Women Making A Difference - June 6, 2010 - Segment Four

Caller Heather O’Connor, Chief Accounting Officer at DreamWorks Animations and the Women Making A Difference winner for Executive Excellence, talks about the characteristics she believes are important for a high-functioning executive. Chiefly, Heather considers motivation, a strong sense of community, and a creative environment as the most important characteristics an executive can possess. As Heather explains, when you bring a strong sense of doing your best, however that gets formulated in your day-to-day work, it really helps your sense of focus and motivates the people who report to you. A good mix of exuding personal warmth and setting a strong example as a credible and reliable leader is the ideal way to keep people motivated, says Heather. When you say something, they understand you are being sincere in what you’re saying and that you take your job seriously, but they also realize it’s important to have a little fun and warmth in their jobs, no matter what position they are in. Lastly, Heather advises executives to do a bit of listening to their guts and trust what they think their ultimate objective is, and not sell themselves short. More importantly, even if they feel they are challenged with a situation that might be bigger than they can handle, it’s essential to realize they don’t have to do it alone.

2Minutes&More with Betsy Berkhemer and Renee Fraser airs every Sunday at 1pm on KFWB NEWS TALK 980. Tune in for a full hour of tips for business success.