Stoking the Fire of Women’s Leadership

ELFA Women’s Leadership Forum LIVE! Draws Record Attendance

Living through a pandemic OF  “unprecedented times” and “new normals” has impacted everyone, both personally and professionally. ELFA Women’s Leadership Forum LIVE! held virtually on April 20 provided participants with a much-needed opportunity to learn from the experiences of others for inspiration and guidance to move ahead. The day-long event achieved record attendance with over 260 industry professionals, including women and allies, previous participants and newcomers. In kicking off the event, ELFA Women’s Council Chair Deb Baker, Head of Worldwide Leasing & Financing at HP Inc., remarked, “There’s never been a better time for us to come together, to invest in ourselves and our teams, and to learn from each other and grow our networks.”

Forum Chair Jennifer Fanz agreed, marveling that after cancelling the 2020 Forum due to Covid, the Women’s Council came back stronger and more determined than ever to deliver a meaningful event in 2021. “Through the past year, we never stopped talking about what we wanted to bring to the ELFA membership, how we wanted to continue our work, and how we were going to pivot,” said Fanz, Country Sales Manager, US Healthcare, DLL. “We all need this. We’re all here for a reason.”

In her welcoming remarks, ELFA Board Chair Kris Snow, President of Cisco Systems Capital Corporation, emphasized the progress ELFA has made in increasing the participation and leadership of women. “I am happy to say that the organization is committed to supporting and accelerating women, as well as other underrepresented groups, into positions of leadership within the association and our industry,” she said. 

In sharing stark research of the pandemic’s particularly hard impact on women Snow reiterated the timeliness of the day’s gathering and the opportunity for “Stoking the Fire” of attendees as they participated in interactive group and one-on-one sessions with equipment finance industry leaders, professional development coaches, and each other. The takeaways they shared have lasting value for various aspects of life beyond the pandemic.

Attendee Engagement: Comments poured into the chat area of each session, including the Executive Leader Panel, where speakers shared candid reflections on the past year.

Five Degrees of Change

Coinciding with the Stoking the Fire theme, keynote speaker Shannon Cassidy encouraged attendees to “light their own fire.” A certified executive corporate coach specializing in behavioral modification and communications, she said, “We’re creatures of habit. Most of our behavior is automatic and habitual—in fact 95% of our behavior is on autopilot. That means that 5% of what we do is self-regulated, conscious behavior.” 

For those considering how to make changes Cassidy said that it’s unrealistic and actually unnecessary to attempt a quantum leap, but five degrees of change are manageable. She identified a framework of what you 1) have no control over, 2) can influence and 3) can control, and advised focusing on the areas that you can control to initiate change. Asking questions that focus on possibilities and solutions instead of problems is what she called taking the “road to resolution” rather than the “road to resentment.” Instead of looking in the rearview mirror and asking “Why did that happen?” or “Why did I do that?” look ahead through the windshield and ask what or how questions, such as “What is my objective? and “How can I learn from this?”

Equipment Finance Industry Insights

During a panel discussion of equipment finance industry leaders on how they and their teams managed to not only survive but thrive during the past year, empathy and frequent communications—both internal and external—ranked high among priorities. They also acknowledged that 2020 blurred the line between the personal and professional.  

Christine Gagnon, CFO at African Asset Finance Corporation, said her company’s approach is to have a high level of empathy and flexibility with each client, and to get out in front of any potential issues before they bubble up. Her advice is to “think about how the internal processes are customer focused and what you’re doing outwardly in your interactions with your clients every day.” 

Employee wellness became more essential, with panelists describing frequent Zoom and Slack check-ins, company-wide townhalls, personal phone calls and opportunities just for fun. Nancy Robles, COO and Compliance Officer at Eastern Funding LLC, said their mid-level and executive managers worked with a well-being coach to service employees and recognize when they are at their full capacity. “We took a lot of training in that area because we recognize that the mental health of everyone is critical, so stress management became a top priority for us.”

 

Scene from the Forum: In addition to virtual networking rooms like the one pictured above, participants used an AI “attendee matcher” to make new connections.

At Stearns Bank, NA, Vice President of Business Development Manager Michelle Fuchs said they gathered employees from different areas of the organization who don’t normally interact to meet virtually twice a month for just 15 or 20 minutes. “It was fun to get to know each other, and there were a lot of good comments about being able to connect with the whole company. It really helped engage everybody.”  

The past year has provided an unforeseen opportunity to reconsider personal care. ELFA Equality Committee Chair Scott Thacker, CEO of Ivory Consulting Corporation and Chair of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, said that reduced obligations on his time for travel and working remotely have given him renewed energy, creativity and happiness. He suggested, “Stay in the moment, find your passion and if you don’t feel passionate about what you’re doing right now, find the silver lining.” Panel moderator and Women’s Council member Kara Miyasato, Marketing Director, Stryker, Flex Financial, offered a simple, tactical suggestion. “Everyone should have at least one vacation day on their schedule—even if you’re going to stay home—to turn off everything and just focus on yourself.” 

Opening Up to Possibilities 

Among the many lessons learned over the past year is the need to manage disruption. To meet this challenge, Forum Chair Jennifer Fanz hosted “Reinvention: Letting Go of Yesterday to Ignite Your Tomorrow,” a conversation with Deborah Reuben, CEO & Founder of TomorrowZone and Chair of ELFA’s Technology Innovation Work Group. Reuben advocated building your imagination and expanding your thinking about what’s possible. “If you can get yourself into a mode of continuous learning and staying curious, you can get into a mindset of being anticipatory so you aren’t surprised by disruptions.” 

Defusing Landmines 

In her keynote address, “How to Defuse the Landmines We Plant in Our Lives,” personal development coach Kelly Accetta identified issues in our lives that can hold us back and drain our emotional currency: Victim mentality, gossiping, comparison, insecurity, mommy/daddy guilt, offendability, unforgiveness/bitterness and negative self-talk.

Continue the Conversation with the Women’s Leadership Forum

In her closing remarks, Fanz encouraged attendees to continue the conversation from the Women’s Leadership Forum, inviting them to join the Women4Inclusion LinkedIn Group and to network with each other. She said, “We can’t be afraid to be the fire, and we need to help others find their fire.”