Lessons learned from the Women in Business Symposium

Over 500 business leaders gathered at the Brookfield Conference Center Wednesday morning to consider one question: what strategies can women use to thrive – not just survive – in the workplace? The discussion was held as part of BizTimes Media’s annual Women in Business Symposium.

The event kicked off with Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert Health, accepting the Woman Executive of the Year award.

Then, a keynote conversation featuring Julie Brandt, vice president and president of building solutions North America at Johnson Controls, and U.S. Bank senior vice president Caroline Krider, who dove into the topic of settling into a new professional role.

The day’s main program was capped off with a panel discussion moderated by Kathy Thorton-Bias, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. Panelists included LaVay Lauter, director of talent development and senior vice president at Baird; Tiffany May, vice president of preconstruction at Berghammer Construction Corp.; Melissa Tashjian, president and founder of Compost Crusader; and Stacia Thompson, executive director of the Sherman Phoenix Foundation.

Here are some key takeaways, from how to approach professional development to having a better work/life balance, from Wednesday’s speakers.

Let employees guide you as a leader
When Brandt left Otis Elevator after 27 years to join Johnson Controls, she suddenly found herself in charge of 27,000 global employees. Seeing as she wasn’t joining a company that was undertaking any sort of “turnaround,” she had to enter the company with a more tempered approach. She set out to visit 12 different offices to speak with her new employees.

“I just really tried to learn. Just really listen and learn from your employees what they want your role to be and what they want you to fix,” said Brandt. “That was really instrumental in my first couple of months at Johnson Controls.”

Don’t be afraid to communicate where you’re at
Brandt explained that at different points in your career, you’re either accelerating because you feel like you have the capacity to move upwards, or you’re content with where you’re at in your professional life. Regardless of what end of the spectrum you’re on at any given point in time, you need to voice that to your employer.

“All of a sudden you might have a two-year-old and a five-year-old and feel the need to pull back a little bit, or you might be later in your career and just happy to be doing what you’re doing,” said Brandt. “I think you should own that. There were many times where I said I can’t move right now and I was scared to death the company would put me to the side. They don’t. If you’re a talent, whenever you’re ready to go, they’re ready to take you.”

Don’t compromise on having boundaries
May said that depending on the day, she goes back and forth between feeling like she’s thriving in her work life or feeling like she’s just surviving. Knowing when an additional task would be too much to add to her plate helps her thrive professionally.

“What’s helped me is knowing myself and knowing what I need. Whether it’s a self-care moment or knowing I really need to buckle down and put in the extra hours at work, but also having those boundaries and saying I may really want to go to an event, but it’s just one too many things,” she said.

Simple strategies like blocking out her calendar during vacations and not checking emails during certain times of the day have helped her re-center herself.

Add strong body language to your repertoire
When asked what tools have helped her take her career to the next level, Lauter mentioned powerful body language. She believes women often don’t recognize that their body language can sometimes convey much more about their potential than their words. She also called upon attendees to ask for 100% of what they want at all times, not just a portion of it.

“Women typically ask for 62% of what we want about 62% of the time,” said Lauter. “That would be my piece of advice, more powerful body language during every interaction and asking for 100% of what I want.”

Serving on boards is invaluable
Tashjian has recently been elected to two boards in her industry and found the experience helped broaden her knowledge of composting generally and given her a more comprehensive look at the industry nationally. She wishes she had looked into joining a board earlier in her career.

“It just makes you more competent in the ideas you’re coming to the table with, especially when you’re working in a more male-dominated industry or with people that are older than you and have that knowledge base,” said Tashjian.

Your network is your net worth
A well-known community leader, Thompson shared that she actually secured her position with the Sherman Phoenix Foundation through her LinkedIn connections. She often tells mentees that LinkedIn is the easiest way to start their own networks.

“Because of the type of work I did, I stayed active with my network on LinkedIn,” said Thompson. “Be intentional in your networking and also your professional development. Many of the successes with the programming I was able to do, even when I was in higher education, was because I was very adamant about professional development. I would go to these events and bring back ideas and make them fit in the organization I was working at. That professional development was key to my career, but also to finding allies.”

Wellness shouldn’t take a backseat
Thompson and Lauter both emphasized the importance of personal wellness in performing your job well. Between employees who were early risers and others who were night owls, Thompson had a hard time finding the “off” switch for work. So, she introduced personal wellness days.

“I had a former VP of mine say Stacia, you’re no good to anyone if you’re not good to yourself first, so I began taking mental health days,” said Thompson. “It’s not a sick day, it’s not a vacation day. It’s a mental health day for a reason. It’s for you.”

At Baird, Lauter also places priority in offering classes that will help employees both professionally and more holistically.

“I coach a lot of people individually and I’ve found that we do not divorce ourselves (from our personal lives) when we come to work,” said Lauter. “That’s why personal classes around well-being and coaching around personal problems is so important.”