The theme of the conference where O’Brien served as the keynote speaker was “Reset: Sustaining Women for 21st Century Leadership.” The wife and mother of four offers her perspective, “Reset is really about relaunching, taking a moment to rethink a new strategy and then commit to that new strategy. I am pretty good at that and have been consistent at saying ‘I am not doing x anymore. This isn’t working.’
“Every year for our birthdays, we [my girlfriends and I] write a list of all of the things that we’re going to do differently in the year ahead. I am on my 43rd relaunch. It’s very empowering. Women get to redefine ourselves over and over again. Every time I have kids, I get to say that ‘I used to do that, [but] today I am a totally different person. I don’t agree to do [x, y, z].'”
Results from a recent study, Roper Starch Worldwide Survey, reveal that, globally, 23 percent of women executives and professionals say they feel “super-stressed.” Women who are under stress are more likely to suffer from heart disease or have a heart attack. The Center for American Progress reports that two-thirds of American families with children now rely on a woman’s earnings for a significant portion of their family’s income.
With our families’ financial dependency on us, women must employ personal fortitude and adopt a strong set of leadership skills and principles to help sustain us in the current marketplace.
O’Brien, a successful news anchor, has cemented herself into a unique position in journalism. She reports breaking news from around the globe and has produced award-winning, record-breaking and critically acclaimed documentaries on the most important stories facing the world today. She’s a rarity in the media landscape that has changed dramatically with the advent of blogging and social media.
She advises women to be “flexible,” and she shares qualities that she believes make a good, effective leader. “People who are effective leaders don’t have to run into a room and say, ‘I am leading.’ The minute you have to announce it to a crowd, it’s probably a good indication that you’re not leading at all. A good leader also understands that a leader doesn’t have to be the CEO. What makes you a leader is that you’re able to grab people’s hearts and minds. My true sense of leadership is a Martin Luther King Jr. model, having the moral authority to make people want to follow you and be led by you because they think you’re committed, and they love your passion. [That passion] doesn’t change as an economy waxes and wanes. It’s consistent, but, in every other way, be flexible. I think that’s the recipe for success.” –yvette caslin
Soledad O’Brien’s latest installment of the “In America” series, “Education in America: Don’t Fail Me,” airs Sunday, May 15, 2011, at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and Monday, May 16, 2011, at 2 a.m. ET on CNN.
