March 24, 2000
The Association of Multicultural Members of Partners (AMMP) recently celebrated Women's History Month with a program honoring women throughout the Partners HealthCare System and recognizing women in leadership roles.
Bonnie Michelman, director of Police and Security at the MGH; Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse at the MGH; and Tina Brown-Stevenson, former vice president of System Development for Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., delivered inspirational and informative speeches about how women can become effective leaders.
"Anybody can be a good leader in good times," Michelman said. "It is not so easy to be a good leader in bad times, and in health care, we deal with bad times." She talked about her experiences working in the male-dominated field of security management and about the need for both men and women to support each other in the workplace. "Women need to be focused, to be risk-takers and to be passionate about what they do to make a difference," said Michelman.
Ives Erickson said that the MGH is an example of an organization in which women do advance into leadership positions, as evidenced by the fact that there are many women in management positions at the hospital. She stressed the importance of developing mentoring relationships and recognizing in others those qualities that make them effective leaders.
"Leaders leave legacies," Brown-Stevenson told members. "Responsibility, knowledge, drive and optimism are key traits to success in leadership. Women who take initiative and ask for what they want are the most successful. In a dog sled race, the first dog has the best view."
AMMP members were given a copy of Phenomenal Women by Maya Angelou, a book of inspiring poems for and about women. Gaeil Thompson, chair of the AMMP public relations committee, closed the celebration by reading an excerpt from one of the poems.