MARCHING ON

The 2007 Leadership Boot Camp Class The YWCA says “a career ladder can be climbed in heels,” and they’re showing women how it’s done
By Sarah R. Sphar

This spring, I was invited to drop in and observe several Leadership Boot Camp sessions. The Boot Camp program, hosted by the YWCA and Cuyahoga Community College’s Corporate College, is designed for women who have two to 10 years of career experience and are “rising stars” being groomed for management roles within their organizations.

Topics covered in Boot Camp include negotiation tactics, mentoring, communication skills, credibility and self-assessment of strengths and leadership styles. Aside from the notebooks, worksheets and presentations, though, is the intangible tool that each woman takes away from the program: the experiences, advice and fellowship of her classmates; as well as the expertise shared by women with impressive career accomplishments.

The importance of programs like Boot Camp is evident when considering the facts: men are 10 times more likely than women to negotiate their first salary; women ask for 30% less than men, on average, when they do negotiate; and that by not negotiating a first salary, an individual stands to lose more than $500,000 by age 60. During “Ensuring a Seat at the Table: Effective Negotiations,” Boot Camp participants were asked to divide into groups and decide what to do with a hypothetical windfall. Surprisingly, very few women asked to be responsible for either the entire amount or the largest share. These exercises teach women to think strategically about situations that can advance their careers and make them effective within their organizations.

Barbara Danforth educates the class on the differences between how men and woman communicate in the workplace What struck me most about Boot Camp were the remarkable similarities in the experiences of women in the workplace – whether the topic was salary negotiations, dealing with coworkers or balancing outside commitments with work, all women seem to encounter the same issues, regardless of the industry in which they work. Simply sharing those experiences created a collaborative atmosphere where participants were comfortable asking questions and helping each other solve those challenging career issues.

For more information about YWCA’s Leadership Bootcamp and Leadership Momentum, visit www.ywca.org/cleveland.

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