Award-Winning Coach Sue Enquist On What It Means To Be Successful

The Women Of The Channel West Conference featured keynotes by many inspiring authors, motivational speakers, and award-winning women focused on helping others become the best they can be in their industry. Sue Enquist, award-winning softball coach, speaker, and Hall of Famer spoke about the importance of "failing fast" and being efficient in getting back up after every disappointment. Her keynote included tools and tips to help guide audience members in becoming the most productive version of themselves. "Really its about progress, I wanted to demonstrate that progress takes time," said Enquist. She explained that in any industry, its important to create what she calls "conditions for success" in which every employee and team member can feel valued, supported, and ultimately productive. "I think there are common characteristics, but everyone has their own personal slant. For me, it is to have your team, or your group, really understand what their role is," said Enquist. "In doing this, you create conditions for that person to feel successful." In her talk, the importance of failure was a topic that went hand-in-hand with her definition of success. According to Enquist, its not about how often you fail in work or life that matters, but rather, how efficiently you recover after a downward turn. "In our program, we created little routines so people can get comfortable owning their mistakes and moving on. We practice it, like anything else, and you get better at it, and life goes on.” She even encouraged parents in the audience to take a deeper look at how they are helping their children deal with success and failure. Ultimately, Enquist said its important to let your kids fall down, and that as women, we shouldn't be so quick to help them back up. "They'll figure it out on their own. You can help dust them off, but don't do it for them," she said. Leaving the crowd with what felt like an electric energy, Enquist assured listeners that we are all a work in progress, and that in the end, its important to remember the goal in life is simply to reach one's highest potential - no matter how long that might take.