What a great opportunity it was to get to hear presentations by two amazing female leaders in the same afternoon. On March 4, the Mount Mary University Women’s Leadership Institute held its annual Voices of Leadership STAGE event and the turnout was amazing. The beautifully decorated room was filled with aspiring future leaders, staff and local sponsors. Those who attended the event were treated to pearls of wisdom, entertaining stories and novel ideas from two inspiring women leaders.
Betsy Myers is the face of women’s leadership. She worked as a women’s rights consultant on
not one, but two presidential campaigns. Myers is the founding Director of the Center for Women & Business at Bentley University, where she works to put more women into roles of business leadership. With an electrifying stage presence, Myers successfully tours the world to speak at events and lead workshops designed to promote women’s leadership.
Reading the list of Myers’ accomplishments can lead one to feel a bit intimidated; however, within the first few moments of her presentation, it is clear that Betsy Myers is approachable, real, and very caring. “Lead with the heart” is the foundation of Myers’ leadership style and she has the resume to backup the effectiveness of this approach. Although she acknowledges that leadership is about getting results, Myers stresses that leaders have a choice in how they lead and they should be choosing to “make an impact that will make a difference.” In advice to the millennials that will be soon flooding the job market, Betsy offered her three keys to leadership:
1. Leadership is about self Knowledge:
“Leadership is when you step into your authentic self…be conscious about how you are showing up. Show up in a way that you are proud of.”
2. Be willing to ask the questions:
“Leaders can’t have all of the answers. The strength of our leadership comes from the willingness and curiosity to ask the questions and seek input from those around us.”
3. Leaders bring out the productive feelings in themselves and their people:
“We are human beings first and our feelings determine our motivation, engagement, and how we connect. When people feel valued, supported, appreciated and understood, they do their best work.”
Betsy Myers’ leadership style is born out of love or “leadership of the heart.” She is charming, compassionate, caring and very down-to-earth. In a world where getting ahead at all costs is the norm, Myers’ presentation was innovative and tapped into MMU’s foundation of social justice. Myers summed up her ‘Lead with the Heart’ style best when she said, “Yes, it’s nice. It tugs at our hearts. But, it gets results!”
We continued the event with our second speaker. Speaking of getting results, who doesn’t have a Pampered Chef item in their kitchen? Doris Christopher has a passion for cooking and loves to find any reason to gather her family around her kitchen table: “The table is pretty sacred in terms of families. It’s where we mark our milestones.” This simple idea was the driving force behind the company that became The Pampered Chef we know today. Christopher had a knack for finding kitchen gadgets that made cooking easier and faster. She became a kitchen gadget scout for her friends and family…always searching for quality products to make food prep more fun. With a small amount of seed-money and a lot of determination, Doris Christopher created The Pampered Chef.
It was surprising to learn that Christopher’s driving goal was to “make it easier for families to conquer dinner.” She really wanted to help families find the time to sit down and enjoy one another’s company over a good meal. Pampered Chef products are designed to make cooking quick and easy. Less time and stress in the kitchen leads to more time and fun at the table. Christopher also offered some inspiring leadership tips:
1. Follow your passion:
“Whatever you do – follow your passion, because that is where you will be successful.”
2. Lead with integrity:
“Demonstrate integrity always – in everything you do – even when no one is watching.”
3. Stay true to your purpose:
“Think about a headline news story about the decisions you are making, what do you want it to say?”
4. Leave room for the unimaginable:
“The unimaginable becomes the greatest joys in your life.”
Erin Mihor
Women’s Leadership Institute Intern
Mount Mary University Women's Leadership Institute 