Fierce Feminine Leadership

Kishau Rogers started her career as a programmer 24 years ago. Today, she is a serial technology entrepreneur and the CEO of Websmith Studio, Inc., a company that develops software for its partner organizations worldwide. Kishau is an active advisory board member of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Engineering and WAAW Foundation. She has been honored with the Wells Fargo STEM Award and the Lyn McDermid Community Impact Award and spends her time building her tribe and working on tech projects that can solve real problems. Keep Reading >> Kishau joins me on today’s episode to share her mission to make thinking sexy again by applying computer science thinking principles as tools in building real solutions that matter. She talks about how leaders can effectively wrangle with complexity by hiring thinkers as well as her insights on the power of building tribes with the latter being the key to unlocking true diversity and inclusion, not only in the workplace but also in the world.   “If people

Elissa Shevinsky is a successful serial entrepreneur, cybersecurity expert, and public speaker and is the author of Lean Out: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Tech and Start-Up Culture. Driven by her love for making software, she focuses on cryptocurrency and the history of women in computer science.     Keep Reading >> Today, Elissa joins me to share the power of leaning out -- how to set yourself free by doing things your way as you create your own company, systems, and culture. She shares what allowed her to rise quickly in Silicon Valley and how her belief as a young child that ‘homes are protected by grandmothers with frying pans’ molded her outlook on the fierceness of women.   “I think the most reliable way to have a great work environment is to build it yourself.” - Elissa Shevinsky   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: The core experiences that shaped Elissa’s ability and willingness to challenge the status quo What inspired the creation of her book What Silicon Valley and Hollywoo

Katie Burke is the Chief People Officer of HubSpot, an organization famous for an exceptional culture that emphasizes inclusion, diversity, and support. Due to Katie’s efforts, Fortune.com included HubSpot in the list of “100 Best Workplaces for Women.” While Katie runs several teams in the human resources department, at a high level, her primary focus is the candidate and employee experience. Keep Reading >> Katie joins me on today’s episode to share how to advance your career as you network with senior leaders and the significant life-altering lessons she learned in her career journey. She talks about when the ideal time is to think about your next career move and how to create an outstanding culture that is female-friendly and supports inclusion and diversity.   “Do anything that shows that you’re willing to take the jump from intent to action.” - Katie Burke   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: Katie’s career journey from something she endured to something close to her heart What gave her

According to Ken Blanchard, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” While dealing with supportive and genuinely constructive feedback is productive, learning to deal with annoying feedback takes discipline and practice. Mastering the art of tuning out this negativity is what makes the difference between a runner-up and a champion. Keep Reading >>   On today’s episode, I want to share five strategies that will help you tune out annoying feedback. I talk about the criteria of an annoying feedback and how to cope with it so it won’t get in the way of your productivity or keep you from moving forward.     “Feedback is sometimes a reflection of the other person’s own worldview.”     Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast:   What feedback is and when it happens Kinds of feedback people give How to cope by asking questions before redirecting the conversation How to use a fun outlet to process your negative thoughts and emotions Why turn to your role models when being bombarded with negativity How to dev

Debbie Halvorson Bush started her career in politics in 1993 when she ran and won as a clerk in the state of Illinois. She is the first female Senate Majority Leader of Illinois and a former representative for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District. Debbie is currently the President and CEO of Solutions Unlimited, a government relations firm, and American Eagle Logistics.   Keep Reading >> Debbie joins me today to share the values she has learned from her upbringing that gave her the confidence to play ball with the big boys in politics. She also shares the importance of time management, giving your all in everything you do, and remembering your values in the growth and success of your career and your business.     “You can’t do anything halfway. You have to throw yourself in, and you can’t rely on anybody else to do it for you.” - Debbie Halvorson Bush       Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast:   What prompted her to work in politics What she learned about herself in the process of getting in th

Vidya Narayanan is the CEO of UrbanAMA, an Ask-Me-Anything video platform where they take audio-visual interactions to the next level. Being part of the mobile evolution, Vidya worked at Motorola, Qualcomm, and Google where she led a team of 30 engineers and has issued 50 patents with 100 more pending applications. Keep Reading >>   Vidya joins me on today's’ episode to share some of the key factors that helped her develop confidence in making her voice heard at the table which led her to be a powerful voice and advocate for women in tech. She also shares the significance of being able to spot and overcome failure as a leader, what compelled her to create an app that’s both visual and interactive despite the popularity of existing social media platforms, and why it’s crucial and necessary to talk about diversity in technology at a young age.   “The most important thing is to make sure that we hear all the ideas being presented, be respectful in both directions, and that our voices are heard.” - Vidya Narayan

Have you experienced someone approach you and tell you it’s time for a website makeover? Have you ever felt the desire to revamp your website, but your gut tells you “not yet” as you prioritize other elements to grow your business? Having a visually appealing site that offers a smooth experience for visitors and guests is excellent, but you need to know when the timing is right for making this project a priority for your business or when it’s simply a distraction. Keep Reading >> On today’s episode, I’m going to share with you five lessons I learned as my team and I worked on the launch of our new website. I’m going to take you behind the scenes of the website redevelopment and talk about some helpful insights from the past that help us in our strategy and decision-making.   “Creating a new website can be a powerful distraction from doing the necessary work that actually grows a business.”    Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: Reasons for holding off on the development of a new website The tim

Fact -- Life is beautiful! Reality -- Life’s not perfect. The question is how do you respond when things don’t go the way you planned? Focusing on the things you can control is crucial in your performance and success when dealing with variables that are out of your control. One of the things that will allow you to endure these challenges head-on is if you are resilient -- if you have mental toughness.   Keep Reading >> On today’s episode, I share three mental habits of the feeble-minded, what to do when you catch yourself being feeble-minded, and the secrets on how you can cultivate your inner toughness.   “The key is to catch yourself when you fall into one of these wimpy mental traps and flip your thinking around to the right way.”   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast:   What it means to be feeble-minded What you need if you want excellent results What fuels consistent effort Why you should be on guard against hasty judgments or instinctive reactions One of the mental traps people commonly fa

Women dive into entrepreneurship for different reasons -- recognition, job security, and financial freedom. If these and more are reasons compelling enough to make women take the plunge, why do some go back to the corporate world after doing everything they could to make their business work? One of the primary reasons -- they don’t have the steady, sufficient, and predictable revenue to carry them through. Keep Reading >> On today’s episode, I share some common reasons why women entrepreneurs have unpredictable income in their business and why this lack of predictability is one of their top fears. I discuss these reasons so that you will be equipped to make the necessary changes and corrections you need to incorporate into your business so you can start earning a predictable monthly income.   “Predictable revenue is the holy grail of business.”   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: Why you should immediately address the situation of not having predictable revenue How marketing is different from

Your mindset as an entrepreneur is crucial to the success and direction of your business. Your belief system determines how you use your power, how you perceive yourself, and how you deal with the uncontrollable elements in your business. This belief system can cause the life or death of your business -- figuratively and literally.

With more than 35 years of experience as a lawyer and over 15 as the top advisor to committees and senior executives, Liz Watson was named as one of the Top 100 Influential Women of British Columbia and one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She is the president and CEO of the largest governance firm in Canada, WATSON Inc., where they assist with recruitment, organizational framework, feedback to people, and governance training and consulting. Keep Reading >> Liz joins me today to share the secrets of effective board governance and how good management affects corporations, communities and, ultimately, countries. She explains how her company helps organizations perform better and shares some game-changing principles that would undoubtedly take your governance to the next level.   “Good governance means we have smart people. We are aligned on where we’re going. We know who makes decisions about what. And we have processes set up that we can make really good decisions on the board level. ” - Liz Wats

If you are a fan of making New Year’s resolutions or setting goals, what steps do you take to make sure you meet each item on your list? Knowing what you want to achieve is one thing. Acting on your desire to fulfill these aspirations is another.

Joanna Fields used to be a professional ballerina in London until a car accident compelled her to retire in her 20s and pursue an entirely new career. This turning point led her to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (DBSI) where she held a Senior Executive position. Now, Joanna is the founder and CEO of Aplomb Strategies Inc., a regulatory strategies and development firm launched in 2014 that focuses on future-proofing technology solutions for financial clients.

A meeting happening behind the closed boardroom door is not “just” an exchange of ideas or a lecture from the boss. It is where you announce astounding news. It is where you create strategic game-changers. It is where you make life-changing decisions. If you already have a seat at the table, it is imperative to ask yourself why no one listens to you. Having a seat at the table without having your own voice is as good as not having a seat at all. Keep Reading >>   Since having a seat at the table is different from having a strong voice, today, I’m going to share the top three reasons why people are not listening to you in meetings. I talk about how you get your message across even in the toughest meeting styles, share easy-to-implement advice on how to have your voice heard, and teach you how you can show up powerfully in a meeting.   “If you can’t show up powerfully in a meeting, you are losing credibility, opportunity, and influence without even knowing it.”   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast

Originally from Milwaukee, Kelly McDonald is one of the top experts in marketing and consumer trends in North America. She has worked with prestigious clients like Subaru, Toyota, Harley Davidson, and Nike. She was one of the most booked speakers in 2014 and the first in the 26 Hot Speakers list in the U.S. She has also been featured in CNBC, Forbes Magazine, and CNNMoney. Keep Reading >>   Aside from committing to 80-100 speaking engagements per year, she is also the author of the books How to Market to People Not Like You and Crafting the Customer Experience for People Not Like You.  Kelly’s most recent book, How to Work With and Lead People Not Like You, ranked number one in the Business Book Bestseller list.   Kelly joins me on today’s episode to share some simple and practical advice on how to appeal to people not like you. She also shares how to discover what other people value, how working with somebody who’s different can improve your business and processes, and how her top organizational hack “Cl

Heather Moyse is a multi-sport athlete and a two-time Olympic champion at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. She is the first Canadian woman to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Heather is also an author and a full-time motivational speaker. Her book, Redefining Realistic, which will be launching this December, is not only about exploring possibilities, but also believing in them. Keep Reading >> On this episode, Heather talks about what made her decide to take athletics to the next level at age 27 and the advantages of doing it later in life. She shares what she means by “arousal level,” how you can manage it to reach your full potential, and why perspective is the key to discover what you are capable of doing.   “Shifting perspective is key for anyone to achieve their potential.” - Heather Moyse   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: How her parents played a significant role in her becoming a champion The turning point that convinced her to take athletics to the next level Psycho

I used to believe that I’m more of a words person than a numbers person. As the CEO of my business, I had to discipline myself to like numbers, so I can have a better understanding of our day to day operations and be more equipped in making critical and wise financial decisions for my company, whether it’s investing on new software or a new team member. Keep Reading >> On today’s episode, I’m going to share five lessons I have learned from reviewing my 2017 books. I also share how I disciplined myself to become a numbers person and the things you need to create a business in the learning and development industry that’s scalable and financially-rewarding.   “Stop talking. Stop dreaming. Start doing.”   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: How often I track sales and review financials Why you should pay close attention to the relationship between your revenue and expenses How long before you see a return on investment Payoffs of living modestly Why you should invest in a team for the support you n

Originally from Romania, Marinela Tudoran is the Managing Director of the Global Markets Technology division at Credit Suisse. Initially working in academia in Europe, Marinela accepted a job offer in the IT field in Japan and later joined Credit Suisse in Tokyo. She currently lives in New York where she manages a team of brilliant people working in the different parts of the world. She is also Co-President of the Women’s Bond Club, a group established in 1921 and the first of its kind in supporting women in finance and technology careers. Keep Reading >> Marinela joins me today to share the values, risks, and benefits of exploring career paths abroad, and the mindset and behaviors that led her to grow and succeed in her career. She also shares why the transition from working behind the scenes to motivating people in the front lines is the biggest challenge for her and how she overcame it.   “It’s the wish list versus the battlefield where you’ll have to do whatever it takes to get things done.” - Marinela T

Sarah Nolet is a start-up adviser, speaker, and writer. She is a food systems innovation expert who’s known globally because of the cause she pursues, the experts and companies she works with, and her role as the founder of AgThentic. She has a Master’s degree in System Design and Management from MIT and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Human Factors Engineering from Tufts University. Keep Reading >> Sarah joins me today to share the two significant concerns she tries to resolve through her consulting company and how to successfully launch a consulting business in STEM. She also explains how you can quickly develop a solid brand and how to set up your systems and organization in a way that scalability and expansion are possible.   “Follow your gut even if it’s something that defies conventional wisdom. It’s worth taking that chance” - Sarah Nolet   Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: What a consulting project looks like for her firm Where entrepreneurs can get started to start their

Over the last decade, social media has become a major marketing tool for many businesses and entrepreneurs. The power of video marketing – especially YouTube – has created a firestorm for small businesses, solopreneurs, and corporate entities as a way to give customers a better, more visual way, to get to know and connect with their favorite brands.