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Pharr: Keeping on the right track is key to females aiming for top

Pharr: Keeping on the right track is key to females aiming for top

WASHINGTON —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

The executive programming track is designed to address the needs of senior management and help WFF members of vice president status or higher take their careers to the next level. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

Among the featured high-level sessions at this year’s WFF conference was “Derailers to the C-Suite,” a workshop presented by 2008 WFF chairwoman Linda Pharr, chief foodservice relations officer for the Plano, Texas-based human resources consulting firm Batrus Hollweg International. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

Assisted by actors from Chicago’s famous Second City theater troupe, Pharr laid out information from the WFF Executive Competency Study, conducted in partnership with Batrus Hollweg International. The study surveyed senior male and female executives of foodservice companies about what prevents women from reaching top-level positions, and what they can do to overcome those so-called “derailers.” —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

According to Pharr’s research, among the hurdles women face is that they are seen as lacking general business knowledge. Whereas male executives are seen as having a broad base in all aspects of a business, their female counterparts are considered more likely to be a master of their own specialty, such as marketing, but may be a novice in areas outside their domain. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

A related hurdle is a lack of breadth of work experience. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

“Women tend to stay in their specialties,” Pharr said. “Men tend to roam to different positions.” —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

To combat that perception, Pharr said, female executives need to find ways to broaden their knowledge and gain experience beyond their specialty. They also need to make honest assessments of their strengths and weaknesses, and they must know what they are good at and confidently use those strengths, she advised. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

Pharr emphasized that it is equally important to know where one’s weaknesses lie and seek development in those areas while building a team that is strong in them. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

A perceived inability to build strong teams is another derailer, according to the WFF-Batrus Hollweg study. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

The “derailers” workshop, in focusing on perceptions about women’s lack of business skills, underscored the importance of self-awareness about how one is viewed by others. Pharr said that self-insight and an awareness of how you see yourself and how others see you have direct connections to careerists’ chances for success. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

For example, Pharr pointed out that it is easy to see oneself as assertive but be considered bossy by others, or vice versa. It is important to gain an intimate understanding of one’s impact in an organization by frequently asking for feedback, she said. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

At intervals during her presentation, the Second City actors illustrated Pharr’s points with a series of comic scenes demonstrating the way “derailers” can hinder a female executive’s career path and how the core competencies Pharr discussed can help overcome them. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

Courage to take risky assignments and make quick decisions is an essential skill for a rising executive, Pharr stressed. To be successful, a female executive must learn to display confidence consistently, but balance that confidence with humility, she added. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

“You must present yourself as strong and confident yet humble, so you seem authentic,” Pharr said. —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

Past successes and future goals —Women’s Foodservice Forum conference programming is structured in a series of tracks to meet the needs of attendees at all stages of their careers.

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