Featured Topic - Having the Courage to Lead
“I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.” ― Brené Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
It is not easy being a leader - it often requires, among other things, authenticity, confidence, integrity, a strong set of values, the ability to shoulder criticism and manage conflicts, the capacity for empathy and the power to bring out the best in others. It takes courage to lead and no one wants to fail in their attempts to motivate, engage, and inspire the people they are trying to lead.
These days with flatter management organization structures and the utilization of cross-functional teams, more people are finding that they are given leadership roles but without the titles to denote the authority. Have you been asked to lead a project and manage a team of peers? Are you given the task of enforcing a budget for your department? Have you been asked to ensure the members of another team you are collaborating with complete their assigned tasks within agreed deadlines? Leading without authority can present even greater challenges.
Our panelists will discuss what it means to have the courage to lead - the courage to first face our own fears to bring out our best selves forward, to get outside our comfort zone to put ourselves out there, to put forward bold visions, to get back up if and when we fail, and to be willing to grow from our struggles and experiences.
Panelists:
Maythia Airhart, Deputy Director, MPA, King County. As the Deputy Director of the Hazardous Waste Management Program, she is responsible for major Program-wide business functions, including oversight of the Program’s financial management, racial equity management, organizational development, workforce, and operating structure. Before joining the Hazardous Waste Management Program, Maythia spent 15 years at the City of Seattle where she provided strategic consultation and leadership to initiatives and priorities to support immigrant and refugee communities, community partnerships, environmental stewardship, contracting, and race and social justice. Prior to City and County service, Maythia spent nearly 10 years in community health working to advocate and support women and children’s health. For Maythia, protecting our humanity and environment is not just work, but a passion and commitment. A refugee from Cambodia, survivor of the Killing Fields, and Seattleite, Maythia is a graduate of Western Washington University and Seattle University.
Shara Barkovich is a Sr. Partner Development and Strategy Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) responsible for helping consulting firms build solutions and their AWS practices through a focus on technical capabilities, sales, GTM and strategy. Prior to AWS, Shara spent 14 years at Verizon Wireless in direct sales, technical sales and business development including contract negotiations and co-ran an IoT partner program in the Pacific Northwest. Passionate about mentorship, Shara works with mentees to continue personal/professional development and enjoys helping others reach their goals professionally and personally. She is from Pittsburgh, PA (Penn State Alumni) and has lived in Seattle for 15 years and is an avid lover of her family, animals and especially her cats, art, the outdoors, and being active whether running in the rain, skiing in the Rockies, or paddle boarding and hanging out with harbor seals in the Puget sound.
Chris Krystalowich, VP of Sales, Americas at eGain Corporation, is passionate about building high-performing teams and focusing on creating exceptional outcomes for customers, partners, internal and external stakeholders. Chris focuses on helping customers become wildly successful with eGain products, increasing eGain’s Customer Success and Services team’s impact, improving internal processes, and facilitating employee growth and development. Chris consistently delivers against targets and objectives and he has been recognized for strong leadership, staff development and mentorship. Chris is a domain expert in Customer Success, eCommerce, Account Management, Channel and Partner Management, Omnichannel Messaging and Digital Transformation. He possessed the technical, business and cultural acumen to help businesses succeed in local and international markets, and he is driven with a maturity to repeatedly deliver outstanding results.