BLAZE: FORGE AHEAD, RISE STRONGER ICAN Women’s Leadership Conference Evolves

Blaze: Forge Ahead, Rise Stronger

ICAN WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EVOLVES

BY MICHELLE LEACH

SETH MATTISON

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

CARMEN TAPIO

CEO, NORTH END TELESERVICES

On May 18, women and male advocates alike will gather at CHI Health Center in Omaha, or virtually via the Institute for Career Advancement Needs custom platform, for the ICAN Women’s Leadership Conference. While the event itself is a tradition now on its 29th installment, programming has never been more prescient – revolving around the theme of “Blaze: Forge Ahead, Rise Stronger.”

“Our theme came about as a natural result of the collective journeys that we have all been on the past few years: #MeToo, #TimesUp, Black Lives Matter, digitalization and, of course, the seismic impact of COVID-19 in all aspects of our work and family lives,” said Aileen Warren, who joined ICAN as president and CEO in January. “We all know the world is a different place, particularly the way we work. Leaders must create solutions to help our businesses, customers, and employees through these unusual times.”

Furthermore, Warren noted that research shows this “disruption” presents challenges to traditional definitions of what it means to be a leader.

“More than ever before, emotional intelligence is at the forefront of effective leadership, which many of ICAN’s customers know is a tenet of our programming,” she explained. “At our Women’s Leadership Conference this year, ICAN wants to shine a spotlight on not just how work has changed, but how leaders can effectively support their teams to become resilient and agile amidst the changes we are experiencing.”

Programming includes keynote presentations by futurist and business consultant Seth Mattison, and Eve Rodsky, an experienced mediator who will discuss the need for equitable caregiving responsibilities at home and equitable systems and processes at work to “make allowances for the diverse needs of its team members,” Warren said.

Leadership expert, author and entrepreneur Erica Dhawan is also set to teach attendees how to communicate and collaborate with teams in ways that account for both digital and in-person constraints.

“We are excited to offer two breakout sessions that highlight the transformative trends in the workplace,” Warren said.

The first session will feature local leadership exploring the importance of “upskilling,” particularly in STEM, while she said the second breakout will revolve around gender equality and diversity, equity & inclusion as attributes of workplace cultures.

Mattison himself pulled back on the curtain on his exploration of “The Emerging Future is … Flexible!,” a presentation dedicated to the future of work and top trends for leaders who are successfully navigating the pathway changes, consciously and with empathy.

“Simply put, the future of work is a projection of how work, workers and the workplace will evolve in the years ahead,” Mattison explained. “In this regard, there is no one future of work, there are only futures of work as no two organizational paths forward will be the same. As a result, the stakes have never been higher for leaders to claim their own unique version of a more free, equitable, purpose-driven, human-centered, and heart-led world of work.”

Fountains of Knowledge

ICAN is also recognizing individuals who live and lead authentically, such as Carmen Tapio, the recipient of the sixth ICAN Leadership Award, extended to those who embody the “4 C’s” of collaboration, compassion, confidence and creativity.

“Two words that make such a difference: ‘I. Can.,” remarked Tapio, CEO of North End Teleservices. “As an organization, ICAN epitomizes and enables everything needed to lead. So women can confidently say, mean and do those two simple words.”

Another nod to the conference’s combination of “tradition” and the “leading-edge,” organizers referred to new opportunities to interact, as well as new vendors.

“The past two years we have successfully engaged our virtual audience on our conference day and provided our content for 30 days after our event,” Warren explained. “And last year we were able to provide a hybrid experience at the CHI [Health] Center, with a limited exhibit hall. We are excited to expand our exhibit hall experience this year, with our corporate partners and several nonprofit organizations eagerly participating.”

With many speakers serving dual roles as authors, Warren said ICAN is pleased to once again welcome The Bookworm as its “bookstore-for-the-day” to sell works, and she said speakers have generously given of their time to participate in book signings in the exhibit hall. Additionally, the hall is getting “livened up” with the stylings of well-loved female jazz standards, courtesy of local artist Camille Metoyer Moten.

Registrants can visit ICANConference.com for speaker bios, online exhibitor links, conference agenda, and to view speakers’ welcoming messages.

BY DWAIN HEBDA

Leadership for All

AILEEN WARREN CHARTS FUTURE OF ICAN PROGRAMS

AILEEN WARREN SUPPORTED ICAN BEHIND THE SCENES THROUGH BOARD LEADERSHIP AND CONFERENCE PLANNING FOR YEARS. NOW SHE IS LEADING FROM THE FRONT AS PRESIDENT AND CEO.

AILEEN WARREN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, ICAN

MAYOR JEAN STOTHERT

CITY OF OMAHA

SHASTA WRAGGE

ICAN BOARD CHAIR

Aileen Warren has only held the office of ICAN president and CEO for about 90 days, but she’s hardly a novice to the Omaha-based organization. Warren was involved with ICAN for years prior to taking the top job in January and is already leveraging ways the organization can be even more effective at leadership development in the future.

Being Proactive

It starts, she says, with greater access and expanded inclusion.

“One of the things that’s important when it comes to leadership is being aware of what’s going on around you,” she said. “You cannot operate in a microcosm.

“You have to be aware of what’s happening in the world and what’s happening in your community. When ICAN started, it was more focused on leadership development for women, but it’s definitely grown from that. Now everything we do is open to everybody. But we must continually examine how to be more deliberate and more intentional in making sure everyone is having the opportunity to be developed as a leader.”

Warren, who served on the ICAN board of directors, board executive committee, Leadership Award selection committee and co-chaired the 2010 ICAN Women’s Leadership Conference, has a clear vision for where ICAN and its programs go from here, from programmatic elements to training delivery.

“Leadership has evolved from simply the ability to manage and evaluate the performance of employees who carried out particular tasks, to the ability to lead with resiliency, agility and emotional intelligence,” she said. “Lifelong learning for our workforce is here to stay and delivering training and development to remote and in-person employees requires organizations and leaders to find new ways to deliver systems and processes equitably.”

Everyone Can Lead

Mayor Jean Stothert noted the future of leadership lies in blending foundational elements with new tactics such as intentional one-on-one interaction and formal mentorship.

“We all come to positions of leadership in different ways, at different times in our lives,” she said. “When we think of leaders we admire, we might think of people in high-profile positions in business or government or community service. You might also think of a boss or a co-worker as a leader. But the fact is, anyone can lead and create change. Leadership is learned; it’s important that we learn from each other and mentor one another to develop leadership skills.”

Shasta Wragge, ICAN board chair and Omaha regional manager and SVP with Bank of the West, added that institutions have a pivotal role to play in the development of employees’ leadership skills.

“Without the development of our employees and teams, the future of our business will become stagnant or even obsolete,” she said. “The diversity of thoughts and ideas is what keeps us relevant. We must allow our teams to learn new skills, challenge them to think differently and get them out of their comfort zone. The Women’s Leadership Conference is a great way to complement the work many of our organizations are doing organically and take our employees to the next level.”

Warren said the confident way the conference came through the challenges of the pandemic demonstrates the continued importance and relevance of leadership development at all levels in the community. It also provides a lot of confidence and momentum heading into the challenges of the future.

“We feel well-positioned to meet the challenges that have come with this workplace disruption, as the core of our leadership development is around the importance of authentic leadership and emotional intelligence,” she said. “We have a saying at ICAN, ‘In order to understand leadership, you must understand people. And in order to understand people, you must understand yourself.’”

Future of Leadership

INDUSTRY EXPERTS TOUCH ON EVOLVING WORKPLACES

BY BROOKE STRICKLAND

KANDACE MILLER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, AIM INSTITUTE

JULIE SIGMON

DIRECTOR, OMAHA STEM ECOSYSTEM

EVE RODSKY

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF “FAIR PLAY”

BIANCA HARLEY

VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND INCLUSION, OMAHA PERFORMING ARTS

Business leaders from all sectors likely never could have predicted the host of changes that have taken place in the last two years. While the pandemic has spurred many adjustments in business operations, there are other trends that are re-shaping and changing workplaces.

Digitization, Automation & STEM

Kandace R. Miller, president and CEO of the AIM Institute, explained that digitization and automation is something that continues to evolve, and it brings up a variety of issues that could be discussed at length.

“Digitization is helping to increase equitable access to information that was previously the purview of the privileged few,” Miller said. “It has also opened the door to remote work and virtual learning, which have been vital to keeping some semblance of sanity throughout the past two years.

“While automation is helping companies increase productivity and efficiency and creating more high-tech career opportunities along the way, we see some traditional jobs being replaced by more technical positions. Employees are not necessarily running the same processes but instead are overseeing and implementing the automation of those processes.”

Julie Sigmon, director for the Omaha STEM Ecosystem, which often partners with AIM on many projects including the STEM Community Platform, explains that more women are seeing opportunities to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

“In terms of leadership, we are seeing more women leading IT teams,” Sigmon said. “More women will have the opportunity to lead and shape the trajectories of companies large and small. There is an incredible opportunity for them to advocate and hold the door open for more underrepresented individuals to enter leadership roles.”

Building DEI

As a leader, it is important to remember that each person on your team is unique. By getting to know them and discovering what makes them tick creates an environment that fosters respect, trust, and empathy. Over time, this creates space for a more inclusive workplace that celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rather than squelching it.

“DEI impacts all facets of leadership and workforce,” Bianca Harley, vice president of human capital and inclusion at Omaha Performing Arts, said. “Successful organizations integrate it into every aspect of how they do business.

“It is imperative to treat your DEI initiatives like other business initiatives. Be sure to conduct careful strategic planning, make a financial/resource investment, and understand that your business results are a secondary positive outcome to the basic needs of respect and dignity and well-being of the people who ensure our organizations are sustained and successful. This isn’t a trend, and we want to avoid being performative. This is a muchneeded shift in the way we do business.”

Eve Rodsky, New York Times best-selling author of “Fair Play” and the newly released, National Bestseller “Find Your Unicorn Space,” explained that creating this type of environment must come from the top down.

“In the past, DEI was happening at the HR level or the informal employee level. Now it has to be at the C-Suite level,” she said. “I believe employers will have to understand that the emotional labor of DEI is deserving of pay and promotion … leaders deserve to be paid and promoted. This invisible work can no longer stay invisible.”

Miller noted, “Companies are more attuned than ever to increasing representation of historically excluded populations in leadership roles. You can’t have a very good orchestra if everyone is playing the same instrument. Why should only one type of person dominate the STEM workforce and the C-suite?

“Thankfully, companies are increasingly coming to the light on this issue as the country has grappled with social justice movements. That said, there is a long way to go.”

Focus on Communication

Good communication is the foundation of almost every successful business. Without keeping the lines of communication open between leaders and team members, you risk creating an inaccessible divide that could feel impossible to bridge.

This is especially true in the case of telecommunicating and video conferencing. While this adds convenience for businesses and employees and opens the talent pool to areas beyond traditional geographic boundaries, placing a strong focus on one-on-one discussions and check-ins are an important part of establishing company loyalty and bolstering longterm job satisfaction for your team.

“The Wall Street Journal had a cover story headline recently with the question many are asking ourselves now: how can we make our lives a lot better now? If employers are not asking that question too on behalf of their workers, they are missing the boat,” Rodsky said.

“Studies show that check-ins with greater frequency when emotion is low and cognition … leads to employees being more likely to tell their leaders the truth and not just what they want to hear, but what they need to hear to allow their organization to succeed.”

BY DAVID KUBICEK

Stoke Your Inner Fire

LEADERS NEED TO FIND THEIR “BEST SELF”

LEADERS RARELY FAIL BECAUSE OF FUNCTIONAL OR TECHNICAL INCOMPETENCE.

USUALLY THEY FAIL BECAUSE THEY AREN’T AWARE OF THEIR IMPACT, THEIR TONE, OR THEY MISREAD THE INTENTIONS OF OTHERS. ICAN’S AFTERNOON SPEAKERS SHOW LEADERS A PATHWAY TO GET BACK TO THEIR “BEST SELF” AND USE IMPROVISATION, INNOVATION, AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TO LEAD.

LISA KAPLAN

LIAISON-AT-LARGE, ICAN

KATIE GOODMAN

COMEDIAN, AUTHOR, LIFE COACH

SUSAN MACKENTY BRADY

CEO, SIMMONS UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP

With this year’s BLAZE theme, ICAN organizers reflect on the collective journey we’ve traveled as a society as well as a leader’s personal journey.

“Specifically, [we’re focused on] how the defining characteristics of leadership change according to the needs and goals of the individual, the organization and industry, and the world at large, especially in times of activity, crisis, or despair,” said Lisa Kaplan, ICAN’s liaison-at-large.

“Research shows that the best leaders, those who forge ahead and rise stronger, are those who can navigate frequent pathway changes consciously and with empathy, with a high degree of emotional intelligence.”

Each of ICAN’s speakers were selected to address a different thread of the Blaze theme, to offer a comprehensive understanding of the leadership journey and the new talent landscape.

“Our afternoon agenda will take us ‘into the weeds’ of an individual’s leadership journey,” Kaplan said. “Each speaker’s insights will be focused on the impact on women, including the pandemic’s impact on women.

“The pandemic did not create new gender inequalities in the workforce, but it did substantially worsen existing inequalities. Our speakers will address the importance of organizations and its leaders to be able to rethink the employee experience, particularly as it relates to women.”

Improvising and Innovating

Comedian, author, and life coach Katie Goodman will speak on improvising and innovating your way through change.

“Everyone must innovate and stay relevant as things change more and more quickly these days,” Goodman said. “Innovation can be anything from creating a new product to devising a new way of working together.

“We all had to move over to Zoom, work from home, support our kids while we worked in the same space, and learn to lead and connect our employees in ways we hadn’t had to before. Doing anything in a new way that better serves your mission and goals is innovation.”

Attendees will learn how to excavate their authentic selves, cultivate flexibility and gain confidence.

“Improv teaches profoundly important skills for leaders and teams in a fun and easy-tolearn way,” Goodman said. “The goal is to practice improvising throughout life so you become flexible and courageous and can handle anything. I will give them a hands-on experience where they see themselves capable of handling the unexpected. They will take home the confidence and skills to put this into practice at work and the rest of their lives as well.”

Emotional Intelligence

Susan MacKenty Brady, first CEO of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, will speak about emotional intelligence, which she said is the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, and the emotions of others, and respond correctly.

“Emotional intelligence is a moment-to-moment process,” MacKenty Brady said. “There’s no arrival; you can get better. In life, emotional intelligence shows up in relationship to people.

“Leadership is a social construct, a relationship. Where we get stuck is in relationships to people. Very rarely do I see leaders derail because of functional or technical incompetence — it’s always [because] they’re not aware of their impact, their tone, and misreading the intentions of others. I want people to walk away with [the knowledge] of how to get themselves back to their center best self where emotional intelligence is possible.”

Other afternoon keynotes will be given by resiliency expert Dr. Robyne Hanley Dafoe and Cynthia ‘Cynt’ Marshall, who became CEO of the Dallas Mavericks in 2018 after a 36-year career with AT&T. She is also president and CEO of Marshalling Resources Consulting.

“[Hanley Dafoe] will help us set a research-informed and steady course for ‘re-entry readiness’ in this post-COVID-19 world,” Kaplan said. “[Marshall] will share her own leadership journey, and her time-tested rules for the road to successful leadership.”

Keynote Sessions

Seth Mattison, Thought Leader, Author and Advisor

The Emerging Future is…Flexible!

As traditional hierarchies are re-examined and leadership becomes less about title, tenure, and time at the organization and more about influence, impact, and connection to their heart, our ability to develop, cultivate, and grow our personal presence and own our capacity to reveal our full selves every single day will become the new mandate for leadership in the modern era.

Seth will share the top “future of work” trends for 2022 that are on the minds of top leaders as they take the path to a more whole and more human organization, where employees feel like they have a chance to belong.

Noelle Silver

HumAIn: Empowering Inclusion in Technology

Noelle Silver, a winner of VentureBeat’s Women in AI Responsibility and Ethics Award, has dedicated herself to an often-overlooked part of the responsible AI equation: AI literacy, not just bias. Noelle’s mission is to educate everyone from C-suites to teenagers about how to approach AI more thoughtfully. She’s a consistent champion for public understanding of AI and has established several initiatives supporting women and underrepresented communities.

Erica Dhawan, Leadership Expert, Author and Entrepreneur

Back2Better: How to Build Trust and Collaboration, No Matter the Distance

During this unprecedented time of uncertainty, we are digitally collaborating faster and more often than ever before. We fell like we’re connected – but are we really? How do we lead, motivate, and collaborate effectively regardless of the distance? How do we brainstorm, have difficult conversations and drive culture change digitally?

Erica will help us discover how to break down silos and keep teams aligned, accountable, and motivated beyond in-person meetings and gain specific actions to foster loyalty, respect, collaboration and innovation across all stakeholder networks regardless of physical distance.

Eve Rodsky

Fair Play in the New Workplace

Eve’s expertise in family mediation, strategy, and organizational management led to the research and findings in her best-selling book “Fair Play,” offering a solution to the dilemma of unequal emotional labor and “invisible work” within a marriage or partnership. With our return to work in the “next” normal, Eve expanded her focus to the challenges and opportunities that companies and leaders will face, as they create systems to promote greater equity among the disparate groups in the emerging work landscape.

Katie Goodman

Improvising and Innovating your Way Through Change

Katie Goodman uses her 8 Tools of Improv Comedy to guide the audience through fun, creative and insightful exercises that inspire participants to connect, gain confidence, move away from fear, collaborate and – most importantly - adapt to change.

Susan MacKenty Brady

Using Emotional Intelligence to Navigate Your Own Leadership Journey

To win the hearts and minds of people, leaders need to be clear about how to navigate interpersonal relationships. Celebrated Leadership Author and the first Chief Executive Officer of The Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, Susan will demonstrate how your internal thought processes guide your behavior and influence your impact as a leader. Each and every interaction is an opportunity to build trust, create alignment, and bring out the best in your team members.

Dr. Robyne Hanley Dafoe

Hope-Forward: Steadying Our Steps After a Challenging Season

In this season of rising after challenging times, we are in a precious place of opportunity to co-create our future. As we plan our next moves, it is imperative that we acknowledge the past while also setting a steady course for re-entry that is research-informed and practical for people at varying degrees of readiness. Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe will explore her conceptual framework for re-entry readiness that is based on the principles of psychological safety, resiliency, and productivity with purpose.

Cynthia Marshall

A Leadership Journey: Leading with Heart

“Cynt” Marshall is the first black female CEO in the history of the National Basketball Association. The CEO of the Dallas Mavericks offers her time-tested rules for the road to successful leadership and explains how she transformed a toxic corporate culture through authenticity.

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Breakout Sessions

DEI: Turning Concept into Action

Facilitator:

Bianca Harley, vice president of human capital and inclusion, Omaha Performing Arts

Guest Panelists:

Nancy Pridal, P.E. CEO/President at Lamp Rynearson

Joni Wheeler, Executive Vice President, Talent and Enterprise Solutions, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska

It takes more than concept and commitment to effect real diversity, equity and inclusion into any work culture. Join Bianca Harley in exploring real success stories – from top leaders themselves – who created a DEI roadmap and led their organizations to genuine results. Bianca will facilitate an engaging conversation with Nancy Pridal and Joni Wheeler, and will share key takeaways for your own journey to belonging and inclusion, whether for yourself or your team.

Rising Stronger Within Omaha’s Digital Landscape

Facilitators:

Kandace Miller, President & CEO of AIM Institute Julie Sigmon, Director of the Omaha STEM Ecosystem

A healthy, vibrant community depends on a skilled and growing workforce. In an effort to help close the talent gap within the Omaha community, The STEM Community Platform was established to combine Omaha’s STEM resources in one convenient location. Employees, students, educators and corporate leaders alike can connect with greater ease with the programs and resources needed to facilitate efficient and effective career pathways. Join Kandace Miller and Julie Sigmon to learn of this exciting new collaboration, and their plans for helping Omaha meet the challenges of a new talent landscape.

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