Webinars for the Times We Work In: Recap Part 2

In March 2020, the way we work changed dramatically. Overnight, we went from meeting and collaborating in person to hopping from one video conference to the next. In a world of constant, stressful change, Women in Communications and Technology came together to produce a webinar series to engage with our community. Webinars for the Times We Work In offered inspiration, education, and a sense of continuity amidst chaos from March 30-June 17.

Looking back on the 12 inspiring sessions, here are our lessons learned that we’ll be taking forward into the new workplace.

Many of the sessions touched on how to be an effective leader, especially through times of crisis, and why women have a unique and vital leadership role to play.

In her webinar on why the world needs more women leaders, Katherine Emberly shared how women are transformational leaders. Katherine, Shaw Communications’ President, Business, Brand and Communications, knows firsthand why we need women’s unique voices and perspectives at the table. Without them, opportunities to create change are missed every day.

During challenging times, leaders have the essential role of being there to support others so everyone can thrive. CORUS’ Cheryl Fullerton, EVP, People & Communications, Corus; Alexandra Henderson, Vice President, News, Global News; Sholeh Fabbri, Executive Producer; ET Canada, and Sangita Patel, on-air host at ET Canada, discussed how leaders should have a plan in place so that they can set the tone for others during their webinar on building resilient communities.

Being a multi-faceted individual with an entrepreneurial spirit can be a key ingredient for leadership. Nataline Rodrigues, Director of Original Programming, Rogers Sports & Media, Original Content Specialist and Beth Stevenson, Founder, Brain Power Studios shared how being willing to wear many hats helped them both succeed during their careers in the “team sport” of Canadian media.

For women leaders, mentorship and sponsorship can be vital to moving forward in your career. Global marketing leader Fiona Gao and Moneris President and CEO Angela Brown shared how their sponsorship relationship benefitted both of their careers. Approaching that relationship with clear goals and research helped the results go even further.

Mentorship can also help women make the first move into management. Paula Hodgins, President of HPE Canada, shared how the glass ceiling is not the only barrier that women leaders face. If we want to see more women in the C-Suite, we have to commit to fixing the broken rung on the corporate ladder by promoting more women to the first levels of management.

We often think of leaders as people who have great networks. Chantal Brine, CEO of EnPoint Mentorship, shared that networking is not one size fits all for you. At all levels of your career, knowing what networking looks like for you, taking ownership of that and making connections in an intentional way is essential.

Whether you attended one or all of the sessions in Webinars for the Times We Work In, we hope you found one takeaway that you can apply in your life, in your organization’s response to COVID-19 or in your community.

For WCT members, you can watch replays of all of our Webinars for the Times We Work In sessions on our website.