Enneagram assessment and discussion: The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns in how people interpret the world and manage their emotions. Our WiL members took the assessment and then our activity included triad discussions, where your “number” was shared, and a description of your personality was given. We had a series of questions for triads to respond to, including if you agreed or disagreed with your results, whether you read anything that surprised you or you are the number you expected to be prior to the test. If you have never taken this assessment, the results are very descriptive, and for most of our group, spot on. The fun part is the results also include famous people that share your number. The purpose of this activity was to show how important it is to understand that not everyone has the same experiences, perceptions or values. The key is to embrace our uniqueness and learn how to work with a diverse group of leaders.

Share circle: During our second meeting, we participated in one of the best activities, which was led by our guest speaker, a retired superintendent. We were asked to bring in something meaningful to us, a picture, a piece of jewelry, a family heirloom, etc. We gathered in a circle and one at a time, shared the item and its significance. I am not sure if this happens in all share circles, but this one activity had us crying one minute and laughing hysterically the next. The trust and openness to share our stories created such a powerful moment that really shifted our group dynamic. The vulnerability that the group of women showed elevated our friendships and support for one another. Our stories resonated with our group and what came from them was empathy, connection and a better understanding of each other. As Morgan Harper Nicholas wrote, “Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.” After this amazing day, our group felt more connected than ever.

Sister circles and accountability partners: During ACSA’s Women in School Leadership Forum, I attended a session that focused on sister circles. By definition, a sister circle is a group of women who create a safe space to share their stories, seek advice when needed and be a support system to other women. These sister circles’ main goal is to empower rather than feed into stereotypes of the “queen bee” mentality. Christine Arylo wrote, “When a woman has sisterhood with other women, without comparison or competition, she gains the superpower to soar.” In a short time, our entire group of WiL had become our sister circle. We took the idea one step further and created accountability partners. This was a pair of women, randomly chosen, to become someone who we could meet with and have more personalized conversations, seek advice or just get to know better. During our meetings, we provided time for accountability partners to do activities, have lunch together, or just share things going on personally or professionally.

Brag board: The word “brag” typically has a negative connotation — however, in our Women in Leadership group, we wanted to change the narrative and give our friends and colleagues a stage to brag on how amazing they are. A “Women in Leadership Brag Board” was made and during meetings a card was given to each woman. We would write for five minutes and share anything we wanted to brag about, personal or professional. After the time was up, we would pick one or two things to share with the whole group. Every time we did this activity, I was blown away by how lucky I was to be surrounded by incredible, driven women. Women shared about successes in their careers, their families and so much more. As women, we often think that bragging makes us look full of ourselves or boastful, however, if we are not sharing our successes, who is? When it’s time to go for that interview and we are asked to discuss our contributions to the success of an organization, this is our time to brag away and be honest about our hard work and dedication