Insights

Designing Success at the 2019 Simmons Leadership Conference

Apr 15, 2019

“Design yourself your own tomorrow.”

These were some of the opening words from the 2019 Simmons Leadership Conference held April 2, 2019 in the Seaport District of Boston, MA. Now in its 40th year, this year’s conference focused on the theme of Designing Success. That said, what does Designing Success look like? For this year’s speakers, it meant a whole range of things from driving change to embracing transformation and more. As an active leader and innovator in the telecommunications industry, Somos was excited to sponsor the event and help educate and empower women from all walks and backgrounds.

"I’m not just one thing and neither are you."

One of the most inspiring keynotes from the morning was delivered by Laverne Cox. Laverne, an Emmy-nominated actress, producer and equal rights advocate, spoke intimately about her life experiences as a trans woman of color, she has definitely met her share of adversity and has spent a lifetime being a perpetual student, always learning how to fight stereotypes and embrace diversity. One of her main focuses was on being authentic and learning to be shame-resilient in your life. She likewise stressed the importance of getting to know people as people and foster a culture of inclusion. We are all special and have so many stories to tell. Whether it be at the office or at home, our challenge is to find a way to tell our unique stories in a way that can help people from across different backgrounds connect, innovate and grow with confidence.

"We need to listen to and really hear women’s stories."

Following Laverne’s powerful story of how she was able to design success was a presentation on “Women in Professional and Public Life: Challenge, Adversity and Triumph.” Julia Gillard, the first female Australian Prime Minister, stressed the importance of educating and empowering ourselves as women. During her tenure in public service, Julia was constantly ridiculed because of her gender and heavily discriminated against. According to Julia, "We expect men to be commanding whereas we want women to be nurturing. That’s the stereotype in our brain." So how can we combat this stereotype and encourage women, especially working women and mothers, to challenge adversity and be triumphant? Julia left the audience with the closing advice: 

1. Be very clear about your sense of purpose
2. Own and cultivate your sense of self 
3. Carve out time for quiet reflection to focus on the important versus the urgent

“That’s why I’m here. To kill shame.”

The last speaker of the day was Jameela Jamil, an outspoken actress, women’s right advocate and creator of the I Weigh movement on Instagram. She created the movement to help celebrate body positivity and self-worth and to recognize that your weight is more than a number on a scale – it is the sum of your accomplishments and your positive contributions. One great way to keep a positive attitude according to Jameela is to surround yourself by people who inspire and empower you. When we remove the negative energy around us, we are better equipped to focus on the important things in life. She provided a strong reminder that we are all successful in our own right and to not be afraid to express that both in the workplace as well as in our personal lives.

This year’s Simmons Leadership Conference was truly an amazing, inspiring event that left Team Somos feeling empowered and ready to design a future full of accomplishments and success.