Dr. Nancy O’Reilly’s Advice on How To Work Together Better
As our holiday gift this season, we hosted an additional Virtual Happy Hour with Dr Nancy O’Reilly, President of Women Connect4Good, who spoke on how the combined power of women support each other can lead to extraordinary things.
Here is a short recap of the candid conversation between our President, Gloria Feldt, and Dr. Nancy, who is the embodiment of what we here at Take The Lead refer to as Sister Courage!
On how she came to write Leading Women and found Women Connect4Good:
As a girl, Dr. O’Reilly was quite different from what everyone expected a regular girl to be. And she noticed feeling she wasn’t as prized as boys were. Later on in life, as Dr. Nancy was blessed with 3 daughters (who now have 7 daughters and a son of their own!), her mission became to ensure that her daughters had the power to do whatever they wanted. She aimed to create a legacy for them which became a greater legacy for women finding their own power.
On how she encourages other women:
““Everyone is born with a certain power, and all of us are good at something.””
“The best way is the help women understand what their power is,” says Dr. Nancy.
Most women have a tendency to look at their power negatively, so it’s important to make sure they are comfortable with their own power, their power to do things the way they want to.
On how women can best reach out to each other:
Just ask, “How can I help you?” and then really be willing to help. Once you start asking how you can help others, it will automatically make it easier for you to ask for help, and supporting each other will only make us stronger. Read more about what Dr. Nancy calls, Connecting 2.0, on developing better relationships for more effective collaboration. And this advice isn’t just for women leaders as individuals; today, more and more companies are realizing the value of real community connections as well.
On how to make collaboration work when there’s conflict:
Set goals. Figure out what you truly want! We have to change the way we view collaboration, Dr. Nancy says. Ask people what they do and how they do it. Remember everyone needs a mentor, and stories connect people. Women compare themselves to each other all the time. If someone is well-dressed and well-spoken, we immediately think it all came to her easy. But it DOES NOT. Everyone has their ups and downs. In short, we have to learn to be comfortable in being uncomfortable. (Learn about leading through the inevitable ups and downs of collaboration by enrolling in our online version of Take The Lead’s 9 Power Tools to Advance in your Career workshop starting January 24th!)
On how to set processes that make a difference when it comes to collaboration:
Engage and delegate. You have to learn to say, “I don’t have to do it all.” We are all good at something, the trick is to take the lead to align our skillset. Be accountable, set timelines, and have guidebooks for next steps. One person can do a lot, but many people together can change the world. So share your experiences and passions with each other, it helps stimulate other people. “It takes one person with passion to put fire in other people,” Nancy reminds us. Find your passion! If you’re unsure, ask people who know you well what makes you get up in the morning. Ask yourself what makes you smile.
Dr. Nancy says the 20 women she collaborated with on her book, Leading Women, weren’t just experts in their field, they were all also passionate about a mission.
On why we must “replace the B word with Brilliant:”
Women need to encourage each other and not be judgmental. And not everyone is going to like you, so you have to learn to be comfortable in your own skin. You can turn so many scenarios around by just supporting each other and having each other’s back. As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said,
““There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.””
We must learn to get past what has us competing with each other and realize our power. The result of joining forces is always explosive. Take, for example of the collaboration, between Take The Lead and Women Connect 4 Good.
Takeaways:
Go out there and do all the things that you are afraid to do, or are uncomfortable with.
Learn to speak publicly, meet new people, talk to them openly.
Small steps everyday get you past your barriers.
Growth only comes from uncomfortable times.
Resources:
Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life: Dr. Nancy O’Reilly
Women Connect 4 Good
9 Leadership Power Tools to Advance Your Career
No Excuses: Nine Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power: Gloria Feldt
About the Author
Nishita is Take The Lead's blog editor. She is a Marketing Graduate at New York University. She is passionate about writing and expresses her opinions through this medium.