WEST Wisdom Blog

Like your career, executive gender parity is not one-off tactic or a simple checklist. Gender parity among leadership requires intentional cultivation, systemic design and strategic implementation.

Topics: Gender Balance, STEM, Gender Balance, Women, Awards, Women in STEM, Business, Equal Pay, Leading Ourselves, Gender Pay Gap, Challenges, Leaders, Career Development, Empowerment, Advocate, Inclusion, Diversity, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Women in Business, Organizational Culture, Corporate Culture, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Gender Parity

Conflict is caring

You know it’s time to polish your resume if you don’t care enough to voice your frustrations. Or call out the cognitive disconnect. Or make your case for a different approach. Personally and professionally, we tend to treat conflict as a negative event. But if someone cares enough to state their disagreement, that means they are invested in the outcome. Conflict only arises in situations where participants care enough about the subject to question whether the means best serve the ends.

Topics: Women in STEM, Workshop, Upcoming Events, Emotional Intelligence, Developing Your Skills, Problem Solving, Conflict Resolution, Feedback, Career Development, Influence Without Authority, #WESTevent, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave

Feedback shouldn’t feel like being called to the principal’s office

Regardless of whether it’s positive or negative, both the giver and receiver of feedback find the exchange awkward at best. No matter how stellar your year was, many of us approach our reviews somewhere on the going-to-the-the-principal’s-office spectrum ranging from Ferris Bueller to Bart Simpson. 

Topics: Leadership, Communication, Coaching, Management, Developing Your Skills, Insight, Engage, Feedback, Career Development, #WESTevent, Be Fearless, Be Brave

Even if you work for a non-profit, you are not their charitable act 

Topics: Influence, Tools, Career Path, Leading Ourselves, Developing Your Skills, Self-Awareness, Personal Branding, Career Possibilities, Empowerment, New Opportunities, Advocate, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Women in Business, Organizational Culture, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Competence

WEST and Cooley invite you to our Holiday Cocktail Party on 12/12 for an evening of networking and festive food and drinks. Please join us to celebrate the holidays, connect with members, exchange ideas, learn about job openings and more. This event is free for members thanks to Cooley’s generous sponsorship.

Topics: Women, Career, Communication, Community, Women in STEM, Networking, Upcoming Events, Professional, Connect, Holiday Party, #WESTevent, Be Fearless, Be Brave

The days of spending your entire career at one organization, or on a linear career path are long gone. We can’t all be doctor-astronaut-business leaders like Dr. Mae Jemison. But you can leverage your STEM and industry expertise to make the leap from a linear career. Hop the single-track and explore the multi-faceted web of STEM enterprise. You’ve probably already been building the net unconsciously. 

Topics: Transitions, Career, Women in STEM, Career Path, Emotional Intelligence, Career Possibilities, Speed Networking, New Opportunities, MBA, #WESTevent, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Venture Capital/VC, Business Development

Your SOP mindset is crucial

You negotiate every day. Sometimes it’s big stuff. The contract for a new client. The compensation package for your new job. Smaller, daily negotiations also exert a substantial cumulative impact. How you feel before and throughout the negotiation process effects more than the outcome. The emotions elicited by anything you do daily are key factors in how you experience the world. 

Topics: Communication, negotiation, Women in STEM, Relationships, Developing Your Skills, Problem Solving, New Opportunities, #WESTevent, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave

There’s no such thing as a rocket scientist

No one person is capable of understanding all the science necessary to launch a rocket into space. Rocket science is a group effort. A collaboration of scientists. They may start the project focused on the components relevant to their specific expertise. But the rocket literally cannot get off the ground until all those technical experts pool their specialist knowledge to make the components into a functional system. 

Topics: Communication, Collaboration, Developing Your Skills, Conflict Resolution, Open Innovation, Self-Reflection, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Research & Development

Today’s STEM careers are anything but linear and predictable 

Investment firms recruit doctors and statisticians to manage health care and quantitative funds. Dr. Mayim Bialik, neuroscientist, has a leading role on The Big Bang Theory. And these days, especially in STEM fields, it seems like everyone has a side hustle that could be just about to go big time. Or, they’re sitting board members for their favorite non-profit. 

Topics: Career Possibilities, Speed Networking, New Opportunities, #WESTevent, #WESTorg, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave, Research & Development, Devices

Your Career = Your Business. Regardless of industry, at some point, moving forward will requiring marketing your business-of-one.

In STEM fields, entrepreneurs don’t have a monopoly on ‘selling’ ideas. As the CEO of your career, you are your best advocate. In life and career, eventually we all find ourselves pitching a new concept. Maybe you need to explain your science to prospective investors. Or, you’re going for that grant. Or you want to present your paper at a conference. 

Topics: Women in STEM, Upcoming Events, Tools, Career Development, Marketing, Advocate, #WESTevent, Women in Business, Be Fearless, Be Brave