Can America be agile?

As President Obama was sworn in this morning, my collegues and I huddled around a TV in the permanent exhibits of our Museum. And, although we are a small, yet loud group, we were all silenced by the President’s inaugural address. You could feel the weight of the words he spoke, and whether or not everyone in that room voted for him, there was a sense of respect and willingness to follow. I heard murmurs of “America needs this change,” and “wow, Aretha can really sing!” For me, the parts of the speech that inspired my thoughts the most were his thoughts on change. President Obama said, “for as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.” What a strong statement that attests to the personal commitment we all have to make a change. Can we continue this surge that started with the elections and continued with the masses that showed up today? That is what is so interesting about change, it only occurs when one makes it happen.

I think about change in my own life and work, which seem to meld together a lot. We have to be agile and accept change or we will suffer the fate of being passed by. Learn new ways of performing your tasks, keep your minds and actions agile and open to new thinking. For some, this is a hard task. Many have preached change, but how many have followed through to make the change permanent? This is one of the many challenges our President and other political representatives are charged in accomplishing. They, as well as ourselves, must use our talents, skills and tools to begin this process.

As President Obama eloquently, yet pointedly charged in his inaugural address:“Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.”

Why should I attend a national women leaders summit?

1) Learn how to best leverage your experience to earn a promotion or make a successful career transition in corporate, non-profit, education, or government.

2) Ask alumnae of Leadership America, the National African-American Women's Leadership Institute, the National Hispana Leadership Institute, the Center for Asian-Pacific American Women, Leadership California, Leadership Texas, and Leadership Illinois about whether or not you or someone you know should apply, and find out what they gained from their experiences.

3) Share your great ideas with hundreds of the nation's most dynamic women leaders.

4) Provide invaluable input on what mentors and mentees need most to develop the next generation of women leaders.

5) Gain invaluable contacts in-the-know about "The Next Big Thing" in their industry.

Admission to the events at Omni Hotels THIS Thursday, Sept. 18 in San Francisco and Friday, Sept. 19 in Los Angeles is free but reservations are required.

Images from Chicago

In the early morning hours of an overcast Monday, about three dozen women between the ages of 23 and 88 gathered at the Omni Hotel in Chicago for the first of five National Women's Leadership Summits sponsored by State Farm and presented by Leadership America, the National African-American Women Leadership Institute (NAAWLI), the Center for Asian Pacific American Women (CAPAW), and Leadership Illinois. Their idea: to reflect on the past two decades of women's professional development training programs, and to define "the Next Big Thing" women will need to lead in the 21st century.



About one-third of participants were alumnae of Leadership Illinois, and a handful were prospective members who hadn't participated in any of the sponsoring organizations' training sessions. Ideas ranged from the engagement of online social media to the construction of senior women's co-housing. Data gathered will be combined with information from sessions in San Francisco (September 18), Los Angeles (September 19), and Dallas (October 11). Space is limited and registration is required. Link here to register.

If you cannot attend, join the Leadership America Alumnae group on LinkedIn, get live text message updates via Twitter and view photos via Flickr.