Royal Flush: Iowa Women Leaders in Gaming Industry Deal in Power
Laurie Battaglia, Take The Lead Leadership Ambassador, tells the recent Women Leaders in Gaming Summit 3.0 to make the shift to "power to."
Iowa leaders are proud of their track record of hiring and promoting women in the gaming/casino industry. Women hold more leadership positions in this industry than most other industries.
According to the Iowa Gaming Association, women make up 53.5 percent of the total gaming workforce and 40.3 percent of supervisor/managers. Women hold 30.3 percent of the senior/executive level positions in gaming, far above the national average for all industries.
At the recent Women Leaders in Gaming Summit 3.0 in Altoona, Iowa, more than 160 women leaders participated in Take The Lead’s 9 Leadership Power Tools To Advance Your Career.
I was proud to present at the annual event sponsored by the Iowa Gaming Association, with “7 Ways You Create Your Work and Life, For Better or For Worse” with my firm, Aligned at Work, where I am CEO and workplace strategist.
As a Certified Leadership Ambassador with Take The Lead, I’m always amazed at how different groups of women have various takeaways about the simple act of working with power and shifting the paradigm from “Power Over” to “Power To.”
Some of the women leaders attending the workshop made these comments at the conference:
“I am not alone. I am on the right track. I can do this.”
“Keep your voice strong.”
“Less apologizing.”
“It’s time to take back my life and take charge – no more excuses!”
“Attendees at our recent IGA Women Leaders took a deep dive into the 9 Leadership Power Tools during interactive breakout sessions to discover ways these could impact their own careers and take the lead—no matter what stage at work they are in,” said Wes Ehrecke, president and CEO, Iowa Gaming Association.
One of the hashtags we like to use at Take The Lead is #SisterCourage. This means there is strength in numbers and we all succeed so much more easily by helping each other.
As a result of our discussion that day, near the end of my presentation, one senior woman leader stood up and extended an offer to mentor a younger woman supervisor to help her find her way through the maze of her career.
And that, folks, is how we do it, using our power to ask for help and using our power to reach out and give it.
“Power unused is power useless,” says Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead.
““Power unused is power useless,” says Gloria Feldt.”
Each of us really does have power even when we don’t feel as if we do. As part of my presentation of the 9 Leadership Power Tools, I asked each woman to write down on a sticky note when she first knew she had the “Power To.”
Answers ranged from “When I got myself my first promotion” to “When I left an abusive marriage.” What I didn’t expect was seeing women visit the wall to read the notes throughout the day.
When did you know you first had the “Power To?”
About the Author
Laurie Battaglia is a Certified Leadership Ambassador with Take The Lead, CEO and Workplace Strategist for Aligned at Work.