Climb Out Of Your Box

 2 of a 3 Part Series

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction.

                                                - Jim Rohn

 While so many of us stay in relationships or our jobs too long out of fear, we should focus on the power to Climb out of Our Box.  We should live life with meaning and purpose, while spending time doing something about which we are passionate.  What holds us back? Why can some people adapt to change more easily?  Why can we make changes in certain areas of our lives but not others?

Making a positive change in your life can dramatically better your life. You can improve your health, relationships, career, income, level of happiness and hopes for a more optimistic future. Making the right choices with conviction and commitment to change will enhance the quality of your life.

There are seven barriers that stop you from moving forward to take the necessary steps to change. However, before we explore those barriers, you must first become cognizant of your surroundings. What is really going on in your work environment, home, friends, family or your health?  If you are really aware of your surroundings, you can embrace your barriers!

The Seven Barriers Holding You Back

1.       Status Quo In Your Comfort Zone

I have crossed paths in my career with so many people who live life in the status quo mode. They can’t begin to think about change personally or professionally.  Yet they continually express frustration with work, their marriage or their kids.  Living in your comfort zone in today’s economy is dangerous - especially at work!

It’s not just our jobs that we hold on to in our desire to stay close to the familiar. We do it in other areas too.  We take the same route to work each day, drive to the same McDonalds for a diet coke (I am guilty of that one) or order the same items from the menus of the same restaurants instead of trying something new.  My husband took me to a restaurant last week that we hadn’t been to in a while.  I ventured out of my box and ordered a new type of fish I swore I would never try along with a wine that wasn’t my usual.  While it obviously wasn’t a life-altering decision, it did remind me how even small changes can have an impact.  My husband, who is a restaurant owner, was thrilled to see me try something new!  My meal was outstanding paired with a new wine, which made for an awesome dining experience. Lastly, it empowered me to want to step out of that box more often.

Consider: What is more important to you, success at work or significance in what you do? To me, significance is more important. Success rewards our bank account, but significance rewards our spirit.  The same holds true in your private life as well.

2.       Losing Your Passion

Realizing your life is on hold because you are trapped living in your comfort zone is quite different from another challenge to change, lack of passion. I remember coaching my managers that hiring people with passion to succeed is something you can’t teach. Passion breeds success, passion sells, and passionate people live fulfilling lives.  Passionate people inspire us to greatness.  We want those people on our team.

A boss once told me, “your passion is your greatest strengthen and your greatest weakness.”  That is impossible!  How can a person’s passion for what they believe in be their weakness?  I think he may have been confused by the true definition of passion: 

. . .any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.  A strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything; passion for music, passion for life, job, your family and friends. . .

Don’t confuse the meaning of passion with a person’s opinion. Style of communication may be the real issue when trying to express concerns of a particular situation that cause discomfort. That is not passion!  If you have lost your passion for what you are doing currently in your life, ask yourself, what do you want instead? What are you passionate about? GO DO IT!

3.       Fear of Failure

I learned early in my childhood the true feelings of fearing failure. Fear is paralyzing for many. For me, however, fear became a positive feeling.  As a competitive figure skater, my heart pounded, my hands shook, and I was scared to death right before I stepped out on the ice to compete.  Yet I believe those internal feelings of fear pushed me beyond my boundaries

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” Sven Guran Eriksson

Fear to take a risk is the barrier that holds most people back from climbing out of their box. If you are making small changes, I am sure you don’t have feelings of fear. However, bigger changes - major life changing decisions -bring greater risk producing greater levels of fear.

When I first started my career in sales, I felt feelings of fear because I wanted to be the best and achieve all my career goals.  I never again wanted to work so hard and not achieve those goals. You see, I spent my entire childhood training for the ultimate goal of qualifying for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, but that goal was never achieved.  My fears in my career come from the fact that I never again want to fall short of my goals.  Failure to make the Olympics shaped my life forever, giving me the perspective that fear will hold you back if you let it. That one negative result at that moment in my life was devastating but I have chosen to use that experience toward a positive outlook of fear. The fear of failure channeled correctly makes for a successful outcome in your life.  You can eliminate fear from your life when you understand that the reward is greater than the fear of trying.

Climb Out Of Your Box

  Part 1 of a 3 Part Series

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

     - Viktor E. Frankl

A little over a year ago, a decision was made for me to leave my job.  After three and half years at the company, hiring, training and developing teams and regularly exceeding revenue goals along with being promoted four times, my position was eliminated. I had known for more than a year that I was miserable but I was not ready to leave my role as Vice President. I rationalized the situation by telling myself, "I need to cope with this job." What I did not realize was that  my coping was making my future husband and my children miserable. What I really wanted was to be challenged by creating a situation in which I could use my passion to mentor high potential women leaders and allay their fears to advance their careers. I convinced myself I was indispensable and I needed the money. I could not afford to just leave! My daily routine of doing something I was no longer passionate about created consequences that I wasn’t ready to accept.

On that sunny April day, I remember my boss telling me that my position was eliminated. I was looking out the window at the beautiful Pike’s Peak Mountains in disbelief.  Then suddenly, I had this calm, warm sense of peace and relief. I knew, in that moment, that my 25-year corporate career had just taken a new direction. A direction I believe, that has forever changed my life. Change is something we all struggle with from time to time.  For some reason that day, I was excited about future possibilities.  Of course, I also had feelings of total fear of change and uncertainty about the next steps.  Nevertheless, I was also filled with excitement and the faith that everything would be all right.

Reflecting back on my journey to today, climbing out of my box has dramatically changed my life. I have grown personally and professionally in ways I never thought were possible. Taking that leap of faith to live my life doing something I believed in has set me free. For the first time in my life, I have listened to my gut all along this journey and not once has it said: “go do something else” or “go back to being a Vice President of Sales.”  Interestingly enough, all of those types of doors have closed on me this past year when they never had before. Living life with passion, building a business to mentor, coach and train high potential women leaders to advance their careers has been amazing. Developing and training teams on how to become highly productive and enhancing companies’ internal Gender Diversity initiatives has been some of the most rewarding personal and professional experiences. Part of the challenge to Climb Out Of Your Box is the limited resources many have in their work environments.  For some, not having a person to turn to is also a challenge when trying to make a change in your life.  I challenge all of you to take that next step today by writing down the one thing holding you back from what you want in your life. If you don’t like what is happening today, ask yourself this one question: “What Do I Want Instead?” If you can truly answer that one question, then start by taking your first step to Climb Out of Your Box!

Gender Diversity Matters to the Financial Performance of Corporations

Years of climbing up the ranks in corporate America has given me a unique perspective about the legitimate issues women continue to face when trying to advance their careers.  Incorporating a robust Gender Diversity initiative remains a challenge for many corporations, government agencies, academia and nonprofit organizations. The opportunity to change the culture of our workplace and communities is not always easy.  However, the working world we live in today is rapidly changing with more women entering the workplace.  50% of today’s workforce is made up of women, of which 37% are Mid-Level Managers and 26% hold Vice Presidents positions. That number will continue to rise as more women enter the workplace and aspire to advance into higher levels of leadership.  Yet, the discouraging fact remains an issue; women are not advancing!  A Wall Street Journal article recently highlighted a report by Catalyst, Inc. stated that only 11 chief executives of Fortune 500 companies are women, down from 15 in 2010.

Over the past several months, The Wall Street Journal has written two important articles discussing the topic of Gender Diversity and women being held back in corporations. One article was entitled, “Coaching Urged for Women, Inadequate Career Development Holds Back Female Executives, McKinsey & Company says.”  The article discussed the need to focus on developing mid-level management by giving additional leadership coaching and allowing women to hold positions that involve profit and loss responsibilities for an operation.  Another article was released on April 11, 2011, “A Blue Print for Change”, interviewed top business executives examining issues women face and what is holding women back in the workplace.

McKinsey & Company, Catalyst Inc., Heath Care Women Business Associates ( HBA), and many universities have published research analyzing  the correlation between gender diversity on corporate boards and financial performance. McKinsey and Catalyst recently published two separate studies with very similar data on the global results based on three performance measures: return on sales (ROS) return on investment capital (ROIC) and return on equity (ROE) averages for each company across the study time period.  A total of 524 companies in this study reported the following findings:

IWL's 2011 Women's Leadership Conference Registration is NOW OPEN

Connect-Mentor-Inspire
          
The event highlights  accomplished women leaders from the State of Indiana who have achieved higher levels of leadership. They are  passionate about mentoring and inspiring women to go beyond their dreams.
Anyone can attend.

Come Join Us! Register Today at;
www.integratingwomanleaders.com
      Seats are limited

Leadership Development; Why Are Corporations Not Developing Mid-Level Managers?

Each day we have the opportunity to change the culture of our workplaces and communities. The world is changing daily as more women enter corporate America.  50% of today’s workplace is made up of women, 51% of Mid-Level Managers are women and that number will continue to rise as more women aspire to advance their careers.

What I find amazing is most corporations I have been speaking to; don’t understand how critical it is to develop their Mid-Level Managers.  Most mistakes are made early on in people’s careers and many never recover from those mistakes. 

A proactive leadership mind-set focused on the future women leaders will make a stronger and more profitable company.  Research shows that companies with the most women board of directors (WBD) outperform those with the least on ROS (Return on Sales) by 16%. The data is compelling that financial performance of companies with three or more women board members significantly outperforms those companies with zero women. (Catalyst 2011 The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation) Author: Nancy Carter, Ph.D., and Harvey M Wagner, Ph.D. 

Women leadership style and behaviors are different from men. Women styles of leadership are sometimes misunderstood or under appreciated.  This statement, has years of research behind it. Corporations investing in their women leaders will pay dividends in the long run. Women are loyal by nature, and research shows when companies invest in them, they are highly productive leaders. Companies experience less turn-over, teams are more productive and future women leaders emerge.

Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2011 May 6th in Indianapolis

This video is a wonderful testimonial about the upcoming Chick-fil-A Leadercast event here in Indianapolis May 6, 2011 at the Downtown Marriott. Space is still available.

Register Today!

Mentoring Women to Advance Their Careers

While conducting a recent training workshop, two talented young women in their late twenties asked me several great questions about mentoring.  How do they choose a mentor? Could their mentor be their boss? How do they find a mentor outside of their company? Those questions and our discussion inspired me to write this blog.

Relationships are an important aspect of any work culture. Cultivating a strong network of leaders within your organization is a critical step for leadership development and career advancement.  Mentoring has become a hot topic in companies these days. Women are being more strongly encouraged to find mentors who can help them navigate their careers and personal responsibilities than in years past.

Research by Catalyst, Inc. shows that women feel they consistently need to exceed performance expectations to advance.  I would have to agree with that statement based on my experience.  However, I have also learned that it is not just about performance.  Leadership style and behaviors also determine whether women advance.

Chick-fil-A Leadercast YouTube Video for the May 6, 2011 Conference

IWL has partnered with Chick-fil-A Leadercast Conference on May 6, 2011 at the Downtown Marriott, Indianapolis, Ind.

Registration is now open. You will receive a discount of $20.00 off you ticket price if you enter ' IWL' in the rate code box on the registration form.

You can register at www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/indy

Jennifer Browning Holmes
Founder and President
Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc.

2011 IWL Women's Leadership Conference: Connect-Mentor-Inspire

The 2011 IWL Women's Leadership Conference: Connect-Mentor-Inspire speakers and agenda is now available on our website.

Registration will open May 1, 2011. Seats are limited.

http://www.integratingwomanleaders.com/

Best Regards,

Jennifer Browning Holmes

Founder & President

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc.

Introduction to Powerful Communication™

Do you communicate effectively?  

Do interactions with others get you the results you want?

The definition of communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior <the function of pheromones in insect communication>; also: exchange of information

Effectively communicating your career, personal, and everyday goals in a way that comes across clearly, persuasively, and thoughtfully is crucial; and yet, not everyone knows how. Communication isn’t innate, and many bright, talented, and dedicated people don't advance their career, all because they fail to adequately communicate their point.

Nonverbal communication is the single most powerful form of communication. More than voice or even words, nonverbal communication cues you in to what is on another person’s mind. The best communicators are sensitive to the power of the emotions and thoughts communicated nonverbally.

Our team of Board Certified and Certified Consultants will introduce you to the most innovative approaches to understanding and directing communication.  You will learn how to be heard and how to deliver messages that get results.

The team will show you how:

• You use your senses to represent the World & to communicate
• You can create instant connections & agreement with others
• You can know what others are thinking by watching their eye movements
• Your specific words and tones impact your communication
• You can use your style of communication to your advantage

To understand communication differences between men and women

Please join us for an Introductory Powerful Communication™ workshop on April 21^st or May 9^th from 8:30-11:30am. To register: klake@integratingwomanleaders.com

To learn more about the complete two-day workshops on Powerful Communication™ please contact jholmes@integratingwomanleaders.com for details.

Chick-fil-A Leadercast, May 6th at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. has partnered with the

Chick-fil-A Leadercast

May 6, 2011

held at the

 Indianapolis Downtown Marriott

Featuring speakers like John Maxwell!

Jim Morris, President, Pacers Sports & Entertainment

   Speaker for the VIP Luncheon

Video Link: 
http://www.youtube.com/cfaleadercastindy#p/u/1/UUvRaSwwG_8

Chick-fil-A Leadercast Conference, May 6th at Indianapolis Marriott

Registration Instructions

1. Log onto the Chick-fil-a Leadercast Indianapolis website for registration at: www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/indy

2. Welcome to our online attendee registration page! Read the important information and then click on the red ‘Click here to register today’ link on the left side of the page below the description of our event.

3. This will open a new page to register for a Giant Impact event. Please select “Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2011 – Indianapolis (May 6^th, 2011)” from the drop down menu. Then click ‘Proceed to Event Registration’ button. *** If this is your first time to log-in, click on the link on the lower left-hand corner to close the log-in box ***

4. Please enter all of your contact information and click on the box at the bottom of the page to proceed to step 2.

5. Select your ticket option (regular attendee or VIP) and the number of tickets you wish to purchase. On this page, please enter ‘David.Stucky’ in the rate code box (this will identify you in the registration system as a personal guest of Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. to be greeted personally by the Chick-fil-A rep and Jennifer Holmes, Founder & President at the event). When finished, click on the box at the bottom of the page to proceed to step 3.

6. Please enter payment information and create a username and password (this will allow you to reenter the site). When finished, click on the box to complete registration.

7. You will receive a confirmation email of your ticket purchase.

If you have questions, you can call (877) 225-3311.

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast Voice of Change

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc partners with Chick-fil-A LEADERCAST, on May 6, 2011 at the Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis.

Register online at www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/Indy

Speakers for the day are; John Maxwell, Robin Roberts, Mark Brown,  Dave Ramsey, Dan Cathym Mack Brown, Erin Gruwell, Suzy Welch, and LOCAL, Lunch VIP Speaker, President, Indiana Pacers, Jim Morris.

Register for this great Conference for all levels of leadership!

...

The G.R.E.A.T.™ Sales Professional For the 21^st Century
Part 3 of a 3 part Series

I found an inspiring and powerful quote from Marianne Williamson, author, teacher and coach when researching the topic of Attitude. I felt compelled to share her quote and why I feel Step #4: Attitude is Everything when striving to be a G.R.E.A.T.™ sales professional.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond our measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens most of us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you . . . As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

.

I consider ATTITUDE the #1 attribute on what makes The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21^st Century.  This Blog focuses on the final two steps of being G.R.E.A.T.™: ATTITUDE AND TIMING.

Gain Insight

Right Behaviors

Exceed Expectations

Attitude Is Everything

Timing

Are YOU or were you an athlete? How many times did your coach tell you, “It’s mind over matter?” or “attitude reflects success?”  As a competitive athlete, my coach (my father) would tell me that falling short of my goals meant that I didn’t see myself there or my mind was defeating my capabilities. Positive attitude is also necessary to be The G.R.E.A.T.™ Sales Professional in the 21^st Century and beyond.

The G.R.E.A.T. ™ Sales Professional for The 21st Century

                                                 Part 2 of a 3 part Series

                                 
“Seek first to understand before being understood.” The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey


I have used that quote often in my career to help others understand the importance of communication and the style in which you communicate. It is not only what you say, but also how you say it that affects the response from others.


As I described in Part 1 of this Series, the five skills you want to develop and practice to become G.R.E.A.T. ™ are: 

                                                       Gain Insight

                                                       Right Behaviors 

                                                       Exceed Expectations

                                                       Attitude Is Everything

                                                       Timing

Step #2 to becoming G.R.E.A.T. ™ is having the Right Behaviors in a sales situation. Professional behavior encompasses many things: style of communication, etiquette, business dress, respect, follow through and knowledge of your product and services. Behaviors also include discipline, productive activity to move the sale forward, and working smarter. The G.R.E.A.T. ™ salesperson does all of these things and does them naturally.


Style of communication along with the tone of your voice will be the determining factors as to whether or not a customer buys from you. Communication describes the process of making and keeping this connection. According to research, only 7% of the objective message communicated is composed of spoken words. The remaining 93% of how you communicate with people consists of “style” or tone of voice (38%) and body language (55%).  Research also shows that customers watch how you carry yourself, your facial expressions, and your appearance. These factors can unconsciously affect their decision about doing business with you before you say a word. To learn more about this topic, I recommend The Heart of Coaching, Using Transformational Coaching to Create a High-Performance Culture, by Thomas G. Crane.

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. BLOG: The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Cen...

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. BLOG: The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Cen...:." The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Century Part 1 of a 3 part series Inspiration for this blog came from my opp..."

Jennifer B. Holmes, Founder and President, Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. www.integratingwomanleaders.com


©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved

The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Century

 Part 1 of a 3 part series

 Inspiration for this blog came from my opportunity to hear the Key Bank Key4Women guest speaker and author, Cindy Solomon, talk about her new book, The Rules of Woo. Her topic was how the world and customer behaviors have changed over the past 30 years.

 Listening to Cindy, I realized that a long corporate career in sales, leading and building teams and growing businesses has taught me a great deal about what  today's customers want from a GREAT sales professional.  Customers in the 21^st Century have different expectations and those expectations will continue to change over time.   I believe that focusing on five key skills will allow you to become the G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21^st Century.

Do you know what it takes to be G.R.E.A.T™?  Hard work and dedication can only take you so far.  What distinguishes YOU from your competitors is YOUR ability to provide VALUE. The five skills you want to develop and practice to become G.R.E.A.T™ are: 

Gain Insight

Right Behaviors

Exceed Expectations

Attitude Is Everything

Timing

Successful individuals build loyalty, enjoy long-lasting relationships with customers, and consistently perform at the highest level. There are also those who continue to remain average. What separates the GREAT sales professional from the average one? 

The first step is to Gain Insight about your customers. Before you can bring true value to them, you must first understand who they are. What types of services are important to them, what are their key issues, and what does value mean to them? How do your products and services benefit them? We all know that "value" means something different to each customer.  Understanding is your first step to becoming a G.R.E.A.T™ salesperson.  As a Field Sales Trainer years ago, I shared with trainees that the biggest mistake a sales professional makes is to assume with very little actual insight about the customer. 

One of my favorite books, Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne, describes Value Innovation.  “Value Innovation” makes the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers instead of focusing on beating the competition. I have learned that leading a team with that philosophy makes a positive impact.

A challenging situation I once had with an important customer demonstrates how lack of insight can inhibit business relationships. After a year of hard work building a strong customer relationship, I finally got approval for a huge product evaluation. However, one Cardiologist remained unconvinced and refused to evaluate the product. Despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise, he looked at me angrily one day and said, "Jennifer, I don't care about how your stent is different or for that matter better. I don't want to trial your product."  At that moment, I realized my insight of what was important to him was wrong. I needed to refocus on what Value meant to him and to learn what I needed to do to turn the situation around. In the end, he did evaluate the product and became a loyal customer.

Part One: Please share this post.


Jennifer B. Holmes, Founder and President, Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. www.integratingwomanleaders.com


©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved

Tony Dungy - Be the One

Inspired to Stand Up™

The 1961 United States World Figure Skating Team

On February 15, 1961, the U.S. Figure Skating team, parents, coaches and judges -34 among the 62 passengers and crew aboard - left New York on Sabena Airlines flight number 548, which crashed before landing in Brussels, en route to Prague. The airplane's landing gear was not down, according to witnesses, and it is probable that the plane hit a high tension line about four miles from the airport's runway. Nearby residents said the plane was making more noise than usual and was much lower than usual. There were no survivors.

Life is a journey with moments of life lessons, hope, painful tragedies, successes, failures, and choices. The journey through life teaches us to embrace those lessons, inspires us to dream and to achieve those dreams. Faith guides our souls leading us with integrity.

I was fortunate to be raised by parents who achieved greatness early in their lives, in light of pain and suffering, failure and challenges. My parents were the positive architects of my life, always providing me the encouragement that has helped me through life.

Several weeks ago, the movie Rise was a one-night screening in 586 movie theaters across the United States. Rise is a tribute to the U.S. World Figure Skating Team killed in a plane crash on Feb. 15, 1961. The picture of the 1961 US World Team has hung in my parents’ home since I was born. They lost their best friends that day!

My parents were pairs skaters on that Team, finishing fourth that year. They missed the chance to travel with the Team by 1/10th of 1%. My mom did not know she was pregnant with me at the time.  I was born in November.

The sad part of this story is that my father passed away 3 years ago this month at the young age of 69 so my mother never wanted to share their story with the movie's producers because they were a TEAM!   Nevertheless, our family shared the incredible documentary that night with her and some of my parents' closest friends.

As powerful as it was for her, watching Rise made my entire childhood flashed before my eyes too.  I was also a figure skater, coached by my parents and sent to live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the age of 13. My dream was to make the 1980 Winter Olympics. I never achieved that dream although I remember my father repeatedly telling me that I would be the next World Champion.

In front of a boyfriend during dinner one night, Dad told me: "You gave up! You never saw yourself there! You could have been a World Champion!" WOW! I was devastated! However, I realized that his words changed my life forever!

From that day, my mantra to my teams, my children and myself has been “IF YOU SEE YOURSELF THERE, YOU WILL BE THERE!" My first sales job made me realize that I never want to work for something and not be the best.  As I embrace the next chapter in my life, I continue to live by that powerful philosophy.

On the night that Rise ran in theaters, Matt Lauer hosted a live TV broadcast from New York City. He interviewed my idol Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill (who’s hairstyle my father insisted I copied), Scott Hamilton (with whom I'd trained), and the most beautiful skater of all time, Michelle Kwan. Matt asked them what skating taught them that they have taken with them in their lives. They used words like focus, hard work, dedication, and the love for the sport.

I am relating this story because I put a blue Post-it note on my mirror several months ago about writing my first book by 2015. I didn’t have a title or topic at the time but I knew I wanted to inspire women leaders to achieve their career goals and go beyond their dreams. After watching this inspirational documentary, I now have a title and story to share with women who aspire to achieve greatness. Skating takes lots of practice, hard work, dedication and time on your backside! Making life choices, experiencing success and dealing with painful challenges does too. Nevertheless, I continue to be Inspired to Stand UP™

Please post a comment of this BLOG and let us know if you have a similar story.

1961 World Figure Skating Team

Inspired to Stand Up™
Jennifer Browning Holmes, Founder & President
Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc.
Book release date yet to be announced. 

©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved

IWL's 2011 Women's Leadership Conference; Connect-Mentor-Inspire

We are excited to announce that our 2011 IWL Women's Leadership Conference; Connect-Mentor-Inspire will be held at Conseco Fieldhouse on September 13, 2011 from 9:00am until 4:00pm. We are thrilled to have the Indiana Fever, Indianapolis Woman Magazine and Eli Lilly & Company/ Lilly's Women Network sponsor the event at the Gold Level. Be sure to register on May 1, 2011 as space will be limited. Register on www.integratingwomanleaders.com