Learning how to Lead with Intention: The 2022 Annual Purdue Women’s Conference (3 of 4)

On June 9-10 I had the privilege to attend the Purdue Alumni Network’s Annual Women’s conference. Organized and hosted by Purdue for Life, the overarching goal is to motivate, uplift and connect.

This year’s conference, held at the Alexander Hotel in downtown Indianapolis, focused on wellness and growth in both our personal and professional lives: in no particular order, I am going to dive into my main takeaways.

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TAKEAWAY 3: Take the risk, make the change

 Among the stories told at the conference were a few common threads: Creating growth out of failure, success sprouted from disaster, helplessness turned to perseverance, and, most of all, the importance of taking risks.

 While believing in yourself and taking risks are certainly not new concepts among speakers, hearing these stories had a new relevance to me. I started my business in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic and on the wake of my third lay-off in four years. I was feeing stuck, like I had tried every option and didn’t know what would come next. Would I go back to a traditional firm? Try to work from home? Would I continue with residential work or attempt to return to the corporate world after 2 years? I knew I was a good employee; loyal, hard-working, and capable, but I had thrown myself into team after team only to be left behind for no fault of my own. It was hard to feel like a risk was going to pay off; but even harder to feel like I could go to back “into the system”.

 At first I thought “Let’s take a step back: Look at the options, find some part-time work, re-assess what the next step looks like and then create a plan.” My husband said “That’s all fine, but why don’t you just start an LLC and do that for yourself?”.

 I thought he was crazy. Me? A business-person? I barely know anything! What would I work on? For who? Sounds scary.

 Well, as the speakers reminded me a year later, comfort and growth don’t co-exist.

 That morning, sitting in my kitchen, all those fears and questions turned to realizations. Business? I spent 2 years at a start-up, working with marketing, sales, and finance. Experience? I spent those years doing full kitchen and bath renovations, and before that I worked in corporate and healthcare. Clients? I have worked with/for dozens of people in multiple states and industries. At the least, I had connections. And, finally, I already knew I was one of the hardest workers I knew. The question “Who, me?” turned into, “why NOT me?” And Accio Design was born.

 Fast-forward a year or so, and that risk has turned into an amazing opportunity. I set my own hours, I have the freedom to pursue/choose what I do, and who I work for. Is it scary? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Yes.

 As I’ve learned, if you won’t fight for yourself, who will? If you are honest about what you want, and consistent in following your “true North”, it’s worth the fight. So take that risk, make the change, and see what you are truly capable of.

Got a question? Want to work together? Reach out!

Learning how to Lead with Intention: The 2022 Annual Purdue Women’s Conference (2 of 4)

On June 9-10 I had the privilege to attend the Purdue Alumni Network’s Annual Women’s conference. Organized and hosted by Purdue for Life, the overarching goal is to motivate, uplift and connect.

This year’s conference, held at the Alexander Hotel in downtown Indianapolis, focused on wellness and growth in both our personal and professional lives: in no particular order, I am going to dive into my main takeaways.

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TAKEAWAY 2: Treat yourself like a project (one you care about)

This years’ conference placed a special focus on mental and physical wellness in and out of the workplace. As a frequent exerciser, a healthy eater and someone who strives to prioritize mental wellness, I’ll be honest; I wasn’t expecting to learn much of anything new in this area. I hoped I would learn some new techniques, possibly renew some old habits, and feel re-inspired. What I wasn’t expecting? In addition to the tried-and-true methods I already knew, I would be challenged to form a whole new mindset when it comes to my life.

The lesson? Treat yourself like a business.

We create massive sets of blueprints before we build a home. We use spreadsheets to plan everything from our budgets to our vacations. We have apps to track our spending, our sleep and our weight. Why aren’t we using these techniques to plan and reach our personal and professional goals? In addition, why aren’t we giving ourselves the patience and grace that we would in these other areas, or even to other people?

One of the biggest limiting factors for many women is confidence; our inner critics attack us, they hold us back, and they make us question our instincts. In a business we would look at the facts and make a decision – why are we allowing our personal bias get in the way of doing the same for ourselves? Self-awareness and criticism are important, but it’s important to notice when they helping or hurting progress. One tip given by Robin Kwok: Treat your inner critic like a power outage. Having negative thoughts? Self-doubt? On the verge of a meltdown? Take a second to consider that the system is malfunctioning, and needs a second to reset. Take a deep breath, re-assess the situation, and get yourself back online. It’s not a flaw, it’s a reboot!

Another thing I never expected to learn from some of the most successful women I’ve ever met: know when to stop. Or, as Rebecca Shambaugh said, know the difference between “perfect” and “enough”. Especially as women, we often find the need to feel perfect, to do it all, to prove that we are enough. The truth? You are already there. Most likely, you’ve already done enough to succeed and excel, because you have that job, that project, that responsibility. If you want more, don’t worry about needing to reach “perfection” – Worry about reaching success. What do you already bring? What can you do to meet or exceed expectations? How can you be the most confident and competent version of yourself? Know that you were brought into a situation for a reason, and that reason was not to be perfect. If you are constantly striving for perfection, you will constantly feel like you are coming up short. Don’t be perfect, be enough. Be yourself. Give yourself grace and play to your strengths.

And most importantly, give yourself the type of attention, effort, and patience that you would give to any person or any project you care about, because you are your most important project.

Got a question? Want to work together? Reach out!