Thursday, August 21, 2008
Professional Development Series - Are you in the driver's seat?

Sunday, October 19, 2008
WICT at Making Strides Breast Cancer Walk

Thursday, October 30, 2008
4th Annual Awards Gala

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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

A few weeks ago, I was coaching a friend through some difficult times at work. She said, “We need to make some changes around here. No one believes that the plan our department head announced last week is going to work, and everyone is miserable.” As she went on for half an hour, I realized that she was not able to articulate her thoughts succinctly enough to explain why they would not work, and therefore was not going to be able to express her point of view. She had some great ideas, but was not willing to “own” them or take the risk of speaking up. “I’m up for a promotion”, she said, “I don’t want to be labeled as a troublemaker or lose my job.”

That evening, I sent here the WICT Touchstone – Be a Catalyst, with a note that said; being a catalyst requires taking a risk. Watch the movie “The Great Debaters”, starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker—define the premise of your argument, craft your message, and GO FOR IT! As a leader, it’s your responsibility to express your concerns. Respect yourself enough to trust your instincts. Who knows, they may listen.

I told her to watch this movie, because of the principals she would learn from it. It is a moving story about a brilliant but politically radical debate coach who used the power of words to transform the thinking and actions of a group of African American college students.

I cried. I cheered. I was inspired by their courage and willingness to step into the midst of controversial topics and win their arguments. I admired their willingness to learn the art of debate--and by doing so, learning how to stand as authentic individuals who were able to firmly, respectfully and convincingly express their views.

Being authentic is not easy. It depends largely upon standing as an individual -- someone who recognizes they are unique-- with thoughts, opinions, and ideas that may differ from others. How many times have you found yourself agreeing with the crowd by withholding what you think (or do) because you were afraid of being ridiculed, judged, or criticized?

Think about it, to be authentic, you need to give yourself the freedom to express yourself. How often do we use the groups we are involved in to hide so we don't have to be an individual? Most of us don’t want to be authentic because there is a chance that others will take a crack at us. We don’t want to reveal our ideas, opinions or declare a point of view because others might be offended or talk about us behind our back.

One of our greatest desires as human beings is to be heard and accepted. Because of that, we are afraid of doing something that will attract attention to us. What if we are misunderstood or rejected?

So instead of being authentic, we go along with the crowd, and we try to get along—hoping that this will create acceptance—when in reality, we are not being accepted as individuals, but we are blending in with the crowd. Blending in is not acceptance. To be accepted, the other person must know who we are as an individual. This takes self-disclosure.

Self disclosure requires courage and invites as much joy as it does suffering and heartache. I believe this type of interaction actually makes us into something greater-- catalysts, who re-engage hope, faith and landscape of new possibilities.

If you have not seen this movie, I suggest you head down to Blockbuster and check it out. It is loaded with great leadership principals. Have a great month. I hope to see you at one of our up-coming events!

Regards,

Lata Chawla
President, WICT NE Chapter

Be a Catalyst

• Raise standards. Promote respect. Set the wheels of change in motion. Progress is never made by standing still or by relying on the same tired, old ideas. It is up to leaders to push the envelope - to transform our industry by developing ideas that are bigger and better than ever before. So take initiative. Raise the bar and set higher standards. Demand equality on all fronts. Embrace diversity. And above all, never accept less respect than you offer others. Because change can only take hold if grounded in respect.