Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and member feedback, AcademyWomen marks its 18th year hosting the Officer Women Leadership Symposium (OWLS) and the debut of the Mini-OWLS Virtual Series. The series will be held in three parts, with the option to attend one, two, or all three half-day sessions.
The theme of the 2021 series is “Reimagining Meaningful Leadership” and will focus on leading self, leading others, and leading ethically while providing inspiration for military women to lead throughout all stages of their lives, both during and after their time in military service. These events will bring together female military leaders for three half-day, virtual sessions that will feature experts, innovators, and thought leaders with opportunities for facilitated roundtables. Each session will stand alone but will have connections to the others. All military officers, veterans, enlisted members, and federal civil servants are encouraged to register and attend the series. All events will be held 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST on the following days:
- Session One will take place on April 13, 2021, with the theme Reimagining Meaningful Leadership: Leading Self. This theme focuses on one’s own thinking, feelings, and actions towards one’s goals.
- Session Two will take place on August 5, 2021, with the theme Reimagining Meaningful Leadership: Leading Others with Humility, Power, and Influence. This theme focuses on the ability as a leader to humbly build relationships and gain power to influence others for positive impact.
- Session Three will take place on November 9, 2021, with the theme Reimagining Meaningful Leadership: Leading Self Ethically Into the Future. This theme focuses on the ability to recognize trends and strategically pursue opportunities that have potential to create value and impact for the future.
Attendees are also invited to share their stories of leadership in AcademyWomen’s OWLS Talks “Celebrate Her Voice – Untold Stories of Military Women” Campaign. Similar to TED Talks, members are invited to share their leadership story and lessons learned in a short, five-minute audio file which will be reviewed by a committee of military, veteran, and community leaders on the topic aligning with one of the Mini-OWLS themes listed above. At each of the Mini-OWLS events, the top three selected OWLS Talks stories will be featured with a total of nine stories featured throughout the year. All videos will be archived with the Military Women’s Memorial and the top stories will be professionally produced into videos and featured at the Memorial. All members interested must submit stories in the form of a five-minute audio clip, a short written summary, and select photos. More information about the OWLS Talks can be found at: https://www.militaryowls.org/owls/.
While the focus of the affinity conference is identified in the theme, all sessions are open for ALL employees to attend, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity. The Coast Guard supports and encourages participation in affinity group symposiums in an effort to increase the retention of a diverse and talented workforce. These events are valuable professional development opportunities that provide a forum for mentoring, networking, and optimizing career success for the total workforce.
Symposium attendance information and registration link is available at: https://www.militaryowls.org
