IPWS has been serving a growing community of professional women for the past 26 years. The Women Leadership Awards have become a key pillar of our mission to empower female professionals to shape the future of leadership worldwide.
As part of the Women Leadership Awards IPWS is giving a Lifetime Achievement Award for the second year. As with all of the award categories, the independent WLA Jury reviewed the nominations for this award and has selected a winner.
It is with great pleasure that we announce Theresa Hudzinski, as the winner of the 2019 WLA Lifetime Achievement Award! Theresa is Senior Manager, Workforce Management at the Shanghai Disney Resort. She is widely respected and celebrated by her peers and colleagues, and has dedicated more than 25 years with The Walt Disney Company.
We asked Theresa to share a bit more about the contributions she has made in her organization in regards to advancement of women.
“About six months ago, in a touch base with a team member, she mentioned to me that she really liked that I supported and focused on “Girl Power”! After she left, I reflected on this for quite a while. I was moved, and yet I guess I never thought I was focusing on it, rather it was just how it should be.
Given the chance to lead my own organization, I would create an environment that no matter the person or skill set, they were valued equally. And while healthy competition is good and necessary, every individual’s strengths contribute to the team’s strength and critical to our success.
And that is what I did … but not by just one single initiative. But by being open to learning, understanding and creating a connection with each one of my team members. I am open and transparente. They see me do the difficult things because they are the right things to do, they see me own my mistakes and admit them to those who need to hear it. We acknowledge and move on learning from it. I know life happens and it can be messy and complicated. And I will help them find a way to get through whatever challenge and uncertainty.
In the same sense, I demand a certain level of excellence that cannot be compromised on. Not perfection, life is not perfect and it is unreasonable to expect that. But I expect them to deliver quality work, build relationships with our clients and own everything they do.
I encourage and support, mentor and coach. I do not blame anyone but rather find the solution to move forward. I am not afraid to have the tough conversations with them to get them to that next step, change their direction or behavior. I believe in learning from mistakes and failures. I do not believe in saying no, but rather “Yes, and … “.
Striving to create an environment where they can find their voice and I let them face their fears so they find the courage that they have within. I will never stop doing this. However, I am determined to take a more active role to ensure that it is not just within my organization, but becomes the culture no matter where I am.”
The values of IPWS are ”Connect, Grow, Inspire, Lead”, and our vision is ”Empowering female professionals to shape the future of leadership worldwide”We asked Theresa how she thinks leaders can help empower and connect females in their organizations? What do you see as the future of leadership?
“First and foremost, I think that we need to look at the strengths of the teams and individuals. We need to value them equally but recognize and celebrate the differences. We need to help them find their individual voice and a way to showcase what is unique about them.
Unfortunately in some places I do see male leaders who don’t necessarily look to women in their organization as much as they look to the men. Or they default to working with a male team member because they feel more comfortable or feel women are not rational enough because they bring up ideas or thoughts that come from a different point of view. Understanding the skill sets of the women around you helps to provide a different answer to “who might be able to perform well in this role” and the value they bring to the conversation.
We need to encourage women in every organization that they are in charge of their own development, they own their career. Support them in reaching out to other leaders in their organization and set up mentoring sessions, meet and greets , job shadows or just want a different perspective on a project. And most importantly, we need to provide honest feedback to help them achieve their greatness in whatever path they may take. So they have opportunity and resources to be the heroine in her own story rather than a supporting character. It starts with each of us to make sure we create that atmosphere and environment. We need to be the leaders we wish we had!
As I look to the industry, I have confidence that we are headed in the right direction for leadership. People like Simon Sinek and Brene Brown have exploded in the leadership development market because they are hitting on the “human connection” part of leadership. The more employees are connected to their work. People need to understand the “Whys” and the vision and strategy. They are not looking for people to “manage” them, instead are needing their leaders to have the courage to “empower” them. We need Learners, Disruptors, Realistic Optimists and those willing to Experiment as our leaders of the future. And we need to make sure we are making absolutely ever effort now to foster all of these qualities.”
What role does courage play in a leader’s ability to impact and create change?
“If you look up leadership today, courage is usually always right up front, in every quote. And I truly believe that courage is critical AND essential in a leader’s ability to create change and create an impact in their business. If you do not have courage, ultimately you will fail to make the progress or success that is necessary.
We need courage to not take the easy route or stick with the same formula over and over again. We will not grow to who we are meant to be by always doing the same thing.
What got us to where we are today, will not take us to tomorrow. And for someone who has worked at the same company for over 25 years, within the same organization for most of it, this is something I have to remind myself of over and over. And this is how I need to move my team and support my organization forward.”
Theresa Hudzinski has demonstrated lasting and measurable impact through her many professional accomplishments, and has contributed to the advancement of women in our community and beyond. She is an influencer, a mentor and a leader, and embodies the values of IPWS.
IPWS is delighted to present the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s IPWS Summit on May 31st at Kathleen’s Waitan in Shanghai. We hope that you will join us in celebrating Theresa’s well-deserved honor at the Summit, as we explore the topic of “The Courage to Lead”.
Learn more about the Women Leadership Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, by visiting our website at ipwsconnect.com or clicking here.
Theresa Hudzinski
Senior Manager, Workforce Management, Shanghai Disney Resort
From the moment Theresa Hudzinski entered Disneyland in Anaheim, California, energy and excitement buzzing around her, she knew this where she belonged. She was 10 years old. At 17, she packed her things and moved from Rochester, NY to sunny California.
This is where her journey with The Walt Disney Company began, over the past 25 years ago, she has served many different roles with continued expanding , leadership, and living the values of Walt Disney: to Dream, to Create, to Inspire.
As Theresa developed her leadership style, she quickly learned that relationships with her clients and how she treated her employees was the tipping point and critical success factor in achieving not only her goals but the goals of the overall organization. At her core … she was at what is now known as a “Servant Leader.”
In 2005, Theresa jumped at the chance to build a team in Hong Kong for the Grand Opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, bringing those Disney values into a new environment and culture. With an even greater appreciation of relationships returning to US, Theresa focused on key strategies involving employee engagement and retention. After a few years, she realized that she missed working internationally. Encouraging, developing and motivating employees in their Disney Career became her passion.
In 2009, she returned to Hong Kong Disneyland to build, develop and sustain a high performing team that not only supported the business but employees as well. In 2013, she raised her hand to be part of the opening team at Shanghai Disney Resort. Theresa knew that she could bring key learnings at all levels from other sites and build an organization unique not only to Shanghai but all of China market.
In this leadership role at the Shanghai Disney Resort, Theresa continued to build on the Disney values, and was honored with a lifetime achievement award: The Walt Disney Legacy Award. Through this career, Theresa has lived these 7 core values of leadership for success at Disney: Openness, Honesty, Integrity, Diversity, Creativity, Respect, and Balance. Living these values has led to Theresa’s ability to create magic for Guests, inspire her teams and fellow coworkers, drive effective business decisions, and deliver business results.
The Women Leadership Awards (WLA) is the longest running international award in China for women leaders, and was the only such award for over a decade.
The WLA recognizes professional women who have emerged as leaders in their field. As leaders, these inspiring women – and since 2016, men supporting women – have made a marked difference in our community and have forged paths for others to follow. The WLA recognizes leadership in women (and men) from all nationalities and across all industries in Shanghai.
WLA Nominations Sponsor
For the third year in a row IT Consultis is the exclusive sponsor of the WLA Nominations.
We are delighted to work with the IT Consultis team who has gone above and beyond to ensure a smooth experience for all applicants. IT Consultis will manage the technical side of the entire nomination process, right up until the announcement of the winners at the IPWS Summit, on May 31st.
IT Consultis is an independent digital production company, empowering the most ambitious brands on their digital transformation in China and across other Asian markets. With a team of 70 experts in three countries, ITC leverages martech, e-commerce and omnichannel solutions to maximize client’s ROI.
IT Consultis was established in 2011 and in only 8 years, it has rapidly expanded to 3 offices in Shanghai, Singapore, and Ho Chi Minh City, while working with some of the largest brands in the world including GAP, Zara, Porsche, Decathlon, Budweiser, Leica and many more.
ITC invests every year into selected NGOs to help them make a difference and was proud to help IPWS during the nomination process for the Women Leadership Awards in 2017, 2018, and is delighted to support IPWS again in 2019.
Visit it-consultis.com to learn more about the IT Consultis team and their services.
