PowWFollowMyLead Program™

Women In Tech

The Koa Club is a builder of women communities within organizations with the emphasis on:

  • Strengthening the leadership, personal and workplace skills of women employees so they can build the confidence to succeed, gain insights on being effective leaders, managers and team members, and be armed with useful tools to navigate commonplace workplace challenges
  • Equipping women employees with strategies to maintain their well-being, especially during these high stress times
  • Helping women employees establish supportive relationships with other women at work, providing them a safe environment to share best practices and informal advice with each other

What some of the past participants in our other PowWFollowMyLead Programs have to say:

“Every single session has been full of valuable insights, and I come away from each one feeling inspired and motivated to hone my leadership skills. Not to mention, the enduring friendships I’ve built with my Huddle sisters continue to thrive to this day” – Viola S., founder of MAIKA.

“When I enrolled in PoWW Program, I had taken up a new leadership role and I felt it was necessary to build on my interpersonal and communication skills in order to encourage, influence, and grow my network. I really found the training course to be an enjoyable and valuable experience. It was also an honor to learn from other peers and their collective experiences during our “huddle” sessions. This program was exceptional and I was pleasantly surprised with the organization, assignments/ workshops and the quality of speakers. Thank you to the Koa Club team for executing such a valuable program for women of all career levels” – Nethra M., Principal Pricing & Product Marketing Manager at LeadVenture.

“I was invited by a friend to join POWWFollowMyLead and had no idea what to expect. But I ended up meeting some amazing women doing impressive work in their respective fields and gaining insight on a variety of workplace wellness topics, including how to set healthy boundaries, how to engage difficult conversations, and how to navigate career growth in a challenging environment like Covid. The networking was really valuable for me and our cohort continues to meet monthly over zoom for short check-ins” – Alison M., Financial Advisor at UBS.

The Gender Challenge

  • Even though the number of women in leadership has grown in the past five years, women are still very much underrepresented at every level in key roles in the workplace and in every industry, including within the legal field.
  • Recent statistics provided by various sources show that: only 24% of computing jobs are held by women; the percentage of female STEM graduates is about 19%; women leave the tech industry at a 45% higher rate than men; 11% of the engineering workforce is female; 20% of women over the age of 35 are still in junior positions; and unfairness-based turnover costs tech companies $16 billion per year.
  • Many organizations often advocate the criticality of advancing women to higher level roles, but little is usually done within these organizations to remove structural barriers and gender bias that contribute to the lack of women in leadership roles, nor to implement effective support for women to help them be prepared to pursue, and to tackle, these higher-level roles.

Women’s Leadership Study Findings

Though women’s confidence in their professional and personal lives have grown significantly in recent years, a number of women surveyed in the 2019 KPMG Women’s Leadership Study stated that not being confident enough was still the leading factor preventing them from taking more risks at their organization and that “overcoming a lack of confidence may therefore be key in creating a cycle in which successful risk- taking fosters the resilience and confidence needed to attempt further risk taking and advancement.” The study also found that 71% of the women responding to the survey think more can be done now by their organizations to encourage risk-taking among women, including the following:

  • 41% asks for more training opportunities
  • 33% believes that their organization should encourage mentorship
  • 28% thinks that there should be more flexibility offered for the women employees to be able to take more risks

Challenges of Women in Male Dominated Industries

It is of utmost importance that organizations, particularly those operating in typically male dominated industries, find ways to attract, retain and elevate their women talent. Women bring fresh new ideas, different perspectives, unique approaches to problem solving, improve workplace diversity and strengthen collaboration between teams.

However, statistics found that women working in male-dominated industries, such as those in IT positions, report gender inequality at a higher rate than the overall average among employed women.  Some challenges commonly faced by women working in male dominated industries are:

  • Self-doubt and fear of not being taken seriously
  • Pervasive beliefs that women lack strong or competent leadership abilities
  • Negative gender-infused stereotyping
  • Lack of appropriate role models, mentors and sponsors
  • Limited career development opportunities
  • Higher stress and anxiety
  • Gender pay gap
  • Sexual harassment

According to Linkedin, “[s]ince the pandemic began, women’s share of new hires has taken a hit, dropping from 46.94% of hires pre-COVID to 44.86% of hires post-COVID, according to an analysis of LinkedIn data. The numbers are more lopsided in industries that have historically struggled to hire women” and “Technology — an industry with one of the lowest portions of female hires — has erased the meager gains it made over the past two years.”

It is more important than ever for organizations to invest in initiatives that support their women at the workplace, to achieve a long term “win-win” situation for both the organization and their female employees.

Program Overiew

  • Program Kickoff: IT Women Leaders Roundtable Discussion (September)
  • The Program will have two Phases – each Phase has 3 monthly workshops for a total of 6 monthly workshops (January-March 2023 & April-June 2023)
  • Each workshop will be held virtually once a month for 2 hours
  • Structured Mentorship Huddles
  • Empowered Networking for 1st thirty minutes of the workshop.
  • Minimum of 30 paid participants for Program to be held.
  • Program fee is $950/person.
  • All participants automatically get free membership to The Koa Club general community as the alumni club.
  • Access to workshop materials and recordings in proprietary Workshop Dashboard designed for Program participant’s access and use.
View Workshops Mentorship Huddles

Women IT Leaders Roundtable – Achieving success in the technology industry

We are very excited to announce that the following powerhouse women in the IT field will be joining us on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, 4:00-5:30pmPT for a robust roundtable discussion as a kickoff to the Women in Tech Program:

  • Lisa Cohen, Head of Data Science at Twitter
  • Lisa Hillman, Deputy Chief Information Officer at Snohomish County, Washington State

These amazing women will be sharing their stories and lessons learned on their journey to leadership; and provide insights on how women in tech can thrive and succeed within their organizations.

details.

Workshops will be held online and the dial-in details will be provided to the participants once they have registered for the Program.

questions.

For any questions about the Program, please contact us at info@thekoaclub.com

2023 Women in Tech Program overview

The Women in Tech PowWFollowMyLead™ Program is made up of 2 phases:

Phase 1 (Personal Skills Development)

  • 3 monthly workshops specifically designed to provide insights for women in tech on mastering life-changing skills to fight off any self-doubt that creates obstacles to their success, build effective communication skills beyond engaging in legalese and to develop a growth mindset for success.
  • Phase 1 of the Program will be held in January, February and March 2023.
  • Each workshop will be two hours long.

Phase 2 (Workplace Skills Development)

  • 3 workshops focused on providing women in tech with practical strategies for operating effectively within the workplace, including, applying emotional intelligence to help with decision-making process, managing the different levels of relationships in the workplace, and developing their leadership potential.
  • Phase 2 of the Program will be held during April, May and June 2023.
  • Each workshop will be two hours long.

Mentorship Huddles “This is Us” Showcase (July 2023)

Each Mentorship Huddle team will present their team project that they have worked on throughout the year, showcasing their collective strengths, creativity and passion. We have created this Mentorship Huddle Showcase with the hope of encouraging successful collaboration among the Mentorship Huddle team members, to encourage self-assessment, to get fired up because it is an opportunity to show off your Huddle to others and have fun in the Program. We invite leaders from the participating organizations to act come view the showcase and share their insights to the Program participants

Workshop #1

Phase 1: Personal Development Skills

Monday, January 23, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Closing the Confidence Gap

Agenda:

12:00pm-12:30pm: Introduction to Program – Goals and Expectations
12:30pm-2:00pm: Speaker Presentation & Q&A

Description:

Research findings show that men overestimate their abilities and performance, while women underestimate both, even though their performances do not differ in quality. In their groundbreaking 2014 article and book “The Confidence Gap” Katty Kay and Claire Shipman state that: “Evidence shows that women are less self-assured than men—and that to succeed, confidence matters as much as competence” and that “[u]nderqualified and underprepared men don’t think twice about leaning in. Overqualified and over-prepared, too many women still hold back.”  Despite having above-average abilities and skills, many women suffer from low confidence and are too often burdened with self-doubt, translating into avoidance and inaction. Women may also feel they do not deserve to be at the top, or that they are concerned that any expression of confidence may be seen as aggressive or controlling behavior.

This workshop will help participants address the core issues surrounding confidence problems, explore how to eliminate imposter syndrome, self-doubt and negative self-talk that undermine capabilities, learn exercises to strengthen innermost self- respect, and conquer unfound fears of over-confidence.

Speaker:

As a certified confidence & leadership coach, Micha Goebig helps female professionals and entrepreneurs in male-dominated spheres create the confidence and visibility to take their career to the next level (and beyond!). The founder & CEO of Go Big Coaching & Communications, Micha has also been running a boutique agency that specializes in corporate communications for the German luxury car industry for 20 years.

She holds a master’s degree from the University of Munich, taught at several colleges in the USA and Germany, has published two novels (one with Random House) and multiple stories and essays, and trained with one of Germany’s leading executive coaches as well as Rich Latvian and others in the USA.  She is currently based in Seattle, WA.

Workshop #2

Phase 1: Personal Development Skills

Monday, February 27, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Become a Better and More Effective Communicator at Work

Agenda:

12:00pm-12:30pm: Empowered Networking – What’s Your Personal Brand Statement?
12:30pm-2:00pm: Speaker Presentation & Q&A

Description:

Communication is an integral part of any work or life situation and learning to be an effective communicator is a valuable productivity tool, one that is commonly overlooked. Great communicators are often highly respected and trusted. On the other hand, poor communication can result in wasted time, misunderstandings, unproductive meetings, ineffective teamwork, and lack of progress towards goals.

In this workshop, our speaker will share useful techniques to improve our listening skills, to help us understand the ways to communicate effectively, whether in person or virtually and how to use these skills to deepen our connections to others. The speaker will also discuss how we can become a more effective communicator when conducting difficult conversations, with the goal of minimizing conflicts and reaching an amicable resolution to the challenging situations.

Speaker:

Andrew McMaster, Founder of ImprovMindset, is an actor, director and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the arts. He was a founder of Jet City Improv, a non-profit theater that he managed for 25 years, and worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies to provide presentation support and messaging as well as team building and communications trainings.

Andrew is dedicated to experiential learning, providing opportunities for self-discovery and driving innovation in our everyday lives. His exercises are designed to develop leaders who can communicate on all levels (focusing on emotional intelligence) and have your team practicing key relationship-building skills. Participants will leave with practical tools and lessons to apply at all stages of their work, even in crisis.

Workshop #3

Phase 1: Personal Development Skills

Monday, March 20, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Applying Principles of Somatic Intelligence to Achieve Wellness and Resiliency

Agenda:

12:00pm-12:30pm: Empowered Networking – Team Building Challenge
12:30pm-2:00pm: Speaker Presentation & Q&A

Description:

The COVID‐19 pandemic has presented a major challenge to the emotional wellbeing for most people, as our daily lives have been drastically transformed by a myriad of occurrences outside our control. Many of us are likely stressed out and exhausted from having to maneuver the daily realities of living in a global pandemic, constantly worrying about the possibility of contracting the devastating virus, figuring out how to show up with our best selves when working from home where unexpected distractions and unique issues may be present, and even fearing what the future may hold for us. We may feel trapped physically and emotionally.

There are ways to come back to center, back to who we know ourselves to be. To recover our natural physiological equilibrium, maintain wellness and build resiliency, we will learn to apply the principles of “somatic intelligence,” a mind-body science that explains how the spirit, mind and body are intricately connected, forming who we know ourselves to be and how we see the world. We will learn to appreciate the subconscious intelligence of the body that is constantly evaluating the environment we are in and the risks that we face. Through somatic intelligence practices, we will become aware of the warning signs it provides to us when we are facing adversity and tools to take preventive positive actions to minimize our stress responses and bounce back from daily challenges, big or small.  The term ‘soma’ is a Greek word that means ‘body’.

Our speaker will explore somatic intelligence, how managing and leveraging our physiology and nervous system can help us be more relaxed, confident, and at ease in high-pressure situations.  This engaging workshop will discuss the intelligence hidden in posture, gesture, and sensation, will feature exercises and techniques to increase our awareness of what our body is telling us, tools to manage our nervous system when we feel threatened or “off,” and questions to ask ourselves and others to engage the whole person, not just the mind.

Speaker:

A facilitator and coach with expertise in organization development (OD), Becca Bartholomew has extensive experience working with groups and individuals to foster communication and effective collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Becca helps her clients implement strategies that increase their emotional intelligence and efficacy.  She is known for her clear communication, innate ability to foster trust, and firm, yet gentle approach to helping others recognize their blind spots and engage specific tools to articulate and reach their goals. She gracefully supports her clients toward self-reflection, new learning and increased awareness of their impact on others. Becca coaches leaders across the globe and has a special passion for working with people who hold societal privilege and want to address their role in upholding and dismantling systems of oppression. In addition to coaching and OD consulting, Becca is a facilitator with American University’s Masters Program in Organization Development and manages all the facilitators who support cohort-learning throughout the program. She holds an M.S. from Tufts University and a B.A. from Hampshire College. She is certified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which helps people identify their personality preferences and how those influence their impact and effectiveness, as well as the Emotional Quotient 2.0 (EQi/EQ-360) which measures a person’s social and emotional intelligence (EI) and is a jumping off point for increasing EI—a vital part of effective leadership. She strongly believes in the importance of engaging the whole person (mind, body, emotions and spirit) to create lasting change.

She is a certified yoga teacher, has a regular mindfulness practice and, where appropriate, brings these and other somatic tools to her clients. Becca lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband and son and works with clients across the globe. When not working, you can find her traveling, enjoying art, doing yoga or playing with her son.

 

Workshop #4

Phase 2: Workplace Improvement Skills

Monday, April 24, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Developing Your Leadership Potential

Agenda:

12:00pm-12:30pm: Empowered Networking – What is Your Leadership Style?
12:30pm-2:00pm: Speaker Presentation & Q&A

Description:

Even if you are currently in an individual contributor role, there may be times when you may be asked to take on a leadership role (perhaps as a team leader for a project), or you may be given the opportunity to move to a position that allows you to manage others, or you may aspire to move up to a leadership role. Being a leader is more than a title, it’s important to know how to lead others, get the work done, deal with conflict, solve problems, and inspire others to follow.

Our speaker in this workshop will help you to:

  • Gain an understanding of the various leadership styles and develop behaviors supporting the specific styles
  • Recognize and amplify your leadership skills and strengths
  • Build your personal board of advisors
  • Learn the importance of crafting a compelling vision
  • How to demonstrate commitment, courage, and flexibility

Our speaker will also explore workplace challenges that are uniquely faced by women leaders and share key strategies on how to overcome these challenges.

Speaker:

Sharon Podobnik Peterson, Founder of The Center for Conscious Leadership, supports exceptional leaders in visioning and realizing a future that others cannot yet see. As an educator, serial entrepreneur, and coach, Sharon is a master at evoking possibility in people, ideas, and organizations, and catalyzing ideas into action. She believes that lasting transformation requires deep reflection, calm power, courageous action, and a willingness to experiment with tiny shifts in being that create dramatic results in our outer world. She works with clients to bring to light their most powerful and authentic leadership identities, and cultivate an embodied, effortless leadership presence that increases confidence, clarity, and the ability to be joyfully and intentionally disruptive.

Sharon most enjoys working with highly accomplished individuals and teams who are moved to combat systemic inequality and envision a more just, peaceful, and equitable world. Sharon is a graduate of the Georgetown School of Continuing Studies Leadership Coaching Certificate program and holds ICF ACC credentials.

Workshop #5

Phase 2: Workplace Improvement Skills

Monday May 22, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Applying Your Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace 

Agenda:

12:00pm-12:30pm: Empowered Networking – An Emotional Intelligence Game
12:30pm-2:00pm: Speaker Presentation & Q&A

Description:

Emotional intelligence or Emotional Quotient (EQ) is the ability to recognize, understand, navigate and express our own emotions, to know the impact our emotions have on our thinking and behavior, as well as the ability to successfully navigate and influence the emotions of others. EQ is the foundation for forming, developing maintaining, and enhancing close personal relationships. Research suggests that people with a high EQ are more  innovative  and  have higher job satisfaction than those with lower EQs. Fortunately, our EQ can evolve and increase with our desire to learn and grow, unlike Intelligence Quotient (IQ), which does not change significantly over a lifetime. Achieving a high EQ is not just for people in leadership roles, but it’s a quality needed for everyone at all levels of their careers to help foster workplace success.

At this workshop, participants will learn how EQ is a valuable skill that helps improve communication, management, problem-solving and relationships within the workplace, about habits of emotionally intelligent people, and steps to improve skills in the key categories of EQ.

Speaker:

Gayle Johnson, Founder of EVOLVE Life Coaching, helps companies and governmental organizations maximize employee effectiveness through emotional intelligence leadership training and coaching.  Gayle has enjoyed the role of political strategist, workshop facilitator, and transformational leader for over 20 years. Her effective leadership style has been developed through coaching high-level leadership, mid-management, and frontline employees on the importance of emotional intelligence, and how applying it creates high-performing teams, helps retain good talent and ultimately increases revenue. To support her experience as a transformational thought leader, Gayle pursued a Master of Transformational Leadership at Seattle University, providing her with the in-depth understanding of the theory behind what it takes to be an impactful leader, team member, employee, and how to manage one’s emotions while working in diverse organizations.

Gayle is a Seattle native. She graduated from Roosevelt High School, attended the legendary Spelman College in Atlanta, GA, and then transferred to the University of Washington, where she received a B.A. Degree in Political Science.

Workshop #6

Phase 2: Workplace Improvement Skills

Monday, June 26, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Principles of Influence and Persuasion

Agenda:

12:00pm-12:30pm: Empowered Networking – Flex Your Influence Muscles
12:30pm-2:00pm: Speaker Presentation & Q&A

Description:

How often have we admired someone who appears to have the superpower of influence and who could also easily persuade others to do their bidding? Influence and persuasion are two separate leadership skills. Influence is a personal power that comes from a trait that you possess, is a part of your identity and involves your ability to impact or change the opinions, behaviors or actions of others without having a formal authority over them. Persuasion happens due to your action and it is about convincing others to achieve desired outcomes without coercion. Not having a formal position of authority at your workplace does not mean that you can’t wield any influence over others – you can learn to be effective at influencing diverse stakeholders that are crucial to your job.

This workshop will help the participants understand how to assess their own level of influence, finding sources of personal power, learning strategies of influencing and persuading without manipulation or coercion, and knowing how to implement those strategies.

Speaker:

Ellenore Angelidis, Founder and CEO of L.E.A.D. (Lead, Empower, Activate, Dream) LLC, is focused on empowering high performing, value driven leaders, teams, & organizations to multiple their impact. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund (a 501(3)(c) NGO) which is focused on increasing educational opportunities (literacy, tech and art) for K-12 kids in Ethiopia, her daughter’s birth country. Previously, as a 13+ year employee of Amazon, Ellenore was part of the company’s recent growth; she held senior business, product and legal roles for Amazon in Seattle, Luxembourg, and Paris – and is passionate about bringing change and forward momentum. Prior to Amazon, she received her legal start at the Chicago firm of Baker & McKenzie, then went on to manage complex litigation including regulatory matters, public relations and crisis management, as well as supported strategic sourcing for Sears, in Chicago, Illinois.  Ellenore is also a published writer; on-line magazines (Working Mother, Adoptive Families, InCulture Parent, and Women’s Essence), on LinkedIn and on blogs (Ethiopian Ties and Balancing Career Family). She also published two children’s books, The Loud Prince and Surprise on Lake Tana, with colorful, diverse characters, through Kindle Direct Publishing. She has built teams across a variety of disciplines, companies, and countries which gives her a uniquely broad perspective to share.

At home, Ellenore has a partner of 25+ years and 3 children, ranging in age from college to elementary school, plus a dog, a cat, and a parrot. As a volunteer, Ellenore has held board and fund-raising positions with the not for profits WACAP and Ethiopia Reads.

Huddle Showcase & Graduation

Monday, July 24, 2023
12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Monday, July 24, 2023 @ 12:00pm – 2:00pm PT

Huddles “This is Us” Showcase

Agenda:

12:00pm-2:00pm PT: Huddles Showcase

Description:

The 2023 Women in Tech Program will have its own version of a “Show & Tell” showcase of the Huddle teams. Each Huddle Team will be asked to work on a project for the entire Program year that will showcase their collective strengths, creativity and passion. Details about this Huddles Showcase will be shared at the first workshop with progress check-ins on a quarterly basis. On July 24, each Huddle Team will showcase their project to the entire cohort and to leadership from their organizations whom we will invite to attend this workshop to see all the work that each Huddle has put into this project.

mentorship huddles™

Mentorship Huddle Program Overview

As part of the PowWFollowMyLead Program, the women will be assigned to Mentorship Huddle groups made up of 6–8 participants, which will be facilitated by a Huddle Mentor, a peer to the participants. The Huddle Mentor creates a supportive environment for their Huddle team that fosters a feeling of belonging and value as a member of the organization and the program. Huddles typically meet for an hour once a month.

The women in each Huddle will collaborate closely to work through insights and learnings from the workshops and use their Huddle as a safe space to open up and seek needed help and guidance from one another. The women will also be paired up within the Huddles so that they can be accountable to each other for their successful journey through the program.

why mentorship huddles?

  • It encourages the expansion of knowledge pool as women from different organizations can collaborate to learn from one another.
  • It helps to build inter-organizational personal relationships by breaking down silos between organizations, genders, ethnicities and beyond, providing a safe space to discuss things which can sometimes be uncomfortable.
  • It gives participants a place where they can have a voice that matters to build confidence and develop or improve leadership and other skills.
  • It connects people with varying skillsets to tackle challenges or issues raised during a Huddle meeting.
  • It may help open access for the participants to influential peers, future sponsors and senior leadership that they might never have interacted with before.
  • It aims to inspire participants to push themselves to deal with obstacles by understanding that others in the group may be tackling similar issues and helping them to overcome those issues or obstacles.
  • It fosters the building of trust between participants that allows them to come together in support of each other’s goals, while simultaneously seeking to achieve their own.
  • It aims to be more fun than traditional mentorships with group activities, including role play and brainstorming that creates energy and camaraderie.

how does a mentorship huddle work?

  • All participants will be assigned to a Mentorship Huddle, facilitated by a Huddle Mentor.
  • After each workshop, questions and details of that workshop will be shared with the Huddle Mentor who will use the provided information as the base for group discussions at Huddle meetings.
  • Huddle meetings will be scheduled by the Huddle Mentor as appropriate with that specific Huddle group and will be held no less than once a month. Huddle meetings typically last for an hour.