WGLC 2018: Building, maintaining a brand and recognizing opportunities
HOUSTON -- Today in Houston, Day Two of the Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy began with a panel discussion about building your own personal brand. Moderated by Sally Ramsay, senior V.P. at Pierpont Communications, Inc., the panel dove into many of the issues facing professional women today, who are working to maintain a work-life balance, and still advance in their careers.
“Don’t be complacent,” advised Anne Brooks, marketing manager, Brand and Creative, Halliburton. “Be self-aware and always make an effort.” Brooks urged the audience to step out of their comfort zones, because “once you’re comfortable, you’re not growing.”
Likewise, Marian De Paula, commercial leader at Gulf Area Petrochemical Unit, instructed attendees to prioritize, stay positive and to have a strategy. Within an inherently judgmental society, she explained, you must decide how you want to present yourself and use others’ feedback to your advantage.
Panelists counseled the audience on how to keep your personal and professional brand fresh. They encouraged women to reevaluate their brands often, asking themselves what values are important to them and what it is they stand for?
Following the panel discussion, PESA President Leslie Beyer took the stage as the keynote speaker. During her talk, “Visualizing opportunities for change and taking action,” Beyer shared stories from her own career path, and gave insight into the lessons she learned as a former member of the White House Staff.
During the 2000 Bush/Cheney presidential campaign, Beyer says she learned a lot about culture, high stakes, and recognizing opportunities. As a native of Lubbock, Texas, Beyer said she fought hard to build her brand and her career, ascending from the cotton fields of West Texas to the Oval Office and abroad.
After an exciting and successful career in government service, Beyer was forced to completely reevaluate her priorities, relocating her family from the Washington D.C. area to Houston, when her young son began to experience health problems. Once he began to recover, Beyer says she found herself in unfamiliar territory, “I was going to have to reinvent myself professionally.”
Beyer says she struggled through what she called “a crash course in corporate” when she started working for a PR firm in Houston. Soon thereafter, however, she was presented with opportunities to go to work for the National Association of Manufacturers and, later, PESA. As president, she was tasked with building a strong, credible and diverse association. Beyer says she had to build a support system as she worked to change the logo and the overall brand of PESA.
Ultimately, Beyer left the audience with three important things to remember: 1) Your life goals are worth the risk; 2) You can reinvent yourself professionally; and 3) Always keep one eye open for unexpected opportunities.
