** Today’s post is provided by guest blogger Kaitlyn from our Operations support team**
Each year, we eagerly await the arrival of International Women’s Day. On this day, we recognize women’s achievements and aim to close the gap on gender equality in the workforce.
How will you #PressForProgress?
Protiviti does a great job of supporting the International Women’s Day events through the attention of our iGROWW team, which stands for the initiative for the Growth and Retention of Women in the Workplace. This year, several Protiviti offices collaborated to discuss how we can all #PressForProgress together. Due to the snow storms on the East Coast, our events were initially postponed, but luckily were rescheduled for later in the month.
In mid-March, the Tokyo, Denver, and New York offices met via Skype video conference to discuss several articles and TED Talks that were sent prior to the meeting. The Tokyo office kicked off the celebrations with a discussion about body language and non-verbal communication. Next, Denver led discussions around the movements of #PressForProgress and ‘Be Bold for Change’.
In addition to this video conference, the Orlando, Metro D.C., Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, and Frankfurt offices all participated in group discussions the following morning, focusing on the concepts of mentorship, sponsorship and body language.
It was truly amazing to see so many offices come together to talk about a subject that everyone was very passionate about! Here are a few things that we learned:
Body Language
- We learned different power poses, such as standing with your hands on your hips and the importance of being mindful of your posture and non-verbal communication.
- Our bodies can change our minds; our minds can change our behaviors; our behaviors can change our outcome.
- Don’t “fake it until you make it”….fake it until you become it! Meaning, fake the confidence and the feeling of being powerful, until you actually see yourself become it.
Mentors & Sponsors
- There are different forms of mentoring, it is important to find which one works for YOU and then apply it!
- Protiviti offers an Advisor Program, which is amazing! However, part of your responsibility to yourself is also to find your own mentors and someone who will challenge you.
- It is important to have a life mentor. This could be a former employer, professor, or colleague; anyone that had an influence on your life. Try to reach out to them once a quarter.
- Stop saying “sorry” all the time! The Metro D.C. team asked everyone to raise their hand if they find themselves apologizing for unnecessary things; there wasn’t a hand left down in the New York office after that question. The solution for this is instead of saying something such as, “sorry for getting back to you late” replace it with, “thank you for your patience”.
We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to explore diverse experiences amongst a broad array of speakers, united by the same goal. Building sustainable, long-term change takes time, effort and commitment. We cannot rely on other people to drive institutional, systematic and cultural change. It starts with us! And it starts with these events that bring awareness.
-Guest Blogger, Kaitlyn, from our NYC Operations Team