Sara Canaday, president of Sara Canaday & Associates, will be one of four keynote speakers at the MBA Women International national leadership conference and career fair, Oct. 19 and 20 in Phoenix.
Canaday earned her MBA from University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, while working full-time. An undergraduate communications major from the University of Texas at Austin, she return to the Texas state capitol in 2008, serving as an executive coach in the McCombs School of Business MBA Plus Program.
Canaday is a member of the National Speakers Association and the Founder and President of the Austin Chapter. She has been featured in a number of publications and broadcasts, including the Wall Street Journal, Speaker Magazine, and American Management Association’s Leadership Wired. Most recently, Canaday authored You–According to Them: Uncovering the Blind Spots That Impact Your Reputation and Your Career.
Q: What excites you about speaking the MBA Women International conference?
Canaday: “I’m inspired by audiences that are eager to learn, are highly engaged, and have a wealth of diverse experiences and capabilities. My experience tells me that this will be an excellent opportunity to share, participate and learn.”
Q: Why is female leadership such an important topic today?
Canaday: “Female leadership has always been important. However, traditional norms are being challenged across demographic, political and social spectrums and amplified through the mouthpiece of social and traditional media. As a result, we are seeing female leaders take center stage in an increasingly illuminated fashion and are highly conscious of their style, influence and impact. And I believe we are poised to take full advantage of women’s innovative and creative solutions to today’s business problems.”
Q: What can women in business school earning an MBA do today to help themselves for leadership roles after graduation?
Canaday: “Keep investing in their professional development, but don’t forget to cultivate the behaviors, values, and relationships that are admired by the people in their professional circles. Know that the experiences they give others through their interactions, communications, and decisions are the one’s that will most likely impact their success potential.”
Q: What from your business education has stayed with you?
Canaday says:
- Be an optimist with people, but a skeptic with numbers
- An effective argument consists of both quantitative and qualitative data
- Emotional Intelligence is as important as IQ
- Connect people with ideas and each other
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MBA Women International (MBAWI) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of business women as corporate leaders, executives and entrepreneurs- enriching workforce diversity around the world. The 29-year-old organization serves four related client groups: female MBA students, female business professionals and entrepreneurs, universities, and corporate partners.
At-large, MBAWI has 5,000 members, representing 52 countries, including 15 cities nationwide with established professional chapters. MBAWI has an on-campus presence at 75 different universities and colleges. The October leadership conference is open to both members and non-members.
Edited by Alanna Stage, @AlannaTweets
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