Letter from your WICT Greater Chicago President It's very cliché of me to say that the last two years have flown by, but they have. And, they have been a wonderful two years, as I have gratefully served as President. I have been so fortunate to work with the best group of volunteers-on the board, helping at events, etc.-and our members. Rather than recapping the year, which is so common at this time of year, let me just thank you for an experience of a lifetime and wish you peace, health and happiness during the holiday season and in 2012. Look forward to 2012 being even better, as Jennifer Holt takes over as President. As for me, you're stuck with me for another two years on the board as "Immediate Past President." I wouldn't have it any other way. Sending good wishes to you and your family! 
Cathy Traczek, President, WICT Greater Chicago Chapter Greater Chicago wins Chapter of the Year At the annual year-end Board Meeting, the Greater Chicago Chapter learned that we are the recipients of four awards from the National organization for 2011, including: Chapter of the Year, Most Improved Chapter, the Inspire Award and the Enterprise Award (3rd place). What a year! This wouldn't have been possible without your support, and the hard work of our Board members. Thank you to all! Connecting with Members As we continue to become a more mobile society, we at WICT Greater Chicago are committed to embracing that technology to connect with our members. For 2012, we will work to provide more frequent and timely information to our members through our social networking platforms. To ensure you are receiving all the WICT news, we encourage members to link up with us on the following sites. Happy networking! LeAnn Talbot moving on WICT Greater Chicago thanks LeAnn Talbot (former SVP for Comcast's Greater Chicago Region) for her never-ending support of our organization and always enthusiastic participation in many WICT events. We wish her continued success in her new role in Comcast's Freedom Region. We'll miss you, LeAnn! Wrap it up! Wow, what a great event! More than 250 WICT  members and frien ds came together on December 8 to hear LeAnn Talbot, senior vice president, Comcast, and Toni Holland, vice president of human resources, Time Warner Cable Wisconsin, share their reflections on 2011 and what lies ahead for 2012. The festive group was also in a very giving mood, and donated more than 65 bags full of toys with more than 972 goodies for the Toys For Tots organization. Click here to see photos from this year's event. WICT's Q4 Executive Member Roundtable Executive member roundtable events are opportunities for leaders to come together and discuss challenges, share ideas, and renew or top off our energy for the industry we love. Standing: Patty Kelly, Comcast; Jennifer Holt, Tribune Media Servic es; Deirdre LaVerdiere; Dana "DJ" Maragos, Comcast SportsNet; Kathy Alexander, Beagle Insight; Diana Moss, Comcast; Jane Moyer, New Century Leadership, LLC; and Cathy Traczek, Comcast. Seated: Stefanie Nimick, AMC; Robin Dawson; Shirley Hill, Total Living Network and Sandy Weicher, Comcast. Alliances by Billi Lee Last night I watched a rerun of an old movie favorite, "Apollo 13," and was thoroughly enthralled by the tense drama of that specific space mission. I was also reminded of the excitement, awe and fear surrounding the early space program. Americans shared not only a fear for the safety of the crews, but also a fear that the Russians would best us in space. The cold war fueled the race to dominate space . We couldn't and wouldn't allow the Russians to beat us. We were enemies. We fiercely guarded our knowledge and our technology. 
This morning I watched a news program announcing our latest collaborative joint space venture with the very Russians we were formerly committed to beating. They will be our chauffeurs to the space lab! The announcement described the different strengths of each country's space technology and the benefits each side would gain by working together. It is certainly a new era and time for new strategies!
I couldn't agree more. New eras, new strategies, new alliances. What is true in the macrocosm is also true in the microcosm. What is true in global politics is also true in office politics. As situations in the organization change, the strategies and alliances you need, will likewise change.
Alliances are special relationships between parties based on mutual need. They may be long or short term, but they are rarely permanent. Nor are they based on mutual like; they are not friendships. Winston Churchill spoke of this phenomenon when he said that a country has no permanent friends, or permanent enemies, just permanent self-interest. Alliances, by their nature, can and will shift.
If you understand the wisdom in having flexible relationships with our global neighbors, you can than understand the wisdom in incorporating this practice for yourself at work.
As I listened this morning to the report about the remarkable transformation, from Russians as enemy to Russians as space allies, I thought of some people I know who applaud this type of national collaboration in public, and yet in private continue a cold war with someone in the office that could be a valuable ally.
Professional relationships are alliances, based on mutual need and benefit. When you expect your professional relationships to be the same as your personal relationships you get in trouble. You get hurt, disappointed, let down, and extremely frustrated. You find it almost impossible to work with a person who has disappointed you so. You get and hold a grudge. You needlessly suffer and so does the work.
But if you view professional relationships as alliances, you understand the shifting nature of the pact. Sometimes you will collaborate with someone and sometimes you will fight their idea or process. You won't take it personally. You will understand that your allies work for what is in their best interest as you work for what is in yours.
You will understand that you can be friendly without having to be friends. You can be courteous and respectful without having to agree with their point of view or with their values. You will avoid burning bridges because you realize the truth in the adage, "you never know when you may need someone."
You will attempt to garner aid and support by creating mutually beneficial agreements. You will not attempt to convince someone that you are right, but you will attempt to show their benefit in the collaboration. Above all you will let the past lie in the past. You will judge the value of working with someone today based on what they bring to the table today, not on what transpired in the past. That doesn't mean you turn a blind eye to history, you may need to monitor your ally closely. But it does mean that you don't close the door on an opportunity when situations change.
If our two countries, the United States and the former Soviet Union, have gotten beyond the pain and loss suffered by both sides in our former bitter conflict, can't you get beyond the disappointment or hurt you've suffered with someone you currently need to work with?
You can if you change your expectations of professional relationships from friendship to alliances. Just imagine what we will accomplish by working with and not against the Russians in space. Just imagine what you can accomplish by working with allies who have the knowledge, experience, talents and resources you need to succeed.
Friends can be allies, allies can be friends, but understand the real differences between the two types of relationships. Have lots of friends at home. Be personal, get personal. Exclude those whom you don't like.
And then make and utilize lots of alliances at work. I Am WICT...Get to know your WICT Board Fun facts you never knew about Jennifer Holt, our 2012 WICT Greater  Chicago President and Tribune Media Services Director, Field Sales & Marketing. What do you do on the WICT Board? I'm the 2012 incoming President of the Greater Chicago Chapter. I joined the board in 2005, when Ann Schneider invited me to become the Communications Chair. I was so thrilled and excited and I've had a blast every year. Since then, I've held multiple positions including Membership Chair, Mentoring Chair and Vice President. What are your plans for the Chapter in 2012? In 2012, I would like to build upon the amazing momentum and excitement Cathy Traczek and the rest of the board created in 2011. The goal is to hold one event each month for our members so they can continue to grow as leaders and stay relevant as the industry continues to change. Why are you involved with WICT? There are so many but I will pick the top 3. 3. Pearls of wisdom I've learned from the members and events. 2. Leadership development opportunities. 1. The people! What is your Must See TV show? There is no possible way I can pick only one show. I'm addicted to TV and I'm not afraid to admit it. I record everything on my DVR or watch On Demand: Amazing Race, Pan Am, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Sister Wives, 19 Kids and Counting, House, Hart of Dixie, Glee, Parenthood, Modern Family, Top Chef, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Project Runway, America's Best Bites and any Hallmark Movie. What leadership books do you recommend to colleagues? When I first started managing people I was obsessed with reading Erika Andersen's books on "Being Strategic" and "Growing Great Employees." In fact, I learned about her when I attended a WICT webinar. More than books though, my recommendation is to attend lectures, webinars and conferences. I learn so much more when I can hear and interact with an author or speaker versus only reading their books. Most recently, I attended the WICT Leadership Conference where I heard Ursula Burns, Chairman & CEO of Xerox, speak about what she has learned throughout her career. She stressed the importance of having fun at work and in life. If you don't, you aren't going to do it well. She also said it is ok to be impatient because patience doesn't drive change. Who are you rooting for? Myself, of course, along with my friends and family. As far as sports...right now Da' Bears. What was the best/worst advice (professional or personal) you ever received? The best advice I ever received was to convey my opinion with facts and figures, not my feelings or emotions. Can you give us your best elevator speech for joining WICT? I'm living proof of how networking, attending and participating in WICT events can open up doors you never imagined existed. You will meet amazing people who will help guide and support you personally and professionally, you will learn new skills that will help you grow as a leader and expose you to new roles and most importantly you will have fun. WICT Greater Chicago member attends Leadership Conference My name is Christian Aponte and I was chosen as the WICT  Greater Chicago Chapter's WLC 2011 scholarship winner. This year's conference was held in New York, NY, where hundreds of aspiring leaders gathered to fine tune their professional career paths. The focus and theme of this year's event was "Innovations in Leadership," which concentrated on methods for leaders to stay at the "top of their game" to produce strong results especially in these challenging economic times. The new business reality is a constantly changing environment where only the adaptable survive.
The bulk of the conference consisted of various "tracks" - Cable Fundamentals, Strategic Leadership, and Career Savvy - to choose in order to facilitate learning depending on one's career journey. Personally, I chose to participate in the Career Savvy track where the breakout sessions consisted of topics relating to negotiation and influencing techniques, work and life balance, and tips to accelerate my career ladder progression. Throughout the conference, we had the opportunity to listen to several speakers including Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski - hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. In addition, we had the privilege of witnessing a powerful keynote speech from Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox. I will always remember one of the best lines from her speech which consisted of "Be Who You Are, Stay True To Yourself." The WICT WLC committee really created a powerful lineup of executives! Finally, we had various networking opportunities to make new connections and renew old relationships. It was also a perfect time to reflect on our new set of skills with the other attendees as well. Overall, I was able to leave the conference more energized, engaged, and empowered. From the welcoming reception to the closing presentation, the event was absolutely fantastic! I felt the conference truly embraced the philosophy of developing and supporting powerful and passionate leaders in the cable and telecommunications industry... Thank you, WICT! News & Notes What are you doing out there? We want to know. Do you have a happy announcement to share in the next newsletter? Send member promotions, award, marriage, baby, career change, news, or any other great accomplishment to WICTChicago@gmail.com . You are WICT and we want to share your news with your fellow WICT members. John Kelleher was named president and chief operating officer for The Entertainment Products division of Tribune Media Services, a subsidiary of Tribune Company. Val Sydnor was named Supervisor of WFO Fulfillment - Work Order Management for Comcast. LeAnn Talbot has been named Senior Vice President for Comcast's Freedom Region based in Pennsylvania. Cathy Traczek was named Senior Director of Care for Comcast's Woodridge Call Center. Are you Connected? News you can use!Check out these great resources from around the web. WomensForum: As one of the first online women's communities, it still boasts 8 million page views a month as a destination for working women. Work Happy Now: A blog and newsletter from career coach Karl Staib, WHN focuses on developing career "superpowers" to find the job that's right for you. The Glass Hammer: An award-winning blog and online community created for women executives in finance, law, technology and big business. From The Gen Y Perspective: Emily Jasper blogs about career and workplace issues with the perceptive vantage point of youth. Share your favorite resources too and we may use them in our next newsletter. Click here to send us a note. | 
