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Her Turn
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
By Rose Snyder


GO ONLINE
The next Women in Leadership webinar is July 27 at 8 p.m. ET. Visit usatriathlon.org for more.


The numbers of women participating in the sport of triathlon, and all sports for that matter, have significantly increased in the past 10 years. What has not increased at the same rate is the number of women serving in leadership positions in sport. Often, the road to leadership positions in the sport industry is difficult because of barriers. Some of these barriers include the need for women to prove themselves, lack of support, balancing work and family, old boys network, lack of training and career development (Lough, 2001; Weaver & Chelladuri, 2002).


But, the direction USA Triathlon is taking is not to focus on why women are missing from key leadership areas but to focus on how we can recruit, train and retain women in leadership positions.


The theme for theWomen in Leadership webinar series is educate, empower and engage. TheWomen’s Committee, chaired by Awilda Harrington, is up to the task. First, education and training in the areas of communication, relationship building and networking provide a foundation and much-needed skills for women to feel empowered and motivated to serve. Next, governance education provides the know-how that gives women the confidence to fulfill a leadership role. Finally, by sharing examples and featuring women in our sport who have paved the way, we hope to provide inspiration for others follow suit and to step up leadership positions in all areas of our sport.


COMMUNICATION
We all know that communication is king. Anyone who saw the film “The King’s Speech” knows that delivery matters. Even though internally we know what we want to say, if the presentation and delivery is not there, well, frankly, the message dies. Even worse, it is undervalued. Learning and knowing your communication style and that of others helps improve and ensure that the message is strong and delivered in a way that gets results. Communication can be the strength of relationship building or the source of conflict based on miscommunication and misunderstanding. People who master the art of communication ultimately make strong leaders.


GOVERNANCE Many women don’t feel confident that they know what they need to know in order to serve on a board or chair a committee. The second webinar will provide governance education and will focus on the duties of care, loyalty and obedience, which are the legal responsibilities of board service. Serving in a leadership role requires one important characteristic — a commitment to serve with the mission in mind. Women tend to feel strongly about things that resonate with their core values. Serving in a leadership position because you want to make a difference or improve the sport or organization makes you qualified. Receiving training in governance will make you capable of serving.


EMPOWER AND ENGAGE
Role models and mentors are another key area of leadership the Women’s Committee will focus on. There are more strong women in leadership positions today than ever. A great example, recently recognized as one of Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women, is Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer for Facebook. She recently did a brief speech on www.ted.com where she discussed her ideas of why we have too few women leaders and her thoughts on how to improve. It is definitely worth watching. While Sheryl serves as a role model in the corporate world, we all know exceptional women within our sport and business worlds who have excelled in leadership roles. Whether you are a leader or someone who aspires to be one, we encourage you to create a mentoring relationship with another woman. This is one of the key ways we can help each other. We need women to embrace the concept of mentorship. Mentoring includes all the areas we have discussed in this article; communication, relationship building, networking and education. Explore ways you can inspire others to serve as well as yourself. What will you next role in leadership be? Maybe a seat at the board table has your name on it.


If you missed the Women in Leadership webinars, it is not too late to catch up. Visit the webinar archive on usatriathlon.org at http://www.usatriathlon.org/ resources/education/webinars. We hope these sessions will educate, empower and engage you to step up to take on a leadership role within the sport.


Rose Snyder is a nonprofit governance consultant and has worked with USA Triathlon since 2006. She has facilitated board governance training and strategic planning for USAT and dozens of other national sports organization. Rose also hosts an annual Women’s Retreat designed to promote personal and professional development for women in sport. She can be reached at rose@rosesnyder.com


38 USA TRIATHLON SUMMER 2011

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