Rheannon Sicely

I'm really passionate about leadership - how to be a great leader and how to influence others into being leaders. And I don't necessarily mean only if you manage people; you can not be a manager in an organization but still be a leader, still be influential, supportive, and have all of those attributes. What I would love to be known for is inspiring, mentoring, and influencing people in a way that helps them create what their dreams and goals are, bringing their own natural talents into the mix and using that to feel empowered in the work that they're doing. I don't think I'll probably ever master it, but that's something I aspire to be, and I go in every day with that in mind. That's something I continue to work towards and on. I've really transitioned from seeking a mentor to being the mentor, and I pride myself on the work I do in supporting others, building others, and developing others. Success from a business perspective is more than just the work you're completing - you have to be engaged, especially in nonprofit, at a different level and committed differently. You feel that when you feel seen, when you feel heard, when you have space, when you have people investing in you and seeing potential you might not see in yourself. I try very hard to create that ecosystem within my own team and organization.

I don't know if I could say what I've received in terms of advice - I think I've learned things along the way - but the advice I would give would be not to wait until you feel perfectly confident to start taking yourself seriously. Women are incredibly capable, and we often minimize our own contributions. It's hard to put ourselves out there. I've said this in my head a lot: 'well, anyone could do this,' but the truth of the matter is, don't shortchange yourself. That's not true that everyone can do that. People who bring clarity, steadiness, who solve problems, people who develop other people - those are not things to shortchange or snub at. Those are really important skill sets to have and bring. Take yourself serious. You have a lot to offer the world, and don't be afraid or shy to put that out there.

Don't try to overcompensate for who you are. As women, you get caught up in the stereotype - am I too hard, am I too soft, what should I be or shouldn't I be? - as opposed to just being. We are amazing individuals, very powerful individuals, and it's okay that we may have stronger emotional ties to things. I think that's what brings in more humanity, which is so important and often overlooked in the workplace. You being you is a very special thing, and don't be afraid of that. Don't try to make yourself something you're not. Be confident in what you have to offer, and take yourself seriously. Don't shortchange yourself or minimize your own contributions. People who bring clarity, steadiness, who solve problems, who develop other people - those are really important skill sets, not things to dismiss.

There is so much opportunity in change management. We're in a day and age where the landscape is changing so drastically with technology, but yet we as an organization need to ensure, especially with the work that we do, that we don't lose the human aspect of what we do. It's balancing how these two worlds collide and support one another. I think there's a huge amount of opportunity as we look to the next 5 to 10 years, not just in our organization but outside of it. We're all trying to figure out how to connect but also leverage the advancements we've gotten from technology, and how those two meld together and support one another. What does leadership look like when we start talking about incorporating more AI in all of our solutions? What does it look like when we have more technology that can take some of the mundane tasks or administrative functions out of our day? How do we support our staff to grow and understand those aspects, but yet not lose the human aspect of the service that we provide? It's balancing those two worlds - the macro and micro aspects are really still opportunities to get into and understand and grow.

Being open, honest, compassionate, and empathetic - these are all traits that I think are really, really important to bring, whether that's to your personal life or your career. It really helps you build better relationships, and a lot of what being successful is, whether in the workplace or outside, is all about the strength of the relationships that you create. Whether that's the relationship I have with my children, my husband, the people that report directly to me, or even people that don't report directly to me, it's all foundational and important to growth and moving along. If you have something that is difficult, you can always go through something more difficult if you've built a strong relationship around that. There's a different collaboration in solving a problem or working through a complicated situation if you have that foundation. Coming with your authentic self, being open, being compassionate, being empathetic - I think these are all foundational to being able to build strong relationships.