By Christina Conley, MBA Class of 2010
This past Friday Wendy Graham from Honeywell was kind enough to visit with the WMBA here at her alma mater to talk to us a bit about what it takes for women to become executives in the modern workplace. We talked about how her prior experience in various company environments ranging from government work to non-profit to startups each played a role in her development as a leader, and of course spoke specifically about Honeywell’s corporate climate and what kind of specific traits she capitalized on to move ahead. The discussion was interesting and insightful and I’m sure each of us walked away with a few more ideas tucked away in our mental file for professional development.
Here were a few of the key pieces of advice I picked up from Wendy’s presentation.
Wendy’s Wisdoms – Top 7
- You must want to be a decision maker
- Stick with something and work on building credibility
- Work on self-monitoring strong personalities (yours and others’!)
- Be aware of how other personalities influence your own, and associate with those that bring out your best side!
- Work on genuine relationship development and a mutual give-and-take
- Have someone or something to ground you (ex: good friend, kickboxing, or just venting to your pup!)
- Manage stress by being honest and transparent – don’t internalize!
Thank you so much Wendy for coming out to Old State – we are honored to have you as an alumnus. The advice you shared will take us far, now we just have to follow it! Next up – teaching women how to negotiate!