I may have been a bit reluctant to leave a looming deadline to spend an afternoon at an industry conference, but that reluctance soon gave way to amazement as I listened to professional women, one after another, describe their undying motivation, their history of hard work and their successful attempts at breaking the glass ceiling. Here are a few excerpts from many of the panelists:

LoriAnn Lowery

At the first annual Council on Litigation Management’s National Women’s Forum, one of the first speakers was LoriAnn Lowery, president of field operations for Naviators and former president of Lloyd’s North America. Using her 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, Lowery talked about her seven principles to live by as a female in the male-dominated world of insurance.

1. Don’t let the past dictate the future — forget your past shortcomings
2. Be aware of the power of perception — take control of your perception, be self-aware, ask others frankly about their perception of you
3. Evaluate where you are — perform your own personal 360
4. Identify your constraints — this touched on the psychologically-based theory of constraints
5. Evaluate where you want to go, both inside and outside of your current organization — make your career happen for you and don’t be seen as a commodity
6. Assess your leadership quotient — this is determined by both emotional and intellectual intelligence
7. Brand yourself for career success — make a personal mission statement, perfect your 2-minute personal elevator speech, network and form a personal advisory board

Paula R. Watson

Watson’s background proved impressive to the 250+ crowd. She is a graduate of the United States Army War College. After that, she served more than 23 years in the United States’ Army Judge Advocate Gerneral’s Corps and retired as a decorated Colonel. She currently serves as vice president and senior counsel for TD Bank.

Watson made it clear that those in the room, along with successful people in general, are successful because:

“You know how to change missteps into opportunities. You have learned to sell a misstep to be something positive — it’s a growth opportunity.”

Dorien Smithson

Smithson proved to be no-nonsense, straight shooter. She has more than 30 years of experience in the risk management and insurance industry and currently oversees all Willis, North America claim, risk control and data analytics. Smithson told the audience that there is a difference between aggressive and assertive. She is sometimes seen as aggressive, while her male coworkers are seen as assertive — representing the classic double standard. She encouraged, to a certain extent, aggressiveness/assertiveness in the workplace — however you want to refer to it. A few of other favorite quotes from Smithson:

“If I sleep through the night, it’s probably time for me to go.” — In response to a question asking how the panelists knew it was time to move in a new direction within the company, or to a new job altogether.

“I don’t really have that gene.” — In response to LoriAnn Lowery’s claim that sometimes women can be too nurturing in the work environment because it’s in their DNA.

More Quotable Quotes:

“A great leader is able to get more out of their team that the sum of the parts.” — Kate Bertini, assistant general counsel, United Technologies Corporation

“Ask yourself: Can you articulate your client’s desires and concerns?” — Julie Fortune, senior vice president and chief claims officer, Arrowpoint Capital

“Don’t be high-maintenance. Take control instead of asking permission. Don’t be too nurturing.” –LoriAnn Lowery, president of field operations, Navigators

“Once [professional women] climb the corporate ladder, they reach not only a glass ceiling, but sometimes a glass cliff.” — Deborah Masucci, vice president, Chartis

“When I started 28 years ago in the litigation business, I walked into the courtroom and the judge said to me, ‘Are you here to drop something off, sweetie?'” — Ricki Roer, partner, Goehring, Rutter & Boehm

“Women that have succeeded need to get real and help their brethren.” — Deborah Masucci, speaking about the importance of mentoring

“Expand your pool of suppliers. Don’t just pick up the phone and call who you always call. Support women, minorities and the GLBT community.” — Robin Sangston, vice president of legal affairs, Cox Communications

Altogether, the afternoon conference was a great learning experience from women who have become pioneers in their field. Not only was it exciting to learn from these women within the industry, it was, maybe most importantly, extremely inspiring.