Women > A Force in Business Conference Seeks Solutions for Burnout & Increasing Female Leadership
Panelists share expertise for session on personal branding: Boost Your Career & Stay Marketable (left to right): Diana McAfee, SVP & Regional HR Director, Fifth Third Bank; La Shanda Millner, First Impression Consultant, La ShandaM3; Leslie Walden, VP, Regional Public Affairs, Fidelity Investments; Judy Wishnek, VP, Commercial Market Executive, Truliant Federal Credit Union; Dr. Lawanne Grant, Founder & CEO, Leadership DevelopME, LLC
Nearly 300 women and their allies attended the NC Chamber’s celebrated Women > A Force in Business: Charlotte conference on May 17, 2022. The event marked the NC Chamber’s first fully in-person conference since the pandemic.
Colleen Hauk, founder and CEO of The Corporate Refinery, provided an inspiring opening to the day through her keynote session on the timely topic: avoiding burnout without having to quit your job.
How to recognize burnout before it’s too late
Monitor yourself via a “Burnout Barometer” by rating your mood daily (1-10) then checking the results on Friday.
- Depleted or exhausted?
- Mentally distant from your job or having negative feelings or cynicism about your job?
- Reduced professional efficacy?
Common causes of burnout in the workplace
- Unfair treatment at work
- Unmanageable workload
- Unclear communication from managers
- Lack of manager support
- Unreasonable time pressure
One of many breakout sessions during the conference examined the power of women at work. Kirsten Lora, VP of Learning and Development at Catapult, shared her insight on why “the future is female.”
Women often excel in understanding how to address future challenges by presenting:
- Inspiration
- Participative decision making
- Expectations and rewards
- People development
- Role modeling
Tips for empowering women leaders at work
- Consider rotations to gain more exposure within the organization
- Invest in training and development
- Find mentors to nurture talent
What women can do for themselves and each other
- Avoid burnout by establishing boundaries
- Use your voice
- Embrace what makes you uniquely female
- Support each other
- Make promoting and supporting women in the workforce part of performance goals and hold yourself accountable