Last Wednesday we held our first Thought Activator of 2021, with the amazing speaker Shirley Song, Senior Director Membership Program at Nike. Over the course of the evening, she uncovered her know-how of navigating through uncertainty in her career and in the workplace, as a team leader.

Prior to joining Nike, Shirley had extensive experience working with multinational companies, such as P&G, Bain and Pepsi, in various roles, including management consulting. She is a great example of someone, who is open to new career opportunities and embraces uncertainty from the perspective of growth.

Let’s look at some of the points that she shared with us:

• Empower yourself. It is a mind-set that needs to be supported with an action to seize opportunities.
• Your career can have different detours and setbacks. As long as you have a clear goal in mind, it will take you there.
• Identify the valuable skills and experiences you need. They can help to take you to your destination.
• Empower your team. Shift from ‘achieve-the-targets only’ approach to creating the space where your team members can learn and grow as individuals.
• Make your team better professionals. Try to initiate various educational programs or workshops.
• Invest in your team. Help them to find something that they can always use and find valuable, so they can be successful even outside of their jobs.
• No micromanagement. Give space to your team to make decisions and empower them.

Thank you Shirley for finding the time to share your know-how with us!

We also had the pleasure to have Gloria Pan, the representative of the World Academy for the Future of Women (WAFW), introduce their leadership program and encourage professionals from all the industries to join it as mentors: teaching young female leaders by exchanging personal and professional experiences during short online sessions with assigned mentees.

The World Academy is a leadership program dedicated to the advancement of women’s leadership worldwide. The WAFW has locations in Henan province (China), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Kathmandu (Nepal), where it trains hundreds of college students on matters of leadership, career goals, social responsibility, and personal growth.

For more information about the WAFW and the mentorship program, please click here.

Big thanks to Funkadeli, Yangping Road, for being a great venue again!