Meeting Jane Yow

Understanding ones behavior style and communicating effectively is crucial in the business world. That advice is one of many the Entrepreneur Mentor students learned during their communication and behavior workshop led by Jane Yow.

Jane E. Yow has over 30 years of consulting experience and is a presenter at national conferences and the author of articles relating to management issues and training activities. Jane holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Education, and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Psychology. She is also a representative and trainer for the Lyles Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, working to develop entrepreneurial leaders at California State University, Fresno.

Jane is the Founder of The Performance Link, a training organization development firm specializing in creative business training with a focus on the people side of management.

The session began with each student learning about their behavior style through the results of their DISC Personal Profile assessment. DISC evaluates one’s personal and work behavior style and its impact on others. There are four basic styles: dominance (D), influence (I), steadiness (S), and conscientiousness (C). Each with its own pros and cons. Students were placed into groups where they shared their profile information with each member. Jane explained as an entrepreneur it is important to understand oneself better so you can develop strategies to overcome obstacles both in life and in business.

During the second half of the workshop, Jane covered the subject of communication. According to Jane, “You are the language…your voice, your body language, your facial expression, and your attitude.” In other words, communication is more than simply having a conversation. For example, the pace of your speech, loudness, pitch, tone, and articulation tells much about your personality. Most people are not aware of how they behave and often send the wrong message to others. Jane suggested to the students when communicating with someone to ask themselves: “what do you look like? What do you sound like? What do you say? How well do you listen?”

Near the end of the workshop, Jane asked the students what it means to be an entrepreneur. Some of the students defined being an entrepreneur as creating one’s own success, solving a problem, or taking control of one’s destiny. Jane also added it has to do with attitude and believing in oneself. For example, she shared her ten years in the Health Care Industry and short career at Saint Agnes Hospital not as a failure but as an opportunity to become an entrepreneur, to start her own consulting business and an opportunity to succeed.