Lean In Circle meetings offer much-needed conversation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/02/2018 (2869 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Women helping other women in is the driving force behind a group of seven local business leaders banding together to form a Lean In Circle.

The group of women get together on a monthly basis at a rotating list of local drinking establishments to discuss the nuances of doing business in Brandon, from staffing concerns to bigger picture items, over a bottle of wine.

“It’s just another good way for women to have conversations that I just don’t think that you have otherwise,” member Tanya LaBuick said prior to this month’s meeting, held on Feb. 9 at Lady of the Lake.

There are “so many” things people don’t talk about — workplace stresses and anxieties — that the group of seven hash out without fear of judgment.

“If we don’t talk about it nobody knows that you’re feeling it,” she said. “It’s about empowering each other.”

The Lean In Circle concept was developed by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in 2013 to offer “women the ongoing inspiration and support to help them achieve their goals.”

Discussing the group around a bottle of wine prior to their Feb. 9 meeting, five of seven local Lean In Circle members reflected on their time with the group.

In the hectic day-to-day operations of any business, its leadership doesn’t always have time to reflect on how things are doing, and what could be done better, member Bonnie Nay-Draper said, adding that this is where the Lean in Circle comes into play.

The circle of business leaders consult with one another on a wide range of issues, unravelling problems and putting them back together during discussions that are always underpinned by support.

Everything’s confident, with Nay-Draper describing the end result being a group of women who “leave here being better versions of ourselves.”

These meetings don’t adhere to a strict schedule, and while they try to focus meetings on business concerns, the group has become a group of friends, with their meetings, initially expected to last an hour, oftentimes lasting until late into the evenings.

The eclectic group’s “healthy disagreement” help in keeping everyone thinking about different perspectives, member Cathy Snelgrove said, adding that the group’s open-mindedness is one of its most constructive aspects.

“We’re like-minded, but not identical,” LaBuick added.

Everything comes down to helping each other achieve their potential, Nay-Draper said, adding that the group has helped her continued growth in becoming the person she wants to become.

Their all-women focus recognizes that women see the world differently than men, LaBuick said. “The way we experience the world is so different based on your gender that it has to affect the way you run your business.”

That said, Snelgrove added there’s no reason groups of men, or mixed groups, can’t start their own supportive group.

All it takes is finding the right people who will help each find solutions to problems and help other grow as people and as leaders in the business community.

Several tips to starting up a Lean In Circle are available online at leanincircles.org.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB