Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth. Find out how Jan. 9 at this Momentum Leaders workshop

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McDonald Graham leads the Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth Momentum Leaders workshop
Lisa Goldstein Graham and Julie McDonald of McDonald Graham. Photo supplied

Who in Birmingham isn’t guilty of looking at the leaders around us and wondering how they manage to squeeze it all in? Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth is a much-loved workshop that will help you create a unique life that meets your own personal needs. Ready to go? I know I am. Reserve your spot now.

1—Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth workshop details ⤵️

  • What: Momentum Leadership Series: Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth workshop
  • When: January 9, 2020, 8:30-11:00AM
  • Where: Samford University, Samford University Brock School of Business, Regions Room, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Homewood, AL 35229
  • Cost: $75-85
  • Reserve your spot.

2—What you’ll come away with from Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth 👀

Workshop participants with McDonald Graham
At a Momentum Leadership workshop. Photo supplied

I reached out to workshop facilitators Dr. Lisa Goldstein Graham and Dr. Julie McDonald (also known as McDonald Graham) to find out what three different types of participants will come away with from the workshop. Here’s how our conversations went.

Scenario 1: Young aspiring leader—intimidated and inspired … 🤩

Momentum Leaders
Leaders learning from each other. Photo supplied

Bham Now: Let’s say I’m a young aspiring leader, and I’m both intimidated and inspired by what the more experienced leaders I see around me doing with their work and their lives.

How in the world will I ever get there? I have a hard enough time getting what’s on my plate now done. What will this workshop do for me?

McDonald Graham: It is completely normal for us to compare ourselves to what others are doing, or what we THINK they’re doing. But, we often tend to compare ourselves to someone we perceive to be doing more than we are, then beat ourselves up and feel inadequate. 

In this workshop, you’ll learn more about the importance of understanding your own bandwidth—your own cognitive, emotional, physical, and psychological capacity—and learn to operate within it to create a life that is satisfying and sustainable for you.  

Scenario 2: Want to be a leader, but not like that … 🤹🏽‍♀️

Momentum Leadership event
Lots of great conversations happen at Momentum Leadership events. Photo supplied

Bham Now: Let’s say someone looks at their boss and s/he seems so stressed out trying to juggle everything. The person wants to be a leader, but not like that. What would you say to them?

McDonald Graham: What you’re seeing in your boss is probably someone who is consistently overtaxing him- or herself. We commend you for wanting to be a leader but not model that particular method for doing so. 

We know that this type of chronic stress and juggling is a recipe for dissatisfaction and burnout and is not sustainable over the long run.  

Scenario 3: Current leader—want to be a good mom and a good leader … 👩‍👦‍👦

Leigh Davis of Alabama Power and her son
Leigh Davis, VP of  Economic and Community Development at Alabama Power and her son. Photo supplied

Bham Now: While the previous two scenarios were hypothetical, this one may or may not have happened IRL. I actually am a leader, and constantly trying to juggle all the things.

I missed one of my kids’ assemblies a few weeks ago because I just forgot to check my calendar that day. Being a good mom and thriving in my leadership role are both really important to me. What will this workshop do for me?

McDonald Graham: In addition to learning more about our capacity as humans, we hope to spark honest conversations between workshop participants so they can realize that we all face similar challenges and that we all sometimes “drop the ball.”

But beating ourselves up about it won’t solve the problem.  Collectively, we need to examine the choices we make and what we’re modeling as leaders—i.e., if we are trying to do it all, those coming up behind us will expect that they have to do it all as well. 

There are no easy answers…but we need to start asking the right questions about how we are showing up as leaders. 

Know you want to go? Reserve your spot now.

3—McDonald and Graham *love* facilitating this workshop 💕

McDonald and Graham leading a Momentum Leadership series workshop
Dr. Lisa Goldstein Graham (center) and Dr. Julie McDonald (left) with a group of workshop participants. Photo supplied

I went on to ask Drs. Graham and McDonald what they enjoy about this particular workshop, and here’s what they said:

“Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth is one of our favorite sessions to facilitate because we love vicariously experiencing participants’ ah-ha experiences along the way. 

People are often relieved to find out that our bandwidths are unique and that we can’t compare our own capacities for productivity to those of others.

Understanding the serious consequences of living outside one’s bandwidth—and the benefits of living within—often enables participants to give themselves permission to scaffold a life that fits their unique needs.

We hope each participant will leave recognizing: ‘There is nothing wrong with me if I can’t do as much as someone else (or as much as I THINK they are doing)! I have to live within my natural bandwidth, and I now know the first step I want to take toward doing so.'”

4—Here’s why one leader reserved a table for a previous Momentum Leadership event 💡

Participants at a previous Momentum Leadership Series workshop
Dr. Graham with workshop participants. Photo supplied

Desiree E. Morgan, MD is Professor and Vice Chair for Education in UAB’s Department of Radiology. She reserved a table at a previous Momentum Leadership event for the women physician trainees in the UAB Radiology program. When I asked what caused her to do this, she explained:

“It’s crucial that younger women be in the presence of women leaders from all walks of business in order to experience that awesome collective energy, and to understand the importance of professional development now and at all levels of one’s career.

I did not have the benefit of this kind of early exposure—I think it can make a huge difference, even if it’s just planting a seed for later impact.”

5—The Momentum Leadership Series has a big ROI 💰

Participants at a previous Momentum Leadership Series event
Dr. McDonald with workshop participants. Photo supplied

Alice Womack, Associate Managing Director of Oakworth Capital also reserved a table at a previous Momentum Leadership event as well. Here’s what she had to say about the company’s return on investment:

“Our associates feel valued when we pour into them these opportunities.  It is part of our culture. Momentum provides valuable topics. For example, the upcoming Conference is a wealth of information on a number of topics from a very well respected group of leaders that are experts in their field. 

And finally, there is a valuable networking component to attending. Anytime you gather dedicated women that are seeking growth in their profession, the dialogue and networking amongst that group is equally as important and adds to the conversation allowing for different perspectives and continued thoughts on tough topics.”

Reserve your spot now for Honoring Your Personal Bandwidth

Whichever stage of leadership most closely matches your own life stage, you don’t want to miss this workshop. Reserve your spot now.


Also, don’t forget Momentum Conference 2020.

There’s still time to get in on early bird registration for this amazing leadership development and networking opportunity that only happens once ever two years:

  • When: March 11-12, 2020
  • Where: The BJCC
  • Early bird registration: $360 per person before January 3rd
  • Regular registration: $450 per person after January 3rd
  • Get tickets

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Sharron Swain
Sharron Swain

Writer, Interviewer + Adventurer | Telling stories to make a difference

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