I recently had the privilege of representing Ketchum at the inaugural ColorComm (C2) conference in Orlando, Florida. The brain-child of Lauren Wesley Wilson, Founder and Chief Networking Officer, ColorComm, was created to be an intimate business conference where women of color in communications can share experiences, challenges and insights.
Over 200 multicultural professional women (and a few men too) came together to be among the first to witness what proved to be an informative and inspiring experience. The event lived up to expectations and delivered on all fronts, particularly motivational speaker Gloria Mayfield Banks, who provided a few particular pearls of wisdom that I was inspired by and feel compelled to share. She said, as leaders, we need to:
- Recognize when a decision must be made and make it
- Exude confidence and inspire the same in others
- Have vision, imagination, and belief
- Manage time, money and emotions well
- Recognize there are two types of goal setting: one shoots for the stars and lands on the moon while the other shoots for and hits the target – neither is wrong!
- Feel passionately about work in order to be creative
- Own your dream – don’t waste time defending it to people who do not support it
It ends up that Lauren, in bringing her ambitious idea to life – to connect women of color in the communications industry – is the embodiment of Gloria’s insights on effective leadership.
As a leader, challenge yourself to confidently make decisions and share your vision with others. Then carefully manage your time, money and emotions. And finally, set goals and passionately make your dreams a reality!
