On Thursday, January 7th, the University of Alberta Faculty of Law Women's Law Forum hosted a seminar by Kimberly Armstrong, Deputy Minister for Status of Women with the Government of Alberta.
Ms Armstrong spoke to students about igniting leadership passion from within as well as how to prepare for a future executive leadership role. The interactive seminar drew from Ms Armstrong's learnings as an attendee of The Judy Project, an exclusive forum which supports professional development for women who are climbing to executive leadership roles in their careers.
She also discussed how no person is good at everything extraordinary leaders determine what their specific skills and passions are, and then devote their efforts to improving them. This was a valuable lesson to law students who are inclined to excel in all walks of life.
With present and future leadership roles in mind, Ms Armstrong spoke of the importance of social connectedness, meaning that when a leader and her team members care about and empathize with each other, the team as a whole becomes more successful and resilient.
On the theme of working as a team, Ms Armstrong spoke of women's tendencies to hold back from group participation due to focus on how they will be perceived by others. She advised against self-censoring in such situations, and stated that expert leaders focus on others and give input based on what will best meet the objectives of the group.
While the takeaways from the lunch seminar are too numerous to reproduce, there were a few examples which Ms Armstrong drew from various sources of scholarly research:
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Avoid multitasking! Research shows that our brain can only focus on one task at a time. Focusing on the task in front of you to completion before moving to the next item is a more productive approach.
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People would rather work with the "lovable fool" than the "competent jerk", even if the former involves working harder. The importance of forming relationships and connecting with others at work is evidenced by this preference.
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Carve out time in your schedule for mindful reflection. Letting your brain work through complex problems in a subconscious way will save you time in the future, and women in particular have been found to be unlikely to schedule time for this.
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Find a reverse mentor in your career. If there is an area in which you do not excel, ask someone who genuinely cares about that area to teach you, regardless of what their position is in relation to you.
The University of Alberta Faculty of Law Women's Law Forum is one of the oldest caused-based clubs. Open to current U of A law students and WLF Alumni. This group can be reached at: wlf@ualberta.ca