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Powerful Words=Empowerment

Posted on October 18, 2017
powerful words = empowerment

It has taken a few weeks for those words, the advice of Carla Harris, to sink in. Ms. Harris, a vice chairman, managing director and senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley, recently spoke as a keynote at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. In her career, she has served as the Chair of President Obama’s National Women’s Business Council. She was a senior member of the equity syndicate desk, managing IPOs for UPS, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and GM sub-IPO of Delphi Automotive, to name a few. She has been recognized throughout her career by Fortune, U.S. Bankers, Black Enterprise, Essence, and Ebony, and she received the Bert King award from the Harvard Business School African Alumni Association, as well as the 2005 Women’s Professional Achievement Award from Harvard. In addition to her career in finance, she is an accomplished singer, having released three albums. She has performed five sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall. And she is an author of two books, Strategies to Win and Expect to Win. Ms. Harris earned her AB in economics from Harvard and then earned her MBA from Harvard Business School.

From the moment Ms. Harris stepped out on stage, the audience could feel her enthusiasm and her dynamism. She was a powerhouse filled with one great piece of advice after another. I thought about choosing one of my favorite nuggets, but instead, I have opted to share many of them with you. No doubt more than one will resonate.

Here are ten, in no particular order:

  • Fear has no place in your success story.
  • Do not apologize for your accomplishments.
  • Do not dim your light for someone else’s convenience.
  • It is your responsibility to ask to understand the market value of your seat.
  • Mistakes are a valid and valuable part of life.
  • Resiliency is valuable.
  • Your ability to ascend will be a function of someone else’s perception and decision.
  • Invest in the relationships.
  • Always play for the yes.
  • Always default to the try.

Think about these and how they can, or do, play a role in your life and your career.

Best,

Anne Converse Willkomm
Director of Graduate Studies
Goodwin College
Drexel University

Bio taken from: http://6abc.com/careers/14th-annual-pennsylvania-conference-for-women/2205903/

Posted in interpersonal-communications, leadership-management-skills