Getting on Board with Women Grow Business
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Thanks to my (wonderful) friends, this particular cat got out of the bag before I could untie the strings, so I’m going to make this short and sweet (though I’ve been dying to tell you for a while): I’m really excited to be taking over the reins at Women Grow Business, an amazing community hosted by Network Solutions to help women do exactly that: grow their business.
With content from leading women entrepreneurs on a variety of subjects, Women Grow Business has really made a name for itself in an extremely short span of time, thanks to a great many people, but particularly, I think, because of Shashi Bellamkonda and Jill Foster; it’s the latter whose able hands I’ll be taking over WGB from.
Because of their efforts in building a vibrant, thriving community, WGB has received so many accolades, it’s a little mind-boggling: one of Forbes’ 20 best marketing and social media blogs by women, to name just one, not to mention Jill herself being listed by Forbes as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter (and whatever your opinion about Twitter lists, you have to admit that’s a pretty cool one to be on).
Fyi, Shonali Burke Consulting still lives
Quick aside: in case you were wondering whether I’m giving up my consulting business – no, I’m not. Shonali Burke Consulting is alive and kicking and open for business. Hey, that’s what Women Grow Business is all about, right?
Back to WGB
So, anyway. I’m pinching myself because I can’t quite believe I get to do this – but I need your help.
Women Grow Business will not remain, or grow from, the amazing community/community blog it already is if women entrepreneurs and business owners don’t join in.
So please, visit me over at WGB, send me ideas for guest posts, let me know how you’d like to be involved. Follow us on Twitter and stay tuned for more developments online as well as offline, that we’d love you to be a part of.
Thank you for the incredible warmth and happiness you’ve shown to me today, and I’m looking forward to growing this wonderful community with you!
3 Reasons Why Being a Volunteer Leader Helps Your Business
One of the great things about joining a professional development organization is that you can get hands-on leadership experience as a volunteer; experience which, they say, will serve you well in your “real” job. Certainly that’s a selling point for such organizations and in the PR/communications field, organizations such as IABC and PRSA thrive on it.
What kind of leadership skills do volunteer leaders actually gain though? And do these skills actually benefit them in their careers, or are they simply good volunteer leaders because of skills they’ve acquired through their day jobs?
At the end of the day, is being a volunteer leader—with all the time it takes—worth it?
I recently started my term as President of IABC/Washington after having previously served on the chapter board as VP, Professional Development, for three years until a couple of years ago. Before moving to the DC area, I served on the board of San Francisco Bay Area Publicity Club and now, in addition to my duties at IABC/Washington, I volunteer on IABC International’s Accreditation Council.
Lessons in leadership
Here are three leadership lessons I continue to learn that have been assets in my own business:
1. “Decision by committee” and “democracy” are two different things.
I’m all for healthy debate and respectful disagreement. Heck, that’s why we have boards—to discuss and debate the pros and cons of decisions that will affect chapter members as a whole and, possibly, be held up by other chapters as precedents or best (or worst) practices.
But if you’re in a leadership position such as president, you’ve got to know when to close that debate and make a decision.
It’s ok if all decisions are not unanimous. That’s why boards have quorum requirements. What’s not ok is to drag on the debate until you’ve practically twisted everyone’s arm to agree with your viewpoint.
Debate the heck out of the issue, get the majority vote, make the decision (setting your ego aside, if you have to) and move on.
2. Boundaries don’t just work, they’re necessary.
It’s easy, as a volunteer, to get sucked into doing things that other board members should be doing, but aren’t, or delay on…because you’re passionate about the organization you’re volunteering with, and want to succeed. “If so-and-so can’t do it, or doesn’t do it, I’ll just do it myself.” That’s all well and good, but you’ll get very tired being Superwoman after a while.
Successful delegation is a critical aspect of successful leadership, management and growth. If you don’t learn to set boundaries on your time and activities, you’ll constantly be at the receiving end of unrealistic expectations and will burn out. So be clear about what you expect and when you expect it, and then—and this is the tough part—let your team work its way through its collective charge. You can’t do everything for everyone all the time and if you do, it’s an indication that your team has some serious weaknesses.
3. Setting benchmarks and measures of success is critical.
I write (you may have to log in to read this op-ed I wrote in PRWeek earlier this year) and present often on measurement in public relations, because that’s my field.
But measurement itself is intrinsic to the success or failure of a business—and it should be at a volunteer level as well.
Passion, by itself, does not make for success. By definition, success implies meeting or exceeding stated goals and objectives. Which means we’ve got to start at the end—what do we want to achieve? Put it in writing, and working towards it will be so much easier. And if you don’t meet your goals, there’s no shame in that. But tracking your progress will at least show you what’s working and what’s not. And when it’s time to pass the torch, the new set of volunteer leaders will be grateful for the lessons you can pass on to them.
It’s quite a ride, this volunteer thing.
It’s exhausting, energizing and exhilarating all at the same time (and I’m sure you could come up with a few choice words yourself). And it’s the very best thing I could have done for myself to grow not just in my profession, but as a leader, manager and now, business owner.
I very much hope it is for you too, and I would love to know what lessons in leadership your volunteerism have taught you.
Would you continue the conversation by leaving a comment so that we can all learn from each other?
This post – with a very few minor differences – is featured today as a guest post on Women Grow Business. Many thanks to Jill Foster for allowing me to cross-post here. And this great image, called “Out in Front,” is from monkeyleader’s Flickrstream (also found by the redoutable Jill).
Why GrowSmartBiz Rocked
Though I was excited about attending the GrowSmartBiz conference yesterday (to which I was invited as “Media/Blogger,” which was very cool for me), I did feel a little grumpy about getting ready and heading out early. That’s what happens when you work from home. After reading about Mayra Ruiz’ trek from West Virginia, though, I’ve resolved to never complain about doing so again (well, I can try). I only had to drive about 10 minutes to a Metro station and endure a not-unpleasant trip on only one Metro line. Mayra, you’re dedicated!
I live-tweeted during the conference, so I’m not going to recap all of that here. But here’s why I think GrowSmartBiz rocked:
1. Great food. When you attend a lot of conferences, you know what a difference a hot breakfast can make. Eggs, breakfast potatoes… the works. And it was nice to be able to sit down and eat without trying to balance your plate, bags, etc., on your lap. I even got to meet the folks from Indique (can I get an Amen?) during breakfast. Sweet.
2. For the most part, the panels were engaging. You can read great recaps/POVs here and here, to name just a couple. I had to divide my time between the conference and the “Learning Center,” so I missed parts of some panels, but I had as much fun hanging out there with people like Raj and Rebecca Malik, Robin Ferrier and Mike Dougherty, to name just a few.
But just being able to hear from people like Chris Anderson was incredible. Steven Fisher’s presentation on business cards was hilarious and spot on at the same time (btw, Steve, if you decide to use my card as a “worst of…” example, just let me know ahead of time, will you?).
3. It was really about supporting small businesses and growing them smartly. How many times have you been to conferences and left, thinking, “That doesn’t really apply to me?” I’m not a business owner who needs financing, for example (at least right now), but if I do, or if I ever consider starting up a new business, I have a ton of resources to get started from people I trust. During the breaks, I saw several of the speakers engaging with attendees, no doubt giving them more advice and brainstorming. That kind of intellectual gift is invaluable.
4. Network Solutions didn’t sell till the cows came home. Sure, their branding was all over the place, but to be fair, it was their conference. As Jen Consalvo said, “the real story here is Network Solutions… they are a complete resource for small businesses – online and offline.” And it takes a big man (aka Roy Dunbar) to publicly acknowledge that, for many people, someone who’s not the CEO “IS Network Solutions.” (That would be Shashi Bellamkonda, in case you were wondering.)
5. Resources, resources, resources. Everyone who attended came home with a thumb drive loaded with speaker presentations (much expanded from the live event, I might add) and additional resources (like a free online marketing calendar… yes, from Network Solutions) to go through at their leisure. If you’ve ever lugged home a huge binder full of handouts after attending a conference, you know what a gift this is.
What would I liked to have seen done differently?
Truthfully – very little. The organizers (and I don’t know how much of that was Network Solutions and how much was CRT/tanaka, but whoever it was, you guys know how to put on a show) did a tremendous job. Having said that:
1. I’d have liked to have seen the speakers’ Twitter handles on their tent cards, or on the GSB site. Live-tweeting from such an event was not only expected, it was encouraged, and at times it was tough to keep track of what they were saying while simultaneously looking up their Twitter handles. Props to Priya Ramesh for responding almost immediately when I tweeted that out.
2. Sen. Mark Warner. He’s got great presence and clear curb appeal for a conference like this, but after the initial glow of being in his presence, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the current health care drama has to do with small business resources, which was pretty much all he talked about. Even worse, he followed Chris Anderson, whose shoes were mighty big to fill. If there had been some practical takeaways, that would have been one thing. When I go to a conference like this, I’m not interested in hearing politics. Having said that, I doubt anyone, even Roy Dunbar, can keep a Senator “on message.” Still, that was a bit of a let down.
3. Earlier in this post, I said “for the most part, the panels were engaging.” Right after lunch, there was a detailed presentation on the findings of the Small Business Success Index. That was a little dry, though the findings themselves were interesting. Of course, it could very well be that it was just after lunch.
And the final panel that purported to discuss integrating traditional with social media pretty much focused on social media, though Jill Foster did a terrific job of moderating it. Now, it could also be that I (and several others who attended the conference) live work in that space. So maybe we were persnickety. Maybe. I also wasn’t thrilled to hear Joanna Pineda say “$2.5K is a lot of money for ‘PR.’” I don’t believe it is. Then again, that’s what I do. So take that with a fistful of salt.
All in all, GSB rocked. It brought home the point of connection. Heck, it was a point of connection. Isn’t that what business is about?
What did you like/love/feel apathetic/hate about GSB? I’d love to know.
DC Conference Mania
There are two great events coming up in DC next week that I’m really looking forward to. Here’s my not-so-subtle pitch for you to come and be a part of them, if your schedule and wallet allow, because I think they’re smart conferences for smart people to attend.
The first is the Grow Smart Business conference on Tuesday, Sept. 29 (you’ll have noticed my blog’s been sporting the badge recently). I was lucky enough to be invited to it and I can’t wait to hear from Chris Anderson, Sen. Mark Warner, Bob London, Jill Foster (I’ll finally get to meet her!) and so many others. I’m also going to be helping to staff a “learning center” that will be open throughout the day at the conference, so if you’re planning to attend, please do stop by and say hello.
I’m chuffed that IABC/Washington (y’all have heard enough about how I’m involved with them, no need for me to go on about it, right?) is a partner of the conference; with a significant number of our members at or owning consulting firms, this is a golden opportunity to learn from some real movers and shakers. So if you’re an IABC/Washington member interested in attending the event, you can get $100 off the conference registration fee ($299) by using the code IABCGROWSMART here.
The second is Communitelligence’s Rethinking Corporate Communications conference, immediately following GSB (Sept. 30 and Oct. 1). There are some really interesting speakers lined up, including Mark Weiner, David Henderson, Jack Holt from the DoD, my friends Mark Phillips, APR and Ned Lundquist, ABC, and many more. Yours truly will be part of the measurement panel along with both Marks (MarkyMark?) on Oct. 1.
IABC/Washington is also supporting this conference, which is built around delivering value in a tough economy; again, if you’re a member, you can get $300 off the standard registration of $900/$600 (depending on whether you work in a corporate or government/nonprofit setting). The details are on our website.
There’s always a lot going on in DC and no doubt I’ll be wiped after next week, but I wouldn’t miss either of these for the world. I hope I’ll see you there.
