The 9th EVE International seminar is now in full swing! Participants received a warm welcome from Anne Thevenet-Abitbol, the EVE program’s Editorial and Artistic Director, Christine Descamps, its Executive Producer, and Valérie Hernandez-Amalou, Communication and Leadership Programs Manager (who introduced the community and its networks). Participants then learned about the principles of this balanced leadership program, which is designed to “help women gain confidence, and help men become more conscious”.
In order to do that, the seminar addresses the head, body, and heart, through alternating periods of inspiration and respiration. Because the driving force behind this program is the belief that it’s only possible to transform our companies if we become stronger, more balanced individuals who are able to bring about change. As Anne Thevenet-Abitbol says: “if you want to make a change, you need to start by changing yourself”. Got that?!
For centered leadership, with Joanna Barsh
Joanna Barsh, Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company and author of How Remarkable Women Lead, opened the plenary session with a lively presentation on her “centered leadership” concept.
Drawing on your strengths, working on your fears and eliminating what holds you back. Inspiring and fostering confidence, engaging others with generosity while replenishing your energy: those are the pillars of this sustainable approach to relationships with others, and managerial relationships in particular.
Changing attitudes to stereotypes, with Patrick Scharnitzky
After a little Qi Gong break time with Juliann Liu, Patrick Scharnitzky took the stage to tackle the thorny issue of gender stereotypes. To understand how they sometimes lead us to behave that don’t reflect our values, we take a look at findings from neuroscience: cognitive biases originate in our “fast brain”, which seeks comfort rather than accuracy.
So let’s force ourselves to feel uncomfortable so that we can stop letting received ideas and categorization bias make our decisions for us. Let’s start asking new questions, let’s be suspicious of pre-conceived ideas (like the one that attributes the “self-censorship” gene to women). Let’s open our eyes, preserve our physical resources (a tired brain is a less intelligent brain. It makes perfect sense, but it’s better to point it out), and stimulate our curiosity about making more considered, fairer, and more sustainable decisions… And innovate more!
Defining what success means to you, with Bridgette Heller
Two workshop sessions later, participants came back to the Grange au Lac to hear from Bridgette Heller, President of Infant Nutrition and Medical Nutrition, and a member of Danone’s Executive Committee. Through the incredibly natural and genuine account, Bridgette Heller shared memories of her idyllic childhood, despite the hardships (illness in particular) she had to overcome. But her trusting and encouraging family, who were able to both challenge and above all protect her own freedom to make her own decisions, built the solid foundations for an outlook focused on other people, on the search for a solution, on an intrinsic desire to do good, on an acute awareness of the need to be useful to the world. Bridgette ensures that these characteristics shine through her leadership today. This exemplary woman received a standing ovation for her presentation, because she came across as a human and accessible role model.
Using mindfulness to reconnect with your most treasured values, with Martial Vidaud
Martial Vidaud, an expert in Mindfulness, then shared the keys to the approach that has been formalized by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and is particularly relevant today, in a hyperconnected world where we are all struggling to restore balance. The never-ending onslaught of annoying or even or stressful demands being made of us throughout the day has the effect of stopping our body from working properly and stops our selves from acting in line with our values.
Memory, concentration, our ability to show kindness, the quality of our listening and consequently, our performance, are all directly improved by a little “breathing time”, that EVE 2018 participants were able to test for themselves!
Glorifying the humble heroes with Frédérique Bedos
The first day of EVE finished up with a two-part presentation by Frédérique Bedos. Just a few years ago, this internationally renowned journalist launched Projet Imagine, a media project to showcase the humble heroes and heroines who change the world without making the headlines.
The project was inspired by the life of her own parents who were activists with the NGO Terre des Hommes, while being adoptive parents of around twenty children who had been considered “unadoptable”. Her lesson in life and hope was continued with the screening of the film “Des femmes et des hommes” (Women and men), which takes a look at the situation of women around the world and those who are working to make change happen.
