LAS VEGAS — The Foundation for Women’s Leadership & Empowerment (FWLE) held its annual Women’s Leadership Conference at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas on Sept. 4-5. With the theme of “Ours to Own,” the conference provided an immersive and interactive learning experience where attendees could share their insights, participate in workshops and network with other women leaders.
The event’s education also had three tracks: Emerging Leader (foundational), Emerging Executive (growth) and Executive (capabilities). These tracks helped attendees partake in the education sessions most relevant to their level in their organizations, but also gave attendees a peer network to discuss common challenges with.
Trade Show Executive was on the ground at the event and put together a rundown of some key takeaways from the FWLE Women’s Leadership Conference’s keynotes and roundtables for women leaders.
Takeaway 1: Confidence isn’t a trait, it’s something you practice.
In the opening keynote of the event, Selena Rezvani, Leadership Author and Speaker, shared tips for boosting your workplace confidence. From focusing on body language such as gesturing during presentations to using I statements to speak with authority to how to best recover from blunders, Rezvani encouraged the attendees to practice confidence to make it feel natural.
Takeaway 2: To help bridge the gap between capital investment in male-led startups compared to women-led startups, more women need to become investors.
During a fireside chat with Susan Sly, A.I. CEO, Entrepreneur, Investor and Board Member, she highlighted the gap between investment in male-led startups compared to women-led startups, despite women-owned startups delivering twice as much per dollar as men, according to CNBC. She encourages more women to become the check-writers to help support women in business and close the investment gap.
Takeaway 3: Delegation is important to effectively do your job as a leader.
During a Women Entrepreneurs Roundtable, Alicia Taylor, Owner of Mortgage Solutions LLC, explained that when she first founded her mortgage company, she struggled to delegate tasks to her team, instead opting to taking on more herself. She shared that when she started to delegate tasks and trust her team’s training, she was able to spend more time running the business and strategizing.
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Takeaway 4: Different kinds of psychological avoidance in stressful situations can keep you from success.
In the keynote “The Bold Move: Three Simple Science-Based Steps to Move Boldly Through Change,” Dr. Luana Marques explained that different kinds of psychological avoidance (retreating, reacting and remaining) can provide people with immediate emotional relief, but in the long-term hold them back from success and reaching their full potential. Shifting your mindset and thinking is necessary to overcome avoidance and face challenges head on.
Takeaway 5: Knowing the numbers is imperative to advance to leadership positions.
In a Women Presidents and CEO Roundtable session, each of the panelists shared that a key skill they needed to reach their current role was financial acumen and understanding what the numbers behind the company’s success means. Orzse Hodi, President of Dole Packaged Foods, USA, shared how earlier in her career she sought out colleagues on the financial team to help her gain a better understanding on finance, which ultimately helped propel her to her role at Dole.
Takeaway 6:
Justin Patton, Executive Coach and Keynote Speaker, shared that trust is your biggest competitive advantage because it is what keeps people coming back for more, from your employees and colleagues to your customers. In his keynote, Patton shared six “trust moves” with the audience which were: Be courageous enough to give trust first, communicate below the water line, honor who you are at your best, make consistent emotional deposits, put empathy before information, and find the good and recognize it.
Stay tuned to TSE’s Young Professionals Corner for a guide to networking for YPs, with insights from the Women’s Leadership Conference’s Networking 101 session.
