Woman of the Week – Christie Angel

Christie Angel

Christie Angel

Christie Angel

My Current Job/Company:
Vice President – Sean P. Dunn & Associates

My Birthdate:
02.4.64

My Work:
I am a government and community relations professional working with a broad range of clients from around the city and state to achieve their legislative and community goals.

My Passion:
My family, my community, my friends and my dog, Betty .

My Family:
Otto (my husband) and our very cute dog, Betty.

My Heroes:
My parents and the late Jerry Hammond. They taught me a great deal about community service.

My Escape:
Any place that I can unplug from technology and unwind with my friends and family.

My Pet Peeve:
People who see the glass half empty, as opposed to seeing it half full.

My Indulgence:
A day at the spa.

My Roots:
Steeped in community and public service with a love for Columbus.

My Future:
Full of possibilities, laughter and happiness.

My Love:
My family, friends and community.

My Movie:
I am a movie buff—political thrillers and bio pics are my favorites.

My Quote on Life:
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

My Accessory:
Unique pieces of jewelry—necklaces and bracelets.

My Advice to Young Women:
Get involved in your community, find your passion, and choose your friends wisely.

How I Balance it All:
I work hard to create a schedule that gives me quality time in the office and doesn’t keep me out in meetings every second of the day, every day of the week. (In my business this is very common.) When possible, I take time in the mornings to walk the dog, read the paper, and have a great cup of coffee with my husband. It is a great way to start the day.

Choosing the Right Type of Team

Megan Kilgoreby Megan Kilgore

The word “team” can elicit a wide range of responses; some people thrive on human collaboration and ping-ponging ideas, while others shudder at the thought of time spent in groups.  Many companies, however, advocate teamwork.  And they should.  Team collaboration can produce quick work by allowing multiple voices at the table, each representing their unit’s respective needs, resulting in jointly agreed upon decisions or actions.  In highly successful teams, both individual performance and company performance can be elevated.

Not all teams are the same, however.  As a leader, it’s important to recognize what type of team you need.  I like to focus on three types of human collaboration:  workgroups, teams, and virtuoso teams.  None are necessarily more important than the other, but they do each provide their own unique set of pros and cons.

Workgroups are the most basic form.  They’re what we’re most familiar with in the course of daily business.  Workgroups will typically have one evident leader; there will be standard, perhaps long-term, meetings with discussion, decisions, and action plans.  Have you been asked to serve on an advisory committee?  Chances are that was a workgroup.  Many governmental councils or company committees can be considered workgroups.  What separates them from the other levels is their focus on individualistic work production.  Individuals will be primarily focused on meeting their own goals and will fail to consider the overall picture of the corporation or enhance the work production of others outside of their own unit.  Workgroups are often composed of individuals who are simply available versus those who may be best for the job.

To elevate to team status, a group must begin to produce collaborative and mutually beneficial work products.  Group members, many of whom will be specially picked to fulfill certain roles, will begin listening to one another.  Success is not measured by individual gains, but rather group members will recognize their role in supporting the total company.  There will be blurred leadership roles as many strong and talented voices will want to assist in guiding the team towards its goals.  The tone and feel to the meetings should also be enhanced; unlike rudimentary workgroups, teams will begin to synthesize and lively, but respectful, discussions will result.  Teams will naturally limit themselves to goal execution and will not look towards new ventures.

Virtuoso teams are a special kind of group ideally convened to tackle big challenges.  Unlike teams, they look beyond simple goal execution and search for one-of-a-kind ideas with big results.  The term, coined by well-known business scholars Bill Fischer and Andy Boynton, describes a team comprised of elite experts, all of whom bring high levels of experience, ambition, intensity, and fast-paced ideas to the table.  The difference between virtuoso teams and the others is that of timing, group composition, and personality.  Virtuoso teams are best utilized for short, term-limited projects as the amount of energy and focus required by the team can quickly result in burnout. Group members are chosen because they’re the best in their fields and their combination of pride, skill, and desire make them willing to take on a large challenge. Because of this, the group personality is often conflicting, given the amount of talent and ego in the room, but such outspoken opinions will quickly morph into a single-minded focus as team members begin to sync around the goal and share identity.  Results will often be extraordinary.

As leaders, consider the talents each type of group offers to your organization’s needs.  For tasks focused on reviewing an entity’s budget, a workgroup may be best.  Want to determine how best to launch a new digital media division?  A team is likely the best solution.  But if you need to accomplish enormous goals and transcend your industry’s “normal,” a virtuoso team is the way to go.

Megan is the Assistant City Auditor for the City of Columbus. Learn more about Megan by visiting her Woman of the Week profile!

Woman of the Week – Rebecca Wiggins

Rebecca Wiggins

My Current Job/Company:
Director of Certification Programs, AFCPE (Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education)

My Birthdate:
04.27.1980

My Work:
Oversee and manage the certification program process, and coordinate implementation of grant funded financial education training programs

My Passion:
Faith, Family, Friends, Music

My Family:
Mark (Husband), Owen (3), Nora (8 months), Oscar (mini-schnauzer)

My Heroes:
My parents, Bob and Claire–taught me work ethic, loyalty and passion for making this world better

My Escape:
The mountains, especially in the Fall

My Pet Peeve:
Passive aggressiveness, narrow-mindedness, complacency, negativity

My Indulgence:
Wine, dark chocolate

My Roots:
Happy. Family. Friends. Music

My Future:
Open, optimistic, growth

My Love:
Listening to the kids giggle, quality time with family and friends, music, traveling

My Movie:
When Harry Met Sally, “when you know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible”

My Quote on Life:
“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

My Accessory:
Earrings and a smile

My Advice to Young Women:
Surround yourself with authentic, positive, encouraging people. Embrace life’s twists and turns–sometimes things don’t work out how we expected or planned, but we end up right where we’re supposed to be, learning and growing in the process.

How I Balance it All:
Day by day. Each horse in the race leads or falls behind as necessary. Be kind to yourself and allow the ebb and flow of roles and priorities. Trust your instincts.

Quote on Assertiveness

“The basic difference between being assertive and being aggressive is how our words and behavior affect the rights and well being of others.”
-Sharon Anthony Bower

The Art of Assertiveness

Anyone – male or female – can benefit from a few lessons in being assertive. But as women, we need to learn a few more nuances in order to be effectively assertive.

In her article, The Fine Art of Female Assertiveness,, Marcia Reynolds shares her own experiences learning this “art,” and some tips you can give your female leaders to strike that balance between being assertive and being considered aggressive and pushy.

Perspective on: Assertiveness

Unfortunately, most women confuse “being assertive” with “being aggressive.”  Assertive women express themselves without becoming defensive. Assertive women share their opinions without belittling those of others. Assertive women command respect.

Aggressive women, on the other hand, can be seen as defensive, bullying and disrespectful of others.

I think the difference is clear. Do you?

Woman of the Week – Karyl Brown

Karyl Brown

My Current Job/Company:
Director, Risk and Regulatory Administration at H. D. Smith in Springfield, Illinois

My Birthdate:
July 15th, 1965

My Work:
Regulatory compliance for a national pharmaceutical wholesaler.   I develop process improvements, controls and collaborative  customer solutions!

My Passion:
My Family and Ohio State Football

My Family:
My best friend and soul mate, Dave; daughters Kennedy [16] and Lyndsey [13]

My Hero:
My dear friend who has been living with stage 4 breast cancer since June 2004!  She is such an ongoing inspiration.

My Escape:
Curling up with a blanket, a good book and a glass of wine! The beach is nice too:)

My Pet Peeve:
A lack of accountability and poor customer service

My Indulgence:
Naps

My Roots:
Blue Collar/humble

My Future:
Full of unknown opportunities

My Love:
Faith, family and friends

My Favorite Movie:
Top Gun

My Quote on Life:
Character is who you are when no one is watching!

My Accessory:
I love pearls

My Mentor/Coach:
I often rely on the advice from several friends who are wiser than I am!

My Advice to Young Women:
Be confident and accountable.  Believe in yourself and your ideas.  Never underestimate the power of girlfriends, so take time now to develop these friendships!   Learn how to have non-electronic conversations and relationships (a.k.a., real face to face conversations!)

How I Balance it All:
My faith keeps me grounded.

On Creativity

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” — Edward de Bono

Encourage Creativity

Too many female executives think of themselves as “non creatives.” But creativity isn’t necessarily about painting or writing or the things we often associate with the word. It’s essentially about looking at things in a new way.

In fact, the definition of creativity is:

The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.

Your rising stars need encouragement to think creatively. But they also need some explanation around what “thinking creatively” actually means. Because, most of the time, successful business leaders are already “thinking creatively” and don’t even realize it! You need to encourage more of that behavior.

In his post about creativity, Think Smart, Brian Tracy offers some ways to help leaders tap into their mojo and think differently about solutions to business problems, challenges and issues.

Check it out. And then get your team’s creative juices flowing!

Perspective on: Creativity


Creativity and problem solving skills are two of the biggest competitive advantages any associate can bring to an organization. If you want to add value to your organization, think about how to solve problems before situations even become problems!