XX in Health brings together outstanding women leaders in health to connect, share stories, and empower one another. These women meet for monthly dinners and an annual retreat. At XX in Health's retreat in October 2013, female leaders self selected into certain expert topic groups to come up with the pro-tips to share with one another and with all women in health.

1. PRO-TIPS
FROM FEMALE LEADERS
IN HEALTHCARE
XX Retreat
Chicago 2013

2. CAREER
CHANGE
REALIZING IT’S NEVER TOO
LATE TO SHIFT
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Identify the points causing your fear and educate
yourself around those points
Take the time to expose yourself to your field of
interest through multiple avenues: contacts,
Linkedin, volunteer
Effectively articulate your skill set
Know when you are going to say “Yes” and “No”
Always have your end-goal in mind
Your resume should reflect the position you are
applying to

3. YOUR
PERSONAL
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
VALUING MALE AND FEMALE
MENTORS
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Be respectful of your mentor’s time and show your
appreciation
Take their time and insight seriously
Share your vision: bring clarity of purpose to your
mentor
Pursue complete transparency with your mentors
Seek a group of diverse mentors: gender,
background, peer-to-peer, junior-to-senior, formal
v. informal, inside v. outside your industry

4. WIN-WIN
NEGOTIATION
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“EXPANDING THE PIE” IN CRITICAL
CAREER MOMENTS AND EVERYDAY
LIFE
Remove emotion and ego; depersonalize
Be clear with what you want
Allow priorities to change but know what they are
Re-interpret your emotions in a positive way
Challenge to get the full perspective: don’t be afraid
to ask questions
Get external validation (references, data)

5. WOMEN AT
WORK
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REACTING TO RESEARCH THAT
SHOWS UNHEALTHY RIVALRY
AMONG FEMALE COLLEAGUES
Hire women and know how to work with women
Separate gender characteristics from personality traits:
Don’t perpetuate or defer to stereotypes about women
Confront behavior: don’t react or be subversive when
issues arise
Organize and promote personalized, casual interactions
among female coworkers so work relationships can be
supportive
Make sure you have male and female mentors in and out of
your company to get exposure to powerful people of both
genders and get their different tips/networks

6. STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
OUTSIDE OF
WORK
CREATING SUPPORTIVE
COMMUNITIES IN LIFE THAT LEAD
TO CRITICAL CAREER DECISION
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Build and maintain relationships through joint projects
Be generous by connecting others with your contacts
and distribute information to others
Host or join topic specific gatherings to meet others
Join a board of directors to make community
connections
Don’t be afraid to use social connections to help your
goals
Mentor others to build partnerships

7. HAVING IT
ALL BY
REDEFINING
“ALL”
FINDING THAT BALANCE BETWEEN
WORK AND LIFE
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No one size fits all solutions: everyone is unique
Don’t compare yourself to others. Set your own
parameters and be true to yourself
It’s okay to say “No”
Recognize that paths are not linear
Get comfortable with “Good Enough”
Be transparent, communicate and manage expectations
Take it day by day
Share your experiences and challenges
Get comfortable with letting go and delegating. Don’t
micro-manage

8. DETOX FOR
THE BRAIN
MANAGING AND IMPROVING
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLNESS, A
SIGNIFICANT HEALTH DETERMINANT
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Set boundaries
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need
Trust your instincts
Don’t compare yourself to others
Focus and be mindful
Set aside time to relax

9. OFF-ROAD
ADVENTURES
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REFLECTING ON THE UNINTENDED
LIFE JOURNEYS THAT ALTERED
CAREER COMPASSES
Alignment of work and values
Start passion projects with value and business
possibilities
Don’t have any fixed ideas about a path
Decide what makes you commit: “Intra”preneurshipcreate the world you want and innovate your way into
what you need
People who you know can lead you into adventures

10. PART-TIME
PUBLICIST
CREATING AND MANAGING YOUR
PERSONAL BRAND
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Identify where you are right now
Take a stand
Be true to your authentic self
Tell personal stories to support your brand
Start cultivating your own narrative
Have someone else write your bio that
includes your passions, skills, etc.

11. LET’S MAKE
A DEAL!
NAVIGATING THE PATH FROM THE
HANDSHAKE TO THE CLOSE
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Confidence and assertiveness
Timely response
Be prepared
Know your audience
Take any size of the close
Transparency
Basic business etiquette
Agenda on discussions

12. REFLECTING ON THE CHANGED AND
STAGNANT ROLES OF WOMEN IN THE
WORKPLACE
WOMENOMICS
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Curiosity and inspiration
Being a career woman can lead to being a role
model for children: direct role model for girls; boys
will get used to ambitions of women and will have
different expectations for and from them
Multitasking as mom, wife, and career woman leads
to better leadership skills
Get a mentor or offer to mentor someone
Approachable confidence
Changing the definition of female leadership: “new
roles, new rules”

13. THE
SANDWICH
GENERATION
NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF
FAMILY LIFE FROM BOTH SIDES
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Empower patients to demand better care
Coach families to be involved in hospitalization
Use of online resources
Logistics and location tracking of patients and
providers
Learn from other countries and cultures
Change policies, regulations, payment models
and tax laws
Use data and behavioral intervention
Figure out how to care for family in the
community in a financially sustainable way

14. Help us mobilize the next generation of female leaders
www.xxinhealth.com | xxinhealth@rockhealth.org