Energetic Women Live Up To Their Name

Dean and Pete were invited to Chicago to speak at Energetic Women's inaugural national meeting last month. A brainchild of Stephanie Menning of the Midwest Energy Association, Energetic Women is a brand-new organization comprised by women who are excited to be in the energy field, who recognize that their relative numbers in the field are small, who want to contribute more to the field, and who recognize the strength that comes with learning from each other.

Speaking on the topic of "Have Your Success and FEEL It Too: Reclaiming Your Emotional Intelligence," we found the group to be absolutely true to its name -- attendees of both sessions were not only receptive to what we came to speak about, but very actively participated in and injected incredible value into the experience, helping us connect the dots between emotional intelligence and the disconnected experience that often comes with filling a leadership position.

Every conversation we had was a relevation. Attendees told us how unique the event was and how welcome an experience it was for them to have the opportunity to sit down with peers who were struggling with the same issues they themselves had been facing for years, issues of recognition and the challenges of advancement that come from being a vastly outnumbered woman in not only a predominantly male field, but a field facing substantial change in the coming years.

We had the pleasure of sitting down for dinner with Stephanie and the EW Board of Directors. This allowed us to follow up on the TeamScript process we led them through at the turn of the year, a process of helping them produce the future of this community and the vision of this event, and we were gratified to hear just how useful that process had been in helping them realize their vision.

Stephanie has given us the distinct honor of allowing us an inside perspective on the creation of this exciting and vital community who, we're confident, will play a crucial role in shaping the energy field for a very challenging future.