I’m sharing my top 10 takeaways from the Texas Conference for Women this year. The theme this year was the Power of Us: Amplify Your Voice. And this was a great message for this moment for women! We must understand this power as individuals and as a group because we’re definitely not doing this enough.
Outside of keynotes and a handful of panelists and workshops, most speakers haven’t been selected when tickets go on sale. You never know what to expect when you press the Register Now button. Each year I’m not disappointed, though.
Let’s get started on takeaways from the event this year:
You’re in the driver’s seat
Manage your power. We all need to own our power and manage it. Don’t let others take it away. But know that to become more of a leader in your organization, you must give it away. As you move up the ladder, you move from the execution of ideas to the empowerment of your team. And this applies to entrepreneurs in that as you grow, you must empower your team. Really great nuggets from Carla Harris as we kicked off the day!
You are the curator of your life. This was such a great reminder from Tracee Ellis Ross, the keynote for the day. She reminded us that we get to choose throughout our lives and we don’t need to be chosen. Essentially, that requires action. And I say all the time that work-life balance requires action. Life in general is something you make happen or you must be content with having life happen to you. Really, though, who wants to be passive in her own life?
Don’t apologize for your success. As Carla Harris put it, you don’t have to dim your lights for others. And a panel talking about multigenerational teams shared that there is a balance between showing what you do well and overly patting yourself on the back. As women especially, we need to find a balance between the two.
Focus on and articulate what you truly care about. My favorite author Elizabeth Gilbert talked about putting energy into what you care about. This means saying no to things that you don’t care about and sometimes saying no to things you want to do but can’t do to stay focused and moving toward your goals. Essentially, she was saying to keep your eyes on the prize.
Set yourself up for success
Fear has no place in your success equation. You must understand your value and have faith that you have the skills and qualities that you need to succeed. Elements of this concept popped up on the stage with both Carla Harris and Megan Rapinoe and I liked how the two complemented each other.
Don’t keep ideas to yourself. I was acutely aware of the many speakers and panelists showed how they didn’t keep ideas to themselves. In fact, they were really good at amplifying their message. It’s hard to be successful when no one knows about your product or service. And within an organization, Carla Harris reminds us that we need to clearly use our voice and ensure that leadership recognizes our voices at meetings, on projects, and in strategic conversations. We must show up and speak up.
Take time to reflect. Another great nugget from the multigenerational panel. Take time to reflect and understand what steps to take after that reflection. Have conversations with others about your top 3 strengths, so that they know what to say about you. It’s hard to know those 3 strengths if you don’t reflect on where you are and where you want to go. Tracee Ellis Ross talked about understanding where you are and where you want to be. That requires some level of reflection.
Your network matters. When I say network, I’m referring to your peers, employees, mentors, sponsors, and allies. In almost every session, there was some mention of some aspect of their network. I’ll add that it’s helpful to make these connections at conferences like Texas Conference for Women and in the places you find yourself every day. You can’t attend conferences daily, but you can network daily wherever you are.
Fueling growth in our lives
Discomfort in your career is important. Some mention of this happened in almost every session, whether during a keynote, panel, or workshop. If we’re not feeling discomfort, we’re likely not growing. And most of us want to evolve and continue to grow.
Make space for the human experience. I loved this idea from Tracee Ellis Ross. She was talking about how we give advice as women, but it really applies in so many situations. It goes back to what Megan Rapinoe said about having faith that we have the skills to make things happen in our lives. We each have our path. And, as women, we need to support others, but also give each other the room to have the human experience. Sometimes that will mean that we make mistakes on our journey and sometimes we’ll need to stretch and need the space to make things happen.
Each of these messages helps empower working women and working moms to make things happen in their lives and careers. To take it a step further, each of these takeaways helps you in moments of change. Each of these nuggets gives you something new to consider as you make change happen in your life. And most of these also support making changes related to some aspect of work-life balance.
Which of these seems to strike a chord with your situation? How will you use that specific takeaway or all of these in general as you aim to make changes? If you attended the Texas Conference for Women, what are some of your takeaways?
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