NST President Teresa Siles has long been a vocal proponent for the importance of surrounding yourself with people smarter than you and those who challenge you. For that reason, professional development is engrained in the core of the agency. It’s also a big part of the reason I was given the opportunity to participate in the LEAD Advance Program in 2024, as many NSTers before me. For those considering applying before the March 28 deadline, I want to be one of the many recommending the program and supporting my fellow women colleagues seeking professional development opportunities.
You’ll hear that LEAD Advance is meant to elevate women’s careers to the highest levels in the workforce through training and mentoring. While I may not be in the C-Suite quite yet, I can say that participating in the LEAD Advance Program last year left me more confident in my leadership and mentorship abilities, more comfortable in my leadership style and more eager to be the best version of myself than ever before.
The first day of the LEAD Advance program felt like a therapy session as Self-Leadership Coach Amanda Flisher led a deep dive into the Clifton Strengths Finder assessment. I’ve taken many similar tests in the past, but to have Amanda take the time to discuss our individual strengths, how we can best use them and redefine our “weaknesses” as opportunities for growth and moments to seek collaboration with those that have different strengths, redefined what leadership meant to me. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to learn and see firsthand how NST’s leadership team tackles challenges and inspires both clients and team members alike, but in my effort to mirror some of their traits, I overlooked my own strengths and ability to lead in a way that felt authentic to who I am as a professional. I can now tap into my own strengths (responsibility, deliberative, harmony, achiever, intellection) to lead account teams while understanding how to best collaborate with those whose strengths aren’t at the top of my list. This mindset shift has reframed how I talk about and use my strengths and opportunities for growth and provided me with a new appreciation for those who work differently than I do.
While I could dive into the learnings from every following session, my biggest takeaway from the program was the peer-to-peer mentorship. LEAD Advance brings together like-minded women from every industry in the region, providing a unique opportunity to learn from those that work in human resources, local universities, the armed forces, nonprofits, marketing agencies, banking, etc., and understand that as women, we are each other’s biggest support system. The vulnerability exhibited by these women inspired me in a way that, even as a professional writer, I’m not sure I can truly communicate. The room, filled with more than 50 women, felt like the safest place to share our experiences, understand that we’re all more similar than we think, and support one another in our endeavors to grow both professionally and personally in a way that I would argue is unique to women.
For those who are considering participating in LEAD Advance this year or in years to come, I can’t recommend the program enough, and I am confident that your experience will be as inspiring as mine was and will lead you to continued greatness.
If you’re interested in learning more about my experience with the program, my inbox is always open – aer@nstpr.com. Learn more about how to apply for this program here.
