Stroble Encourages Women’s Conference Attendees to ‘Join the Table’

ST. LOUIS (Feb. 4, 2014) Webster University President Beth Stroble was a featured speaker Jan. 31 at the 9th annual St. Louis Business Journal Women’s Conference. Nearly 1,000 women business leaders from the Midwest attended the conference, held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.

The message of Stroble’s presentation, “Setting the Table for Globally Diverse and Inclusive Leadership,” was that leaders invite others to the table. Symbolically, she described the table as “an ancient icon of hospitality. It’s a place where people are included, and where their opinions are valued.”

But too often, women choose to be spectators instead of contributors at the table. Stroble said not only should women strive to receive an invitation to sit at the table, but also, to desire a seat at the head of that table.

Equally important for achieving truly inclusive leadership is to bring a rich diversity of perspectives to the table. “You get better results,” Stroble said, “and it’s the right thing to do from both a professional and a moral point of view.”

Her final piece of advice: “Once you’re at that table, don’t hoard that seat; invite others.”

Read the St. Louis Business Journal story on Stroble’s presentation.