The third conference of the Taking Charge of Your Career Success Conference Series was held on Saturday, May 14th. The informative and engaging day was attended by 70 career-minded professionals with Asian heritage. Produced by NAAAP Boston and Dreambridge Partners, the conference was sponsored by John Hancock Financial Services and held at its handsome corporate conference facilities in Boston, MA.
Taking Charge of Your Career Success is a comprehensive conference series uniquely designed to help Asian professionals develop critical strategies for career advancement and leadership.
The day's opening remarks included a NAAAP Boston welcome by Samson Lee, NAAAP Boston President; a John Hancock welcome by Larry D. Young, Relationship & Program Manager; and the Conference Introduction by Jim Fong, NAAAP Boston Board Member and Professional Development Committee Co-Director.
The keynote lecture, "The Choice of Managing and Leading Others", was presented by Judy Shen-Filerman, Principal and Founder of Dreambridge Partners LLC, and NAAAP Boston's Professional and Career Development Advisor. Judy's remarks, which resonated with the predominately Asian audience, addressed key topics and advice including:
- Asians are leaders – it’s a matter of choice how you use this capability
- How is it that Asians make up more than 10% of U.S. professionals but only 5% of managers and officials
- What’s it like to transition from an individual contributor to an effective manager and leader
- The different skills and expectations needed for individual contributor, manager, and executive
- The increasing importance of influencing skills
- How American and Asian cultural differences affect leadership behavior
- Leaders take risks and embrace ambiguity in decision-making
Interviews with Guest Speakers were next on the agenda. Judy interviewed accomplished Asian leaders who gave personal insights and advice on the career subjects being discussed. Three Guest Speakers generously shared their time, wisdom and enthusiasm:
- Sejung Kim, Manager of Underwriting Operations, Process and Reporting, Liberty Mutual Group
- Geoffrey G. Why, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable
- Lorrayne “Dina” Chu, Leadership and Business Coach
In the third segment of the conference, participants were able to personalize the leadership theme. They discussed three topics related to Judy’s keynote address and the guest interviews in “World Café” breakout sessions facilitated by Valerie Ching, Entrepreneur and Division Manager, Primerica Financial Services. Groups of 4-5 people discussed topics such as how to become a better influencer and recorded the ideas on large Post-It® notes. Facilitators encouraged discussion and the ideas were displayed on a large wall. Participants viewed and reflected upon the group’s collective thoughts during the “World Café” Gallery Tour.
The full group reconvened to share ideas from the breakout sessions and a general Q&A. Judy Shen-Filerman wrapped up with a call to action for all the participants to actively practice what they learned, and to take advantage of the networking connections they gained at the Conference. Chien-Mei Chang, NAAAP Boston Board member, offered the conference's closing remarks.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
- The Conference participants, from NAAAP’s membership and those new to NAAAP. Thank you for your enthusiasm and active participation. Some participants attended with the support of their employers, whom we thank for their support.
- Conference Sponsor John Hancock Financial Services
- Special thanks to organizer Larry D. Young and his colleagues. John Hancock Financial Services, a NAAAP Boston Corporate Sponsor, made its attractive, sky-lit facility available on the weekend and provided extraordinary support on venue planning and food and beverages arrangements
- Lead Speaker, Conference Facilitator and Designer of the Career Success Conference Series, Judy Shen-Filerman of Dreambridge Partners, a cross-cultural talent management, leadership development and coaching firm focused on Asian-American and International professionals and executives.
- Key members of the Conference Series design team of Judy Shen-Filerman, Jim Fong, Ming Hui, Robin Ng, Larry Loh, and Valerie Ching.
- The Conference implementation team: NAAAP Boston’s team, including President Samson Lee, and the Professional Development, Corporate Relations, Membership, Technology, and Marketing committees, including contributors Mel (Sien) Chen, Ming Hui, Robert Soohoo, Chien-Mei Chang, Donna Thach, Timmy Wong, Jenny S.W. Lee and Lisa Strack.
- Special thanks to the additional day-of-the-event volunteers, including Fred Jao, Donna Fong, Calvin Lee, Nancy Lee, Petula Lee, and Zhiwei Pan.
- Ming Hui who managed the entire day’s operations
- Robert Soohoo who kept everything running on time
- Photography generously provided by Robin Ng, Donna Fong and Zhiwei Pan.
ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE DATE OF THE 4th CONFERENCE
The 4th conference of the Series, originally scheduled for August, is being deferred to October 15, 2011. This is to enable Asian professionals to attend the NAAAP National Convention, which will be held in Boston August 12-13, 2011.
