On April 14, five members of SWE-ECI, along with approximately 40 other women from Iowa and Illinois met in Davenport, IA for the 2nd Annual Iowa SWE Conference, “Blending Communications with Technology.” After the success of the ECI hosted conference last year, the Quad Cities-Muscatine section took the task this year. The event took place at the Best Western Plus (SteepleGate Inn) which was an easily accessible and intimate venue. The day consisted of networking, workshops, wonderful meals, and a technical tour.
For the first workshop, Laurie Johnson presented a Personal Communication seminar entitled “How Can I Misunderstand You? Let Me Count the Ways.” Laurie is the Executive Director of MRA in the Iowa/Western Illinois Region, and she brought with her years of experience and insight into communications in many media among people of different ages, genders, and backgrounds. She gave an engaging and informative presentation about the difficulties in communication we all face every day. Laurie said that “When we communicate, we must manage two things: the task and our relationships.” We must not let our relationships affect the task at hand, but they can be leveraged to produce a better outcome. She also stressed the importance of verifying that your message was received as intended. Especially in today’s world of instant messages, tweets, email, and even phone conversations, intent can easily be lost. She quoted Peter Drucker, “The important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” This becomes even harder when the conversation is not face to face. She went on to discuss ways of following up and monitoring in order to verify your message was received. Overall, Laurie was the highlight of the day.
After lunch, Mary Pat Tubb, a Manufacturing Engineering Manager at John Deere Harvester, gave the keynote speech about blending communications and technology. She works on a global team with direct reports in China, India, Europe, and across the United States. Every day she leverages video conferencing to keep in touch with her employees. As the meeting spans most of the world’s time zones’ she must be there at 6 a.m. and her Chinese employees must stay until 6 p.m. in order to make the meeting. These concessions are necessary in order to maintain effective communication in a global company. Travel is also necessary, as face to face communication is still the most effective. Mary Pat stressed that compromise, understanding, and a willingness to make the extra effort are key in global communication. However, as long as everyone is on the same page, it can lead to opportunities and accomplishments of great magnitude.
For the final workshop, Betty Leonhard presented “Effective Meetings.” Betty is a SWE trainer who presented some interesting points on how to keep meetings on track, on time, and productive. She stressed the importance of an agenda and holding people accountable, both for attendance and action items. To keep the meeting on track, table or discuss offline items that do not pertain to everyone at the meeting. Overall, Betty’s talk was informative and well-presented. The conference closed with some final remarks from the hosts and door prizes! Amber Johnson from SWE-ECI won an awesome scrapbooking gift basket. Lastly, a technical tour was given of a nearby plant following the closing.
After lunch, Mary Pat Tubb, a Manufacturing Engineering Manager at John Deere Harvester, gave the keynote speech about blending communications and technology. She works on a global team with direct reports in China, India, Europe, and across the United States. Every day she leverages video conferencing to keep in touch with her employees. As the meeting spans most of the world’s time zones’ she must be there at 6 a.m. and her Chinese employees must stay until 6 p.m. in order to make the meeting. These concessions are necessary in order to maintain effective communication in a global company. Travel is also necessary, as face to face communication is still the most effective. Mary Pat stressed that compromise, understanding, and a willingness to make the extra effort are key in global communication. However, as long as everyone is on the same page, it can lead to opportunities and accomplishments of great magnitude.
For the final workshop, Betty Leonhard presented “Effective Meetings.” Betty is a SWE trainer who presented some interesting points on how to keep meetings on track, on time, and productive. She stressed the importance of an agenda and holding people accountable, both for attendance and action items. To keep the meeting on track, table or discuss offline items that do not pertain to everyone at the meeting. Overall, Betty’s talk was informative and well-presented. The conference closed with some final remarks from the hosts and door prizes! Amber Johnson from SWE-ECI won an awesome scrapbooking gift basket. Lastly, a technical tour was given of a nearby plant following the closing.
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