2007 WDS Leadership Development Retreat in Short Hills, New Jersey

A panel of women dermatologists representing five decades of various perspectives was featured at the WDS Leadership Development Retreat: Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, MD, Margaret Parsons, MD, Desiree Ratner, MD, June Robinson, MD, Lauren Hughey, MD, Wilma Bergfeld, MD, Susan Weinkle, MD. (Hi-Resolution Photo Download)

Pre-Event Details Available Online Here

ife is About Choices
WDS Holds Invitational Leadership Development Retreat in Short Hills, NJ
July 31 - August 2, 2007 • WDS Leadership Development Retreat

JoAnn Heffernan Heisen, was a featured keynote speaker at the first WDS Leadership Development Retreat held on July 31-August 2, in Short Hills, NJ prior to the AAD Summer Academy. Heisen was appointed the first woman on the Johnson & Johnson Executive Committee in 1997 and explained how she achieved that position. Her role, that of Chief Global Diversity Officer, gave her responsibility for enhancing the firm’s competitiveness in all aspects of diversity worldwide. She shared the story of her life which included mentoring younger women and encouraging them to take on leadership roles. It also included raising a large family that included four children. For several years, she managed as a single mother. When her youngest children were in their teens, she met and married David Lenihan, CEO of a health care software firm.

She spoke about the balancing act women confront between their professional and personal lives. “Thirty years ago women had to take on so much more than men, just to prove they were serious about their careers, and it’s still true,” she told a gathering of 75 WDS members. She explained, “ women still make less than men and the proportion of us in senior level positions is not what it should be.”

She shared what she has learned as a woman who has climbed the corporate ladder. At the end of the day, it’s all about choices. Thirty years ago, women didn’t have many. Those who became successful changed the image of women in business at great personal cost, often postponing or even giving up plans for marriage or family. Young women today have grown up with mothers and aunts in the work force. They know they have choices.

She advised younger women about how important it is to think about their lives, long term, and recognize that a career is a marathon that has to be managed for 40 years or more. There’s more to it than just winning the sprint to be at the top in five years.

BUILDING YOUR INFLUENCE

At the 2007 WDS Leadership Development Retreat Carole Robin, Ph.D., Stanford University , Graduate School of Business, lead an interactive series of exercises based on the concept that leadership is a life choice. She said that every participant has the potential to be a leader in her field, in her community, in her practice or in her home.

Regardless of where you lead, leadership is about “getting things done” and releasing/focusing others’ potential. Leadership is a set of behaviors (vs. a role function) and effective leaders are powerful and influential.

Choosing to be a leader means choosing to step into power and developing your influence skills and many of those who attended the WDS retreat had developed a great deal of influence or were well on their way to increasing their level of influence. She challenged the participants to open up and said that learning requires stepping outside our comfort zone– another choice!

Leadership and Influence
Robin said that to be an effective leader, you must know how to influence in three directions; upwards, sideways and downward. Organizations are interdependent and work cuts across boundaries and you can’t “order” excellence. One can have “influence commensurate with responsibility,” even if not authority.

Lucile White, MD at the Leadership Development Retreat during an exercise on developing influence. (Hi-Resolution Photo Download)

THE LAW OF RECIPROCITY AND THE THEORY OF EXCHANGE

All interpersonal interaction involves exchange; exchange is universal
Exchange is the basic law of organizations
Exchange = Paying others for what we request; Being paid for what we do
Influence = giving others what they need in exchange for what you need
Influence does not necessarily rest on hierarchical position
Influence comes more from saying “yes” than saying “no.”

INFLUENCE IS GAINED FROM “CURRENCIES”

Exchange and reciprocity involve currencies.

There are many types of currencies:

Situation specific - Unique to that individual
Reflective of function in the organization
Influenced by the organization

“Payment” can be:

In one or more currencies
Later-- not necessarily now
By others, the organization, by self

EXAMPLES OF CURRENCIES

Inspiration-Related - purpose, vision, excellence
Task-Related - Resources, Assistance, Information
Position-Related - Advancement, Visibility, Reputation
Relationship-Related - Acceptance, Personal Support
Personal-Related - Self-Concept, Learning, Involvement

INFLUENCE CHECKLIST

To have influence, you must:

☐ See other as “potential” ally
☐ Clarify your goals & priorities
☐ Diagnose ally’s world; goals/needs
☐ Assess your resources relative to those
☐ Diagnose your relationship with ally
☐ Determine exchange approach

TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND

People change/do things when it is their best interest
Do you know how they see the world, what’s important to them? (Their currencies?)
How do you intend to find that out?
Are you paying them in the currency they value?
Is there something you are doing– how might you be causing the problem?
Area you clear in your goals? (Task and relationship)
People often avoid being direct due to past negative experiences or because they are not clear about their own needs.
Can you unhook yourself from your negative attributions?

Remember: people’s behavior is always reasonable from their point of view so the ask yourself– why is this person behaving this way? Weimpute negative motive and poor personality traits when we dislike another’s behavior (and then can’t see them as an ally).

Exchange often works better when we enter into it with an assumption the other is well intentioned.

If you don’t attack or devalue the other you are likely to have better results; if you are adding to their workload you need to have something they value to offer in exchange. Pushing solely a personal agenda gets you in trouble, but risk- taking in an area that addresses common goals often pays off.

Unless you know other people’s needs you can’t give them what you want in return for what you want– you have to have some way of figuring out the exchange rates..

THE PARADOX OF EXCHANGE

Exchange is universal. Engaging in productive exchange builds relationship and trust (the other helps make you more successful) and creates allies (you help someone be more successful)
Using it wisely can increase your influence
“Counting your change too closely” & focusing too much on your goals can cause you to lose influence
Works best when it is for the sake of the organization or something you and the other both value

FIND OUT IF YOU ARE GIVING AWAY YOUR INFLUENCE

If any of the statements below describe your actions, then you are giving away your power and losing influence:

__.I don’t initiate ideas or actions - I don’t volunteer for “stretch” assignments
__.I overly initiate and volunteer - even when I don’t have needed knowledge
__.In challenging situations, I focus on self-doubts - “I’m not so good at this”
__.In challenging situations, I deny any self- doubt - “How hard can it be?”
__.I don’t self-promote
__.I overly self-promote - take credit beyond past accomplishments, expertise
__.I don’t take credit for accomplishments, expertise
__.I minimize the importance of another person’s comments
__.I over-emphasize value of another person’s comments - act as if they hold “truth from on high”
__.I make declarative statements in tentative fashion; tend to end a sentence with a question
__.I tend to give - but not ask for things for my area
__.Tend to take - for myself or my area but not give
__.I don’t question when decisions are made - against my interests
__.I always argue when decisions are - against my interests
__.I quickly back down - when another disagrees with me
__.I rarely back down - when others disagree
__.I assume others are wrong - when another disagrees with me
__.I gratuitously take blame and responsibility - by saying, “I guess I wasn’t clear on the assignment”
__.I don’t express my feelings - when angry or annoyed
__.I smile when disagreeing - I dislike idea of disrupting the relationship
__.I am overly concerned about being liked - and not being disapproved of
__.I let myself be interrupted by others
__.I don’t confront inappropriate behavior of others

SUMMARY

Influence, by its nature, requires another to assess and giving away power is often a result of overusing a strength. To be an effective leader, you need to be comfortable using power and having influence with people at all levels. Successful exchanges build relationships and allies; relationships and allies result in more influence. Exchange is universal. You don’t have a choice about using it; but you do have a choice how well you use it. It doesn’t have to be manipulative. If everybody did this, relationships would be more functional and work groups/committees and organizations would be more nimble & effective.

It was all fun at the cooking event at the WDS Leadership Development Retreat in July. Everyone had a hand in the preparation of the dinner and what a great meal it was! Pictured here from left are: Nancy Todes-Taylor, MD, Valerie Callender, MD, Sabra Sullivan, MD, Christine Lopez, MD, our chef, Suzanne Connolly, MD, Lucile White, MD, Mary Lupo, MD, Michele Verschoore, MD. In front is: Cheryl Burgess, MD, Cheryl Hull, MD, and Mary Chang, MD. (Hi-Resolution Photo Download)

ABOUT THE WDS LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT RETREAT:

LIFE IS ABOUT CHOICES was the theme that the planning committee chose for this first WDS Leadership Development Retreat. It was the perfect theme, because it clearly stated what many of us believed to be true based on our own experiences… that we make many crucial choices in our lives, such as deciding who to commit ourselves to, what career path (or paths) to take, where to live, to name a few examples. These are the type of choices are the most difficult ones, but they are often the ones that mean the most to us over time.

For our two days together, we shared our own personal life choices with one another, we focused as a group on one choice we each have… that is the choice to become a leader and getting into positions where we can each make a difference. Together, we looked at the traits of good leaders and agreed that good leaders are very focused… good leaders try to be of service… good leaders think of the greater good before their own self-interest. This was just the tip of the iceberg… leadership is many other things… it is ethical behavior, it is honesty, it is creativity and diligence… and on and on. This first retreat proved to be very inspiring. The following WDS members attended:

ATTENDEES:

Rhonda R. Baldone, MD	Lisa Beck, MD	Wilma Fowler Bergfeld, MD	Diane S. Berson, MD
Jean L. Bolognia, MD	Cheryl M. Burgess, MD, FAAD	Valerie D. Callender, MD	Tamella B. Cassis, MD
Tania F. Cestari, MD, PhD	Mary W. Chang, MD	Suzanne Marie Connolly, MD	Amy J. Derick, MD
Zoe Diana Draelos, MD	Boni E. Elewski, MD	Nancy Fitzgerald	Diane Foster (Neutrogena)
Lindy Peta Fox, MD	Sharon A. Glick, MD	Lynne J. Goldberg, MD	Janet G. Hickman, MD
Molly Hinshaw, MD	Julie A. Hodge, MD, MPH	Deirdre O'Boyle Hooper, MD	Robin L. Hornung, MD, MPH
Lauren C. Hughey, MD	Cheryl A. Hull, MD	Sarah C. Jackson, MD	Lenore Setsuko Kakita, MD
Sylvie Legenne, Pharm D, MBA	Henry W. Lim, MD	Christine P. Lopez, MD	Eve Judith Lowenstein, MD, PhD
Mary P. Lupo, MD	Alissa Hsu Lynch (J&J)	Annette W. Lynn, MD	Deborah MacFarlane, MD
Elizabeth Shannon Martin, MD	Elizabeth I. McBurney, MD	Michel A. McDonald, MD	Patricia J. Mercado, MD
Allison E. Nicholas Metz, MD	Marian Elizabeth Northington, MD	Judit Nyirady, MD (Novartis)	Margaret E. Parsons, MD
Marcia Ramos-e-Silva, MD, PhD	Desiree Ratner, MD	Phoebe Rich, MD	Wendy E. Roberts, MD
June K. Robinson, MD	Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD	Shelley Sekula Gibbs, MD	Roberta D. Sengelmann, MD
Nanette Blythe Silverberg, MD	Sabra Sullivan, MD, PhD	Susan C. Taylor, MD	Nancy R. Todes-Taylor, MD
Michele Verschoore, MD (L'Oréal)	Heidi A. Waldorf, MD	Susan H. Weinkle, MD	Lucile E. White, MD
Lorraine Young, MD

This event was organized by Task Force on 2007 Leadership Retreat:

Boni Elewski, MD, Chair
Jean Bolognia, MD	Marianne O’Donoghue, MD	Sandy Read, MD	Lenore Kakita, MD
Elizabeth McBurney, MD	Susan Weinkle, MD	Wilma Bergfeld, MD	Whitney High, MD
	Maggie Parsons, MD	Nicole Rogers, MD

This retreat is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship support of

Pre-Event Details Available Online Here

Hilton Short Hills Online
WDS Leadership Development Retreat: Life is About Choices
41 John F. Kennedy Parkway, Short Hills, New Jersey, United States 07078
Tel: 1-973-379-0100 | Fax: 1-973-379-6870