Workingwomen: Moxy through Motivation:
Business bravery gained through a study of leadership

Most workingwomen were brought up to believe that to be successful you only needed the magic trifecta of brains, beauty, and talent. That if you work hard and your work is excellent, you will be rewarded with acclaim, recognition, and influence. You can make a difference. The problem with such a nose-to-the-grindstone strategy (the fantasy of a meritocracy) is that while you’re putting in long hours enthroned before a computer screen or with sleeves rolled up diving into a pile of work, the tanks of change roll in over you. This is not a strategy for leadership!

The brigade of timing, market perceptions, business shifts (including technological or political), and credibility building all require that you look UP from the grindstone to make change work FOR you. Because if you don’t, it will surely work against you.

These are lessons workingwomen are discovering. And Liane Sebastian captures the pulse of those challenges, connecting through speaking to leaders and will-be leaders. Author of several business books including Women who Win at Work and the blog Wisdom of Work, Liane recently had the pleasure to address:

• Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies’ class, "Topics in Management: Leadership Principles & Practices" — An exuberant group of eclectic backgrounds, NU’s class examined every leadership characteristic. Offering observations and experience with over 200+ clients, Liane’s talk focused on how leadership manifests through a feminine filter. Do women need to command different skills, or the same skills in a different blend?

• Executive Women International— Often the Number Two person in an organization does not perceive herself as a leader. One half of this audience described their job roles as “assisting executives.” And the other half were entrepreneurs assisting clients. Shaking them up through a discussion about handling decision-makers, Liane discovered that their greatest concerns include adapting to business change, developing flexibility, handling schedule shifts, and considering the best background information.

• University of Chicago Business Women’s Group— Although some of the most educated women in business are in this organization, the group is also the friendliest! Each member is eccentric in her own way. Their Annual Meeting was an introspection of the changes and value of the organization. Liane offered a keynote presentation on women’s leadership and, again, only half of the 60 ladies attending consider themselves to be leaders! Does leadership mean something different to women than to men? Hungry to keep learning, the UCWBG ladies are generous with feedback. The topics from the talk that resonated most include finding confidence in intuition, divorcing decisions from ego, daring to be unpopular, and forging a management style.

Liane discusses topics of impact with professional women in every circumstance and age group. Too much ink is already devoted to generational issues and not enough to the challenges workingwomen all share, albeit with a diversity of approaches. So Liane studies the concerns, direction, and aspirations all share. Through collecting their words of wisdom (and profiles), she makes them available for penning articles or enhancing presentations, please consider her a source for:

• leadership lessons from businesswomen in a variety of sectors
• cultivating creativity, communication, and commerce
• publishing campaigns and blended media strategies
• entrepreneurialism, energy, and service dedication
• business strategy, including planning and priorities
• workingwomen’s issues and forefronts of change

With a duo career as graphic designer and writer, Liane is one of the few designers who is a published business author. Thank you for considering her as a journalists' source. For more information about Liane:

Biography
Design portfolio
Books
Blog

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Liane Sebastian solves all challenges creatively. Hired by both nonprofit associations and international companies, she has created content and design solutions for over 200 clients in 30 years. With an emphasis on visual/verbal integration, Liane’s design philosophy gives foundation to publication. Clients gain distinction, increase responses, and expands reach through her assistance.

Author of three editions of Digital Design Business Practices, Liane speaks on creativity, business, and women’s challenges. She expands to examine the status of workingwomen and to illuminate the wisdom of those who’ve mastered the workstyle lifestyle blend in Women who Win at Work. Liane pioneers new formats for reading, synthesizes content, and creates publications to save the reader time while increasing her skill.

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