The Female Insight Zone

While the world has seen many women stake their claims as leaders, there is still a gap between genders in terms of leadership. In today’s episode, Janet Salazar, human potential activist and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, talks about a solution to bridge the gap and create real change. She discusses her innovative dialogue series, Conversations with Men™, a pioneering and groundbreaking executive forum with the mission of engaging men in leadership roles to accelerate women’s leadership at the top, and achieving gender equality.

Janet relates her own experiences with taking on responsibility and management, and how that helped her gain her position in the UN and establish Impact Leadership 21, a social enterprise dedicated to sustainable leadership worldwide. She also discusses her thoughts on leadership, and the importance of having men be champions for women leaders.

While the world still has some distance before achieving a better balance between genders in terms of leadership, Janet’s initiatives are paving the way for a future for the best and brightest leaders, whether male or female.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Just how big the gap is between men and women in leadership roles.

• How Impact Leadership 21 has been empowering men and women for sustainable leadership.

• What the Conversations With Men forum has been doing to bring awareness about this disparity.

• Why Janet wishes to someday do away with the term “women’s leadership”.

Tweetables:

• I believe that the changes that need to happen have to come from conscious decision from leadership.

• At the end of the day, it really boils down to humanity and being human. There is no gender.

Big Takeaways:

• Many organizations, such as the United Nations, have been working to empower both men and women for leadership positions. Notably, the leaders of the private sector are highly influential in this scenario, and making them aware of their influence is a key step to bridging this gap.

• Women leadership is not just about salary increases or positions. It is about realizing the economic impact that women bring to the table as well, and involving them to be part of it.

• Having conversations with male champions of female empowerment is a powerful tool that can help advance gender equality in leadership.

Related Links & References:

• Janet’s official website: http://www.janetcsalazar.com/

• Janet’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetcsalazar

• Janet’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/janetcsalazar1

• Impact Leadership 21: http://www.impactleadership21.com/

• Conversations With Men: http://www.impactleadership21.com/conversations-with-men.html

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Just how important is relationship-building to business, despite it not being part of your job description? A firm believer in relationships and collaboration, Leslie Grossman, author, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Women’s Leadership Exchange, speaks of the importance of face-to-face communication today.

She talks about her book “Link Out”, which has her findings on the best ways to connect with people in order to further your business and career. She discusses as well what she discovered to be the common factor most successful women have. She also shares some tips on how to connect with people better, especially for those who have quiet and introverted natures.

No matter what industry you are in, relationships are necessary for your personal growth and career advancement. Let Leslie inspire you to connect and collaborate with others in genuine ways in order to become wildly successful.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The best way to build trust and genuine relationships with other people.

• Why collaboration is important in business and in gaining more opportunities.

• What the most exceptional sales people have in common.

• Tips on how to network better.

Tweetables:

• We need to link out… and actually meet with people face-to-face if we’re going to build trust and relationships.

• We have to get out of the “me” generation and become more of the “we” generation to build trust and have the best results for everyone.

• I think whenever we can create something wherein everyone wins, (we) make magic.

Big Takeaways:

• Even though there are many ways to connect with people today, face-to-face communication trumps the use of digital tools and social media. Having conversations this way is the best method to build trust between people.

• Having genuine curiosity and care for other people makes you understand others better, and, as a result, you will find out what makes them tick and what motivates them in order for them to collaborate with you.

• Collaboration goes a long way to advancing careers and building organizations.

Related Links & References:

• Leslie’s website: http://lesliegrossmanleadership.com/

• Leslie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliegrossmanvistage

• Leslie’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/leslie_connect

• Women’s Leadership Exchange: http://www.womensleadershipexchange.com/

• The Everest Project: http://www.everestproject.org/

• Link Out by Leslie Grossman: https://www.amazon.com/Link-Out-Network-Lasting-Connections/dp/1118380584/

• The Connectors by Maribeth Kuzmeski: http://www.theconnectorsbook.com/

• Give And Take by Adam Grant: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986

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Many remarkable women have made their mark in the field of business, but the truly exceptional ones are continuing to pass on their knowledge to other promising women. In today’s podcast, listen to the insights of Andrea March, a long-time entrepreneur who founded and ran multi-million dollar businesses and is a co-founder of the Women’s Leadership Exchange (WLE), an organization dedicated to supporting women leaders.

Andrea will talk about the experiences that led her to form the WLE, and how it has helped and empowered more than 40,000 women to date. She will also discuss her new initiative with regards to helping bridge gender parity in the corporate world. Besides this, she will touch on her own thoughts and experiences in founding Military Women Exchange, an organization dedicated to assisting women veterans transition to civilian life.

Women have to support each other in order to gain ground for breakthroughs that would benefit the entire gender, but everyone, male or female, should work together to affect lasting change. Join Andrea in her commitment to change the world, one woman at a time.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How the Women’s Leadership Exchange has been helping women in business, from entrepreneurs to the corporate world.

• Who the usual guest speakers that are most looked forward to in WLE summits are, from inspiring professionals to well-established businesswomen.

• The best ways to make a significant difference to gender parity in the workplace.

• The challenges in helping women veterans transition to suburban life.

Tweetables:

• These are women who have shifted the paragon of the way women are perceived as individuals.

• My whole idea is that we (women) have to support each other.

• Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Big Takeaways:

• The Women’s Leadership Exchange, along many other social entrepreneurship organizations, has helped and supported many women develop themselves for their various pursuits. However, true change lies in both men and women working together towards gender equality.

• It may take a while to see significant strides in the gender issue, but every incremental success counts, as it is a step towards giving future generations more opportunities.

• There will always be challenges that seem unsurmountable, but the key is to keep working on them nevertheless and to keep raising awareness to these issues.

Related Links & References:

• Andrea’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreamarch

• Women’s Leadership Exchange: http://www.womensleadershipexchange.com/

• WLE Thought Leadership Summit 2016 – Atlanta: https://www.womensleadershipexchange.com/index.php?pagename=atlanta2016&sectionkey=852

• Military Women Exchange: http://militarywomenexchange.com/

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Just how good is your social media marketing strategy? Get some tips on how to become more social media savvy in today’s interview with Tracy Samantha Schmidt, a top social media educator and strategist who founded her own firm, Socially Authentic, to help enterprises improve their social media strategy design.

Tracy will talk about her experiences as a journalist for companies like Time Magazine, especially with how she started out by covering the rise of Facebook. She will also touch on her experiences as she established her very own firm, as well as some lessons she learned while being managing the million-dollar website ChicagoNow. She will also discuss her opinions on the future and trends of marketing, and point out some mistakes many people make when it comes to using different social media platforms.

While the social media landscape is constantly changing, strategists like Tracy help keep you on top of the game. Listen to Tracy now to get some ideas on how you can engage more people and attract more business with social media.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Tracy stayed afloat when the journalism industry imploded in 2009 and the need for social media strategists arose.

• The importance of being updated on the latest trends of social media marketing.

• Some forecasts on how marketing to audiences will be like in an increasingly digital world.

Tweetables:

• Whether you’re in the C-Suite or HR or sales, you need to know social media now.

• If a businessperson doesn’t understand how to use (social media), it can be detrimental to their career.

• SEO, Content Marketing, UX design… All these apply to marketing now. They need to know the latest tactics in order to stay competitive.

Big Takeaways:

• Social media is a big part of the world today, and it can be an effective marketing tool if used in the right ways.

• Social media is constantly changing, but it is important to be aware of the latest trends in order to effectively reach out to and engage people to and for your business.

Related Links & References:

• Tracy’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracysamanthaschmidt

• Tracy’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/tracysamantha

• Socially Authentic: http://www.sociallyauthentic.com/

• The Sunday Night Memo (sign up form): http://sociallyauthentic.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9397dd43285f6d6a38f5b1906&id=02215d39cd

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Among 700 questions asked in more than 20 primary debates, only 6 were on women’s issues that were not related to abortion or Planned Parenthood.

As there are many more that merit the attention of our presidential candidates, listen in as Johanna Zeilstra, established business strategist and Global Ambassador for the SmartWomen Project, talks about co-founding The Women’s Debate (womensdebate.org), a nonpartisan group curating critical questions on women’s issues to be posed to presidential candidates.

Johanna will talk about the major issues affecting women and girls in the nation that go unaddressed today. She will also discuss her thoughts on which presidential candidates have been bringing up these concerns in their campaign trails. Moreover, she will touch on her own career and experiences, from being on the cover of Fortune Magazine to co-establishing GiveBack, an out-of-the-box philanthropy solution.

Since women make up half of the American population and have a higher voter turnout than men, it is only fitting to have a platform where they can raise the issues affecting them. Support Johanna as she calls on candidates to speak openly on their policies and positions on women.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The major issues that affect women and girls that most candidates don’t talk about.

• Whether or not a female candidate like Hillary Clinton will advance policies for women.

• How you can support The Women’s Debate in pushing for a presidential debate on critical women’s issues.

Tweetables:

• Women’s issues are just as important for women as they are for men… Women’s issues are human issues.

• These are things that should be at the forefront of some of these questions… (They) are so critical to the health and welfare (of women).

Big Takeaways:

• While women comprise of a big chunk of voters in the United States, the presidential candidates have yet to discuss in-depth the pressing issues that affect them. The Women’s Debate aims to curate questions of this nature to help raise awareness, evaluate the candidates’ policies, and demonstrate the women’s voting power.

• The serious concerns of women and girls go beyond abortion and Planned Parenthood. They involve problems like violence against women, human trafficking, and equal pay.

Related Links & References:

• The Women’s Debate: http://www.womensdebate.org/

• Petition for a live presidential debate focusing exclusively on women’s issues: https://www.change.org/p/to-our-presidential-candidates-women-s-real-issues-deserve-a-debate

• GiveBack: https://www.giveback.org/

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Have you ever heard of a nonprofit that develops workers from poverty to those that have a higher than average job retention rate? And, an organization that focuses their workplace job training based on motivation, love, and forgiveness?

In today’s podcast, listen to how Maria Kim, CEO of The Cara Program and board member of several social purpose organizations, has managed to do this with Cara, a nonprofit focused on providing sustainable workforce development for men and women affected by homelessness and poverty in Chicago.

Maria will talk about how Cara has helped changed the lives of thousands of people through their training campuses and social enterprises. She will also discuss why the organization has been very successful in placing people into permanent employment for the long-term. She will touch on her own experiences of shifting from a career in the corporate sector to specializing in social purpose organizations as well.

With Motivation, education on soft and hard skills, and plenty of partnerships, Maria through Cara has changed, and will continue to change, the lives of many people. By supporting organizations like Cara, you too can be a vehicle for true life transformation.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How The Cara Program has helped more than 70% of their shareholders be employed and remain employed after one year of employment.

• Why Cara has been successful in keeping itself afloat with its social enterprises.

• Why everyday “Motivation” is so important to Cara (and why so many outsiders want to be part of it).

Tweetables:

• We’re all about helping folks get back to work… But we’re also about helping folks get their mojo back.

• It’s about people that are… interested and eager to get back to work and building (their) esteem to break through those barriers.

• We want to make sure they know we care… We want them to reach this milestone so that they could get through more sustainable employment.

• Ain’t nothing to it but to do it, so do it.

Big Takeaways:

• The Cara Program focuses on providing long-term and sustainable employment for the high-risk people that they work with. This means not only providing them jobs, but making sure that they are well-equipped to deal with the problems they may encounter in the future.

• While Cara is a nonprofit organization, Maria has applied a number of corporate principles to her work in order to make Cara thrive.

Related Links & References:

• Maria’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaskim

• The Cara Program: http://www.thecaraprogram.org/

• TCP Staffing: http://www.tcpstaffing.com/

• Cleanslate: http://www.cleanslatechicago.org/

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Women are known to be conservative towards money matters, but one particular woman has shown that any woman can become a Money Queen with the right knowledge and attitude.

Join Maribeth today as she interviews the popular “Money Queen” Cary Carbonaro, author of the #1 Amazon bestseller The Money Queen’s Guide and one of only 50 ambassadors for the CFP® Board in the United States.

Cary will talk about her experiences in her long career in financial services, and how she added a lot of the money-related pointers and tips she learned in The Money Queen’s Guide. She will also discuss the common mistakes many women make when it comes to making financial decisions. As she has been featured in many popular talk shows, she will also touch on what it’s like being interviewed on national television and making segments for TV and how she deals with being under the public eye.

Many poorly made financial decisions stem from lack of knowledge and financial savvy. Learn from Cary today on how you can improve your financial literacy to be a Money Queen!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Some pointers on how to build wealth and have a financially secure future.

• Why women sometimes have a harder time controlling their financial positions.

• What you can do today to improve your future financial prospects.

• How to deal with backlash and haters, especially when you’re wildly successful.

Tweetables:

• There is no get-rich-quick. It’s a get-rich-slow.

• Doing all the right things with money will get you to your goals of being rich.

• When you’re in [a bad] state, you should not be making [financial decisions]. 99% of the time they are wrong, and you’ll be paying for them for a long time.

• We get more nervous that we’re going to wind up with nothing, so we’d rather hoard cash than invest because we’re afraid we’ll lose.

Big Takeaways:

• Women are known to be more conservative when it comes to investing their money into financial instruments. Cary encourages everyone to enhance their financial literacy and not be so afraid of losses so that we can all have a bright financial future.

• A number of times, we are led to make decisions while at a heightened emotional state. These decisions may not be the most financially sound, and it’s best to postpone any serious decision-making until you are ready to go over the pros and cons in a more stable light.

• In terms of self-promotion and putting your work out there, there will always be a mix of reactions from different people. It’s never going to be all good, and what’s more important is how you react to such scenarios.

Related Links & References:

• Cary’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carycarbonarocfpmoneyqueen

• Cary’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/CaryCarbonaro

• The Money Queen’s Guide: http://moneyqueenguide.com

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We all have days when we think that we are not going to succeed in our goals in life and business. While it may be difficult to shift this mindset into something more productive, TEDx speaker, executive coach and sponsored triathlete Elizabeth McCourt shows you how an endurance athlete’s perspective can provide you the right mental training that is guaranteed to have maximum impact on your success.

In today’s podcast, Elizabeth talks about how she used her experiences in her different career paths and interests, ranging from law to financial services to writing to even endurance training, to mold herself into an executive coach that has helped leaders and teams work at their top performance.

She also discusses how her TEDx Talk “Why You Should Spill Your Secrets” has touched many people around the world, especially since it was something that has helped her connect better to the clients she helps everyday.

She gives as well some tips and pointers that she has learned as an athlete that she has found applicable to any business scenario, and some common challenges she has helped her successful clients overcome.

No matter what industry you are in or what kind of person you are, you too can benefit from the discipline and mental training of a seasoned triathlete. Let Elizabeth show you how to achieve your goals with just the right mindset.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How an endurance athlete’s training can be applied to a business setting.

• How to harness all your experience in different fields to build a career that you love.

• The connection between your secrets and your self-esteem.

• Effective ways to silence the little voice inside you that tells you that you are going to fail.

Tweetables:

• [Spilling secrets] gets you to connect with people and impact people in a positive way by letting them see you in a more honest way.

• I think resilience and training yourself to be more resilient are the key tools to leadership.

• Shift your mindset, train yourself to believe that you can, and push yourself to try things that you don’t think that you can do.

• It’s all about getting your mind straight so that you can accomplish whatever it is on your list of what you want to accomplish.

Big Takeaways:

• While having a lot of career paths and interests can be overwhelming, all the things you’ve done in your life will eventually and inevitably lead you to where you’re supposed to be going.

• Sharing your secrets is a good way to connect with other people and helps you be more authentic to yourself.

• Everyone, even the most successful business-people, have their own issues to work through. A good mindset, such as that of an endurance athlete, is definitely beneficial in helping you build resiliency to get through all the tough times.

Related Links & References:

• Elizabeth’s website: http://www.mccourtleadership.com/

• Elizabeth’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethmccourt

• Elizabeth’s Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/ecmccourt

• Elizabeth’s Facebok page: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethmccourtcoaching/

• Why You Should Spill Your Secrets, a TEDx Talk by Elizabeth McCourt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhHiUGLcn_U

• The Woman Who Jumped: Courage Through Tragedy by Elizabeth McCourt, published on Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-woman-who-jumped-courage-through-tragedy_us_57c960c3e4b0b9c5b73819ce

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Ana Dutra is the president and CEO of The Executives’ Club of Chicago, the largest and oldest civic organization in the United States devoted to the development and networking of C-level executives. On this episode of the podcast, Dutra shares inclusive strategies that inspire more women to seek leadership positions and examines how professional women can combat “imposter syndrome.”

She also is the founder and CEO of Mandala Global Advisors, a global management and consulting company.  A Brazilian native with more than 20 years of experience in P&L Management, business growth and C-level consulting in 30-plus countries, Dutra is at the top of her game in leading turnarounds, global acquisitions and post-merger integrations.

Key Interview Takeaways

In order to transform the culture and create a climate that welcomes women in leadership positions, we must…

* establish income parity

* be deliberate in our hiring practices

* work to be more empathetic toward employees balancing family and work

Make the distinction between career beliefs and career motives. Women must question whether their ambitions are truly their own or what they’ve been taught to aspire to.

Learn through the experience of others. It’s imperative that successful women are transparent and vulnerable, willing to share their stories of insecurity. As Dutra tells her daughters, “We see other people’s outside with our inside.” Though it may appear that the leaders we look up to have it all together, they have crises of confidence too.

Combat “imposter syndrome” by reminding yourself that you were given your role because you have relevant experience, intelligence and people trust you. Why wouldn’t you trust yourself?

Connect with Ana Dutra

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anadutraglobal

http://mandala-global.com/tablet/index.html

http://www.executivesclub.org/

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As the Country Manager of Visa Rwanda, Lucy Mbabazi oversees operations in Rwanda, Burundi and Malawi. Prior to this role, she led the implementation of Visa—Government of Rwanda Public Private Partnership initiatives, established to lay the foundation for the digitization of Rwanda’s economy and financial inclusion. Mbabazi has also served as Policy and Strategy Advisor to the Head of Information Technology at the Rwanda Development Board, the coordinating body of all Government of Rwanda ICT initiatives. There she led the development of Rwanda’s National ICT Plan, guiding Rwanda’s transformation into the vision of an ICT driven society.

Mbabazi is also President of Girls in ICT Rwanda, a group of professional women working to inspire more Rwandan young women to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Management from La Roche College and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

In this episode of the podcast, Mbabazi discusses the importance of mentoring so that young women realize their potential and the significance of inclusion in both corporate leadership and access to financial services.

Key Interview Takeaways

Successful businesswomen must mentor girls and young women, inspiring them to see the “realm of possibilities.” Mbabazi didn’t have aspirations beyond working as an executive assistant until Leslie Hale, CFO at RLJ, told her, “You can’t be my secretary. You have so much potential.” Hale’s encouragement motivated Mbabazi to apply to an Ivy League graduate school and led to her current success.

Current leadership must be a part of the movement toward inclusion. Until men acknowledge the fundamental problem and deliberately make decisions to include women and minorities, inequality will continue to breed tension and further divide society.

Inclusion is also Mbabazi’s mission in her role at Visa. She is working to make financial services available to everyone in Rwanda through innovation around the basic cellular devices that most people own. Rather than having to travel five kilometers to reach a bank, the mobile phone is the bank, and everyone has access to the financial services they need to help them grow.

Widespread access to financial services is not only good for individual account holders, it is also essential for the governments in emerging markets. To fund development, governments rely on money in the bank, and the digitization of financial services allows a developing country to fund its treasury. As a result, that country is mobilizing its own resources rather than waiting for an NGO to build schools or provide water.

Connect with Lucy Mbabazi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-mbabazi-10b91413

https://lucymbabazi.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/lucymbabazi?lang=en

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