During this highly interactive workshop, Michelle Y. Talbert, ‘00 Human Ecology (and graduate of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Certificate Program) guides listeners in setting personal intention, identifying the pressing needs in one’s business, and creating a strategy to connect with the right people. To access a recording of this webinar, click here.
Category: Communication Skills
Are You Creative?
A recent piece in Fast Company mentioned that researchers from McGill University, Harvard University, and the University of Melbourne are collaborating on research to try to find a way to measure human creativity. Specifically, they are targeting one specific type of creativity – divergent thinking. This type of thinking enables individuals to generate a diverse number solutions to an open-ended problem (which is exactly what entrepreneurs are called to do every day).
Interested in taking the 4-minute test? Click here!
Returning to the Workplace Post-Pandemic
Whether you are being asked to return to the office or you are the person who is responsible for making the decision on where and how your employees will “show up” for their jobs, this piece from Fast Company highlights how pausing to reflect on lessons learned over the past 18 months may be the best way to start the process.
Best Practices for Digital Storytelling for Nonprofits
Are you a nonprofit leader who is looking for original ways to interact and engage with your supporters and funders? Check out Liz Ngonzi’s (among other things, Liz is a facilitator in the Women’s Entrepreneurship program) new article for The NonProfit Times entitled “Digital Storytelling: Five Best Practices to Activate Supporters on LinkedIn”.
In the piece, Liz discusses:
1. Promoting Your Organization’s Brand (LinkedIn Company Page and Employee LinkedIn Profiles)
2. Building Your Brand by Showcasing Your Impact and Obtaining Insights from Supporters: Posts, Stories and Polls
3. Promoting Events: LinkedIn Events
4. Hosting Events: LinkedIn Live
5. Researching and Engaging Prospects: LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Tips on How To Communicate At Work
After a year of working remotely and from home, effective communication with co-workers is more important than ever. This CNBC article shares 5 phrases to avoid in your electronic communication – because it can make the sender appear passive aggressive or petty. The piece also shares ideas on how best to handle challenging professional situations when you can’t be face to face.
Link to webinar: Telling Your Story For Professional Success
Click this link to see Liz Ngonzi’s (who is also course facilitator in our Women’s Entrepreneurship certificate program) presentation: “Telling Your Story for Professional Success: How to Align Your Purpose and Your Paycheck“.
This is the second in a two-part series which builds on her 2020 webinar entitled: “Your Personal Brand: Leveraging Your Unique Knowledge and Experience” (To view a recording of this webinar, click here.)
In this segment, Liz provides guidance on how to dig into the question “What is my purpose?” Clarity about your purpose can lead to the creation of a personal “work” story that will enable you to inspire, engage, and activate employers, clients, partners, and investors, thereby increasing the alignment of your purpose with your paycheck!
Link to Webinar: Speaking with Confidence and Authenticity
Your communication skills have a direct impact on your ability to raise funds and motivate your team. In today’s socially distanced environment, it’s more important than ever that your message shines through, even when you’re not able to address your audience in person.
This skill-building webinar session led by professional speaker and coach Casey Carpenter will help you discover how to pitch with confidence and authenticity in a virtual setting. You’ll walk away with tools to craft a persuasive message and techniques to deliver that message in a way that engages your audience. Click here to access the recording of the 4/8/21 talk.
More information about Casey Carpenter’s company as well as links to resources mentioned in her talk can be found here.
Women Entrepreneurs You Should Be Following
This piece from the Motley Fool highlights ten female entrepreneurs to follow as we head into 2021. The piece has links to different podcasts hosted by these women as well as links to resources and their twitter feeds. These leaders include:
- Arlan Hamilton – Backstage Capital
- Barbara Weltman – lawyer and founder of Big Ideas for Small Business, Inc
- Lizelle van Vuuren – Undock
- Amanda Boleyn – She Did It Her Way
- Sonia Thompson – Thompson Media Group
- Sallie Krawcheck – Ellevest
- Emily Thompson – Almanac Supply Co
- Kathleen Shannon – Braid Creative and Consulting
- Beth Buelow – author and podcaster
- Ahyiana Angel – Mayzie Media
Radical Candor Explained in Six Minutes
“Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity” is a New York Times best-selling book published in 2017 by Kim Scott. The term “radical candor” is defined by Scott as the ability to challenge directly and show that you care personally at the same time. While that seems like it should be every leader’s goal, the reality is that being radically candid is challenging – often because it is counterintuitive to how we have been raised.
Scott breaks down the concept of radical candor and outlines the other quadrants where we can find ourselves in this six-minute video. If you want to dig a little deeper, she has a podcast and a blog as well.
Link to Webinar – Codeswitching: Navigating the Dynamics of Workplace Norms
In this webinar from December 15, 2020, Professor Deborah Streeter had a conversation with Professor Courtney McCluney about the concept of codeswitching and how it affects the everyday realities of marginalized, devalued, and underrepresented employees at work. To view the recording, click this link
Resources mentioned during the discussion included:
- Book: “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo
- Book: “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson
- Book: “The Souls of White Folk” by W.E.B. Du Bois (link to NPR piece discussing book with Ibram X. Kendi)
- Essay: “The Souls of White Folk” by W.E.B. Du Bois (link)
- Publication: From Harvard Business Review – “Advancing Black Leaders” – (available for purchase via this link)
- More information about Professor McCluney and her research can be found on her website or you can follow her on Twitter at @CL_McCluney