{"id":15996,"date":"2017-01-31T06:42:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T13:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=15996"},"modified":"2017-01-31T06:42:32","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T13:42:32","slug":"billings-leadership-coach-fires-up-missoula-businesswomen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2017\/01\/billings-leadership-coach-fires-up-missoula-businesswomen\/","title":{"rendered":"Billings leadership coach fires up Missoula businesswomen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Figures\"<\/a>

20th Century Fox<\/p>

Billings leadership development coach Eryka Johnson honored the women who were NASA\u2019s \u201chuman computers\u201d in the early, critical days of the space program, as depicted in the film \u201cHidden Figures.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Invoking the legacy of a pioneering NASA mathematician, a leadership development coach from Billings implored several hundred Missoula businesswomen Saturday to \u201cshowcase\u201d their value.<\/p>\n

Eryka Johnson told the annual Missoula Businesswomen\u2019s Network Symposium that she had to learn that lesson herself, after nearly failing in her first years as a mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil.<\/p>\n

But with the mentorship and inspiration of everyone from a corporate HR officer to the characters on \u201cA Different World,\u201d Johnson \u201cresponded to the call\u201d to stand up for who she really was\u2014and eventually led a number of high-visibility projects for the multinational energy company.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs women, we have been on a journey,\u201d Johnson said during her keynote address.<\/p>\n

\"Eryka\"<\/a>

Eryka Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n

2017 is a critical time for women, though, she said. Hillary Clinton broke barriers with her run for the presidency, even without succeeding. The Women\u2019s March on Washington collectively gave women a global voice. But what next? Johnson asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are we going to respond to the call to stand up for who we are?\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we do and how we respond is going to dictate where we go as a community of successful women, and as a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson shared her own story, growing up in a single-mom family in Bunkie, La., confident that she was not only \u201cdifferent\u201d but that her success story would be one never before written in her family.<\/p>\n

After earning top honors in high school and college, Johnson said she struggled in the corporate world and quickly \u201cfell to the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of succeeding, I was told, \u2018We don\u2019t know why you are here,\u2019\u201d she remembered. \u201cI had to take ownership of what I wanted. I had to focus on where I wanted to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson not only succeeded at ExxonMobil, but is now CEO of High Pursuit LLC, an executive leadership consulting company based out of Billings.<\/p>\n

The first barrier she had to overcome, Johnson said, is the self-doubt created by the \u201cimposter syndrome,\u201d that little voice in the back of your mind that says: \u201cI\u2019m a fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u201cthe anxiety of being found out,\u201d she said. \u201cThe belief that you don\u2019t deserve success. A fear of what others think, even though what they think really is no concern of yours. It\u2019s the feelings of inadequacy despite evidence of success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe No. 1 lie of the imposter syndrome?\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s the fear of who you are and who you want to become, because you are so small in a world that\u2019s so big.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus come Johnson\u2019s coaching sessions and workshops for professional women, many of whom are already quite accomplished but who nonetheless doubt themselves.<\/p>\n

Among her strategies for defeating imposter syndrome:<\/p>\n

\u2666 Be more intentional with your thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u2666\u00a0Focus on what you\u2019ve accomplished and the impact it\u2019s made on others. (Johnson\u00a0keeps a list\u00a0on a whiteboard in her office.)<\/p>\n

\u2666 Build more self-awareness around your value.<\/p>\n

\u2666 Keep defeating fear by showing up every day.<\/p>\n

\"CapreAir_Variable\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>\u201cA confident woman showcases her value confidently,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cTo succeed, you need to recognize and showcase your brilliance\u2014your core values, your instincts and your strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Successful women also do precisely what the Missoula Businesswomen\u2019s Network has done for the past 12 years\u2014meet and educate themselves and establish networks with other successful women, Johnson said, applauding the symposium\u2019s 350-some attendees.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s agenda included presentations on personal and business finances, motivating others, successful networking, community business resources, successful business plans and motherhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cA confident woman builds her power circle,\u201d she said. That network includes positioners (who help ground you and build your skill level), observers (who hold you accountable), watchers (who inspire you as\u00a0role models), elevators (who champion your success) and reinforcers (your soul sisters who encourage you to keep going).<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out of your shell,\u201d she beseeched the crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s about connecting, about networking, about forming that power circle. It\u2019s how you see yourself clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which brought Johnson back to her inspiration for the afternoon: Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician and \u201chuman computer\u201d who calculated the flight trajectory and landing for John Glenn\u2019s historic first Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

Depicted in the film \u201cHidden Figures,\u201d Johnson and other women were one of the keys to America\u2019s successful space program, but faced obstacles every single day\u2014because they were women, and because they were black.<\/p>\n

In a key scene, actress Taraji P. Henson (portraying Johnson) explains to a would-be suitor why she and the other women \u201chuman computers\u201d are a valued, in fact essential, part of the space program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not because we wear skirts,\u201d she assures him. \u201cIt\u2019s because we wear glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in Eryka Johnson\u2019s world, those glasses signify that women in 2017\u2014just as in 1960 \u2014must not only \u201csee themselves clearly,\u201d but understand the importance of \u201cgetting other people to see you clearly, for your full value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more about Eryka Johnson\u2019s leadership coaching and advice online at www.erykatjohnson.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>To learn more about the Missoula Businesswomen\u2019s Network, visit www.DiscoverMBN.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on\u00a0Missoula Current<\/a>, an independent online newspaper. You can reach reporter Sherry Devlin by email at info@missoulacurrent.com. To subscribe to Montana Today, a daily email alert listing top stories on Missoula Current and Last Best News, click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Invoking the legacy of a pioneering NASA mathematician, a leadership development coach from Billings implored several hundred Missoula businesswomen Saturday to \u201cshowcase\u201d their value. Eryka Johnson told the annual Missoula Businesswomen\u2019s Network Symposium that she had to learn that lesson herself, after nearly failing in her first years as a mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":15997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[5450,5449,5451,1757],"class_list":["post-15996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montana","category-news","tag-hidden-figures","tag-eryka-johnson","tag-high-pursuit-llc","tag-nasa","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}