Sheena Wilson, Mariette Rups-Donnelly and Gillian McFee are presenters and mentors on WOB’s Personal Career Management program, alongside Claire Braund - which starts on 19 April 2024. Here they share what they each bring to the course and why they love being involved with our PCM program.
Sheena Wilson
Co-designer of WOB’s Personal Career Management program, Sheena is Chair of Women on Boards and also a non-executive director, management consultant and executive leadership coach with multi-disciplinary experience on a global scale.
Sheena plays a lead role alongside Claire in presenting several of the program’s modules, specifically those focused on key elements of career management: the importance of self-awareness; goal clarity and articulation; alignment to ‘purpose’; and how to make informed choices based on these and other factors.
Sheena’s stated purpose is “to help others succeed” which is passionately demonstated in all that she does, in every arena – including this program. Her gift is the ability to leverage many years of cross-disciplinary, cross-border, cross-sector experience in a highly pragmatic way, to help others craft their own unique career narrative, and think through and plan effectively for whatever comes next.
Over many years, she has evolved her ‘one pager’ personal career management tool – originally developed to help herself be as succinct and articulate as possible about what she wanted to do next, and why, Sheena now shares it with those she works with individually, and on programs such as PCM.
Asked to reflect on why she loves being involved in the WOB PCM Program she said, “I get to continue to work with a diverse range of women with experience in a wide array of sectors who have each chosen to participate in the Program for their own reasons – but ultimately because they genuinely care about their careers.
“Participants are often at different stages in their career, and refreshingly, that is no barrier to entry by WOB, and it is humbling to see each participant learn and be inspired by each other accordingly.
“As coaches, mentors, and presenters we clearly have no magic wand, yet we see so much self-reflection and work completed by everyone on their bespoke ‘one pagers’, yielding many joyous PCM participant ‘aha’ moments. And that’s the greatest reward for being involved in this Program”.
Mariette Rups Donnelly
Are you making emotional connections in your presentations? If not, then your listeners are likely not to be learning all they could or understanding what you have to communicate.
PCM presenter Mariette Rups Donnelly works on presentation and communication skills, recognising that in order to consistently step up in your careers you need to be able to do more than engage your listeners. You must authentically connect to them and clearly lay out your position and plans.
Mariette recommends this article, 'How to make an emotional connection in your presentation' by Stephanie Fulton, as a first step towards understanding how to connect with your listeners.
“There are many reasons I love being part of this program. Firstly, it focuses on the individual participant, giving you a clear plan for your career development now and into the future.
“Also, all the participants in the program know they offer great value to the workplace, and they see possibilities for themselves and they recognise they have the knowledge and experience to be able to take advantage of those possibilities.
"They are looking for skills and inspiration that will help them unearth more of their potential, identify the opportunities and then be able to communicate clearly and persuasively why they are the best person for that opportunity.
“And lastly, the program is dynamic. It is evolving all the time to meet the needs of each new cohort and the changing times we live in."
Gillian McFee
Are you taking a strategic approach to career management? There is a strong chance that you have intentions of doing this, but never manage to make enough time to do it.
PCM presenter Gillian McFee mentors and coaches people and organisations to achieve their potential. She recommends this article, 'Think Strategically About Your Career Development' by Dorie Clark, as a simple four step process to start you on your way.
“Being involved in WOB’s leadership and career management programs has enabled me to share experiences and insights from my own career in CEO, executive and board roles.
"My background is in health and social care and I am at my best when working with people who embrace innovation and want to adapt to changes in public policy so that human services are genuinely consumer directed. I lead the module on taking a strategic approach to career management and am one of the three program mentors.
It is an absolute delight to observe the changes in the women who complete the course, supporting and challenging them to grow and gain new insights about their careers whilst finding balance in other aspects of their lives.
PCM Information Session | 16 Nov
Want to find out more? Register for WOB’s FREE online PCM Information Session, with Claire Braund and Sheena Wilson, on 16 November 2023.