Women’s event inspires confidence in leadership – Brainerd Dispatch

DEERWOOD — Work/life blend, finding a passion, being present, owning decisions and practicing self-care are among the topics local women business leaders emphasized during the inaugural

Women Leading the Way

event on Wednesday, March 5, at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Resort in Deerwood.

“I looked around the room — a room full of women — and saw them completely engaged with our speakers,” organizer Katrina Rutz said after the event. “They were laughing, crying and nodding their heads in agreement. I knew then these women felt empowered, inspired, valued, seen and knew they were not alone. That was all I wanted for this event.”

Human Resources Manager for American Peat Technology, Rutz and others at her company organized the event as a way to network with fellow female business leaders in the area and inspire a sense of confidence and camaraderie.

Kristen Vake, executive director of the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota and former Duluth broadcaster, emceed the event, asking questions of panelists Amy Hart, Jill Casper, Jenny Castle and Wendy Franke.

With a focus on leadership in rural areas, Vake asked about advice to women aspiring to take on leadership in rural communities.Casper, director of marketing at CTC, networking, pursuing passions and finding a mentor are important steps.

“What are you passionate about? Volunteer for those things,” Casper said. “You’re more willing to show up as your best self when you do that.”

Finding a mentor, she said, is a great way to get outside perspectives both personally and professionally.

“Women help women,” she said, noting the strong networks that are available if someone isn’t afraid to ask for help.

Amy Hart, CEO of Cuyuna Regional Medical Center, added a generational component in the competition. At 63 years old, Hart said she’s dealt with the mentality that women need to fight amongst one another to be the first female breaking into their careers.

“I think if we haven’t completely gotten over that, then let’s get over that,” she said.

Next came advice on dealing with stereotypes women face in both their professional and personal lives. Jenny Castle, director of human resources for LINDAR, said she’s been fortunate not to have dealt with stereotypes too much in her career but does recall one job she only had for a few months because her boss kept second-guessing all of her decisions, asking for costly second opinions from lawyers, who ended up giving the same advice.

“My advice to you if you find yourself in that position is try to lead with results,” she said. “Confidence and the results and the things that you do will break down those stereotypes and biases. Come to the table prepared and with good ideas and follow through. Or get yourself out of that situation because nobody needs that.”

Preparation is key for another topic mentioned, when an audience member asked about balancing living in a small, close-knit community with having to make unpopular decisions at work that might affect those communities.

Wendy Franke, chief quality officer at Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, said the key is to be confident in your decisions and be able to explain why they were made. As a former member of the military, this idea is one Franke said she’s dealt with in both military and civilian life — having to make decisions that could negatively impact someone’s life.

“Those decisions weigh heavily on a person, but it’s part of being a leader,” she said. “It goes back to that confidence in what you’re doing and knowing that the decision that you’re making is the best decision you can make with the information that you have.”

Knowing that confidence in oneself is not always an easy feat, Vake asked the women how they’ve struggled with and overcome that obstacle in their lives.

Casper spoke about imposter syndrome, the feeling that a person doesn’t belong in the role they’ve been given. It’s also easy to look at someone else and wonder why you yourself are not like them. Instead of thinking negatively about oneself, Casper advised looking at the positive qualities someone has and figuring out how to foster those skills.

And on the other side, Castle said it can be helpful to look at the qualities they don’t like in leaders they’ve had.

“Take the bits and pieces of the things you do like and the things that you don’t like and develop who you are,” she said, noting self-doubt is normal, but one way to overcome it is to say yes to things that might be outside of one’s comfort zone.

And the more someone learns, the easier it is to be confident, Franke added.

Work/life balance — or blend, as Vake said she prefers to think of it — was a popular topic of conversation during the panel.

Taking care of one’s own mental health, Casper said, goes a long way toward making someone a better parent or leader. While there are days when someone might not realistically be able to put themself first, she advised finding something small in the evening, like taking a bath or drinking a glass of wine.

Hart added forgiving oneself for not getting everything done every day is also important, as is scheduling time away from work, whatever that might look like.

Technology can make stepping back difficult, despite all the positives it can bring to the business world, too. Franke suggested turning off work notifications outside of working hours.

“If someone really needs to get me, they’ll call me,” she said. “So that is one thing that I would recommend — stop the notifications.”

And it’s never a bad idea, as Hart put it, to remember that you don’t have to be superwoman. She said the women she sees in her line of work that try to “do it all” or be perfect in every aspect of their lives are the ones that get burnt out easily, thus failing both themselves and others.

Following the panelist discussion, attendees heard from Reneé Rongen, international speaker and author known for her humor and inspiration.

Through humorous stories about embarrassing speaking engagements and memorable car washes, Rongen left attendees with advice to pick their attitude for each day, be present in each moment and remember life is never going to be perfect.

She spoke of going all the way in as leaders. It might be hard, and it might be messy, but it’ll be worth it. Just like the best wine-making grapes tend to hide deep within their plants, requiring the harvester to work a little harder to reach all the way in, life requires commitment to get the desired results.

“I’m asking you as leaders to keep going in,” Rongen said. “Today is such an amazing day, and it’s just begun. Be vulnerable; laugh; have fun.”

Vulnerability is the new strong and is the mark of a good leader.

“I learn more about people when they’re vulnerable and they’re raw and they’re open,” she said.

Proceeds from Women Leading the Way benefitted BIO Girls of Crosby, a nonprofit whose name stands for beautiful inside and out. Started in Fargo, BIO Girls expanded to Crosby about three years ago and works with girls in second through sixth grades. It’s a 12-week program that teaches girls about self-esteem, empowerment and community. Girls gather on a weekly basis for group lessons and physical activities.

Hannah Wessner, site director for BIO Girls of Crosby, hopes to see the program expand throughout the lakes area, as her branch relies on volunteers and fundraisers and is only able to welcome 40 girls each year.

THERESA BOURKE may be reached at theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa.