Energetic Women Conference 2008 - Recap
Kris Nichols, Nicor Gas l photo recap

There is only one thing that I can say about our first ever Energetic Women Conference – It was definitely energizing! The enthusiasm and passion of the 200+ attendees was tremendous. If you missed it, you missed a lot.

Alice Eagly, professor of psychology at Northwestern University, led the conference with her studies on the cultural challenges of becoming a female leader. Her labyrinth metaphor made sense to me in a way that the glass ceiling never did. She went on to explain how we can all overcome cultural challenges through the Female Advantage – a concept that suggests that women leaders tend to show a bit more of the behaviors our contemporary business culture finds most effective in its leaders. These behaviors include such people-oriented skills as positive reinforcement, team building, and mentoring (broadly described as Transformational Leadership). Professor Eagly had an important message – one you can understand in depth from her book Through the Labyrinth, which I consider a “must read” for all energetic women.

In a typically male-dominated environment like energy operations and engineering, the cultural impressions of leadership and women diverge more sharply than in more mixed environments. This is exactly where Energetic Women saw its place in our industry. The overarching point throughout the conference was that we hold the key to helping our organizations to be more successful which, in turn, makes us more successful. Therefore, it is critical that we take personal accountability to improve our leadership skills and the value we bring to the table!
There were so many other meaningful points brought forth in the short time we had together that I cannot possibly highlight them all. But please allow me to share some of my favorites:

• Self-Authorship: you create your future
• Comfort Zone: you have to get out of it to grow - be fearless, take risks
• Mentoring: many successful leaders speak of the importance of a mentor or champion in their own development – find one or be one
• Life Balance: if you don’t look for it, you won’t find it
• Networking: together we can be so powerful – we need to reach out and support each other

And one final inspirational note from our panelists: “Enjoy the journey!”

Indeed, Energetic Women’s journey has begun on a wonderfully high note. I hope you will all continue along for the ride.

Until next time,
Kris Nichols
Chair, Energetic Women

A Letter From Lauri
Lauri Flaquer, Saltar Solutions

Thank you to MEA, the sponsors and the organizers of the Energetic Women Conference. As a professional speaker I attend many events annually. Over the years I have noticed there is a certain natural rhythm to conventions that is almost predictable. Usually the first night people are low key, quietly getting to know each other. They mingle politely as they get the lay of the land. As time goes on they come out of their shell and really start to get to know each other. By the end of the event they have made some good connections and maybe even a few friendships.

The Energetic Women Conference in Chicago June 24-26, 2008 shattered the norms of every event I’ve ever attended. From the very first night I couldn’t believe that these people didn’t already know each other. Instead of the quiet affair I suspected, the opening reception was a blast. I arrived ten minutes after it started and was amazed to see the party was already in full swing.
It was a beautiful evening and I headed straight out to the patio to see sun setting on Chicago. Drink in hand, sun warming my face; I turned back from the exquisite view of Lake Michigan to behold a thing of true beauty, a group of professionals in animated conversations with their peers. These women were not only seizing the opportunity to meet and greet each other, they were taking it to a new level. It was incredible.

Throughout the next few days I was to witness a group of champion networkers making their way to speeches, breakout sessions and conversation corners. Using the information gleaned from formal sessions they enjoyed lively private conversations at meals and during free time. As I moved through the rooms, catching snippets of conversations as I went, I was delighted to hear how much everyone was benefiting from the conference. Not only were they all having too much fun, they were making valuable contacts and setting up future appointments. The big question on everyone’s mind was “why haven’t we done this sooner?”

I want to take a minute to thank Patrick, without his help I wouldn’t have had power point, and Stephanie Menning, Kris Nichols, Lisha Coffey, Amy Dlugokecki, Kris Emaus, and Mary Palkovich for including me in such a fabulous event. I know everyone’s looking forward to Arizona 2009. I don’t know how you’re going to top Chicago but I have total confidence that you will. Great job…

Lauri Flaquer
Saltar Solutions
www.saltarbrands.com

Roundtable Breakout Feed Forward

Even though they were the final item on the agenda, the Roundtable Breakout discussions were very well attended… thank you everyone for fully participating in your Conference! Below is an outline of two discussions.

Corporate Culture Breakout
Issue 1: A changing culture
Feed Forward 1: Listen to employee's concerns, establish clear performance plans so that expectations are well understood, and communicate openly, honestly, and often.

Issue 2: An unclear corporate direction
Feed Forward 2: Network and ask if others are unclear, don't be afraid to ask for direction from those who should know, organize a meeting between your work group members and strategize the direction for your work group or team, and consider trying to fix one thing at a time, rather than take on everything at once.

Issue 3: The diverging agendas between management and labor

Feed Forward 3: Communicate to the labor-leadership changes that effect their constituents often and openly, plan committees with joint membership so that everyone "owns" the results, and plan regular touch-base meetings to air any new issues and to communicate progress on the old ones.

Negotiation Skills Breakout
A negotiation is an interactive communication process that may take place whenever we want something from someone else or another person wants something from us.

Not all negotiations are alike. We negotiate differently with our family and friends than we do with strangers. To be effective, we first need to identify our personal natural bargaining style.
Imagine you are one of 10 strangers sitting around a big round table. Someone comes in the room and offers to give $1000 to each of the first two people who can persuade the person sitting opposite them to get up, come around the table, and stand behind her chair. Everyone else gets nothing.

What strategy would you use to respond to this strange offer?

Take a minute to think about what you would do…….

Ask for volunteers to explain their strategy for winning $1000

Flipchart:

1. Avoiding – do nothing
2. Compromise- Offer to split the money with your partner
3. Accommodation- Get up and run behind your opposite’s chair
4. Competitive- Lie about having a broken leg and beg your partner to move or promise to split the money, and renege on your promise
5. Collaborative or Problem Solving- Find a way for both to get $1000

The collaborative strategy is often the hardest to implement. It seeks to discover the underlying problem through good analysis and candid disclosure of interests, find the most elegant solution by brainstorming options, and resolve tough issues using fair standards and criteria. Using this method helps both sides feel as though they have “won”.

The primary foundation of Negotiating Skills is Relationships and Trust. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said “If you treat people right, they will treat you right – at least 90% of the time.
There is also an old Kenyan Folk saying “Leave a good name in case you return”.
The bottom line is: With TRUST, deals get done.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what the secret is to creating and sustaining Trust in negotiation?

Group discussion

RECIPROCITY (or the Code of Fair Behavior)

Always be trustworthy and reliable
Be fair to those who are fair to you
Let others know when you think they have treated you unfairly

Let’s think about another hypothetical situation and what lesson we might draw from it…….

Suppose you are sitting next to a stranger at a bar. Someone comes and hands the stranger $100, telling you both that if you can agree on a division of the $100 between you, you can both keep whatever you agree to. Here are the Rules: The stranger must make a single offer to you for some number between 0 and $100. You must either accept or reject the offer-NO HAGGLING ALLOWED. If you accept, you split the money as agreed. If you reject, neither of you gets any money. After a first round of play, the stranger will get another $100 and you will play again.

Get a Partner and discuss how you would handle this situation.

Ask for volunteers to share how they would handle this situation.
What would you do if you were offered less than $50?
How would you feel about the other person? Is that “fair”?
What do you think would happen in Round 2 if you rejected a low offer in Round 1?
Would it set the stage for “fairness” and Reciprocity in Round 2?
What if the stranger offers you $55? You would accept it, right?
How would that make you feel about your relationship with that person? You would “owe” them.
How would that affect your future negotiations?

LESSON: Just because you have the power in a given situation does not mean it is smart to use it. Reciprocity is the guide of proper conduct in negotiations.

We also discussed the importance of acknowledging the Feelings of the other person before diving into the Business Discussion and the Mutual Gains Bargaining theory. With Mutual Gains Bargaining, instead of attempting to split the pie, you try to find ways to make the pie bigger so both sides get a bigger piece.

Thank You Energetic Women Conference 2008 Sponsors!