6 Steps to Blaze New Trails in Your Career

The ELFA Women’s Council offers strategies for success in 2022.

No one has been untouched by the pandemic that began roughly two years ago. The way we work has changed and the way we do business has, too. To help you navigate this new world in the year ahead, the ELFA Women’s Council has unveiled plans for the 2022 Women’s Leadership Forum in Chicago on April 11-12. The Council promises that the Forum will be an event to remember. 

“This is going to be an event filled with connection, learning, laughter, comradery and some surprises,” says Women’s Council Chair Jen Fanz, Sr. Manager, Finance Organization Development at Intuitive Surgical Inc. “I promise you that you’ll leave feeling like this is just what you needed to get going on your journey.” 

With a dynamic lineup of speakers, timely topics and abundant opportunities for networking and reconnecting with colleagues—all focused on the theme “Blazing New Trails”—Fanz says that attendees can expect action-oriented takeaways that will have immediate relevance. 


“You’ll walk away with tips and advice you can apply to your career in our ‘new normal,’ all designed to help you blaze new trails in your own career,” she says.

Here are six strategies for success in the year ahead that will be addressed at the 2022 Women’s Leadership Forum.

Manage Up 

Whether we like it or not, our bosses have enormous influence over our ability to succeed, thrive and advance in our organizations, in our careers and in our own leadership journey. Establishing strong, productive working relationships with those above us is a critical skill—whether we report to a supervisor or a board of directors. 

“On a very basic level, managing up is about understanding and improving your relationship with your boss,” says Melissa Kopit, Associate at Vedder Price P.C., a Washington, D.C., law firm. “Everyone is a human being with their own personality quirks, preferences and communication styles. And it’s important to acknowledge what those are, so that you know how to work with your boss and peers to build your strongest and most effective team.”

In a keynote at the Women’s Leadership Forum led by Mary Abbajay, President of management consulting firm Careerstone Group and author of Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss, attendees will learn key components of this practice. Managing up requires a variety of skills, such as recognizing personality differences, understanding preferred work and communication styles, and managing relationships in all types of work environments. Becoming adept at these practices can help you improve your bonds with managers and colleagues while taking ownership of your own success. 


“Part of your career success hinges, in some part, on having good, positive, robust and productive relationships with those who have power over your career,” Abbajay says. “It’s really up to every one of us to actually do what we can—consciously and deliberately—to make those relationships work because we can’t change other people. But we can take control of our own actions and experience.” 

Ditch Perfectionism

It’s no secret that women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles. While there are numerous outside forces that play a part in limiting leadership growth, one obstacle to success for many high-achieving women is perfectionism.

At the Women’s Leadership Forum, keynote speaker Elise R. Holtzman, JD, PCC, President of coaching and training firm The Lawyer’s Edge, will share strategies for leaving perfectionism behind while learning how to embrace opportunities to grow your skills and leadership abilities.


Holtzman says she sees many women who are held back by perfectionism. “They’re incredibly bright. They’re working really hard. They’re doing great things. They’re serving their clients. And there’s something that is getting in their way,” she says. Part of the issue is the way women have often been socialized to not take risks. Her session, “Imperfect, Impactful Leadership,” is designed to help women accept once and for all that we are all flawed and that they don’t need to be “perfect” to be exceptional, she says. 

Catherine Roddick, a member of the Forum Planning Subcommittee and Regional Vice President of Farm Credit Leasing in Rocklin, California, agrees. “So many times, women pass up opportunities because we’re ‘not ready yet,’” Roddick says. In fact, her own approach changed when she sat next to a successful colleague who was a man. She listened to him during the course of the day and realized that she had the same skills. “I walked into his office one day and said, ‘You just know how to play the game.’ He said, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’ That’s when it clicked for me: imperfect leadership is being willing to lead even when you’re not 100%.”

Cultivate New Skills

High achievers are continually evolving. Growth, both personal and professional, requires anticipating the skills and strengths you’re going to need and developing them. But how do you cultivate the foundational skills, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs you’ll need—especially when they may be radically different from those you have now and there’s so much pressure to keep doing what has been working for you? In a hands-on breakout session at the Women’s Leadership Forum, “What Got You Here Won’t Take You There,” Holtzman will discuss why this is important and how to do it. 

“We’ll be taking time to truly think about what got us to the place where we are. And I’ll be working with participants to help them identify the skill sets that they’ll need to achieve what they want next,” she says. When you’re going for a leadership role, you need to focus your energy on the areas that matter to the organization, and that may require thinking more strategically. 

“Once you get into that leadership role, you have to be willing to experiment and make mistakes. You can’t always play nice, and you won’t always know what you’re doing,” Roddick says. The key is to accept stretch roles to disrupt the status quo and help you develop the skills you need to succeed. 

Conquer Imposter Syndrome

Feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt—also known as “imposter syndrome”—are often a challenge for women executives. In fact, a 2020 survey released by KMPG found that three out of four executive women have experienced this phenomenon. At the Women’s Leadership Forum, Neonu Jewell, JD, MBA, MDiv., co-founder of Christmas Jewell Consulting, a Washington, D.C. workplace culture consulting firm, will tackle the issue head-on and share strategies for shedding those feeling of not belonging.

“Self-doubt and second-guessing oneself can stifle success through, for example, hesitance to speak up, reluctance to take on new professional roles, and not fully communicating your achievements in reviews or with managers,” Jewell says. “This session will give women the tools they need to advocate for themselves.”

Imposter syndrome can be particularly insidious because it may hold women back from taking on leadership roles, Kopit adds. “It can be a barrier to your success. You may not speak up in a conversation or contribute in ways you know you can,” she says. “You’re not reaching your full potential if you have something valuable to contribute, and you’re not doing so.” She adds that it’s important to note that men experience imposter syndrome, too. So, learning to manage the issue can make you a better leader and mentor for others who doubt themselves. “When you can help your team members do that, you’re actually getting full value and contributions from your team,” she says. 

Get a Mentor 

Mentoring can also be an essential part of being successful in any field. Mentoring is critically important now, especially in a tight labor market with myriad opportunities. Making the next move can seem daunting. But a mentor can help you sort through distractions and help you decide how to best grow in your career, Fanz says. 

“The purpose of a mentor is to help you see the greatness that you don’t know is inside you. A mentor can provide guidance and give you the confidence to show the world what you can do,” Fanz says. 

The ELFA Women’s Council plans to launch the second year of its mentoring program at the Women’s Leadership Forum. Attendees will be eligible to participate in the one-year program as mentors or mentees. Participants will have a chance to meet at the Forum and then participate in a kickoff call in May. The kickoff call will cover how mentors and protégés can make the most of their relationship so it’s valuable for both.

Grow Your Network

In addition to a rich slate of sessions that will give attendees valuable and applicable tools and resources, the Women’s Leadership Forum will provide another benefit that is especially important now: connection. The overall tenor of the event is welcoming, and the agenda is designed to allow attendees time to network in ways that are most comfortable for them, Fanz says. 

Attendees can choose to participate in a facilitated session that will allow them to interact with other members or circulate during the event’s networking lunch or cocktail hour. For those who prefer networking in more intimate settings with small groups, a “dine around” is also planned. Attendees can sign up to join a group of eight or so other women for a meal at a Chicago restaurant. 

“You can find ways to build your network and connect with other women in the field in the way that is best for you and with which you’re most comfortable,” Fanz says. She says there will also be a few other surprises, like an optional working breakfast and a morning event that’s just for fun. 

While the pandemic has created a change in how we work and connect. Fanz says the Forum will be an opportunity for members to meet up in-person again and strengthen those career-building lessons and bonds. 

“We’ve all been missing personal connection. This is a time for members to connect with other successful women in the field while they learn skills and techniques that can be invaluable in their careers,” Fanz says. “Members who attend are going to walk away feeling like this is exactly what they needed now and for what’s next.”

To view the full agenda and registration information for the Women’s Leadership Forum, visit www.elfaonline.org/events/2022/WLF.