Honorees Dr. Michele Y. Halyard, Sharon Lechter, Pamela Lam, Pastor Sheriolyn Curry Lasley, Jane Spicer and Bettie Spruill CMEC

“We all have the capacity to be positively powerful. The magnitude of the contributions of this year’s award recipients is truly amazing. They, along with each of our previous 16 Award Recipients, prove that everyone has the opportunity to make dreams a reality.” Author and renowned international trainer, speaker and coach Dr. Joel Martin, creator of the Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards program.

This year’s Fifth Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards will be presented to the honorees at the Phoenix Ritz-Carlton on June 22, 2012. Gala luncheon from 11:30AM to 2PM to continue with the Conversation On Leadership Summit (COL) from 2:30PM to 6PM. The program will include an intimate panel with the Award Recipients, speakers and transformational action learning focused on enhancing personal, professional and business development. The public is invited to attend. Additional information about the fifth annual celebration follows.

Dr. Michele Y. Halyard, The 2012 Positively Powerful Woman Award For Global Leadership.  Dr Michele Halyard is a consultant in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology. Her clinical areas of interest include the treatment of breast cancer and head and neck cancer patients. Her research interests involve the treatment of breast cancer with radiation therapy including interactions with systemic therapies, quality of life of in oncology patients and cancer symptom control. Administratively, Dr Halyard has played a variety of administrative roles within Mayo Clinic. She is a past Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology in Arizona. She served 8 years on the Board of Governors of Mayo Clinic in Arizona, including serving as Vice Chair. She also served 8 years as a member of the Mayo Clinic Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. She serves as the Links, Incorporated Health and Human Services Facet Chair, Western Area. She is a co-founder of the Coalition of Blacks Against Breast Cancer.

Sharon Lechter, The 2012 Positively Powerful Woman Award For Philanthropic Leadership. Sharon Lechter gives back to world communities as both a volunteer and benefactor. She is the founder of Pay Your Family First, a financial education organization and YOUTHpreneur, which sparks the entrepreneurial spirit in children.  Dedicating her life’s work to financial literacy, Ms. Lechter has authored Think and Grow Rich – Three Feet From Gold in cooperation with the Napoleon Hill Foundation, updated Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill-a manuscript hidden for over 70 years and is known world-wide as the co-author of the international best-selling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad and the Rich Dad series of books. Sharon has served on the Dean’s Council 100 of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and as a member of the advisory Board of the Spirit of Enterprise at the W.P. Carey School of Business. She serves on the national board of the Women Presidents’ Organization and on the national board of Childhelp, a national organization founded to prevent and treat child abuse. Sharon helps shape the state of financial literacy in our nation through her appointment to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.

Pamela Lam, The 2012 Positively Powerful Woman Award For Corporate Leadership.

Pamela Lam is the vice president of Research and Development for Henkel Laundry and Home Care in North American, reporting directly to the president of Henkel. Ms. Lam has numerous patents and a track record in delivering innovations. Her experience crosses all disciplines within R&D including an overseas assignment in China. She is a founding advisory member of the Asian American Professional Association at Henkel, an active member serving on the Scottsdale Workforce Development and an advocate for young talent development. She has personally, formally and informally, mentored dozens of young professionals. Ms. Lam holds an MS degree in Chemistry from Steven Institute of Technology. She received her Supply Chain Professional Certification at ASU in 2010. Pam was born in Vietnam and has had the pleasure of living in five cities and four countries so far. She is also a Corporate Advisory Council member of the Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of Asian America Professionals (NAAAP).

Jane Spicer, The 2012 Positively Powerful Woman Award For Entrepreneurial Leadership. Jane is the Owner and President of Daphne’s Head Covers, a family-owned, labor of love that manufactures just about every sort of animal head cover that can be imagined for golf clubs. Jane has offices located in Phoenix and internationally. In growing her business to the global status it has become, she had two goals: One was to remain solvent. The other one was, as her mother always said, “We must do good while we’re doing well.” That was hugely important to her. In that regard, Jane has created a fund raising head cover for Gabriel’s Angels an organization that delivers healing pet therapy to at-risk children. Jane’s entrepreneurial ambitions were awakened when she was a pre-teen and wanted a sailboat. Her mother said if she wanted one, she had to think of a business and make her own money. So she started making and selling toys and those morphed into puppets and ultimately to Daphne’s Head Covers, the firm named for her mother. Today approximately 200 PGA men and women have Daphne’s Head Covers. And, yes, Jane got the sailboat.

Pastor Sheriolyn Curry Lasley, The 2012 Positively Powerful Woman Award For Spiritual Leadership. Reverend Curry Lasley is the founding pastor of Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church in Maricopa, AZ. Mt. Moriah was voted into the Desert Mountain Annual Conference in August 2007 and will celebrate 5 years of serving the community on October, 14, 2012. Reverend Curry Lasley is an Itinerant Elder and has earned a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is also the founder of several businesses, which spiritually align with her ministry. They include Comfort Keepers, which for the last ten years has provided home care services for the elderly and Covenant Family Services, a behavioral health agency that hires and trains caregivers who provide services to seniors so that they may safely stay in their homes. Previously Reverend Currey Lasley was Senior Adult Minister for Tanner Chapel A.M.E. Church and fulfilled many leadership roles at this historical church including Director of Young People and Children’s Division (YPD) and Youth Minister.

Bettie Spruill, CMEC, The 2012 Positively Powerful Woman Award For Educational Leadership. Bettie Spruill, CMEC. is an international coach, management consultant, entrepreneur, public speaker and writer with 30 years’ experience in the field of transformational technology, and sacred commerce. She is also a certified Master NLP practitioner and member of the Transformational Leadership Council. Her retreat, The Feminine Face of Leadership, Power and Sex is an innovative approach to dynamic living. Her company, Ideal Coaching certifies coaches both here in the USA and Mexico. Bettie has led experiential effectiveness seminars and workshops in leadership, purpose and vision, and high performance for more than 20,000 people in Russia, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Chili, Mexico, England, Hong Kong, Canada, Ghana and the U.S. as well as multi-national and American companies and educational institutions. In 2000, Bettie adopted the village of Begora, Ghana. Since then, she has raised thousands of dollars to bring the people of Begoro coaching and training and helped develop vision, leadership, strategies and practices of sustainability. Her mentoring and coaching work with women in prison is having a positive impact on the lives of families and communities. Previously Bettie was Senior Vice President for Lifespring, Inc., one of the largest training and seminar companies in the world. Bettie is a student of the practices of Buddhism, deep ecology and global harmony, Universal Law, Egyptian and Christian mysticism.

2012 Positively Powerful Nonprofit Organization: Diana Gregory Outreach Services.  

This year, donations gathered at the 2012 Awards will be earmarked for Diana Gregory Outreach Services, a non-profit organization that provides programs in health, nutrition, education and housing. Every donation will go towards providing senior citizens with bags filled with free fresh produce (fruits and vegetables). These bags will be hand delivered to their facility/home by Gregory’s Fresh Market Place (GFMP) after the Awards.

Event Information: The public is invited to attend this year’s Fifth Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards at the Phoenix Ritz-Carlton on June 22, 2012. Gala luncheon from 11:30AM to 2PM. It will continue with the Conversation On Leadership Summit (COL) from 2:30PM to 6PM. The all-inclusive Awards Presentation, Luncheon and COL Summit registration is $75. Register online or by mail.

Thank you Sponsors!

When the spotlight shines on the Positively Powerful Woman, we get to shine a light on her and the causes that matter to her to empower all others to follow her lead. Dr. Joel P. Martin

Corporate Sponsors include Southwest Gas Corporation Community & Consumer Affairs, Arizona State University Diversity and Small Business Program, the National Bank of Arizona founders of the Women’s Financial Group and Henkel where excellence is their passion.  If you are not able to attend, consider sponsoring a seat for a relative or community member.

Dr. Joel P. Martin, Awards Creator and Producer, Positively Powerful Woman Awards. Dr. Joel P. Martin is considered “a genuine genius in her approach to personal transformation.” She is a training designer, facilitator and executive coach, speaker and author. She has worked with hundreds of individuals in Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit and entrepreneurial organizations across many industries in the U.S, South Africa, France, the U.K., Latvia, Finland, Malaysia, Russia and China. Through her company, Triad West Inc., she provides corporate services specializing in diversity and inclusion, leadership development, organizational alignment and executive coaching in breakthrough performance. Dr. Martin serves as a Commissioner on the Human Relations Commission, City of Scottsdale, a board member of ABHOW - a pioneer in senior living,  and she is the Director of Education and Training for the annual FraserNet PowerNetworking Conference, where urban professionals grow and prosper.

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Some of the largest companies in the world have found themselves in hot water because the nature of their business has changed and their predominant Leadership Style has restricted them from altering their direction.  How the people in leadership, consciously and unknowingly shape the organizational culture,  form and engage multi-generational teams, create agreements, and react now is radically different from how it used to be. Companies like, Paper Jam, Amazon.com, Google, Apple, Premier Payment Sytems, and Woot were giving hints about the changes that were coming. In the past, it was known that large companies had difficulty in changing strategies in mid stream, but at Internet speed changing course has become nearly impossible albeing vitally important for them. Leadership Styles are evolving to fit the changes.

Leadership development programs created as recently as five years ago need to be reaccessed and radically changed. The cost of entry into business has come down and there is plenty of talent available for hire, be it as consultants or staff.

Positively Powerful is creating a new set of Leadership Development Programs specifically for Entrepreneurs and Women.  Our objective is to prepare people for the new Leadership Styles that are paramount today.

I created the Positively Powerful Woman Awards as a way to empower others and support women who are making a positively powerful impact on significant numbers of people. This is my fifth year in doing so. In my past I was one of the first women to own and operate a full service advertising agency. Today I am a transformational training designer, trainer, speaker and coach. This commitment has taken me around the world and before audiences of all ages. One of my favorite expressions is “Everybody can’t do everything but everybody can do something if everybody does their thing everything will get done.” This Awards Program is “my thing”, my way of bringing my love of marketing, promotion, drama and transformation together to benefit others and organizations that I believe in.

How is it transformational? Intentionally so from the speakers, experiential education in personal and professional development to the diversity and inclusion that I include. From the Awards Presentations to the Conversation On Leadership Summit that happens right after. We’re making a global impact through social media also. We’re getting good news out! And that’s something that benefits everybody whether you attend or not. (And I hope you do.)

I have a small business, Triad West Inc. Each year I am joined by people who passionately believe in a mission of empowerment and education as I do, they are my sponsors and friends. Thus far the Sponsors are National Bank of Arizona, Southwest Gas, Henkel and Arizona State University. Join me and support a different kind of Awards Program.

Pam Gaber and Gabriel

Gabriel’s Angels mission is to deliver healing pet therapy to at-risk children, nurturing their emotional development and enhancing the quality of their lives forever. Please read on. Perhaps this chapter from Pam Gaber’s book will lead you to create your own revolution.

CHAPTER 5 –THE CHRISTMAS VISIT

My volunteer work at Crisis Nursery coincided with Gabriel’s first year of life. The Friday after we adopted him, I told the kids, “I just got a new puppy!”

“What did you name him?” they asked excitedly.

“We named him Gabriel.”

The next Friday, they asked, “Miss Pam, how’s Gabriel?” I told them that Gabriel had his first bath. The kids’ eyes were wide as I told them how Gabriel had been in the tub, shaking soap and water everywhere. I described how I dried his soft fur and how good he smelled afterwards. “What did he do next?” they asked.

“He fell asleep in my arms.”

“Awww,” the kids responded.

Every time I visited the nursery, they asked about Gabriel and wanted to see pictures, “What did Gabriel do this week? What did he do?”

“Gabriel ate my shoe.”

“Oh – Gabriel ate your shoe. Did you hit him?” on tiny guy asked. In that moment, I was reminded that this little boy was a victim of abuse and neglect.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I just threw away the other shoe. So now I don’t have those shoes anymore. Gabriel didn’t mean to eat my shoe. I left it on the bedroom floor, and he thought it was a toy.” I told them about the times Gabriel ate his bed and tore up the outdoor drip system. They were always interested in hearing how, when Gabriel was challenging, I never hurt him. I now realize that those little stories were lessons about compassion for these kids. They learned that Gabriel was a member of our family, and in my family we did not resolve issues with violence.

I began taking a little album with photos of Gabe to share with the kids. It had various pictures of Gabriel at home sleeping, eating, and playing. The pictures illustrated for the children that Gabriel was part of our family and was always treated as such. One photo was of a huge, beautiful lake with a tiny dot – Gabriel fetching a stick – right in the middle. I would ask, “Where is Gabriel?” And they would point their tiny little fingers right at the dot.

* * *

Since I’d been sharing all the details of Gabriel’s first year with the children, I wanted them to meet him. After all, they had been bonding with an animal they had never met. The perfect opportunity presented itself, so I seized the moment. Marsha Porter was the Executive Director of the Crisis Nursery, and I needed her permission to carry out my plan. “I know you’re having your annual Christmas party in December. And I came last year – without a dog. How about this year I bring Gabriel dressed as Rudolph so the kids can finally meet him?”

She looked at me and said, “That’s interesting.”

Interesting? I thought. That certainly doesn’t mean no.

Off I went to our local doggie boutique, where I purchased a pair of doggie antlers, a “Just Call Me Rudolph” t-shirt, and a big jingle bell collar. Quite honestly, I was amazed at all the Christmas regalia available for dogs at that store. That night, Gabe modeled his reindeer outfit for Mike. I thought he might mind the costume, but Gabriel was beaming, as if to say, “Look at me!” He strutted his stuff down our hallway and around the living room.

The day of the party, we arrived at the Crisis Nursery, and Gabriel jumped out of the car in full reindeer regalia, anxious to greet the children. We walked into the nursery. The children noticed me first, and then their eyes lit up like Christmas trees when they saw Gabriel. At first they were a little confused about whether it was a dog at the end of the leash, or a real reindeer. Some were quite hesitant. “Hi, everyone,” I said. “I brought Gabriel to meet you, and he decided to get dressed up like one of Santa’s reindeer. Would you like to pet him?”

After volunteering with these children every Friday for a year, I had gotten to know them pretty well, but that day they were different. They did not display any anger or violent tendencies; they were simply kind and loving toward Gabriel. They would gently pat his head and hug him. They carefully took his velvety ear and touched it against their cheeks. The nursery became an oasis of peace and serenity. And the only difference that day was the presence of a gentle gray dog.

I remember one little boy who was about five years old, with dark hair and a Spiderman t-shirt. He had just been admitted to the nursery and was in his room crying, uninterested in coming to the party. Even when a child is removed from a violent home and taken to a safe haven, he’s scared to death because he doesn’t know what safety is. Familiar violence feels safer than a peaceful place with strangers. Though the nursery accepted children from birth to age ten, most of these kids seemed to be between four and six years of age. It makes sense, because stress often elevates during the holidays, and it’s generally the little ones who get pulled from the home because they’re just not safe there.

But this little guy kept peeking around the corner to see Gabriel, and before long, he came out and draped his arms around Gabriel’s neck and buried his head in the soft fur. The boy not only stopped crying, but began to smile and laugh. Gabriel’s eyes were a limitless pool of understanding that day. Soon the line for photos with “Rudolph” was longer than the line for photos with Santa!

We all stood in amazement at how Gabriel, without any effort on his part, was reaching these children in a way no human had been able to. It was as if we were watching a movie unravel its plot. Gabriel and I were preparing to leave the party, when the shelter director said to me, “I don’t know what happened here today, but would you bring Gabriel back?” Wow, really? I felt like someone had just told me my child was a genius. I checked Gabe’s calendar, which happened to be free – so I said YES!

As we got in the car to head home, I sensed that something profound had happened. I had witnessed Gabriel reach those children like no person seemed able to. Normally angry, impatient, scared kids had been only kind and loving. I was deeply moved by all of it. I remember thinking that something magical had happened in that nursery, and I could either do something to create more magic, or I could do nothing and let it end there. I decided in that moment that I was going to do something. I just didn’t know quite what.

What Pam Gaber did was form an organization and launch a revolution. Today, Gabriel’s Angels serves 13,000 abused, neglected and at-risk children in Arizona through the application of innovative pet therapy. Presently Gabriel’s Angels has nearly 150 registered volunteer Therapy Teams and 40 Helping Hands delivering pet therapy to over 100 agencies. All services are free of charge to the agency and the children. The future vision of the organization is to expand the therapy program to meet the needs of approximately 7,000-10,000 additional Arizona children that need their services. The current cost to train and support one Therapy Team for a year is $2,500. To learn more about Gabriel’s Angels visit https://www.gabrielsangels.org/. Their “Unleash the Love” Fundraising Breakfast will be held Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Please learn more, volunteer, donate from wherever you are and attend the breakfast if you can.

Be aware of the “little things”.

Related

Gabriel’s Angels Positively Powerful Pam Gaber

Gabriel’s Angels – The Story of the Dog Who Inspired a Revolution

Nelson Mandela

Their non-negotiable values are their moral compasses residing deep within affecting their emotions and directing their actions. These ideals are firmly in place as they pursue their lofty aspirations. Integrity, authenticity, abundance, love, passion, humility, excellence, joy, creativity…these are a few of their values. With these strengths of character great leaders spur themselves, their teams, families, companies, even those that they don’t know on to greater heights. For example, think about Susan Taylor and mentoring, Steven Jobs and technology, Nelson Mandela and freedom, this is what I mean.

It is the great leader’s energy and willingness to be awake and aware of self and others that gives them the ability to unite people. They believe so passionately about changing the world, solving a problem or making a difference that regardless of their style (abrupt, quiet or some other) they will speak their truth one person at a time or millions together from their hearts with transparency and consistency.

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better… Jim Rohn

While their laser-like focus outward on what matters to them may make others uncomfortable, while their willingness to step out on faith may be risky for others, while their commitment to something bigger than themselves may seem like an impossible dream, great leaders walk their talk.

They know that life is precious and not to be squandered, that a vision is something that doesn’t exist but could with commitment, that nothing great is ever accomplished alone, that every human being has a special purpose and gifts, that they can change lives regardless of history or her-story and that everything is just an interpretation. In truth, being a great leader is something that everyone is capable of.

Written by Dr. Joel P. Martin for Cheryl Ragland, CEO, The MarketPlace Firm.

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Leadership and what it means “to be a leader” is greatly misunderstood in 2012. We’ve begun to substituted the fairytale notion of the

team building

“White Knight” whose singular obligation is to show up in the last second and save us, our organization and communities at the end the game. We just love the narrative that surrounds the last shot,  the fourth quarter drive, or the home run in the 9th as signals for the win.  All of these are about good fortune and talent though not necessarily about leadership.

Nestled in this notion of the “White Knight” is our belief  that we personally don’t have to take any responsibility for how we participated in the game, that doing the right thing or believing and trusting our team doesn’t matters.  If the end game is so important, then why play the other three quarters? Because most organizations win in an unspectacular fashion – day to day to day, making the small wins that add up to the big one. Leadership, trust, genuineness and the desire to serve all needs to be present at all times.

Here are four keys to winning any game.

• Preparation: In sports, the hours spent on the practice field, getting physically fit, watching tapes  and learning about your opponent makes the difference.  Same is true elsewhere. In the recently released “Game Change” (HBO Movies) the lack of preparation was sited as a major contributor to the difficulties that  John McCain and his runny mate Sarah Palin faced in their 2008 presidential  campaign.
• Team alignment: The expression that your organization is only as strong as your weakest link is not a saying it’s the truth. Every  one has to have the same vision, goals, mission and to be ready mentally when called on.
• Execution: Knowing what to do and doing it are not the same thing. Do the right thing for the right reasons.
• Open to Coaching: When you are in the middle of the game it is impossible to see what you are doing correctly or incorrectly. No one can afford to wait until the game is over to find out what they are doing. Call “time out” and get coached if you want to win.

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What if we determined that leaderships’ role is not to solve everything (the world) but rather to open a door to another’s possibility.  What if the fact that we don’t realize the difference we make with people is simply because we are reluctant to say, sincerely to one another, “Thank You, You’ve been a Powerful Presence in My Life at This Moment”. It is a simple thing to do, acknowledging the contribution of others in your own special way and words and actions. It’s free and it’s powerful. 

Most of our readers know how much we appreciate TED talks, and when possible we attend the local TEDx events in our town. Here is a recent video release from TED that we feel illustrates what we believe about leaders. One of the tenets of true leadership is being about something larger than self and being focused on something other than self. It is our authentic joy, love and willingness to be awake and aware that has the ability to change the world, one person at a time. This is just one example of how it’s done.

With the rise of social media a “monkey wrench” has been tossed into what was once a stealth process. Two recent and very public demonstrations of how social media has been a catalyst in having corporations reverse decisions not seen to be in the best interest of customer/constituents are Bank of America and Susan G. Komen Foundation. The motivation behind policy changes can quickly become public and in these two cases the public voted quickly and decisively to the extent that these policies were reversed.

All institutions are tussling with the concept of engagement, a term often used when talking about social media (and also regards employee engagement). The need for engagement recognizes that the public has enormous power and wants to be consulted on decisions impacting their professional and personal life. Through Twitter, Facebook, Smartphones and more than two dozen other social media outlets and tools, people are now able to air their concerns about, grievances for and challenges to decisions they believe to be unfair or harmful. Conversely they will also share what they approve of whether corporate policy or performances on youtube.

For corporations and institutions, the social media business model displaces compliance, a term which in essence meant the acceptance of decisions made without consultation. Social media is moving us towards engagement, ownership and the sharing of information, ideas and in some situations co-authorship. Telling ones story via social media is still the key point. However, the actions taken must be consistent with the story told, otherwise we must expect to get called on it.

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Graphic by Omar Sanchez, mustangdaily.net

The term diversity is taking on new distinctions. When it comes to boards tackling issues like funding, recruitment and delivery of services, thinking that challenges the status quo is important. One of the newer terms being applied to this is “diversity of thought”. Boards should be applauded that have this as well as visible diversity. Which brings me to a question asked at my presentation.

Is “We have diversity of thought” an adequate response to the question, “Do you have a diverse board?”

In real terms, yes. Board leadership can answer any question in any way they choose. However, answering this question in this way is a “cop out” when this response is all that is given. Questions to follow up with are…

• What is the cultural, gender, racial, (and so on) profile of your board? (The diversity dimensions identified by Marilyn Loden & Judy B. Rosener in their Workforce in America are useful guides in determining the profile of a board. )
• Is the board inclusive? (Inclusion is different from diversity.)
• Does your board reflect the community in which you live and/or serve?
• Do you have the skill sets that will enable you to deliver on your mission?
• Are you attracting diversity among your volunteers and suppliers?
• Would that answer alone be enough to get grants?

We have difficulty finding diverse board members who have the financial resources to give at the level we require, what outreach strategies can you recommend?

Participants brainstormed and responded:

• Know the centers of influence: Churches, chambers of commerce
• Do a board matrix. Identify the gaps
• Communicate WIIFT (what’s in it for them)
• Solicit sponsorships that take the place of the financial responsibilities
• Allow in-kind services
• Reach out at grad events, trade schools
• Use ads
• Do cross training with other boards
• Ask previous board members to come back
• Use social media
• Have contributions be more than financial
• Consider advisory boards without a requirement for financial giving
• Have a board development committee

Is there anything you would like to add to the conversation? If so, post your comment.

People who practice and understand the essence of Leadership, that is, “Integrity, Authenticity and Commitment to Something Larger Then Self”, will see social media as a way to collaborate and exchange ideas with people all across the planet to produce radical changes to industry, politics and education. All of us are well aware of the “Arab Spring or Occupy Wall Street Movements, but these two well documented happenings are really just a faction of the changes that social media has brought about.

So the question to ask yourself, is what is the positive change you want to see in the world and how can Social Media help?