My 2016 Conference Report
by Judy Taylor
I attended the Friday session of Track B. It was Stand Out Leadership...Lead It Like You Mean It! and it was given by Connie Podesta. She guided us through selecting our type of personality and then learning how to deal with other types for a beneficial outcome. Connie asked us to pick the geometric shape that we liked best: square, triangle, circle or wavy lines. Squares are left brained, focus on details and not the best team players. Triangles are perfectionists, masters of sarcasm, compulsive and more successful because they hate to lose. Circles are noisy, good socializers, peacemakers and hate confrontation. Wiggly lines and the idea people, creative and hate authority.
When you are dealing with different personality types, it is best to make the type you are trying to convince comfortable. You will have more success if you cater to their personality types rather than feed your comforts. For example, when you are dealing with a circle or square, meet in their office and do not be late. Also, personal space is important. The comfort zone for a square is no closer that 4 feet and that of the triangle is 12 inches. You can see how uncomfortable one can get if you breach the space. Chances for your success go down drastically.
You can go to her website to learn more about the shapes at http://conniepodesta.com/shapes-thanks.
Judy
National Conference Report presented by Verdie Henderson
UNDERSTANDING GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES
(I've been a little uncertain about the differences in the generations; as I'm only familiar with the Baby Boomers, so I was glad to attend this class. These are some of the high-lights of what I learned).
The study of the generations:
- The Silent Generation - 1922 thru 1945
Trends
: Silver screen - Rise of labor unions - Patriotism - Families - Golden age of radio
(Not as productive, they were just biding their time until retirement, and they disliked using new technology)
- Baby Boomers - 1945 thru 1955
Trends
: Prosperity -Television - Suburbia - Assassinations - Vietnam - Civil Rights movement - Cold war - Women's Liberations
(Workaholics, don't like learning, on their way out, don't like change)
- The Jones - 1956 thru 1965
Trends:
Civil rights movement, Cold war, Vietnam, Women's Liberation, Apollo Lunar program, save the earth program, Green Peace
(Materialistic and shallow, anxious to get rid of Boomers, middle child behavior, not as capable as Gen X and technology)
- Generation X - 1966 thru 1976
Trends:
Latch key children, Single parent homes, MTV, Aids, Computers, Mass layoffs and downsizing, Video games, Vegetarians and vegan choices
(Slackers, they've got it made, they whine a lot)
- Generation Y - 1977 thru 2000 (Millennial)
Trends:
School yard violence & suicide, Multiculturalism, Internet, Globalization, Environmentalism,
Helicopter parents, Self-esteem movement
(More educated, they're high-maintenance, have no or low attention span, they won't persevere to get the job, have no people or communication skills, do the job by their rules.
Conference Recap: Three Generations of Lessons
Julia Kramer
Most of you know I recently became a mother. As much as I love conference, I had to face either bringing my little guy or not attending. Neither of those sounded fun, so I chose the lesser of two evils and brought him along. He actually had his 5-month "birthday" while we were in Chattanooga!
When we got to the hotel room that first day I started to second guess whether I made the right choice, but by that time it was too late. We marched into the room full of hundreds of ladies. I was blown away by the acceptance and patience of the women in our organization. Yes, he is a terribly cute baby, but I think that was only half the reason everyone was so nice and helpful. I didn't feel judgment or annoyance the whole time we were there - even when he got the hiccups in the middle of one of the class sessions.
I couldn't help but think, "we need more of this". If women want to move the glass ceiling we need to bridge the gap between young-single-women and empty-nesters by encouraging them to participate in organizations like ours - at whatever level they can manage given family and work commitments. The need for ABWA becomes crystal clear at times like that.
It may not have been easy, but I did manage to learn a few things in spite of my pudgy distraction. The Accounting and Finance refreshers were great to have - even if I did have to walk over to Stacey Whitmarsh's group so she could help me with the math. I also learned some of the Track B lessons vicariously through my mother. It was her first conference, (spending time with her grandson may have had something to do with her attending), and it was fun to listen to her excitement over everything she learned.
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