Boardroom Skills For Women

Margo Wolf O’Donnell and Tara Kamradt of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff put together a panel titled Women Lawyers’ Leadership Skills: Navigating the Boardroom. The concept grew from their conviction that gender diversity is an important factor in building strong corporate teams, and that women who have risen to the top of their profession have something to teach about navigating careers. “There’s a myth that if you’re in-house, if you’re no longer in the law firm world, that you don’t have to worry about client development,” said Nancy Laethem Stern, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Allston Holdings LLC. “However, if you want an outside board position, or even just to progress in your career at all, you really have to speak on panels, write articles, take a leadership position in an industry group, join a club, and talk to people. Because that network, inside and outside of your company, is going to be an important source. People are not going to want to ask somebody to join their board who they don’t know well.” Other participants spoke about the importance of diversity, what makes a visionary leader and how to navigate being new to the boardroom.