I remember with fondness a dear friend who often said “what goes around comes around”, usually in response to something smart that I’d said to him, and his words always provoked a laugh because I knew he’d eventually exact revenge. I think his words aptly address the nature of our actions: when we do that which is good, it comes back to us and usually in greater volume than the original act, and unfortunately the reverse is also true.

Many public organizations, including the United Nations, describe social responsibility as the “Triple Bottom Line” of people, planet and profits. In other words, businesses take responsibility for the impact that their actions or products exact on the environment (planet) or their community of stakeholders (people) while maintaining their ability to be a sustainable organization (profitable). Social responsibility is always tied to ethics, or how a business operates with regard to the prescriptive of law and in the absence of it (e.g. when social values are at issue). I believe there is a perfect correlation between socially responsible companies and economically viable companies.

Milton Friedman wrote in 1970 that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits…” Although I admire and respect Friedman’s work, this was a point with which I simply could not agree. So, I conducted my own poll on Facebook, and was not surprised that 100% of the respondents disagreed with Friedman. I do not have their reasons for disagreement, but I can give you mine. Consider the view of Peter Drucker, who argued that businesses do not exist to maximize profits but to minimize costs, “costs of doing business and costs of staying in business; costs of labor and raw materials, and costs of capital; costs of today’s jobs and costs of tomorrow’s job and tomorrow’s pensions”. Just as surely as we invest in raw materials and pay wages to create products, we also invest in our people and their well-being and by extension we invest in the sustainability of our communities. This is just good business. I like the way that the founder and CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, expressed this thought when he said “It is the function of company leadership to develop solutions that continually work for the common good.”

Advancing social responsibility can change the world. The Micro Credit Program of The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) has followed the Grameen Foundation ideology by funding Village Banks all over the world. The women who have received micro loans through these banks have a reported 98% repayment rate. Their economic empowerment is contributing to economic expansion in their villages. Women who learn and earn are less likely to live in poverty.

There are very clear benefits of social responsibility to the business. For one, it is differentiating and can even result in preference by customers given equal prices or products from competitors. For another, it leads to an internal good will among employees that frequently ripples externally as these employees model similar behavior. It also builds a culture that is justifiably proud and recognized as doing the right thing.

Leaders, your path is clear. Do that which is in the common good, and it will come back to you.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

Although women represent about half of the world’s talent, our talents are not enlisted in equal numbers. Our challenge is to build our own capacity for leadership, put ourselves forth as capable candidates for leadership, and educate the organizations seeking leaders to connect with us as a viable talent pool.

At TIAW, our Women’s Leadership Network is bringing forth some excellent tools to help you develop and market your leadership potential.

First, you can work on building capacity through TIAW’s partner project, the Global Women’s Leadership Summit, which is expected to be the world’s largest forum for professional women in the world. GWALS is a collaboration of the world’s pre-eminent leaders to forward the advancement of women on a global scale.

Ready for the next step? TIAW makes it easy with live links on our web site to become qualified as a Global Board Ready Woman. Once qualified, you can enroll for free in AESC’s BlueSteps program, which helps you craft your resume and market your skills for the job or position you seek.

Finally, learn what is happening around the world in leadership. TIAW membership brings you free subscriptions to Dialogue, a global publication for CEOs. We also bring you the benefit of an annual subscription to the international version of Enterprising Women. Just open your email and enjoy!

Own the challenge to achieve your potential. We know you can!

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

Seventy five years ago, the founder of Douglass Signs was an artist and creative spirit who thoroughly enjoyed figuring out any challenge. It was L.J. Douglass’ passion for solving problems for others that led him to react to literally every sign request with a “Can Do!” approach. When he was asked to mark gas water heaters, he learned how to make decalcomanias (water slide decals), which led to the formation of the screen printing division of the company. He employed a young artist to help him design the new line of decal products. Within a few years, that artist – my dad, Tom Kaiser – faced a choice between incorporating the screen printing division at L.J.’s retirement or losing his job. Although there were many things he did not know, he, like L.J., was resourceful, passionate, and determined to succeed.

Do you love what you do? Think back to the times that you made choices about jobs, education, or volunteering. The choices that lasted were most likely those with which you engaged with passion. Perhaps you had a particular talent; perhaps you just really believed in the organization or subject as one of value. Whatever your initial reasons, the more you experienced success the more likely you were to also develop other passions and ultimately significance as a leader in that organization or subject.

It was my dad who helped me find my passion. He knew that I was not happy in my first year of college, and urged me to think about what I really loved to do. Considering that, I decided to major in fine arts and switched schools accordingly. The switch gave me a chance to work with my dad, and I learned the commercial side of art and design – and figuring out anything – under his tutelage. Years later, as I became the third artist-owner of the company, I yearned to give back to the arts. First was a decision for all charitable contributions to go to the arts and exhibit leadership with community arts programs such as Swansation and Kaleidoscope. Next was a decision to begin a serigraphy (fine art screen print) collection at the Polk Museum of Art. Currently, Douglass Screen Printers helps underwrite Kids Tag Art, a program started by the Polk County Tax Collector’s Office enabling fifth grade students to design their own license tags and help raise arts monies for their schools. The program has since spread into multiple Florida counties.

I believe my love for the arts stemmed originally from the joy that comes from creativity and expression. However, following this pursuit also forced me to continue to be a student. There was so much I did not know -- but had to know – in order to successfully run a business. As certain subjects were mastered, others arose that seemed equally urgent to know. Learning soon became a new passion. Realizing that one of the best ways to learn was to teach others, yet another passion emerged. I now find myself seeking every opportunity to use the things I have learned so that I can make a positive difference for others. I am not sure I would have made a choice when I was of college age to be a servant leader, but that is where my passions have led me.

Do you live your passions? Consider what you love to do and how it fits with your talents. Are there things you need to learn to be more successful, and do you know where to start to get the education you need? One of the best ways to learn about success is from someone who is exactly that, and can act as a role model to you. Once you’ve connected thought and consideration to your passion, set lofty goals that keep you motivated. Apply discipline and single-mindedness in pursuit of these goals, but always be open to other opportunities along the journey. Give of yourself when you can, and it will return to you ten-fold.

One of my favorite sayings is a small poem by Rabindranath Tagore, who deftly expresses the concept of servant leadership with these words: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was service, and behold, I discovered that service was joy”.

It is my joy to serve the world’s women through the work of TIAW. I promise if you look for your passion, and you will find your joy. If you’d like to learn more about servant leadership, investigate the life work of Robert Greenleaf.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

I often reflect on the wisdom imparted to me during my adolescent years and recently decided that there were two really important maxims that my dad certainly lived by and find that I now live by:

“Never, never give up”

“ALWAYS do your best”

Along the way I developed my own list of things that I found to be important and valuable, both to me and to others. It is often difficult as a woman to develop the competence and confidence to get things done through others, to tell our story, and to become fearless. I shared them with my daughter as she took over as the president of my company when I retired, and I’d like to share them with you.

• Be connected, and connect others
• Be confident, never worried that failure might happen. It will.
• Be courageous
• Be cordial; everyone likes to feel better by having spoken with you
• Be compassionate; caring about others returns 100-fold
• Be clear. As the late Dr. Stephen Covey said, “seek first to understand, then to be understood”
• Be creative; it always conquers the impossible
• Be convicted; let people know what you stand for and never give in to what you don’t
• Be consistent. Nothing is as fair as consistency or as predictable as its results.
• Be constant. There’s no off-duty for servant leaders.

Remember that ‘doing’ is always easy; it is ‘being’ that takes great care and steady development.

Building leadership capacity is a large part of what we help you do in TIAW. Take the opportunity now to qualify as globally board-ready and join the GBRW LinkedIn group. From there, all you have to do is ‘be’ the leader you are.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

My friend Martha Mayhood Mertz, who founded the Athena Foundation in the United States, has studied the thousands of women that have moved through her Athena program to develop their business and leadership acumen. She has identified eight recurring things these women all have in common:

• Live authentically
• Learn constantly
• Advocate fiercely
• Act courageously
• Foster collaboration
• Build relationships
• Give back
• Celebrate

Confirming Martha’s internal survey, author John Gerzema studied 64,000 men and women for his newly released book Athena Doctrine. Mr. Gerzema ‘discovered’ what we already knew as women – that our collaborating, nurturing, synergistic styles are highly prized.

You may be surprised to know that many of the traits in Martha’s list are not things to be learned - many of us know or have these traits innately – but to be DONE in order for these traits to be manifested in leadership success.

I often reflect on how I came to know the things I know. Do you? As a Girl Scout at the age of six, I discovered learning different things was fun, became competitive as I sought to have the most badges or sell the most cookies, and perhaps most importantly of all, unconsciously grounded myself in the very principles I hold today. It is astonishing now to look back and realize how the very simple words of the Girl Scout Law have influenced my path for so long:

“I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful,

considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and

responsible for what I say and do,

and to respect myself and others, respect authority,

use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and

be a sister to every Girl Scout”

Today, the Girl Scouting experience is defined as being leadership-focused and is grounded on three simple core concepts: discover, connect and take action. These principles are timeless to leaders of every age. When we understand ourselves and have a clear internal compass, we are ready to DISCOVER new paradigms. The more we experience, we learn that caring, serving, and inspiring others is how we CONNECT in our immediate local circle, but also in our community and world at large. As we learn about other cultures around us and in the world, we know that embracing those that are different from us is not only the right thing to do, but the only way to breed mutual understanding, respect, and good will. If we couple our tools of discovering and connecting, we will TAKE ACTION to better ourselves, others, and the world.

Discover, connect and take action. I can’t think of a better way to start than to join TIAW.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

March brought with it International Women’s Day and, in the United States, the national celebration of Women’s History Month. I found myself reflecting on the inspired leadership of those that we have honored over the years in TIAW – those World of Difference Award-winners who have literally moved mountains in terms of women’s economic empowerment. These women are natural leaders; they know exactly who they are, what needs to be done, took action and were consistent to the core in their character.

Leadership is grounded on character, which is developed by incorporating desirable behaviors into habits to the point where these behaviors become natural to us. What are the ‘desirable behaviors’? I think the minimum list includes patience, kindness, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, honesty and commitment. Character provides the substance behind the servant leader; indeed, he/she cannot have trust and authenticity without it. Take a look at this list of five characteristics of the servant leader developed by author James Autry:

1. Be authentic by always showing your real self
2. Be vulnerable by being honest with your feelings
3. Be accepting, which is not necessarily agreeing or approving
4. Be present and fully participating in every conversation and encounter
5. Be useful, understanding this is the very foundation of service

The connection between behavior and effective leadership is compelling. Does this mean leaders are perfect? No, I don’t believe they are, but I do believe that they are perfectly consistent in character. A favorite quotation comes from Robert K. Cooper who said so eloquently “no one expects you to be perfect – only genuine and honest. And so it is with the notable men and women who have the courage to find themselves, to tell the truth about who they are, the mistakes they have made, the dreams they hold dear and what they’re most concerned about.”

Let your leadership rise with your character. Be honest about the character habits you know you need to cultivate and then deploy your self-discipline to create those habits. You will soon find yourself unconsciously competent with these new behaviors, and your natural leadership will emerge. The servant leadership you have cultivated can now help create meaning and purpose for others, as eloquently posited by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970 essay “The Servant as Leader”:

“Do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”

Your character is the greatest single factor shaping the culture of the company or organization you lead. It will manifest itself in the values of your employees or staff quicker than anything else you may intend or direct, or any policy manual you may write. These values become the context in which you and/or your employees work every day. They shoulder with you the responsibility to carry out the mission and achieve the vision you intend. Equip them with a sure foundation by being a leader of character and service that they are sure to model.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

Women are tough. They are showing outstanding resolve and strength in coping with economic crisis and, as owners of approximately a third of all businesses worldwide, play a crucial role in the global economy. Their increasing rate of entrepreneurship is a force that policy makers around the world would do well to consider. Women-owned businesses produce 30% (Latin America) to 80% (sub-Saharan Africa) of the world’s food. Their advancement in economic, social and political spheres is undeniable, but their success is constrained by in-equal access to education and training and the failure of many countries to establish equality under the law. However, women do not forget that they can have a strong hand overcoming these obstacles by training their children for a different future than they have had, teaching role equality to sons and daughter alike.

Why are women so resilient, even in tough times? They are optimistic and are generally willing to re-invent themselves or their businesses to react to new opportunities. Jealous guardians of cash, they are savvy deal-makers, often using barter to minimize cash outlay and gain products needed for their businesses. They are relationship-builders, and so it flows that they are also frequent and effective communicators and generally deliver A+ customer service. Although they are notorious multi-taskers, they also recognize the value of winding down and allowing themselves to renew and re-balance.

Women that still aren’t satisfied with the progress of their business are doing a number of things to enhance their success. Assuming that a growth strategy is already in place and owner-operators are measuring and managing the critical performance areas of the business, here are six things that lead to improved business performance:

1. Intensify the focus on customers and broaden the value delivered to them. Are the customer’s needs understood? Is their opinion asked with regard to value, satisfaction, and service? Is it easy to conduct a transaction? Is the product/service delivered on-time and exceeding customer expectation
2. Look for existing differentiators or create new ones. Complete the phrase “my company is the only…” If your company lacks competitive advantages, figure out how to create them. Understand the strengths and differentiators of competitors, and capitalize on their weaknesses. Be aggressive in advertising and marketing. In the absence of superior internal expertise, engage a professional provider for these services.
3. Broaden networks of support. Join organizations – like TIAW - that provide resources, information and contacts that are valuable to business growth. Qualify as a Global Board Ready Woman and become visible to corporate boards on a global scale. Join entrepreneurial organizations such as TIAW members United Success, NAWBO, WBENC, WeConnect or WPO.
4. Embrace social responsibility as a cost of doing business. Invest in employees and your community for the common good. View the bottom line in triplicate: people, planet and profits.
5. Actively and strategically participate in social media Develop skills of self-promotion by blogging relevant content on social and professional sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. To help build media access, try HARO. For professional international networking, join TIAW. Tools such as HootSuite will assist you with scheduling your social media posts that daily attention is not necessary.
6. Join trade networks that are aligned with your revenue goals. Diversifying revenue streams is every bit as important as diversifying an investment portfolio. TIAW’s Entrepreneurship program is an excellent resource for the development of trade relationships, and several of TIAW’s members such as the Organization of Women in Trade (OWIT) can help you develop relationships in your own geographic area of the world.

I hope you found this tips helpful to the development of your business. We are here for you.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

I once had the pleasure of listening to futurist and author David Houle as he described the future ahead from his new book The Shift Age, which I understood to be the shifting social, cultural, political and economic planes around which we are all globally interconnected yet remain highly individualistic. Virtual organizations like TIAW use technology to facilitate these interconnections, and aggregate knowledge for sharing. While technology will clearly continue to play a significant role in the way forward, we as leaders must also help others on a personal level to find their way in the midst of unending and escalating change.

Companies who survive crises are those who balance financial performance with authenticity, honest communications in tough times and good, and integrating their efforts with others.

In other words, this global social revolution is best met by many personal revolutions. Mr. Houle mentioned a few specific things that I believe impact us as leaders.

In the workplace, we will be challenged to integrate and absorb multiple generations of workers with disparate values, life goals, and working styles. We must fully understand these generations in order to the build the collaborative workforce of the future. I believe that our understanding will come from a reshaping of our own leadership abilities and aptitudes. My favorite resources are author Daniel Pink (A Whole New Mind) and Howard Gardner (Five Minds for the Future). We will have to master critical knowledge, integrate differing ideas into strategy, question effectively, appreciate differences, and be socially responsible. It’s a daunting task, but there is no alternative for success.

In the financial markets, we know that crises are not restricted to individual exchanges but globally integrated. It is our duty as leaders to be fiscally responsible wherever we have influence, including home, work, schools, boards, or public service. We must do our best to be economically savvy and financially astute, so that when we are able to use our voice or vote, we do so with integrity. We have great tools at our disposal: education and training, obtaining and using research, engaging in sustainable practices, and concentrating on the fiscally responsible growth of our own businesses. For those that may be worrying about diminishing public philanthropy, please remember that creating jobs is the premier form of philanthropy. If you own a business, keep your business financially sound and your employees secure. If you don’t, please assist your employer in maintaining your job security. Once those priorities are met, give wherever you can to benefit your community and it will return to you many times over.

In our world, we will be challenged to be collaborative global citizens that work together on sustainable energy policies and practices. In the sustainability realm, we can act effectively as individuals, workers, employers and advocates. We do what we can personally do to minimize our energy consumption and then we effect change wherever we have influence. My company recently became Florida’s first certified green screen/digital printing facility. Our first step towards certification was understanding how we are impacting energy consumption, commonly called a carbon footprint, and then determining how to reduce our consumption. Understanding comes from awareness followed by questioning, and then acting on the desire to be accountable for our energy use.

It was not a surprise when Mr.Houle arrived at the end of his “Shift Age” presentation by stating that he believes that this new age will be defined by consciousness, and though this consciousness flows out in a global way, it also will reflect our keen individuality. For example, people want to buy from companies that they think are socially responsible because those behaviors resonate with their personal values. I see growing numbers of people differentiate between doing (tasks, a job) and being about something. As a final example, think of the global awareness that has built up around sustainability, yet we as individuals are also embracing personal responsibility.

Do your part to navigate the coming age. Be a leader of hope, who recognizes and does the right thing by others. It matters.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

For over thirty years, the mission of TIAW is to advance economic empowerment for women. By ‘economic empowerment’, we mean that a woman is able to succeed and advance economically as well as freely make her own economic decisions. However, women don’t start out in life as women, nor are they empowered in any way in many countries whether by cultural or political constraints. It all begins with a girl.

According to AGALI (Adolescent Girls’ Advocacy and Leadership Initiative), which has

brought together over 100 leaders and organizations working to transform the lives of adolescent girls in Africa and Latin America, there are six critical factors that contribute to adolescent girls’ economic empowerment*:

• Financial capital (e.g., cash, savings, access to credit, and other financial assets)
• Human capital (e.g., education, health, self-esteem, and communication skills)
• Social capital (e.g., social networks, friends, mentors, and supportive family members)
• Physical capital (e.g., ID card, household goods, land, housing, and transport)
• Social norms (e.g., early marriage, childbearing, influence of age, gender, and ethnicity)
• Institutions (e.g., political and legal rights, market structure, and the education system

TIAW’s Daughters Program focuses on the promotion of economic empowerment for girls aged 14-24. Our initial work is around financial literacy education. We are looking for partners to add employment training and life skills training.

While there simply is not enough work being done to maximize the effect the empowering girls can have on our world, there are many organizations lending extraordinary effort. A personal favorite of mine is the Nike Foundation, whose work I have followed for many years. I urge you to watch the video Nike has created. It will revolutionize your thinking about the power of a girl.

Nike tells us why we cannot wait to help our girls

1. GIRLS ARE AGENTS OF CHANGE

They play a crucial role in solving the most persistent development problems facing the world today. By investing in their economic potential through education and by delaying child marriage and teen pregnancy, issues such as HIV and AIDS can be resolved and the cycle of poverty can be broken. To learn how a girl's success is the world's success, watch the girl effect films above.

2. PEOPLE ASSUME GIRLS ARE BEING REACHED

They're not. The reality is that children's programmes focus on 0-5 year-olds, youth programmes tend to focus on males and older groups, and women's programmes don't typically capture adolescent girls. Programmes that do reach girls rarely address the ones most at risk. To break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, programmes must be designed for, and measure the impact on, girls.

3. THE COST OF EXCLUDING GIRLS IS HIGH

In India, adolescent pregnancy results in nearly $10billion in lost potential income. In Uganda, 85 per cent of girls leave school early, resulting in $10billion in lost potential earnings. By delaying child marriage and early birth for one million girls, Bangladesh could potentially add $69billion to the national income over these girls' lifetimes.

With the permission of the Nike Foundation, TIAW is in the process of posting several of their excellent resources on www.tiaw.org

In the meantime, I urge you to take a look at their excellent research directly:

The girl effect fact sheet

7 things you need to know about girls

Why investing in girls is important

We must all engage to support the economic empowerment of the girl in our communities around the world. Start by joining our Daughters Committee! Just email daughters@tiaw.org and find out how join.

It’s the kind of change that lasts forever.

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW

What is a good leader? Perhaps it is best thought of as having the ability to inspire followers. You may initially obtain followers due to recognition or persuasion, and you may then exert a little influence to retain them, but ultimately they will have to trust you to stay with you. Can you learn how to be a good leader? Yes!

First, be authentic. Communicate clearly and often. People will respect you for this, and they will reply in kind. When you give your word, keep it and begin building a foundation of trust. Make meaningful relationships --- some day, they may be all you have!

Second, be the example you want to see in others. I often think about the words penned by my eldest son many years ago as punishment for throwing a temper tantrum on the ball field one evening (I asked him to write down what he thought it took to have a successful game):

“It takes having fun. It takes skill to do what your coach says. Don’t make unnecessary throws. If there’s a play you can’t make leave it to the other guy. If you can’t use the bat you’re given, get another bat. Try and do your best. Don’t get mad. Don’t hold the ball. Don’t throw your glove. When you steal home feel good about it. When you hit the ball feel good about it. When you screw up a play don’t be mad at the team or yourself. Feel good about yourself when you make an out. Don’t spoil the game for everybody. Never quit just because you get mad. When you make a home run feel good about it. If you have missed a play and the coach comes out, don’t [make excuses and] say you don’t want to play where you’re playing.”

Sometimes people follow you because of what you do, or what they think you will do. They want to be part of success, and may sense that you have attained it.

Third, embrace risk, because with it often comes great reward. Shortly after he turned twenty, my eldest son determined that it was both honorable and an exercise of peer leadership to enter the Marine Corps. After two promotions and several commendations during his first year, he volunteered to go to Iraq. Observing his journey, I have some new beliefs. Leadership is risk, and it is reward. Leadership can put you in seemingly untenable situations, but it can leave you the better for it. Leadership can cause you to question the very heart of your resolve, but in the end your convictions and perseverance about doing the right things for the right reasons will always prove the best course.

Fourth, help and respect others. Why is this important? I think helping others makes loyalty possible. Respecting others lies at the very heart of diversity. Discover the whole person and you will find common ground, mutual respect, and engender more trust. Discover the whole person and you will find other leaders, too, and you can then cultivate their success along with your own. As John Maxwell said, “The more people you develop, the greater the extent of your dreams.”

Fifth, exercise self-discipline. Take the time to download a free copy of the John Maxwell book Developing the Leader Within You. Maxwell counsels that the singular price tag of leadership is self-discipline. He says “discipline …is the choice of achieving what you really want by doing things you don’t really want to do. After successfully doing this for some time, discipline becomes the choice of achieving what you really want by doing things you now want to do!” I can attest that this is true. Once you commit to a life of leadership, it will define you and your results so quickly that you will never want to be anything less.

Sometimes we fear leadership. We don’t want to play. In fact, some of you have heard me say “if I can’t win, I don’t want to play”. I’d like to explain this philosophy. The difference between playing to win and playing for any other purpose (like not losing!) is the difference between success and mediocrity. Leading is playing to win. Always.

Within your leadership arena, set your standards high and exercise the discipline necessary to achieve your goals with authenticity, unflagging effort, and the resolve to collaborate with and respect others. This kind of discipline always results in good will, better decisions, and great leadership, the marks of a 21st century organization and the kind of leadership I intentionally strive to deliver. And, for those of you who are already established leaders, take your development one step further and qualify as a Global Board Ready Woman through TIAW. The world is starved for the balancing leadership skills of women. Won’t you step in?

Lisa Kaiser Hickey

President, TIAW