 WELCOME ABOARD
We are delighted to welcome these new members to the Women’s Leadership Circle® Advisory Council:
- Rita Bellano, President, Bellano Ceramic Tile Co. Ltd.
- Sue Drinnan, Senior Consultant, Leadership and Talent, The Hay Group, Canada
- Ros Guggi, Deputy Editor, The Province
- Sue Hutchison, Senior Vice President, Global Payments and Cash Management, HSBC Bank Canada
- Lisa Martin, CEO, Lisa Martin International
- Candace Newton, President, Unlocking Secrets for Women Resources Inc.
- Tina Osen, President and CEO, Hub International Insurance Brokers & Director, The Vancouver Board of Trade
- Vinetta Peek, CMA (Hon.), Vice President, Programs & Marketing, CMA Canada, BC
- Jill Schnarr, Vice President, Community Affairs, TELUS
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the following resigning members for their contribution over the last two years in helping us launch and grow the WLC:
- Carol Lee, CEO & President, Linacare Laboratories & Director, Vancouver Board of Trade
- Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, President, Absolute Spa, Century Plaza Hotel & Spa; Director, The Vancouver Board of Trade & Co-chair, Spirit of Vancouver
- Elizabeth Lyall, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
- Dr. Tracy Monk, MD, Families for School Seismic Safety
- Tamara Vrooman, CEO, Vancity
The Women’s Leadership Circle Advisory Council meets three times a year to develop ideas for strategic development of the WLC as well as select speakers, events, topics and activities that will inspire and interest WLC members. See the list of all Advisory Council members.
 DR. DON RIX
Sadly, Dr. Don Rix passed away on November 6. He was a remarkable guy. During his year as chair of The Vancouver Board of Trade (2008-2009), you saw Don everywhere, even though he was battling a disease that would take his life. Yes, he was a very successful businessman, a well-respected doctor, but he stood out because of his passion and commitment as a corporate citizen. Not only was he a member of the WLC Advisory Council, he was instrumental in arranging for LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services to be the Founding Platinum Sponsor of the WLC. He was also the inspiration behind the founding of the Rix Center for Corporate Citizenship and Engaged Leadership at The Board. Don was a man who won countless awards, has numerous buildings named after him and invested heavily in building a better health system for all of us, but it was a strip of concrete running the length of the Oak Street bridge that speaks volumes about how committed he was to about helping all of us. Read the story, The Median is the Message
 ARE YOU HAPPY?
In her article, Blue is the New Black, Maureen Dowd, the op-ed columnist for The New York Times says that “women are getting gloomier while men are getting happier.” Research from six different studies around the world conducted each year since 1972 (a total of 1.3 million men and women to date), shows that despite all the progress over the last few decades, “women around the world are in a funk.” It doesn’t matter what age they are, if they are married or single, working or unemployed, with children or fancy-free, the results are the same.
There is lots of debate around this topic, but here are some ideas based on “why”:
- More demands on their time these days−coming home from work to do the “second shift.”
- Too much choice – could it be that the more “things that are crowded in their lives, the less attention women are able to give to each thing?”
- A tendency to be too hard on oneself – on work performance, looks, you name it.
Management guru, Marcus Buckingham, in his latest book, Find Your Strongest Life: What the World’s Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently wanted to know how to change this situation. He studied women who had “bucked the trend” and found that the happiest and most successful women:
- Don’t agonize over who they aren’t, they accept and act on who they are. They have discovered the role they were born to play and they play it.
- Don’t juggle, they catch-and-cradle. They don’t keep things at bay, but select a few things and draw them in close.
- Don’t strive for balance, they strive for fullness. They intentionally imbalance their lives toward those moments that make them feel strong.
- Always sweat the small stuff. They know and act on the specific details of what invigorates them (and they let go of what doesn’t strengthen them).
SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Do any of these things work for you? Do any of them resonate with you and will you try them? What are your thoughts on what makes women happiest? And do you believe that women are unhappier now? Our WLC Advisory Council would love to know what you think. Share your ideas at http://wlcircle.blogspot.com
If you want to find out what makes you happy, check out Buckingham’s quiz called the Strong Life Test.
 SHARE THIS QUOTE
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” – Maya Angelou
SHARE A QUOTE YOU LOVE
Do you have a quote that women would love – and may give men insight into the amazingly complex female mind, heart…? Share it with us at judy@workthepond.com
THE RESULTS ARE IN
 Inspiration, vision, friendship and networking opportunities are what you want from your WLC. This is based on the recent WLC Survey results. Not only did you tick the boxes, you wrote us hundreds of thoughtful and interesting comments, like the ones written by these women when answering the question: What are you looking for from the WLC?:
- “Access to successful women that are in senior business roles, and are ‘at the table’ with an organization of business men and peers, rather than being a separate organization.”
- “To network with other women in my community, to gain insight, create supportive connections, and participate in a collaborative setting that generates community empowerment for women leaders.”
- “To meet and exchange ideas with women leaders in business and the community.”
- “The opportunity to attend events and sessions that may be of interest to both men and women, but are presented from a women’s perspective, with women’s issues and their professional and business needs in mind. Men and women have a different focus, and the BOT needs a balance, which the WLC can provide.”
You also like the fact that our unique “connection through the Vancouver Board of Trade makes for a broad cross-section of women from the business, government and non-profit sectors.”
With respect to programming, interest is highest in the small roundtable discussions with speakers and business leaders (such as our exclusive speaker roundtables) and professional development workshops (with 45 per cent of you “very likely” to attend each.)
One of the more surprising things we learned is that more of you would prefer to attend events after work, with breakfast or lunch being your second choices.
There were over a hundred suggestions for events including:
- Learning from “gutsy female business leaders who did what everyone said could not be done and are doing it.”
- Wine-tasting, special WLC nights out at performing arts events, maybe visit different venues to learn more of Vancouver’s secrets.
- International speakers on world politics, medicine and global warming.
- More ALL ACCESS events.
- “How to get on boards, how to promote oneself, how to do this with three children and a working husband!!”
Thanks again for sharing your ideas
 AN ONLINE BOOK CLUB?
The ability to connect and learn are goals of our WLC members. So, we wondered if there would be any interest in a WLC Online Book Club Blog to discuss books pertinent to the roles of women in business today. For example, our book club might decide to tackle Marcus Buckingham’s latest book referenced above, or How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work & Life by Joanna Barsh, Susie Cranston, Geoffrey Lewis or The Sexual Paradox: Extreme Men, Gifted Women and the Real Gender Gap by Susan Pinker.
The club would need a moderator to help select the books, direct discussions, monitor comments, etc. but members would have the ability to participate according to their own schedules. And, if the demand was high enough, maybe your author could speak at a WLC event to bring your book to life!
To help us decide, could you please click the link below and tells whether or not you would be interested in participating in a WLC Book Club.
Take quick survey
 DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that we organize WLC tables at many Board of Trade events? Whenever possible, a WLC Advisory Council member will host* a table that other WLC members can join. The idea behind this is two-fold. Many of us would love to come to events, but are less likely to attend if we are going “solo.” It’s human nature. Secondly, we want to sit with other interesting members of WLC−these are both men and women, because we are an inclusive women’s network.
*The term host may be confusing, but in this case it means that the WLC Advisory Council member does NOT purchase tickets for folks attending, but that they act as a host at the table, making sure everyone is introduced to one and other, and that everyone at the table is included in a group conversation. Please feel free to bring your guest to this table as well. They might decide that this is a great way to connect and join the WLC!
 IT’S COMING
No, it’s not The 2010 Winter Games we are talking about; it’s The Holidays. We were amazed when we saw the annual Christmas Lunch and Wrap Up information sent to us while we were still in sunscreen mode, but it sells out each year and it is selling fast. We plan to have a WLC table at this event on December 1. Why not buy a ticket and join us at the Hyatt Regency from noon to 2 p.m.?
Register now
YOUR FEEDBACK
We would love to hear from you. Send your comments, ideas for this newsletter, for speakers, for content to: info@wlcircle.com
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