Do I dare to follow my dream?

This month’s blog posting is from our own Jane Maliszewski, Chair of WIT’s Programs Committee. This post focus on the upcoming WIT.Connect: Dreaming Big, Growing Big, Thursday September 18th, 6:00-8:30 PM at the Gannett Building, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean. Register at: http://bit.ly/Z5QOOn. Please see her bio after the blog post.

 Do I dare to follow my dream?

Guest post by Jane Maliszewski

I met an energetic young woman at a tech event earlier this week and we got into a deep conversation about her career path. She's worked in several areas--HR, facilities, systems, project management--but her real love--I could sense from the intensity in her voice and expressiveness of her eyes-- was Business Analysis/ Business Requirements. 

She was animated as she spoke about how BA is not often done well and so many projects fail to meet customer expectations because the developer side and the customer side aren't talking the same language. As an IT executive for many years, I knew exactly what she was talking about! 

Her most enjoyable projects were the ones where she could serve in this conduit role, linking the customer needs with the product's development. She had even started some small workshops at her company to teach others how to do better requirements analysis. 

In our brief time together we didn't quite get to the point of framing out a dream to follow. But our upcoming WIT.Connect was definitely on my mind and I hope she will be there to gain inspiration and momentum on this passion that clearly drives her. 

On September 18^th WIT will have this amazing panel of successful women sharing the stories of their dreams, what matters to them, how they were challenged, persevered, and where they ended up. Like my new connection, who sees a gap that needs filling in requirements analysis, these women saw something that needed doing and followed that dream. 

Our panel: 

• Michele Bolos, Founder & CEO of NT Concepts, a technology and business solutions company, who has a passion for rewarding entrepreneurship


• Dr. Nicole Close, WIT Leadership Award and Founder & CEO at Empiristat, who carved out a unique niche in the bio-med field and is a serial entrepreneur


• Sabrina Hersi Issa, Founder & CEO at Be Bold Media, who combined her knowledge of technology and passion for advocacy into a conduit for civic engagement


• Jennifer Weiss, former publisher at 1105 Media, who followed her dream into a totally different career field as a salon owner

In coaching, we often encourage our clients to write down and speak out loud the thing they want to change, whether that is a fear to conquer or a goal to achieve. Putting it down on paper and sharing it with others is incredibly empowering. During our networking 'connect' time, everyone will have the opportunity to contribute to the "WIT Wall of Dreams" to share in black & white & color what matters to you, your dream. I hope that will be at least your first step towards making it your reality. 

WIT.Connect: Dreaming Big, Growing Big, Thursday September 18th, 6:00-8:30 PM at the Gannett Building, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean. Register at: http://bit.ly/Z5QOOn.

 

Jane Maliszewski is an Executive Coach and founder of VAULT Associates, a consulting business providing leader development and organization effectiveness services to technology companies. She often works with leaders who want to develop Emotional and Social Intelligence competency to create positive changes in their professional and personal lives. Jane served 27 years as an officer in the US Army. She has Masters degrees in Business Administration and National Strategy, and advanced professional certification in Leadership Coaching, Organization Development, and Knowledge Management. Jane is a WIT Board member and Chair of the WIT Programs Committee. Favorite things -- besides helping people achieve their potential! -- are cooking and adventure travel.