Full disclosure: the Business Journal’s Women’s Summit on June 23 at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live featured a series of panel discussions that were in the hands of several key sponsors. … An old saying goes that good advertising breaks news – and an interesting panel of successful female execs is worth noting on its merits in any case – so here are some notes from the event, where a crowd of more than 500 sat rapt as UCLA Anderson School Dean Judy Olian reminded everyone that “leadership can start with very little L’s.” Take on leadership roles at clubs, service groups or other organizations as a way to “curate” experiences and “figure out what works and what doesn’t,” Olian advised. … A clear sense of direction can be crucial in helping a leader develop a capital “L,” according to Ashley Merrill, founder and chief executive of the Santa Monica-based Lunya sleepwear label. Merrill said that employees and others “will accept human flaws if everyone knows where we’re going.” … Michelle Havens of Northern Trust passed along a tough lesson from early in her career, when she deferred to colleagues in a meeting, opting instead for the perceived safety of a private talk with her boss afterward. He told her she had failed by not raising her point in the meeting. “Don’t talk offline,” summed up Havens, who overcame that early stumble, as her role as president of the L.A. region for Northern Trust indicates … It wasn’t all shop talk – Faye Washington delighted the crowd while reminding the wives and mothers among them to remain mindful of their own needs. The chief executive and president of the YWCA of Greater L.A. probably gave the crowd more pleasure with a funny talk about her nightly glass of chilled chardonnay than she gets out of the sipping ritual. … Barbara Saltzman Berci brought plenty of executive cachet as founder and chairman of West L.A.-based BSC Management Inc., but she also took a moment to play the proud mother, telling a fellow attendee about her daughter, Liza Landsman, who was promoted earlier this year to president of Jet.com, the startup that Walmart bought as its $3 billion answer to Amazon.com. … Sullivan Says: Here’s to all the women of the Women’s Summit, who gathered on the same day that the BET Experience started at Staples Center and just hours before the opening of the Wilshire Grand – and nevertheless got top billing from L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who called the event out for kudos in conversation amid the day’s hoopla.