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Top Achiever
By: Audrey Sellers, Associate Editor
Issue: 2009aug
Carol Aastad, MAS, one of the industry’s most recognized leading ladies, received the first-ever PPB Woman Of Achievement Award.
Carol Aastad, MAS, has long been a big-name mover and shaker in the promotional products industry. She received the 2009 PPAI Distinguished Service Award and now she’s back in the spotlight as the 2009 recipient of the PPB Woman Of Achievement Award.
In its inaugural year, this award was created to recognize an individual who paved the way for women in the industry, demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and made significant contributions to the industry and her community.
Fourteen women were nominated for this year’s award, which was judged by the PPAI Women’s Leadership Advisory Committee. When all the scores were in, Aastad emerged at the top of the list. This 29-year industry veteran was not only a proponent for the advancement of women, but was a driving force behind the creation of the PPAI Women’s Leadership Conference, at which she was honored last month in Savannah, Georgia.
Leading The Way For Women
“I’ve always believed in the mentoring process for women because I believe they have unique needs, characteristics and talents that need to be recognized,” Aastad says. “I highly respect Jo-an Lantz, and I knew the creation of a woman’s conference was especially important to her. I felt inspired and motivated by her and became committed to the same goal.”
In 2004, Aastad was chair of the PPAI Board of Directors and also served on the committee that formed the Women’s Leadership Conference, which kicked off for the first time in 2005. “I’m thrilled it was created during my year as chair,” Aastad says. “It has trained women to step up to the plate, to be responsible, to look beyond their own businesses and to give back to others.”
She encourages business owners to send different women annually to the Women’s Leadership Conference, making sure to select not only management-level ladies, but any women with the potential and aspiration to succeed.
“I also strongly encourage regional associations to create a regional women’s conference,” Aastad says. “Three years ago we started a regional women’s conference in the Carolinas through a cooperative effort with CAAMP [Carolinas Association of Advertising and Marketing Professionals] and GAPPP [Georgia Association Promotional Products Professionals]. It has been quite successful and may be an economical way for more women to attend since most can drive to their regional conference.”
Aastad says women have such a huge capacity to care, which is something they learn from each other. “It enriches our lives to have time with females,” she says. “I’d never want to be without my male friends, but there’s a richness and a sharing that goes on among women that’s different than when you’re in a mixed group or when you’re with men.”
A Woman Inspired
Aastad says she never felt as though she was competing against men in particular. “I never felt the pressure of being a woman in a man’s world,” she says. “I always felt that if I was going to compete, I had to be as good as or a little better than my male counterparts. I knew I had to work a little harder and make my presentations just a little better to be successful.”
It’s this competitive spirit that propelled Aastad to the top of her game. When she started dabbling in the industry in 1980 at her parents’ company, Ben Davis Advertising, she recalls a startling statistic that stuck with her: Only seven percent of the industry’s salespeople were women.
Rather than being intimidated, Aastad was inspired. She had the support of her parents and a nod from Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) as one who was “Most Likely To Succeed.”
“It was still a new phenomenon for women to be in sales back then, but my parents had confidence in me and encouraged me,” Aastad says. “If they thought I could do it and I got an award from ASI, then that was my inspiration and I believed I could do it, too.”
Aastad was in sales for about 15 years at her own distributor company, Harlan-Davis, Inc., before she joined the Forrester-Smith management team as a vice president and general manager in 1995. When Forrester-Smith was bought by Lewiston, Maine-based distributor Geiger (UPIC: geiger) in 2006, she continued on with Geiger as a regional manager until her retirement last fall.
“It was a whole different world back then, with no e-mail or cell phones. I sold by calling on people. This was an advantage for me because I like people so much. I enjoyed sitting down with them and communicating face to face,” Aastad says.
She looked forward to the creative challenges of not simply showing products but developing solutions for her clients. “I was opposed to going to a client’s office and opening up a catalog. It was my job to find the product and the ideas,” Aastad says. “I think women today need to do things more creatively and use all the media available. They’ve got to have a competitive edge.”
Plus, Aastad notes that women must be incredibly focused, especially when they’re expected to do it all in their professional and personal lives. “Women leaders need to work smarter and use their time incredibly well. They need to inspire others to follow,” she says.
Being a leader also means knowing when to delegate. “I always felt, whether I was running my own company or chairing the board, that a team effort was most important. As a leader, my role was to recognize the diversity of contributions and bring them together into a workable solution,” says Aastad.
A Volunteer At Heart
Though she’s officially retired, Aastad is still active in the industry. “I enjoy serving on the PPEF [Promotional Products Education Foundation] board and I’d love to informally mentor any women who are interested,” she says.
She’s also in the process of becoming a court-appointed advocate for children in the foster care system in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she and her husband, Andy, live. “I’ve long had an interest in foster care. When I was president of the Junior League years ago, a group of us wrote a piece of legislation to create a foster care board that would review cases and get children into adoptive families,” Aastad says. “I feel like I’ve come full circle.”
Aastad says she misses her industry friends and seeing young salespeople succeed, but she’s thoroughly enjoying retirement. “One of my favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt: ‘When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.’ My life is more relaxed now and I’m enjoying spending time with Andy and pursuing my golfing and gardening hobbies, but I don’t believe it’s fair or satisfying to be totally self-indulgent,” she says.
Giving back is just part of Aastad’s nature, and she says she would never be completely happy without trying to make someone else’s life just a little better. This isn’t hard to do for a true industry influencer and genuine leading lady.
Try This Quiz To See How You Rate As a Leader
Do you have what it takes to get to the top? Do you have the management skills employers are seeking? Or do your talents lie in being a team player rather than a leader? Take this quiz to find out.
1. How important is status to you?
a) Very important. I like to feel like I’m in the top echelon.
b) Quite important. It’s good to be in with the in-crowd.
c) It’s more about the quality of relationships than where you fall within those relationships.
d) Not very important. I just want to live my life.
2. In your childhood what was your gang rank?
a) The leader: feared by all.
b) The funny one: adored by all.
c) The thinking one: listened to by all.
d) The geeky one: disregarded by all.
3. At the office do you offer new ideas and suggestions?
a) All the time. I really let everyone know what I think.
b) Quite often, but not if it would upset someone.
c) Often, but I’m careful of any personal and political issues.
d) Rarely. What if I say the wrong thing?
4. A colleague has been criticized for not preparing for a meeting. Do you:
a) Tell the individual he or she should have known better.
b) Take him or her out for a drink after work.
c) Offer to help next time.
d) Avoid him or her. You’ve got too much to do as it is.
5. You just received some negative feedback. How do you respond?
a) Get angry and defensive.
b) Listen carefully but feel disappointed.
c) Consider what you could change and how you could improve.
d) Sigh and think, “Yeah, that’s me.”
6. Faced with a problem to solve, what do you do?
a) Develop one solution and pronounce it correct.
b) Generate a few possible solutions and ask others what they think.
c) Brainstorm with a couple of nearby colleagues.
d) Seek your manager’s advice.
7. Your boss has asked you to do something that is beyond your abilities. Do you:
a) Take it on with gusto—you’re up for anything.
b) Give it your best shot but make a passing joke not to blame you if it all goes horribly wrong.
c) Agree to do the task but ask for further direction and assistance.
d) Stress out, clam up and finally confess that you just don’t think you could manage it.
8. Delegation is:
a) A waste of time. No one else will be able to do it as well as you so you might as well do it yourself.
b) An easy way to share the workload.
c) An effective way to create new learning opportunities for others.
d) Something you're always on the receiving end of.
9. Change to you means:
a) Something to be controlled.
b) An opportunity where anything could happen.
c) A chance to make progress.
d) Something to go along with.
So, how did you score?
Mostly A’s
You’re a natural born leader who’s strong, decisive and authoritarian. People respect you—or so you think. In reality, the situation may be rather different. At best, your arrogant, bullish, autocratic approach is seen as old-fashioned. At worst, it’s ridiculed by peers and management alike. You would be wise to be less punitive to those who do not see the world as you do, and open up more to the talents of those around you.
Mostly B’s
You’ve got good potential. You support people and listen to others. You are lateral and you take the initiative. All this bodes well for your future. But you must overcome what could become a fatal career flaw—wanting to be liked. There is nothing wrong with seeking out the approval of others, but don’t try to be everyone’s best friend. When difficult and direct words are needed, you end up being nice instead. Try, instead, to learn to confront potential conflicts with sensitivity and honesty. People will respect you more for it.
Mostly C’s
Management, here you come. If you want to move up the ranks you’ve probably got the ability to make the climb. You’re creative, assertive and empathetic. You easily draw groups together and enjoy heading them up. Most promising, though, is the importance you give to bringing on the abilities of others. You have high expectations of them, higher possibly than they have of themselves. And you seem prepared to do what you can to help them realize their own potential. Out of all management skills, this is the one modern companies seek out most. Be mindful, however, not to let more superficially forceful characters conquer your position.
Mostly D’s
You’re smart enough to have figured out by now that your place is more likely to be in, rather than at the head of, the team. You prefer to listen to ideas, not voice them. You prefer to implement decisions rather than make them. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The workplace would not be sustainable if everyone led and no one followed. You’re a solid, reliable, loyal team player. But be cautious that in your acquiescence to others you don’t become sycophantic. At times, be prepared to do things your own way.
Source: The Braithewaite Group, based on the work of Professor Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe and Dr. Binna Kandola
Common Traits Of Leading Ladies
Unafraid of shattering any glass ceiling that stands in their way, women leaders are more assertive, have a stronger need to get things done and are more willing to take risks than male leaders, according to a study by Caliper, a management consulting firm that has assessed more than two million employees from more than 25,000 companies around the world.
Wondering if you stack up to be a fearless female leader? Peruse these key findings from Caliper’s white paper, “The Qualities That Distinguish Women Leaders.”
Women leaders are more persuasive than their male counterparts. They scored higher than male leaders in persuasive motivation, assertiveness, willingness to risk, empathy, urgency, flexibility and sociability. Their people skills allow them to read situations accurately and take in information from all sides. This willingness to see all sides of a situation enhances their persuasive ability.
When they’re rejected, women leaders learn from the adversity and carry on with an “I’ll show you” attitude. Women possess strong interpersonal skills (empathy, flexibility and sociability) that allow them to express a unique approach to dealing with disappointment, rejection or situations that don’t work out their way.
Women leaders have an inclusive, team-building leadership style of problem solving and decision making. They’re interested in hearing all points of view, then making the best possible decision. Women leaders listen, learn, reflect, then implement a plan that incorporates the best of everyone’s ideas.
Women leaders are more likely to ignore rules and take risks. They’re likely to push back when they’re overly bound by regulations and rules, engage in more risk taking and develop innovative solutions. Plus, they have a greater need to get things done than male leaders and are less likely to hesitate or focus on small details.
Source: A white paper from Caliper titled “The Qualities That Distinguish Women Leaders”
Trophy Wise
Not only did Carol Aastad, MAS, depart Savannah with many heartfelt congratulations from her peers, she also took home a stunning, 19-inch custom award created especially for the honor by Chicago supplier R.S. Owens & Co., Inc. (UPIC: RSOWENS). The award’s hand-fabricated open metal star trailing off a free flowing helix column dramatically symbolizes the height of achievement recognized.
“Creating new designs is what we do to satisfy what our customer is looking for,” says Scott Siegel, MAS, president of R.S. Owens & Co., Inc. “We came up with an initial idea that I wasn’t thrilled about, so I asked our team to put their heads together for something even more creative. The next design was this one with the curving spire. The first time I saw it, I said, 'That’s it.' We put a star on top, added the pink glass and it was perfect.”
Siegel says he volunteered to create the trophy for the PPB Women Of Achievement Award because he’s a strong supporter of the Women’s Leadership Conference. “We have sent many of our top female employees to it over the past few years, and I was glad Margie Price [chairman of the WLC committee] presented us with the opportunity. I wanted to create something she would love and that would elicit exclamations of ‘Wow’ when people saw it.”
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