KnowledgeBrief welcomed Dr. Dawn Sears to deliver an interactive remote webinar to our learners as part of our KnowledgeBrief guest speaker programme – Leaders in Action. This programme is an opportunity for our learners to hear from industry experts to scale their careers, teams, and organisations to the next level all while having fun. The Leaders in Action series is one way we enhance our apprenticeship delivery that includes individual business executive coaching, remote teaching sessions, and networking opportunities across Leadership and Management at L3, L5, and L7 and Coaching Professional at L5.
KnowledgeBrief welcomed Dr. Dawn all the way from Temple, Texas. Dr. Dawn is passionate about advocating the voice of female leaders and working with them to overcome challenges and obstacles. Dawn delivered a talk that was full of realism, positivity, and advice. It was evident from the comments left by learners at the end of the session that this talk was truly inspirational.
Before the session, we invited our guest speaker, Dr. Dawn Sear, to discuss their work, inspirations, and message for the next generation of female leaders.
Dr Dawn Sears is a graduate of Texas A&M College of Medicine and is a specialist in gastroenterology. Dawn has created a leadership group with more than 200 female physicians in central Texas who meet and learn about mentoring other female leaders. Dawn is also a chair of the gastroenterology division at Baylor Scott & White Medical Centre where is she making her voice heard on the subject of female physician burnout.
What barrier have you had to overcome as a female leader?
The most significant barrier to my career as a female leader was myself. Specifically, the guilt in my head of always wanting to be in the opposite place of where I was- work vs. home. The second barrier was me overcompensating and overworking to constantly “prove it again”.
How do you achieve balance?
Balance is not a thing between work and home. You are either at work or you are at home. My advice is to not look for “balance”, not look for “superwoman” and not try to be “wonderwoman”. The idea that a superwoman exists in the sense that they work alone, never turns down other needs, never has a need of her own, usually with perfect hair and body, and never needs rest! Enjoyment of this gorgeous life is experienced most fully when we are present in the current moment, current situation, and current joys. It’s about not living in the past or the future and not wishing we were at home when we were at work or vice versa.
How do you lessen the tension between home and work?
The best way to live with the tension between home and work is to not resist it. Experience it, name it, feel it, give others permission to feel the same, and then let it go. When we resist or try to make the two “blend” it creates friction and pain. I think it is about focusing on your boundaries and non-negotiables and making a non-compromise with your time and energy.
What is your advice to the next generation of female leaders?
Women must believe that there is plenty of room on top for many wonderful leaders and there is not just one chair for the queen bee. When women elevate other women and enlist male allies, everyone wins. The next generation sees much less gender, and this will be a benefit. Understanding that a male is not automatically the “leader” and that a woman does not need to “prove herself” gives me hope that the next generation will harm themselves and their colleagues less. Every leader going great work and calling out each other’s accomplishments will lead to wonderful outcomes. We will model this for the men in the room. Men are competitive and they will want to join in the fun!
Louise Ward, Director of Operations at KnowledgeBrief, reflects on the session writing: “I don’t think Dawn could have delivered a better talk to our learners. Dawn’s enthusiasm, passion, and knowledge of the challenges facing female leaders was outstanding. The session emphasised that compassion, collaboration, and perseverance are important factors in reaching equity. Dawn shared her battles of being a female leader and homemaker and the noise and damage this can create. Dawn never once suggested that the path to reducing burnout was easy, but that we as female leaders have the power to help ourselves. One of the many concepts and frameworks shared by Dawn was “Ikigai” an ancient Japanese philosophy that is used to embody the idea of happiness in living. Ikigai is about doing what we love doing – doing it well – and focusing only on those things that we have the power to control. In the sense of great leadership matters, Ikigai is a compelling way to break down the walls we’ve built to separate our personal values and the values that make our organisations tick, a way to find purpose and translate it into meaningful action in a way that our staff and stakeholders see, feel, and understand.”
Connect with Dawn on LinkedIn to read more about her work on empowering female leaders https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnsearsmd/