Meet Our Host:

Tanya Memme is a TV host, passionate speaker, beauty and health advocate, proud mother of one, entrepreneur and philanthropist who is dedicated to helping others. She has appeared on A&E and The Hallmark Channel.

If you haven’t tuned in for eChapter recently, you’re missing out! Tanya keeps the conversation flowing with the panelists and engages with the audience through Zoom chat. Her energy is amazing, and we’re thrilled to have her hosting eChapter!

Follow Tanya on Instagram and be sure to tune into her new podcast, Life Masters, where she interviews visionaries, mentors, healers, life coaches and speakers offering life-changing stories, inspiration and wisdom.

Meet the Panel:

Alison Laslett is the CEO of Santa Barbara Vintners and has served as the COO of two nonprofits that were funded by the Bill Gates Foundation.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

Dr. Christina Frye is the Founder and President of Frye Consulting Group. She has 20 years of experience working in the human services industry and offers a life-balance and performance curriculum called Engagement Finder 2.0, which helps executives become more effective leaders, balance their work and family lives, and have a great impact on their organization.

Connect with Christina on LinkedIn.

It’s Women’s History Month and on Friday, March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day. This is a great time to appreciate the efforts of all women to bring more equality to this world but also to help women with resources and guidance to help them achieve more.

Star Jones offered her four keys to being a great leader – the four L’s:

• Look the part
• Listen
• Learn
• Lean on, not just in

Hot Topics

Our eChapter discussion focused on each of the four L’s that Star introduced. We covered a LOT!

Look the part We all agreed that for executives, setting the tone is so important. Your team will look to you as an example and showing up dressed for the situation, on time and prepared will show them that you are dedicated.

Alison commented that dressing for your role is important, but take note that this means dressed for the situation, which may not necessarily mean wearing business attire. Her week can bring her from meeting with farmers in a field to presenting in front of a group of professional peers. She doesn’t wear a business suit and heels to the farm and doesn’t wear jeans and boots on stage – being prepared for the situation is important!

Listen As a leader, you need to be open to all ideas and appreciate even those who may be naysayers. Encourage creativity and brainstorming and provide people with the authority to implement change without micromanaging. Keeping an open door and encouraging open conversation will help you be a better leader.

Learn We talked about developing your skills and keeping up on technology changes. Dr. Frye commented that she loves technology so finds it easy to stay on top of emerging trends. Alison equips herself with the skills needed to communicate with her team but relies on others for some of the really technical stuff.

We heard from a few members in the chat about the skills they’ve continued to develop, despite their age. “I’m 60 and am learning how to build websites!” was one of our favorite comments!

IAW members, be sure to take advantage of the education benefits included in your membership.

Lean On, Not Just In Build your network, nurture your network and lean on your network! Your professional network is such a valuable asset, and you should be using it to your advantage.

• Groups like IAW give you access to in-person and virtual professional networks that you can easily connect with.
• Check out Facebook, MeetUp, EventBrite and LinkedIn to find other groups that offer networking opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this eChapter session. We love seeing our members come together in the chat and really appreciate the insights that the panel shares.

If you missed this session, you can watch the replay here.

Be sure to register for our next session in April. We will be discussing equal pay and the gender wage gap. Register here.