I recently completed the European Women on Boards C-Level Program and want to summarize my thoughts

For background, EWOB (European Women on Boards) started to support the initiative of increasing the number of women on boards – this leads to increased diversity, which leads to more balanced decision-making. The European Women on Boards directive was approved in 2022, stating that by 2026, women should hold 40% of top positions in companies. The challenge is that many people do not have the skills to be an effective board member; EWOB offers both the Board Readiness and the C-Level program.

The world needs more women in decision-making positions, as all the research shows that diverse teams perform better than homogenous teams. We welcome you into our EWOB community to enhance your networking with other senior women and increase your capabilities.

I chose the C-Level program because I felt the content was the best fit to help me level up as part of the Woo Happiness leadership team.

The course consisted of seven remote sessions, project work with a small team, and a final in-person session in Prague.

Many thanks to Valentina Thörner for her recommendation on EWOB.

Takeaways

• I wish I’d spent more time leaning into the differences and what I can bring to the table. I spent so much of the course trying to figure out why I didn’t fit in. I arrived in Prague and discovered that my Happiness title was a neat way to stand out. Even though I felt like the odd one out, my voice had weight and my perspectives added value to our discussions.
• Network. Network, network, network. Even with a8c, I use my network to move things forward. I knew this, but I hadn’t recognized the power of using your connections until now. Going forward, I need to actively cultivate my network.
• I’m so used to DEI being front of mind at Automattic; this course and the people I met showed me how much isn’t a given or isn’t even recognized as problematic. This ties back to my first takeaway: we need to celebrate our differences and ensure we’re inclusive to help people reach their full potential. I’m not entirely sure what to do with this one, yet, beyond keeping my eyes open more.

Going into this course, I didn’t clearly see the difference between leadership and people management. They often overlap but require different skill sets. At the C-level and above, it’s always about the big picture and how things connect.

Network!

The most important parts of the course were the project work with a small team and the in-person session in Prague. It was fantastic to meet people face to face (kind of like a meetup, but business casual) – the best connections are made when you go out to lunch as a group. We now have a LinkedIn group and hope to meet yearly to continue to connect.

EWOB is highly active and focused on building their community, offering talks, etc. I’ll make sure to stay involved.

Content

I found the following sessions most helpful:

• Strategic Thinking: An actionable leadership training into solving strategic organisational problems with Cloudagh Hughes – this session was helpful because it covered challenges to thinking strategically and how you can overcome them, for example, by deciding where you spend your time. Who have I pushed forward today, and what progress have I made on my BHAGs?
• Personal Branding: Define and build your unique leadership style and brand with Heather White was primarily helpful in reframing how I think about networking. For example, networking isn’t necessarily about what others can do for you but what you can do for them – this speaks to my servant leadership foundation and makes it feel less slimy. This tied into understanding the following question: why do you want people to come to you? What are your six branding words?
• Leading with inclusivity: Why inclusive leadership matters in a crisis and how to get it right – Nadia Nagamooto talked to us about challenging our beliefs and value systems; I’m interested in her new book, Beyond Discomfort. Kristen Anderson focused on her work on Barilla’s program for DEI and the concrete steps they went through to achieve the current results.

I found Obsidian helpful to track my notes here, and particularly link things together (“what does this remind me of?”) – the concepts from Linking Your Thinking were helpful.

We completed a project on leading through crisis: our group tackled the rise and fall of Uber’s CEO during the 2017 crisis. My biggest takeaway was how important each board component is, as each part provides checks and balances for stability.

Conclusion

While the content was hit or miss, the networking and personal growth made this course a good investment. I would recommend it to those who want to level up in leadership.

Featured image credit: Denis Poltoradnev on Unsplash