Go Lead Idaho

Motivating women to lead and demonstrating why it matters

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Ready2Lead: Ready to Run – Nuts & Bolts

Ready to Run:  Nuts & Bolts of Government & Political Party Structure

    • Professor Gary Moncrief, Political Science, Boise State University
    • Betty Richardson, Attorney/Advisor, U.S., Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys
    • Sally Boynton Brown, Communications Director, Idaho Democratic Party
    • Moderator: Karianne Fallow, Public Affairs Practice Group, Red Sky PR

Gary starts off with a few insights into the state of women in elected leadership in Idaho and across the nation.

  • Not only are there fewer women in the Idaho Legislature, there are fewer women in leadership positions.
  • Curious case of the partisan gap. In state legislatures – women make up a much greater percentage of Democratic legislators than Republican. 32% Democrat, 17% Republican
  • In the executive branch it is much more balanced:
    • 38Democrats, 33 Republican
    • Governor: 4 Republican, 2 Democrat
    • 7Republican, 4 Democrat

If you are thinking of running for office, Dr Moncrief says to read

Sally Boynton Brown – discussing the network that exists for candidates within their party

Precincts are the smallest political units we have, each precinct reports to one polling place.  Precinct captains (PC) are elected by the citizens of their precinct and are charged with connecting the people in their precinct to the Party and the Party to the people.

County Organizations

Each of our 44 counties has a County Central Committee (CCC). The County Central Committee is composed of all the Precinct Captains located inside the county along with an Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee normally consists of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman. Each CCC is responsible for recruiting and supporting candidates for elected offices in their county.

Many county organizations hold monthly meetings. These meetings are scheduled for the purpose of sharing information about district, county and state party matters as well as current issues and candidate recruitment.

Sally added a poignant point about civility in political conversations
“We don’t feel comfortable when we have a difference of opinion with each other to have that conversation – engage in civil discourse. That needs to change.”
Betty Richardson spoke about her experiences running for office
  • Women need to be thinking of other women
  • I don’t believe that there is anybody that shouldn’t be held to account for their actions in office
  • As long as the people who disagree with the incumbents are invisible, they will continue to ignore you
  • Good government is not an instant proposition – it is an endurance test
  • Win or lose – is this worth doing? It is. It spurs dialogue – the conversation has been advanced

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Ready2Lead: The Well-Spoken Woman – How to Express Confidence

The passionate, poised and enthusiastic Christine Yahnke is delivering the keynote – The Well Spoken Woman: How to Express Confidence

What are the characteristics & traits of great speakers?

  • Signature Style
  • Synchronized Message
  • Self-Assurance
The Three V’s of Communication (Mehrabian Rule)
  • Vocal – (38%) the quality of your sound, your voice, how do you sound to the audience
    • Pace (we are looking for a conversational rate, 150 words/minute)
    • Pitch
    • Pause
    • Projection
  • Visual (55%)
    • Eye contact (if you’re not looking at them you’re not receiving feedback from them)
    • Facial expression
    • Body language
    • Hand gestures
  • Verbal (7%)
    • Clear
    • Connected
    • Compelling
Shock & awe tip: One minute of talk requires one hour of prep

Chris Jahnke shared Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s great Ted Talk

All attendees received Chris’s great book:

In THE WELL-SPOKEN WOMAN: Your Guide to Looking and Sounding Your Best , Christine Jahnke details the techniques and practices of successful women to help every woman improve her presentation and on-camera skills. It serves as a guide to help you stop second-guessing or falling short with your speaking abilities so you can earn a standing ovation.

Having advised First Lady Michelle Obama for her International Olympic Committee speech, provided speaker training to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and coached corporate CEOs and more women elected officials than any other trainer, Jahnke shares behind-the-scenes tips on what works and why. With access to her twenty years of expertise, you’ll learn strategies for forums ranging from PTA meetings to TV studios, conferences to classrooms, boardrooms to YouTube.

THE WELL-SPOKEN WOMAN features a cross section of American women who have used their voices to create change, ignite imaginations, coach teams to victory, and argue against injustice. Jahnke profiles how Melinda Gates emerged as a powerful advocate, Hillary Clinton honed her international podium presence, Suze Orman conquered the camera, and Ann Richards used humor – and then demonstrates what the take-away is for you. It shares stories of trial and triumph to answer the questions: “how did she do it?” and “what can I learn from her?”

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Ready2Lead: Work Life Balance

General Session panel on Work-Life Balance

    • Former First Lady Patricia Kempthorne and founder & CEO of the Twiga Foundation
    • Jennifer Pugh, Chief Human Resources Officer, Scentsy

Patricia Kempthorne: Work life balance is just life – and how we make that work for all of us.

Jennifer Pugh: I don’t really think about it as work-life balance. I think about it as work-life integration. Taking all sides of my life, because I don’t compartmentalize, and integrating all of the elements into one. (Jennifer created a family policy handbook and standard operating procedures for her household of 11) I realized that my day became what everyone wanted from me – not the priorities I was setting.

Jennifer: Email makes everyone else’s needs and priorities your urgency. Try to minimize the number of times you check your inbox. Try color coding your calendar to be able to see at a glance if you have balance in your life – and address it if you don’t.

Patricia: Every business started out as an idea, as a dream. It is about the people that you bring into the organization to make it work. To have a bottom line in business that is sustainable you have to take care of your greatest asset – your people

Jennifer: To me business, like politics, is all about relationships.

Jennifer: Don’t create workplace policy to solve issues for your worst employees, create workplace policy based on your best employees and what you want to empower them to do.

Patricia: Work-life integration is more than a gender issue, a business or politics issue, but a cultural issue.

Be a mentor, be an advocate, raise your hand and speak up when there are work-life integration issues at play. Advocate for each other – women and men alike.

 

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Ready2Lead: Increasing Your Net Worth By Expanding Your Network

The second general session panel: Increasing Your Net Worth By Expanding Your Network

    • Emily Kertz Lampkin, President of Lampkin Group
    • Julie Larson, Business Coach/Consultant at Burg Communications
    • Moderator: Dean Cathy Silak, Concordia Law School

Julie Larson: What is networking

Networking isn’t about you. It’s about cultivating mutually beneficial or win-win relationships. You do that by shifting your focus onto the other person. That’s how you add value – by putting their interests first.

The ability to influence is the ability to lead and succeed.

Emily Lampkin: 

Your power and your ability to be helpful and be successful is based on your ability to have information and know where to get it from.

Strategies to build your network

  • Start with who you know and are already connected with
  • Look at where you are on a daily basis (personal life)
  • Think, ‘Where am I already, how do I find new eyes to interact with on a daily basis?’
  • Don’t look for perfect – look for an opportunity
  • Don’t overlook the power of a handwritten note for networking & building relationships

Comments from the audience:

  • Women have been networking for years – we don’t have to joins formal group to be good at it.
  • Key to networking? Turn on your inner 4-year old to leverage your natural curiosity

Julie shared a quote from Robert Kiyosaki to end the session:  “The richest people in the world build networks, everyone else looks for work.”

 

 

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Ready2Lead: Identifying Your Passion & Your Value Statement

Our first General Session Panel focused on Identifying Your Passion & Your Value Statement with the following panel:

  • Lee Flinn, Advocacy Director for AARP Idaho
  • China Gum, Political Director at Raul Labrador for Idaho
  • Jana Kemp, Facilitator, Author, Speaker, fmr Independent Candidate for Idaho Governor
  • Betty Richardson, Attorney/Advisor, U.S., Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys
  • Moderator: Marcia Franklin, Producer/Writer/Coach at Idaho Public Television

Betty Richardson’s Value Statement: I will make a positive difference in the world I will do this by developing my mental, physical, social and emotional abilities so I can be the best wife, mother, friend and attorney…I will act with integrity, authenticity and compassion to make my neighborhood, city, state and planet to better reflect the values of liberty, equality and justice

China Gum:

  • I am loyal and I do not take no for an answer
  • My advice for those in politics? Stay grounded, know who your friends are and fight to the end for them
  • Leadership is a transferable commodity so find a mentor (& share it)
  • China’s values list: family, patriotism, integrity, challenge, friendliness, generosity, dependability, flexibility and love

Jana Kemp:

  • Personal values: faith, family and friends
  • Professional values: integrity, improve the productivity, profit and morale of day to day  business decisions
  • Jana shared sections from her book Run for Elected Office

The list of challenges facing society is endless. Numerous financial and social problems affect the world and individual countries. And they also affect states, counties, cities, and even school districts and neighborhood policy councils. It’s time for fresh thinking and new ideas in the public arena; it’s time for more civic-minded people to get involved by running for—and winning—elected office.   Run for Elected Office—and Win shows you how. It is designed to help readers make a positive impact on the world and in the communities in which they live. It starts with how to make a decision to run for a particular office and ends with how to proceed with a successful political career—and it covers everything else in between. This book helps readers: 

    • Learn the ins and outs of winning an election—from an author who’s done it!
    • Understand how to plan and schedule a political campaign
    • Employ the power of social media in gaining name recognition
    • Learn how much money it takes to run a campaign and what it really takes to win

The women of Idaho MUST come together, whatever our party affiliation, in order to achieve participation & representation so we are not left on the menu but at the table making decisions 

Lee Flinn: (Part of) her values list includes authenticity honesty kindness love, achievement healthy living, creativity curiosity

Sometimes when you go through really difficult things it helps define who you are and who you want to be. Bumps in the road help clarify who you want to be, what your passions are.

When you have opportunities, say yes, take risks, don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Marcia Franklin shared the following quote from Mary Oliver to end the session “I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”

 

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