Theme: Leading with Authenticity: Strategies for Success with your Leadership Style
On 26th April 2018 Muppies Toronto held their 6th annual Women in Leadership Event. This event was possible due to the generous sponsorship of Tory’s LLP and our panelists were:
- Saima Malik | AVP, Planning & Prioritization, Digital Channels | TD Bank
- Sabha Hazai | Founder | Clarity Law Group
- Rahat Godil | Partner | Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
- Fahmida Kamali | Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships | Ontario Digital Services
Our Panelists represented diverse backgrounds and experiences ranging from corporate law, financial services and the public sector and their interesting perspectives engaged and inspired the 100+ attendees on being authentic at the workplace. Here are some key take-aways:
- To be successful one needs to be authentic first – if we are not our true selves at work, we will never be happy neither successful
- It can be intimidating on many occasions to be a Muslim woman of color and different from those in positions of power (most of the times); but it is important to embrace our diversity and be true to ourselves as that translates to personal happiness and success
- Checking in with oneself on alternate options available if the current workplace is not aligned to be your true self
- Mentors could be within or outside the organization and a meaningful match helps get the best from the relationship
- Taking care to be specific with the reason when seeking a mentoring connect with a leader (especially when using LinkedIn) so as to get their attention and make it meaningful for their time
- Mentors could be developed when working closely on work assignments/projects with leaders who have seen our work ethics and the impact we make at the workplace
- Sponsors will be those who are willing to stick their neck out for others: in the current environment, these will mostly be male leaders as they are the majority at the leadership/executive levels
This event would not have been possible without all of our volunteers and organizers – thank you all!!
