how to network in an informal group setting? If you are awkward at going up to someone to say hello, here is a tip for you on how to read body language: When two people have their toes pointing straight (parallel) at each other (toe-to-toe), do not cut in. Their body language is informing you that they are totally engaged in their conversation and would find your interruption invasive. If you find that one of the person in the conversation has their toe and body opened to one side (as if to leave), go ahead and enter the group to join the conversation. This applies to arms at those high bar tables as well. Which group below would you join to network?



The highlight of the evening is learning how to determine your boss' management style or thinking style. You heard the phrase, 'know your audience'. First off, four management styles were defined.

- Style A - What: These managers are more left brain and want data, data, data and analytics before making any decision.
- Style B- How: These managers are also left brain and are extremely organized, and execute well. They are the jugglers with 20 balls in the air.
- Style C - Who: These managers are more right brain and care about the people, reactions, and emotions of the team. They are social and perspective with non-verbal communications.
- Style D - Why: These managers are also right brain and like to see the big picture, strategizing their solutions. These are the risk takers.

Once you know your manager's style, you'll know how to frame your responses such that your manager listens to what you have to share. People resonate with you if you 'come into' their sphere of thinking style. How to determine you manager's style? Simply.....what is the first question that your manager asks you? Does (s)he ask you who is involved? Or is the question what data do you have to back up this finding? Learn to share your responses in your manager's style to be heard and to get ahead.

Last and Biggest tip of the night: What do you need to do to be seen in a position of power? Be the first or second person to talk. If you do not know anything about the topic, ask a direct question to be the second person to talk.

A special thank you to Arbonne for hosting the location. A special shout-out to iSpace who sponsored the event. iSpace is an IT Solutions, IT Staffing, and Business Process Services corporation. Check out iSpace careers on their website (http://www.iSpace.com).

Opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of WITI.