WEST Wisdom Blog

In July, WEST said a heartfelt thank you to the previous leadership and welcomed several new faces. Elena Spencer moved from Vice President to President, Karin von Hodenberg stepped into the Vice President role, Kristen Lorentz joined the leadership team as the Treasurer, and Jen Reilly is returning to the Clerk role. With all these new faces, WEST wants to allow our community to get to know your leadership a little better. Read our conversations with the new WEST leadership members below.

Topics: Leadership, Team, Community, Leader, Women in STEM, Annual Theme, Board of Directors, STEM Women, STEM Leadership, Strong Women

There are so many questions we can ask about trust. How can teams increase effectiveness through building trust? What skills are needed to build trust? What about virtual teams? During WEST's 10/14 webinar with Laurie Bohn, you will engage in an interactive, virtual dialogue about building trust within your team and across your network.

Topics: Leadership, Women, Team, Career, Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Interactive, Trust, Developing Your Skills, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Webinar

Just as leadership is a role best executed by personal example, in The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey explains that the foundation of trust is personal credibility, which Covey describes as the product of “Four Cores”:

• Integrity: Do your actions align with your values?
• Intents: What’s your agenda? Are you thinking about your year-end bonus or your team’s long-term success in the context of your organization’s mission?
• Capabilities: As important as what you know and how you do it, is your ability to accurately gauge your competencies and execute accordingly.
• Results: Listed last, but this really comes before everything. This is the track record that proves a person worthy of that initial trust that gets things moving.

Topics: Events, Women, Tech, Team, Science, Career, Community, Women in STEM, Workshop, Networking, Upcoming Events, Biotech, Interactive, Connect, Trust, Career Development, Influence Without Authority, Own It, Learn

By Jo Viney, Co-founder and CSO, Pandion Therapeutics

Last summer, one of our local radio stations, WBUR, ran a feature entitled “How Boston Became 'The Best Place In The World' To Launch A Biotech Company” (WBUR, June 19^th 2017). The article described the evolution of our unique infrastructure – physical, cultural and sociological – that resulted in Boston being THE place where ideas are catalyzed and made into reality. But what does it really take to be an innovator? And what characteristics are essential to becoming a successful entrepreneur?

Topics: Events, STEM, Women, Boston, Team, Science, Career, Community, Entrepreneurship, Panel, Cambridge, Success, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Innovation, Biotech, Discussion, Lessons Learned, Inspiration, Support, Challenges, Leaders

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

Is your team operating at its best? Do you have a systematic way of evaluating progress towards goals and removing the various impediments your team faces? Is your team delivering the best service or product quality at the right cost? The concept of operational excellence is a guiding philosophy which requires teams and organizations strive to achieve excellence in all aspects of its operations, adding value at every step. It offers a series of tools and methods that can help efficiency, effectiveness, and adaptability. It makes visible key performance indicators and what needs to be done to support performance. Join us on 9/14 for a workshop on Operational Excellence for Team Performance. You will learn about various operational excellence frameworks and how you can create and implement your own using proven techniques and methods. Specifically, you will leave with 10 tools to make your team more effective that you can start using immediately after the workshop. 

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

We all have to be leaders – leaders of teams, leaders of projects, leaders of families, leaders of ourselves. Leadership skills can and should be cultivated throughout your career, and well before you reach traditional roles of authority. Leadership is hard, even rocket science can seem easier at times. Leadership requires strong self-awareness and personal competencies that can be developed though continuous improvement and practice.

Topics: Events, Leadership, Team, Mentoring, Coaching