Women's Leadership Blog

MBA Series Part 2: Your Candidacy - Community Service/Extracurricular Activities

Business schools pride themselves on training future leaders, not just educating a bunch of people who know how to calculate an IRR and overuse the word “leverage.”  They look out for individuals who are concerned about doing great work and improving the world around them.  Some young business people feel that even though they have not prioritized “extracurricular” activities early in their careers, they will definitely emphasize these sorts of activities once they are more established.  However, more often than not, the patterns we establish towards community activities early in our careers remain fairly steady.  If you feel that your commitment over the last several years to outside causes does not reflect the balance you want to establish in your life…well, put your money where your mouth is and get involved.

 Leverage your interests

Why are extracurricular activities important to begin with?

• They show that an individual is multi-dimensional.  They demonstrate interests, passions, and personality.
• Being involved outside of work shows that you can balance multiple commitments.
• They can show that you have a larger view of the world – that you see what is happening outside of your office and you are interested in being involved and contributing in some way. 
• They make you a more interesting person – someone that can contribute to the diversity and vitality of a class and alumni network.
• It’s an opportunity to demonstrate qualities such as creativity, leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and initiative.

 

If you haven’t been participating in outside activities, look up a few opportunities on the internet and get involved next weekend.  It’s really as simple as that, to be honest.  Candidates who get involved even early in the year they apply will have a six- or even nine-month track record by the time apps are due.  Or, if you have been involved with outside activities over the last couple of years, consider stepping your activities up a notch.  

 

When thinking about ways to become more involved, don’t get hung up on traditional volunteer work.  There are many, many ways to become involved and highlight your unique contributions.  A good place to start is with your own interests and passions.  Think hard about what excites you, and how you can leverage those interests. 

 

 

 

 

Founded in 2001, Stacy Blackman Consulting has helped thousands of MBA applicants gain admission to the most selective business schools in the world.  The Stacy Blackman team, comprised of MBA graduates, former admissions officers and expert writers, editors and marketers, helps clients develop and implement a winning marketing strategy.  Stacy Blackman clients have a significantly increased probability of admission to top schools and are frequent recipients of merit scholarships.  The company is regularly featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist.   Visit the Stacy Blackman blog for daily news updates and admissions tips, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school by school guidance.

Featured Leader - Ciji Saso: One Woman to Watch

Guest post by Kate Stence

Question #1: Tell us a bit about your background.

I’m the eldest of two sisters and grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. I attended the University of San Francisco and graduated with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. Afterward I took a few classes at Stanford Business School. This experience led to my interest in industrial psychology and helped me find my current job at Lucasfilm in their Training & Organizational Development department. Alongside this, I am an active volunteer and advocate for human rights. I am an AmeriCorps graduate, and have continued serving the community through a variety of non-profits throughout the San Francisco Bay area. My most recent work has been with C.E.O Women, HandsOn Bay Area, and FWL as a member of the events committee

Question #2: Why did you decide to work in the field of human resources, specifically training and organizational development? How does this compliment your work with women and girl rights?

I work in the field of Training because it allows me to be in an environment where the growth and development of individuals is the focus. By working in a creative company, I am encouraged to think about new and innovative ways about getting my job done, which I really enjoy. My work in the area of training and organizational development has taught me so much about being an effective leader and understanding the importance of strategy to move forward with and carry out my visions and goals. I have been able to take these skills and apply them in my advocacy and volunteer work with groups that are committed to social change and strengthening the lives of girls and women all over the world.

Question #3: What are the biggest work-related challenges you have faced? How did you overcome them?

One challenge that I have faced has been balancing my time between my full-time job and my work in the non-profit world. For a while it felt that my life was pieced apart and I was getting pulled in two very different directions. I have come to realize that what I do in the space of organizational development and training holds a lot of value for non-profits and leaders in the community. Reversely, the constant drive for change and out of box thinking that non-profits are so good at has been beneficial to my personal development. By making connections in these different areas of my life I have been able to find a healthy balance, and at the same time bring a new way of thinking to the very different spaces that I work in.

Question #4: Tell us about the mentors you have had in your life (male/female).

My Mom. She has taught me and continues to teach me everyday the importance of honesty, standing up for what you believe in, and being fearless about life. She cares about the world and has shown me the impact that service can have on individuals and families that are fighting poverty and the many other injustices that afflict our world.

Question #5: Anything you wish you had known when you were in the very beginning stages of your career?

 Speak your mind and don’t be afraid to ask questions even if no one else is.

Question #6: What are leadership qualities you value most in others?

Listening really well. Curiosity. Passion. A desire for change. Asking really good questions.

Question #7: What is your greatest achievement?

Completing over 300 hours of AmeriCorps service in one year while simultaneously working a full-time job.

Question #8: Who inspires you?
My mother and sisters. Margaret Atwood, Mahnaz Afkhami, Gloria Steinem—the pioneers of our world.

Question #9: Do you have a mission statement or a tenet that you try to live by?

It’s important to have a strong voice in the world, that it’s okay to be different and try something new. When you take a risk and step outside of the norm this is when real change can happen. Elizabeth Blackwell really captured this spirit when she said, “It is not easy to be a pioneer—but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.”

Question #10: Do you have work/life balance?

Yes, work/life balance is extremely important to me. Having a multifaceted life brings so much opportunity for growth and development. My family, the relationships I have with others, my volunteer work, reading, traveling allow me to have a greater awareness of the world around me. Even having to consider whether you have work/life balance, I think, is a privilege. I am truly grateful about everything that I have in my life and will continue to do my part to advocate for a better world for those in need.

 

Kate Stence is a writer, editor, and an avid endurance runner for SoleMates/Girls on the Run International and Run for Congo for Women/Women for Women International. She recently completed South Africa’s 85^th Comrades Marathon, a 56 mile endurance event for SoleMates. Currently, she resides in Paris, France and is the Associate Editor and a Blog Columnist for the International Museum of Women. Check out her writing at Her Blueprint.

Featured Leader - Molly Barker: On Being Our Best

Molly Barker, MSW and four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete, founded Girls on the Run® in 1996. To date, she remains the Founder and Vision Keeper of Girls on the Run, a life-changing, experiential learning program for girls age eight to thirteen years old. The program combines training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the program are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, and physical development. The mission is to educate and prepare girls for a life time of self-respect and healthy living. Please check out Girls on the Run at http://www.girlsontherun.org.

SoleMates is the adult charity running leg of Girls on the Run® (GOTR). The program gives girls the finest example of healthy living. Learn more at http://www.girlsontherunsolemates.org.

Question #1: Tell me a bit about your background.
I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. My southern roots influenced much of how I viewed the world as a young adult. I started running when I was fifteen years old. I also started participating in some very risky and unhealthy behaviors around the same time. In spite of the risks I was taking in my personal life, I graduated from college with a Chemistry degree and several years later with a Master's in Social Work. I competed at an elite level in the sport of triathlon, but discovered in my early 30's that much of what I was "chasing" wasn't attainable. I hit bottom at age 32. On July 7, 1993 while out on a sunset run I had an epiphany that eventually led to my developing the Girls on the Run program.

Question #2: Why did you decide to work in the field of women and girl rights?
I've always been interested in serving the underdog. Growing up in the South in the 60's and 70's, women were one of the underdogs. I couldn't understand why in spite of our intelligence, strength, and perseverance, we were unable to reach our greatest potential.

Question #3: What are the biggest work-related challenges you have faced? How did you overcome them?
At Girls on the Run, we talk a lot about the Girl Box. The Girl Box is an imaginary place girls go around middle school where we begin to morph into what we think we "should be" rather than staying true to our authentic selves. My greatest challenges have come from my own self-perceptions. Sure, our culture may box women in, but I have a choice to live life from inside that Box and all of its perceived limitations or I can intentionally live outside of it-choosing a path that honors the power I possess (in fact, the power that we all possess) which allows all of my gifts and talents to be utilized to their fullest capacity.

Question #4: Tell me about the mentors you have had in your life (male/female).
My mother was one of my greatest mentors.
When I was in fifth grade, my mother bravely stepped outside of her Girl Box and pursued a life that was authentic, alive, and honest. She began speaking up, standing up for her beliefs, and living!
My son, Hank, is one of my greatest mentors. He is a teenager and pursuing his dreams. He is fearless in his ability to be himself, in spite of the powerful (and often negative) influences of our culture's views of adolescence. My daughter, too, is full of life, radiant, and present.

Question #5: Anything you wish you had known when you were in earlier stages of your career?
I wish I had understood the importance of quiet time, reflection, and "slowing down." I had difficulty managing the perceived stress. Stress, of course, isn't real. Stress is the result of our own perceptions on what is going on around us, but I can clearly remember how stressed out I allowed myself to be in the early days of starting Girls on the Run. And as I write, I realize so much of our development as women isn't something we can force. It just happens through experience. As I always say, we don't know what we don't know. What I know now, certainly existed years ago, I just wasn't ready or yet able to see it.

Question #6: What are leadership qualities you value most in others?
I think there are two traits of key importance in leadership: Listening and being present. Leaders do not exist without the presence of others and so much of what creates a powerful leadership experience is being able to listen to those we serve as well as be present with them.

Question #7: What is your greatest achievement?
I'm in the process of accomplishing it, recognizing and achieving my greatest human potential.

Question #8: Who inspires you?
My children. I love them so much. I observe with joy in my heart how they are blazing a trail of their own. They see the world as limitless! They unconditionally love me and those around them. I seek to become more child-like and live life as they choose to live it!

Question #9: Do you have a mission statement or a tenet that you try to live by?
Yes, my mission is to inspire others to know and feel their worth.

Question #10: Do you have work/life balance?
I'm getting there. Stress is completely a perceived state of being. The quickest way to bring myself back to center in the work/life balance is almost embarrassingly simple. BREATHE. Breathing deeply gives me a momentary break from what feels like or appears to be chaos around me and pulls me right into center, then I am more capable of handling whatever is happening around me. On a larger scale, breathing deeply throughout the day brings peace and calm to my work/life balance that permeates everything I do, both throughout the day and throughout my life.

 

Kate Stence is a writer, editor, and an avid endurance runner. She has studied 18th Century Literature at the University of California Berkeley, feminist theory at Mills College, the French language at the Sorbonne, creative writing at New York University and the University of Iowa, as well as poetry at the Barnard Center for Research on Women. She recently completed the 85th Comrades Marathon, a 56 mile endurance event in South Africa, for Girls on the Run International and SoleMates. She will begin blogging for the International Museum of Women (www.imowblog.blogspot.com) as of July from Paris, France.

Houses of Hope Yoga-thon: Working to End FGM

 

Female genital mutilation ("FGM") is a right of passage used in many cultures to signify a young girl's coming of age. After girls are cut, they can then be married, which for many rural communities, happens as early as 9 years old. It is estimated that over 3 million girls are at risk of undergoing FGM each year and that there are over 100 - 140 million women living with FGM currently (source: WHO). In Africa, about 92 million girls age 10 years and above are estimated to have undergone FGM. (WHO)

Houses of Hope Yoga-thon will be doing 108 sun salutations to support the Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative, an organization that works to end FGM within Africa. The organization is run by Agnes Pareyio, a Maasai woman, who has been working to end FGM for over a decade through education and the development of an alternative rite of passage for young women.

Agnes has built two safe houses where young women live, are educated and do not face pressure to undergo FGM. She has developed an alternative rite of passage for young women to acknowledge their transformation without the cutting. Just over 10 years ago there was no alternative for girls in this region of Kenya who did not want to be cut. Now, each August and December, young girls come to Narok, the site of the first house, and become women through a four day ceremony and celebration.

Video Link where Agnes explains her work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcIlFQRVdA8

Two years ago Houses of Hope produced Vagina Monologues and raised over $50,000 to build the second safe house ever used to help end FGM. This year Houses of Hope is holding a yoga-thon to raise awareness of this important issue and raise money to operate the second house.

This event is scheduled to take place on October 10, 2009 in Central Park in NY. Even if you aren't able to attend the event, you can make a difference by making a donation (every little bit counts).

 

Support Soles4Souls by Donating Shoes to Nine West

I'm always looking for new ways to help out the community, but like many of you, time is something that comes at a premium. It's hard to volunteer for a lot of events and activities because our professional lives keep us so busy. I got this email today from Nine West and thought that it was a great way to help out.

Just drop off a gently used pair of footwear to any Nine West retail store between September 9th and September 24th and they'll donate them to Souls4Souls. This organization has distributed more than 4 million pairs of shoes to those in need, both domestically and internationally. Plus, you'll also get a coupon for 15% off your next Nine West purchase.

GFC Silicon Valley Seeking Girl Action Team Coaches

This sounds like such a great program! Thought we'll share this opportunity to polish your own leadership skills with you.

 

 

Girls For A Change Silicon Valley is now accepting Girl Action Team Coach applications for 2009-10 Girl Action Teams!

10 Coaches needed for fall, Orientation is August 29, 2009!

Being a Girls For A Change Coach means working with a team of girls for 12 weeks to support them in designing and implementing a project to change their community. It also means telling girls they are important, powerful, and that they can change the world.

Want to be a GFC Coach: >> Click here to apply!

We ask coaches to commit for 12 weeks; either August 2009-December 2009 or January 2010 - May 2010. The monthly time commitment is 15 hours per month including one meeting per week with your team. Girls For A Change will provide you with all of the training and resources you need to be successful. You are partnered with another woman coach and then matched to a team of girls. Coaching opportunities are available in the Silicon Valley area.

Girls For A Change Coaches also participate in personal and professional development through the training program.

Coaches report learning:
Communication skills
How to listen
Time management skills
How to be an activist
Insight into lives of youth
Better attitude at work and in personal life
For more information, contact:
408.529.9304 or coachsv@girlsforachange.org

Check out the Coach FAQ

Want to be a GFC Coach: >> Click here to apply!

Featured Leader, Tarra Christoff

:: Online profiles
Visit Tarra's Website
Join Tarra on Facebook
Join Tarra on LinkedIn

:: Favorite Book(s)?
I am always asking: "How can we design our work lives so they are an expression of our gifts and making a contribution to the world?" I've found the following books personally helpful and they've also informed my work with coaching clients.  I know each of the authors personally and appreciate that they "walk their talk."

True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do by Justine and Michael Toms
Callings: Finding and Living an Authentic Life by Gregg Michael Levoy
Bringing Your Soul to Work: An Everyday Practice by Alan Briskin and Cheryl Peppers

:: What women leader inspires you?
I am passionate about awakening feminine leadership and am grateful for so many inspirational leaders, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area! I was blessed to meet Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money and co-creator of The Hunger Project (http://www.thp.org/) and The Pachamama Alliance http://www.pachamama.org/, at a life changing conference I attended, called The Quest for Global Healing http://www.questforglobalhealing.org/. Lynne is a global leader who embodies grace, gratitude, and humility. She encourages people to become citizens of the world and transform their relationship with money. Other Bay Area women leaders who inspire me include Sara Ellis (who co-founded Young Women Social Entrepreneurs while in her 20's http://www.ywse.org/weblog/2008/05/faces-of-ywse-s.html), environmental activist Joanna Macy (http://www.joannamacy.net/), organizational consultant/cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien http://angelesarrien.com/, and Juanita Brown, the founder of The World Café, an innovative organizational development methodology for facilitating conversations that matter (I have had amazing results facilitating it),  http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/bios/juanita-brown.asp.

:: Who Was Your Best Manager? Why?
I have to confess that I have been an entrepreneur almost my entire life.  I have appreciated collaborating with many women leaders who are authentic, creative, and supportive of their team.

:: Your First "Real" Job?
It was working in a non-profit organization as a case manager for homeless and runaway youth. After struggling with burnout and a realization of how organizations often re-create the very dynamics that they are working against, I decided to find alternative ways to lead change in the world.

:: Where Do You Do Your Best Thinking?
I do my best thinking while hiking on Mt. Tamalpais. The most beautiful trails are walking distance from my home. I love the expansive view of the ocean surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. I try to hike at least once a day because I find that nature is my great teacher and source of inspiration.  I also consider these walks part of my spiritual practice.

:: What Do You Value Most in Employees? Colleagues?
I value authentic leadership. Women, in particular, have strengths in compassion,  communication, collaboration, and creativity.  

:: What Would You Like to Be the World's Best At?
I would like to be the world's best me. I think each one of us has unique gifts and strengths, and our purpose in life is to unfold these gifts and realize our potential. For example, I know that I am good at generating ideas, supporting people, coaching and leading teleclasses and workshops. I am not particularly skillful at administrative details or project management, so I focus on doing what I am best at and surround myself with others who complement my skills.

:: What Do You Consider Your Greatest Achievement?
One of my favorite achievements so far has been co-leading a 5-day workshop at The Omega Institute (http://eomega.org/) on a new model of transformational activism for emerging leaders. I loved seeing a diverse group of people come together in the spirit of being of service during these times in the world. Each person fully brought their gifts and passions for making their contribution in the world.  I loved learning more about how people envision this new paradigm of leadership. It also moved me to see how people shared resources, developed projects together and supported each other with their visions! I am passionate about creating community so it delights me when people from my workshop stay connected and co-create.

:: What Is Your Personal Mission Statement?
My aim is to support women who are committed to leading positive change in the world. I want women to have work they love, abundance (of every kind!), community, and a sense that they are living their purpose.

Help Business Women in Need - DSW Dress For Success

I received this email from DSW the other day and thought it would be a great event for FWL members. It's coming up quickly, but the only admission is to bring nearly-new business attire for women in need.

Relight Your Spark

A guest post by Elizabeth Zirk (see previous post, "Becoming Fearless"):

You know that Beatles song, "The Long and Winding Road"?

It's been difficult lately to strike that elusive balance between business and personal. On the personal side, does everyone I know really need to have a birthday right now? I love my friends and family. To death. But seriously...were the winters just that cold for our parents!? I also volunteer my time for a non-profit organization that I feel deeply connected to (www.yfu-usa.org). It's a huge part of why I want to fearlessly plunge myself into starting my non-profit idea: support for study abroad program alumni. I love it. It's invigorating.

On the business side of things, I've slowed things down a bit. On purpose. A few weeks ago, I was discussing my non-profit idea every single day of the week with someone different. It became rather exhausting, even though I received a mountain of good information and feedback. But it was too much for me. Do I really want to eat chicken and rice every day of the week? I need variety. I can't forget that I'm a social person, with friends who have birthdays!

For me, it's also very easy to get pulled into the cycle of YES. Regardless of business or pleasure, it's hard to start saying NO to people. I don't like saying no, so I opt to say something else. In German (my second language), there's a word: Jein. It's a mixture of the words yes and no. It's when you truly believe that you can answer both yes and no to a situation. There's no English equivalent, but I allow that word to be my NO.

Why?

Back in March, Starla empowered us to go out there and interview someone who inspired us and also might give us some tips. Shannon, one of my fearless peer group companions, knew a friend of hers who would be a perfect fit for my interview assignment. Chris Balme, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Spark (www.sparkprogram.org), is one of those individuals who was gracious and talented all in one. His program is genius BTW!

Chris and I sat down together for an hour and I truly felt like someone was listening. We've even kept in contact since then, which only allows me to feel more at ease with continuing to ask questions. Since interviewing Chris (which didn't actually feel like an interview), I've met a large handful of people who are genuinely interested in my idea and are willing to help.

The other huge part of it is that they're human. Incredibly human. They are giving, humorous, intelligent, and social. Hey, wait, that's me too! If my theory is correct, I'm pretty sure they have bad days too. They're saying NO to people too. In their own way, of course.

So, I might be learning how to make my own pathways into becoming a fearless entrepreneur, but I'm also human.

Spark creates real-world opportunities for youth, arranging workplace apprenticeships that help middle-school youth become confident, engaged, self-motivated learners. Since 2004, Spark has turned hundreds of workplaces into learning spaces, opening doors for hundreds of youth. Spark is growing rapidly to provide this model to organizations around the US, showing that middle-school, often seen as a time of increasing problems, can be a time when students build the skills and personal vision to succeed in high school, college and career. More info at www.sparkprogram.org.

Elizabeth Zirk grew up in the Bay Area, and works at WestEd, a leader in educational research and development. She does a lot of other things too! Check out her blogs at http://www.aliascrazy.com.

Sisterhood of Traveling

A guest post by Parneet Gosal:

Earlier tonight, I was reading JourneyWoman's eNewsletter, for women who love to travel, when one of the tips caught my eye. Pauline arrived in Mumbai late one night and engaged the Priyadarshini Taxi Service to take her to the hotel. She literally received door to door service when her driver walked her to the hotel door for safety. Pauline later learned that the service is a 24/7 fleet of pink cabs run by female cab drivers trained in self defense, with the slogan "Of Women, For Women, By Women". Now I'm no rabid feminist and find the idea of a pink anything-that's-not-a-piece-of-clothing pretty unappealing; but as an empowered woman I LOVE the idea of a badass all female cab service. You go girls!

This also got me thinking of other sites that are geared towards women. My favorites are iVillage, BlogHer and Dove's CampaignForRealBeauty. Email me at parneet.gosal@gmail.com if you have favorites to share - I'd love to hear from you!

About Parneet Gosal

Parneet is a quintessential New Yorker with more than a passing interest in Digital. She oversees online audience development and online marketing strategies for major corporations during the day and moonlights as a blogger and consultant on audience development techniques during her spare time. You can contact Parneet at parneet.gosal@gmail.com, via her blog - belly of the bEAST or Twitter @parneetg.