May 15, 2013 – Atlanta, Georgia – This morning, Women in Technology (WIT) hosted its monthly breakfast forum at Villa Christina. The May topic, Men & Women in Conversation, drew 125 attendees.
The panel, including Brandon Smith – Founder of The Workplace Therapist, Fred Jewell – Executive Director at Jabian Consulting, Kitty Chaney-Reed – VP Order to Cash at NCR Corporation, and moderator Melissa Gordon – President at EchelonCommunicate, LLC, delivered an interesting and insightful conversation.
Key takeaways? “Find the courage to be who you are; it’s often authenticity that makes for the most effective communication,” noted Chaney-Reed. On the topic of workplace promotions and career growth, Fred Jewell encouraged attendees, women in particular, to “Be aware of the physical aspects of how your voice sounds. Be direct and clear with your goals and ambitions. Be careful to avoid talking about your own shortcomings-you usually know a lot more than you think you know. And adopt a growth mindset – be willing to step out and fail once in a while.”
As the WIT Forum Presenting Sponsor, Jabian Consulting is proud to promote the learning and ideas generated at these monthly meetings. Jabian Director Danielle Joiner-McPherson, who also serves as WIT Program Director, said “I’m always excited about the energy our attendees bring and leave with every month. The panelists were dynamic and engaging through the interactive conversation with the audience. Bridging the gender communications gap is a very critical topic that we must continue to have dialog around while embracing diversity in the workplace.”
“The WIT Forums always generate great interaction between attendees and between attendees and the presenters. Today’s session was outstanding. Brandon Reed and Melissa Gordon had great coaching advice, and Kitty Chaney-Reed’s message to be authentic generated some great discussion,” noted Fred Jewell.
About Fred Jewell
Jewell leads Jabian’s Human Capital practice where he is especially passionate about change management, organizational effectiveness and culture. Fred has spent over 20 years consulting for clients in multiple industries around change management, technology delivery, IT transformation, IT outsourcing, and software process improvement. Fred holds a BS and an MS in General Engineering, specializing in Human Factors and Engineering Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
About Danielle Joiner-McPherson
Danielle, a Director at Jabian, brings to the Firm more than a decade of business management consulting experience and a passion for project, program, and portfolio management as well as strategic management and leadership. An active member of the Atlanta community, Danielle Joiner-McPherson serves as Chair of the Board for the East Atlanta Kids Club in addition to her position as Program Director for WIT Forums.