WEST Wisdom Blog

"Christmas Carrels?" - From where I sit, managing my work and managing my people is an immersive experience.  Literally.  I always choose to place my desk in the middle of our workspace, the better to both be accessible and to communicate to my staff and my colleagues that we are all in this together.  In my view, leadership by example works best when those I lead can see my example every day as they walk past my desk. It is also a reality check, and humbling, to see the dedication of all those around me. It is all to easy to underestimate the amount of time and effort required to deliver on a project. Hard work is its own reward and by being in the center of all the action ensures I work (and can be seen to work) as long and hard as any of my direct reports. Whilst I do enjoy the "open office" design concept and believe it is important to be available for all the little questions, not just the big ones, there is a “cost”. A significant cost. And that is the cost of being constantly pulled in many different directions, and having to flex quickly between my many different roles as subject matter expert, communicator, decision maker, firefighter, manager, peer, and subordinate. It is very easy to feel out of control, and it is all too easy to succumb to being over overwhelmed, especially when taking on a new role, such as a manager or project leader. Don’t panic – there are simple ways to regain control and increase your effectiveness (and your enjoyment!).

Topics: Events, STEM, Women, Career, Communication, Community, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Management, Delegation

How do you think about managing your career path? Do you have the same conversations with your boss and find yourself trying to figure out what would work best in your organization? Does it feel like you are having the same conversation and using same general strategy? Maybe it’s time to put a twist on things and view your career advancement through a different lens. On December 4^th, WEST will host an interactive workshop and fireside chat with Lisa Prior, a veteran leadership coach and author of “Take Charge of Your VIEW: Career Advice You Won’t Get from Your Boss.” Lisa will enable you to implement a different approach to advancing your career. One that will allow you to take charge and develop a strategy. Lisa will lead an interactive discussion that will help you dig deep and come away with a different perspective. Come away with the desire to bring out the best in yourself and develop a new method to advance your career and the organization in which you work. Join us for an interactive evening filled with good conversation, an opportunity to meet other WEST members, and learn some interesting new skills that you can apply in life and at work.

Topics: Events, STEM, Women, Career, Community, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Career Path

In today's business world, it's rare that a team is physically located in the same space. Remote work is becoming increasingly popular and easier with advancements in technology. Business are also more global than ever before as it's easier to expand abroad. As it becomes easier for businesses to physically expand, it also becomes more difficult to collaborate and communicate. Between different time zones, cultural communication styles and varying priorities it's hard to stay aligned as a business. This creates challenges as we try and execute on a strategy. It's important that we double down on visibility into collaborative work and leverage tools that help us stay aligned. 

Topics: Events, STEM, Women, Career, Communication, Community, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Excellence, Operational, Business, Collaboration, Digital, IT, Tools

Shy?  Afraid you won't know anyone?  Like having a bit of an ice breaker?  (not too uncommon for those in the STEM fields).

 

WEST and Alnylam have teamed up to help you hit the easy button with respect to your networking.  You know you need to do it - why not have some help?

 

Come join us November 14 to meet and mingle with like-minded STEM professionals in networking activities designed to engage you with each other.

Topics: Events, STEM, Women, Career, Community, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events

Ever wished you could be the type of person that people take notice of when you walk into a meeting? You know the scenario…. the room hushes, heads turn expectantly towards the door, and there is an electric aura of expectation for what will come next. Or maybe you would like to be the person whose ideas are still being talked about long after the meeting has ended. Well, guess what…. it IS possible to become THAT person. Learn how to be the influencer, rather than the influenced!

Topics: Events, Women, Career, Community, Cambridge, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Presence, Discussion, Connect, Influence

We know that many women draw the short straw when it comes to money: lower wages, slower career progression, outrageous child care costs, costly clothes, ridiculous dress codes, health care, etc. We also know that many women find themselves at the end of their working careers with little financial security.

What are the underlying economic reasons for these unfair outcomes for women who are working hard to both support their families and promote their careers?

Topics: Events, Women, Career, Community, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Resources, Interactive, Equal Pay, Change, unConference, Economics, Solutions, Female

mind·ful·ness
ˈmīn(d)f(ə)lnəs/
noun
1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.
"their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition"
2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Topics: Events, Women, Community, Panel, Workshop, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Resources, Mindfulness, Interactive

Motivating your team to achieve top results can be hard when it's not clear as to how you'll get there. Teams need a framework and tools for achieving greatness, but often times teams can be skeptical of those frameworks and tools. Changing behavior for how things are done is hard. In order to create momentum with a new behavioral change, you want to find small wins with your new frameworks and tools so teams buy into them. Once the team sees a "win" with a new framework, it will be easier to get buy in moving forward and roll out for bigger initiatives on your path to success.

Topics: Events, Women, Tech, Community, Entrepreneurship, Panel, Upcoming Events, Discussion, Financial, Resources, Business

Biogen's WIN group is offering roundtable discussions with women from various areas of Biogen including R&D, Strategy, Asset Management, Clinical Safety Operations, Medical Research, and New Product Commercialization. They will be talking to female grad students and post-docs about their career paths and decision to work in industry. This event will be limited to the first 30 to register and at only $10, it is a great opportunity to network and learn.

Topics: Events, Women, Tech, Community, Networking, Upcoming Events, Working Remotely

In support of our wonderful community the WEST board has invested in the renewal of our website to make it easier to navigate and find out who we are and what we have to offer. We hope this will provide an opportunity to learn more about WEST’s mission and learning events, the benefits of membership, and the ways in which you can become involved with WEST. Take a look at our new event listings for the fall of 2017 and meet some of our members who have provided testimonials describing what they have gained from joining WEST. There are many ways you can get involved in WEST whether as a volunteer, a sponsor, a blogger or a workshop leader. Please take a look and see all that WEST has to offer and consider becoming a member today.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Women, Team, Science, Community, Networking, Upcoming Events, Excellence, Operational