A women’s conference, held smack in the middle of a nationally-televised PGA golf tournament, sounds like a great idea to keynote speaker Molly Fletcher. The author, CEO and former pro sports agent, sees the pairing as a logical combination, because golf is good for business, and so are women.
“The thing that’s amazing about golf is it’s a four-hour meeting, which is hard to get,” she explained.
Also, “Women are taking a stronger position in the workforce,” Fletcher said, but not always taking care of themselves. So a day of empowerment is good, but that same day, set against the spectacle of a professional golf tournament is that much better.
“I think that when these women can go home and share with their partners what an amazing experience they had at a PGA tour event, that’s amazing,” Fletcher said.
She has three years of experience seeing it happen, through her work with Astellas Pharma U.S., Inc., sponsor of the Executive Women’s Day Tuesday, Aug. 18, at Snoqualmie Ridge TPC during the Boeing Classic. More than 100 businesswomen are expected to attend the event, which includes presentations and panel discussions, networking sessions a behind-the-scenes tournament tour and a keynote address from Fletcher.
Now, Fletcher is an admitted golfer, but not a good one, she says. What she likes about golf is actually the relaxed atmosphere it creates, so that people – men and women – can build relationships.
“Relationships really drive our business success,” she said.
From her own relationships as a sports agent with “some of the best coaches and athletes in the world,” she said she learned many of the things she now wants to teach other women.
The first is that these elite players and coaches are different from everyone else, especially in their response to criticism.
“Because they’re always coached, the good ones who want to get better, the best ones are always open to feedback,” Fletcher said. “If you’re open and curious all the time, you can learn from people… and I think athletes do that really well.”
Absorbing that knowledge “like a sponge,” she said, she was also open to other lessons.
“From Tom Izzo, head basketball coach at Michigan State, I learned authenticity,” she said. “It’s OK to be who you authentically are, everywhere you turn, all day long.”
“From (Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher) John Smoltz, … I learned about capacity. He had such clarity about things that were going on in his life off the field… then he would go out on the mound and throw 90 pitches.”
From sports announcer Ernie Johnson Jr., she learned about generosity. “He is a guy who gives and gives and gives. He kind of puts himself at the back of the bus, and he’s a leader in that regard to me,” she said.
Although she’s learned a lot, Fletcher makes no claims to perfection, or even superiority.
“I really believe that each and every day, there’s an opportunity for each and every one of us to get better,” she said.
To make that happen, she offers her audiences a five-step process to change their behaviors and ultimately, their lives.
“It’s really important to me that people walk away with things they can implement in their lives now,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher speaks during the luncheon, starting at 12:30 Tuesday. The morning’s events include registration and networking, starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by a panel discussion at 10:45 with Dr. Mariko Kita, Chief of Neurology at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Joan Robinson-Berry, Vice President of the Shared Services Group, Supplier Management with The Boeing Company, Jean Thompson, CEO of Seattle Chocolates and Tammy Young, Vice President of Human Resources for Alaska Airlines.
Following the luncheon, participants will see a 2 p.m. presentation on Conversations and Connections, then take an optional behind-the-scenes tour of the Boeing Classic at 2:45 p.m. Learn more about the conference by sending e-mail to katie@boeingclassic.com.
