Sharing Wahine Superpowers That Drive Business Goals and Open Doors for Others
Speakers at the 17th annual Wahine Forum shared tips to navigate workplace friction, take career leaps and build lasting professional networks.
Women in the workplace can be most productive and support others through stressful times when they simply take a pause during moments of high pressure and chaos, said Jenn Lim, founder and CEO of Delivering Happiness.
As the keynote speaker at Hawaii Business’ 17th Annual Wahine Forum, the bestselling author of Beyond Happiness told more than 1,000 attendees gathered at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Friday that she was an advocate of “sound checks.”
“I want to introduce this concept of before we react, we can choose to pause,” Lim said. “It’s clarity within us, no matter what’s going on in the world, and it starts with a pause. And sound checks can help us create that pause.”
The goal of supporting others in a business or a community requires that leaders first must tend to themselves. In addition to doing sound checks, Lim recommends science-backed, sustainable ways to find happiness: spending time with loved ones, noticing the good things even when things are bad and being a part of causes bigger than oneself.
She turned to a classic internet meme to illustrate the importance of properly assessing external surroundings: a cartoon dog sitting in a burning room declaring, “This is fine.” She then revealed an altered version where the dog finally admits, “This is not fine.”
That realization, Lim explained, marks a crucial shift in confronting “allostatic load” – the physiological cost of long-term, unmanaged stress.
“We as humans are not built to run on cortisol, the stress hormone, all the time,” Lim said. “It’s not even having more resilience or grit that gets you through this – it’s actually needing that recovery time for your body to regulate again.”
When leaders have their own mental state in balance, she said, they can be more supportive of others. And even small gestures can help lift others, with a ripple effect that continues to spread.
“How can we connect more in the time that we need it more than ever? Caring, asking someone honestly, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ and being there and present and listening to them fully. It might not change their life forever, but I don’t think that’s the point,” Lim said. “It might be able to change how they show up for themselves, and it might change how the next person shows up because of that exchange.”
Rising Together
Centering on this year’s theme, “Rising Together,” the conference opened with a call to action from Colleen McAluney, chief program officer at YWCA Oʻahu, one of the event’s nonprofit partners.
“I invite you to consider one question: Who can I help thrive? Who can I help rise?” McAluney asked during the opening session. “Maybe it is a colleague you can mentor, a woman you can recommend for an opportunity, or someone whose potential you can help bring to light. Because rising together means recognizing that another woman’s success does not diminish our own; it expands what is possible for all of us.”
During a breakout panel titled “Superheroes Unite: Building a Team Where Everyone Shines,” executive leaders examined the delicate balance of managing high-performing teams while navigating workplace friction.
A central theme was staying anchored in organizational purpose rather than getting bogged down in daily administrative distraction – what panelist Alicia Higa, executive director of ʻElepaio Social Services and chief community health officer at Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, termed “the busy dance.” When team conflict occurs, panelist Jennifer Diesman, senior vice president of external affairs at HMSA, noted that nearly 85% of disputes can be resolved simply by encouraging direct, face-to-face communication.
Speaker Gloria Brooks, Chief Operating Officer at Pali Momi Medical Center. Photo by Tony Grillo
Panelist Gloria Brooks, COO of Pali Momi Medical Center, said effective leaders must show empathy, adding that she tries to show genuine interest and curiosity about the issues faced by her colleagues. But empathy does not just mean giving someone a pass. Providing constructive feedback is an important part of helping others, she said.
“If you never say anything, you’re robbing that person of the opportunity to be successful because you did not care enough to share,” she said.
In another session, “Pivot With Purpose: Finding Success by Meeting the Moment,” speakers offered practical advice for making major career leaps, whether switching industries or stepping into a strikingly different role within the same organization.
“Pivot With Purpose: Finding Success by Meeting the Moment” Session. Photo by Tony Grillo
“You don’t know what you absolutely love until you start doing it. So try new things, because if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be here working for one of the most amazing nonprofits,” said panelist Amanda Pump, president and CEO of Child & Family Service. She added that finding alignment is essential: “Find a place where you can be unapologetically your authentic self, because if you have to go to work and be a different person, you’re not going to be happy, and you’re not going to be successful.”
The conference concluded by returning to its core theme during the closing session, highlighting the distinct values of mentors, sponsors, and peers. Moderator Mea Aloha Spady, executive director of The Kupaʻa Network and publisher of Hawaiʻi Community Journal, broke down the three vital career relationships every professional needs.
“A mentor shares experience and advice over time. A sponsor has the influence and power to put their name behind you. And a peer provides a safe space to be vulnerable and seek advice,” Spady explained.
Panelist Makana McClellan, director of communications for Gov. Josh Green, emphasized why sponsorship becomes essential as careers advance.
“Mentors are great, but as you advance, I would assert that sponsors are critically important to get you into rooms or give you access to things you don’t have,” McClellan said. “Who speaks your name when you are not in that room? Who vouches and uses their credibility for you?”
Closing out the day, Elisia Flores, president and CEO of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, reflected on how sponsorship shaped her own career trajectory and why opening doors for others is the ultimate realization of “rising together.”
“Every time I think back [to how I received an opportunity], it’s because somebody opened a door for me,” Flores said. “I walked through the door, but somebody opened it. Now, I’m on a mission: How many doors can I open? How can I pay it forward?”
