FVCC panel discusses how to 'Lean In'

Jen Elden, a Whitefish entrepreneur and mother, said she is fortunate to be living out one of the main prescriptions for workplace equality shared by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg at the 2013 Montana Economic Development Summit on Monday in Butte.

Elden makes natural soaps and ointments as owner of Amalgated Sope Co. and also runs another business, Whitefish Massage Therapy. She and her husband, David, have an equal partnership in both the workplace and the home, which she said is crucial to juggling two businesses and being a mother to her 10-month-old son. 

“I couldn’t do it without my husband,” Elden said during a panel discussion at Flathead Valley Community College following the simulcast presentation of Sandberg’s talk with U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. “We are ‘all in.’”

The FVCC Entrepreneurship Center hosted the talk featuring four local women as a followup to Sandberg’s talk, in which she drew from her best-selling book, “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.”

Sandberg encourages women to challenge the common workplace assumption that men are more natural leaders than women. She advocates shattering the stereotypes in which a successful woman is called “bossy” for sharing her opinions while a successful man is admired for speaking his mind. 

She calls on women not to underestimate their own value in the workplace and to expect their male partners to contribute more to the running of a household.  

She says that if more women held leadership positions, society as a whole would benefit. 

As the owner of her own small businesses, Elden has never had to fight a sexist corporate culture, but she did have to learn how to balance work and family and not get caught up in the traditional mindset that even women working full time outside the home should do most of the work in the home.

“We are learning how to use technology to our advantage, to get out of the mindset of the 8 to 5 workplace,” Elden said. “We have 12 hours to play with each day, but we make priorities and have to have boundaries.”

The FVCC discussion was facilitated by Lori Marin, who has served as vice president for companies such as Diversey, a global leader in food safety and security, and Keebler Foods. She currently works as a consultant with Opportunities Development Group.

Marin said when she began working at Keebler, she had to “step up and set my boundaries” regarding her husband and son. 

She told her boss she was willing to work as hard as her job required, but not at the expense of her family’s happiness. She was even the “room mom” for her son throughout his elementary years, leaving work at noon on special days such as Halloween and Valentine’s Day to throw class parties, then returning at 4 p.m. to finish her day of work.

“You have to sit down and really decide what makes you tick and what makes you happy,” she said. 

Karen Witt, director of strategic operations and business development at NxGEN payment services in Whitefish, could relate to much of what Sandberg was talking about regarding the cultural perception of strong women. She said she had been called “bossy” in her previous positions by fellow male managers, “though all I was doing was getting the job done and being an effective leader,” she said. 

She stressed that changing attitudes toward women in the corporate world is something that all women can help change, just by being mindful of their own reactions.

“Think about how you respond to things,” she said. “Are you treating your daughters the way you treat your sons?”

Callie Schieffer, a process development engineer with Applied Materials, said she has rarely given much thought to the treatment of women in her workplace, even though the technology culture of which she is a part is male-dominated. 

She said she feels she has received plenty of encouragement to step up in her career at Applied Materials, but wonders whether her acceptance of the mindset that an aggressive woman is less likable — a phenomenon Sandberg mentioned in her talk — has held her back at times.

“I probably did everything I could not to be bossy,” she said. “I don’t always know if that was the right or the wrong thing for my career.” 

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.