Annual WBA Conference
‘Kaleidoscope’ lets women see range of leadership options at Kellogg conference
Women’s
Business Association convenes those ‘who are going to change the world’
By Adrienne Murrill
February 11, 2008 –
According to executive Jane Melvin, anyone can be a leader, if they cultivate
the proper perspective. "Leadership", she told those attending her keynote address at the 2008 Women's Business Association
Conference, is about living your "big life", using your time on Earth to impact
the most people you can.
The founder and president of
Strategic Innovations Group, a Chicago-based consultancy, Melvin shared her
insights at the Kellogg School conference, whose theme was “Through a
Kaleidoscope: The Re-Exploration of Female Leadership.” The event was held Feb.
6 at the James L. Allen Center.
The conference presented many related ideas on female leadership throughout the day. What every speaker seemed to agree on was the importance of a healthy work-life balance, being true to oneself and making use of mentors.
Ann Marie Petach, managing director and head of business finance at New York-based investment management firm BlackRock, presented similar ideas about leadership by discussing career success and fulfillment. At BlackRock, Petach’s role includes oversight of global management reporting, forecasting, treasury and enterprise risk. “Do what you love and love what you do,” she said. “To excel you have to have a passion for it.”
Other panels throughout the day addressed a range of issues: “Leaving and Re-entering the Workforce,” moderated by Northwestern University’s Weinberg College Associate Dean for Finance and Administration Catherine Grimsted; “Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work,” moderated by Kellogg Assistant Dean Roxanne Hori; and “Beyond Your Comfort Zone,” moderated by Kellogg Clinical Assistant Professor Mary O’Brien Pearlman. Kellogg graduates who participated in the panels included Joanne Scheff Bernstein ’92, Sara Patterson ’98 and Paula Smorynski ’02.
In “Carving Your Niche,” a
panel on maintaining one’s individuality in the workplace, all three panelists
shared their experience of navigating male-dominated fields. Moderator Angela
Lee, the Mechthild Esser Nemmers Professor of Marketing at Kellogg, challenged
them to discuss when and why women conform to workplace norms, and what are
women’s strengths and weaknesses in the corporate world.
The conference concluded with a 90-minute negotiations workshop led by Jennifer Jordan, a Kellogg School management and organizations research fellow and lecturer. Attendees participated in a case study and reviewed their results with Jordan, who presented common negotiations traps and how to overcome them both in the case and in real life. Afterward, participants mingled during a networking reception.
For more information on this year’s conference visit kellogg.northwestern.edu/wbaconference.