MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech: Recent Episodes

Karen Freeman Worstell

Our mission is to reverse the trend of women leaving Tech in MY lifetime.We do this by: Eliminating unhelpful structural and personal barriers, Helping you find unshakeable confidence, clarity, and community, Helping you get the recognition, visibility, opportunity, and compensation you deserve, Accelerating your professional development - so you don't need to take 30 years!I'm your host, Karen Freeman Worstell, Founder of MOJO Maker for Women in Tech. Join our tribe as we share practices and tips to help you thrive in Big Tech.So if you are looking to make the most of your career in Tech, listen in. All Womxn and Allies welcome.Be well and #BeAnAlly!!

Episode S2E18: Show Notes.

It is so easy to lose ourselves in grief, to feel like the heaviness will never lift. Known as a purveyor of hope, today’s guest started a podcast called Let’s Talk About Grief in 2018 when she discovered that many people viewed death and grief as negative and held little hope about life after grief. As a retired nurse and having studied Well Being Psychology at Yale and Positive Psychology at Penn State, Anne DeButte coaches individuals to move from hopeless to hopeful, helping them make a positive shift along the path of grieving without getting lost in it. In today’s episode, Anne shares the importance of recognizing and allowing yourself to feel your emotions rather than distracting yourself from them. We also discuss the losses everyone has experienced during COVID, how to support those in your workplace who have suffered a loss, and the value of reviewing HR policies around bereavement, so make sure to tune in today to learn more!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Anne starts by acknowledging the grief everyone has been through during COVID.

• She speaks candidly about the grief she experienced when her father passed away.

• The importance of naming your grief and giving yourself permission to feel your emotions rather than avoiding them.

• Common responses to grief and why they are full of could’s, should’s, and would’s.

• Why grief or a broken heart can’t necessarily “heal” in the same manner as the body does.

• Extending compassion toward yourself and others who are going through grief.

• Understanding that grief isn’t comparable and there is no loss too small or too great.

• How to engage with and support someone in your workplace who has experienced a loss by simply being there for them.

• Anne’s advice for “being there” for someone during the isolation of the pandemic: reach out.

• Why being in nature can be so healing for someone who is grieving.

• How leaders can play a big role by speaking about grief in the workplace.

• The value of reviewing HR policies around bereavement, particularly during COVID.

• Why it is so important to make space for grief, whether personally or in the workplace.

• Find out how grief coaching can guide you from where you are to where you want to be.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Understanding Grief

Anne DeButte Email

Anne DeButte on LinkedIn

Anne DeButte on Twitter

Anne DeButte on Facebook

Anne DeButte on Instagram

Anne DeButte on Clubhouse

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof Your Career and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Today’s guest on the MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech Podcast is Lynn Dohm, the Executive Director of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS). Join us as we discuss the upcoming WiCyS 2021 Conference in Colorado in September and what moving the needle looks like to improve representation and diversity in the cybersecurity industry. Lynn brings with her more than 20 years of organizational experience. She has successfully aligned businesses, nonprofits, and NSF-funded grants with their business goals and outcomes, and she is passionate about the need for diverse mindsets, skillsets, and perspectives to solve problems that never previously existed. Surrounded by committed women, male allies, and advocates, she strives to bridge the gap in the cybersecurity workforce shortage through WiCyS initiatives. In this episode, listeners will learn more about the initiatives WiCyS has created to help women step into leadership roles and create more opportunities, how they are cultivating a community of women to foster belonging and learn from shared experience, and how you can get involved. Tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Hear about Lynn’s top objectives, namely improving gender equality and equity.
Prepping women to step into leadership roles in cybersecurity using a holistic approach.
The importance of cultivating a community within the cybersecurity community.
How a group mentorship setting can reduce the barriers of self-doubt for women.
Find out why Lynn says that comfort and growth don’t coexist; lean into discomfort!
Learn more about the WiCyS Conference and how, for every registrant, they issue a female cybersecurity student scholarship.
The all-important sense of belonging that comes from connecting with the community.
Growing the tech sector through diversity and by adopting an abundance mindset.
The importance of “doing it afraid,” leading with love, and advocating not only for yourself but for the women who stand next to you.
Lynn speaks about the in-person WiCyS 2021 Conference in the wake of COVID.
Hear Lynn’s top tips for young women starting out in cybersecurity; you are not alone!
The power of bringing others up with you as you rise and keeping the momentum.
How you can get involved with WiCyS as a mentor or a sponsor.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lynn Dohm on LinkedIn

Lynn Dohm on Twitter

Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS)

WiCyS Email

WiCyS 2021 Conference

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof Your Career and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

A bank which has love at the core of its philosophy: it’s almost impossible to imagine, but our guest on today’s show, Chelsea Kim, has been an integral part of turning this concept into reality. Chelsea’s background in health education, and her drive to help others, ended up leading her into the FinTech world where, in November 2020, she co-founded BELLA. BELLA is a bank with a wonderful twist; giving back. In this episode, Chelsea explains how BELLA works, the challenges they have experienced with launching the app, and how the mindset change brought about by the pandemic actually helped boost BELLA’s growth. Being a disruptor isn’t easy, but the companies that break the mold are the ones that have the potential to create the biggest positive impacts. BELLA is a disruptor in the strongest sense of the word, and we are so excited to follow their developments into the future as they inject love, joy, and kindness into the world!

Key Points From This Episode:

When Chelsea realized she wanted to help others, and how that internal drive has shaped her life.
Love and joy are the forces behind BELLA.
The scarcity mindset that generally exists in wealth creation industries.
BELLA’s aim is to inject love into an industry that has historically ignored it.
An example of one of BELLA’s programs; the Karma Account.
Chelsea’s educational and career background and how she ended up in the FinTech space.
How Chelsea embodies the bumblebee principle.
Challenges that the BELLA team were confronted with, launching during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ways that the pandemic actually worked to BELLA’s advantage.
The two facets of BELLA, and where you can sign up.
How banking through BELLA differs from banking through a traditional bank app.
Chelsea’s approach to leadership.
Why BELLA has chosen to keep their operation remote.
Advice from Chelsea about following your dreams, no matter how out of reach they may seem.

Here's how people can get involved with BELLA:

Become a banking member - download the BELLA loves me App from the App Store or PlayStore (there are links on our website if they don't want to search - www.bellaloves.me)
Follow us on Instagram (@bellaloves.me) - this is our main communication channel for the Community. If they don't want a bank account, they can participate in our events and keep up with our programs here
We're hiring and they can come work with us to create the reLOVEution! Open jobs are posted on our website and LinkedIn.
They can also ask questions and talk directly to our teams through Instagram DM, website "Message Us", or in the BELLA App by typing "human"
If they have an initiative that they support and think aligns to our values, they can email community.initiatives@bellaloves.me and tell us about it

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

BELLA

Chelsea Kim on LinkedIn

MOJO Maker

Flameproof Your Career & Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Episode S2E17: Show Notes.

If you are a Broncos fan, today’s guest needs no introduction. From catching Peyton Manning’s last pass in Super Bowl 50 to being an unsigned free agent, running his football camp for young teens, writing a book, and coaching executives, Bennie Fowler is constantly on the top of his game and, in today’s episode, he shares his playbook for success for all humans, especially those in the tech sector. He began his career as an undrafted free agent, signed by the Denver Broncos in 2014, spending four years with them, and forming a part of the Super Bowl 50 Championship team in 2016. Bennie played college football at Michigan State University where he was a member of the 2014 Rose Bowl Championship team, and he holds the Bennie Fowler Youth Football Camp in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, every year. He is an in-demand speaker as part of the NFL Speaker Bureau and the author of Silver Spoon: The Imperfect Guide to Success, as well as the host of the Quiet Time Podcast. Tune in today to hear Bennie’s insights and advice for honing your vision, looking beyond your goals, and playing to win!

Key Points From This Episode:

The character traits of successful people, including discipline, vision, respect, and honesty.
How Bennie used his clear vision to achieve the goals that seemed unattainable.
Overcoming limiting beliefs, learning from your mistakes, and ensuring that the story you tell yourself honors who you really are.
The importance of becoming self-aware and working through your fears.
Getting your mind in the game; how to stop playing not to lose and start playing to win.
Bennie challenges listeners: what would you do if you knew you could not fail?
Hear about the Bennie Fowler Youth Football Camp, giving kids the chance to interact with and learn from professional athletes.
Why Bennie believes that life is all about the service of others.
A key takeaway from Bennie’s book, Silver Spoon: there is no perfect path to success.
Resourcefulness, perseverance, and hard work will get you where you want to go.
People that inspired Bennie on his journey, like his parents and his brother.
Learn about the executive coaching that Bennie provides for entrepreneurs and CEOs.
Bennie describes the experience of catching the last pass of Peyton Manning’s career.
Final words of encouragement: the biggest room in the world is room for improvement.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Bennie Fowler on LinkedIn

Bennie Fowler on Twitter

Bennie Fowler

Silver Spoon

Quiet Time Podcast

Be the Hero

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: Your Anti-Burnout Guidebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Silver Spoon: The Imperfect Guide to Success

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny

Be the Hero: Three Powerful Ways to Overcome Challenges in Work and Life

Today’s guest believes that the tech industry is still a proverbial boy’s club.

It is vital that we see more women, people of color, and nonbinary gender identities at the top. As a veteran with a background in national security and intelligence, Jenna Waters built the foundation of her career on a degree in information systems with a minor in cybersecurity, and served in threat intelligence for the US Navy, before eventually transitioning to the private sector.

Today, she is a consultant at True Digital Security, where she serves her clients at the intersection of cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance, as well as program development, threat intelligence, and cloud security. She is wary of the fact that a laundry list of qualifications often acts as an equalizer for women in an industry that isn’t evolving quickly enough.

In this episode, she shares her advice for both minorities in the tech space and their allies to advocate for themselves, speak their minds, and address the issue that cybersecurity has with diversity and inclusion. Tune in today to learn more!

Key Points From This Episode:

More about Jenna’s background and the choices that led her to this career path.
What a career in threat intelligence looks like and its similarities with the private sector.
Advice for those pursuing entry-level positions in cybersecurity: advocate for yourself!
To collect certifications or not; while it’s possible to build your career without them, Jenna believes they act as an equalizer.
The reality that cybersecurity is a male-dominated industry that isn’t evolving quickly enough.
Why Jenna believes it is vital that we see more women, people of color, and non-binary gender identities in leadership positions.
Don’t be a gatekeeper, be a gate opener; advocate for other women in your industry!
How male allies can leverage their privilege for the betterment of women in their company.
How Jenna found her quiet confidence and her advice for speaking up and building yours.
When you advocate for yourself, you also advocate for the next person.
Why you shouldn’t let yourself get distracted by anger and resentment.
Jenna shares her intentions for the future, including driving cybersecurity into the socio-economic and political sphere.
The responsibility that companies have to create a standard that ensures everyone benefits from cybersecurity and privacy equally.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jenna Waters on LinkedIn

True Digital Security

True Digital Security on LinkedIn

Good Guys

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof Your Career & Handle Adversity Like a Boss

Flameproof: Your Anti-Burnout Guidebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Women and Minorities in STEM with Natoshia Anderson

Episode S2E15: Show Notes.

Growing up with a mechanic as a father, Natoshia Anderson was always interested in the inner workings of mechanics. When she learned that mechanical engineering was a profession, she began a journey into the world of STEM. Today, not only is she an award-winning Advocate, Educator, Strategist, Author, and Inspirational Speaker but she also holds a PhD. Natoshia is the host of the podcast STEMming in Stilettos with Dr. Toshia, and the co-host of All STEAMed Up with Mocha and Foam. On today’s show, she shares some of the many challenges she has faced, both as a woman and a person of color in a white-male-dominated industry. She explains the importance of creating opportunities for other children, and especially young girls of color, to take a path into STEM, and what can be done to achieve this. She also introduces her new book ABC Engineering Book andtalks about the importance of introducing STEM to children from a young age.

Key Points From This Episode:

Hear about Dr. Toshia’s personal journey as a woman of color in STEM.
The influence of her parents in her career choice.
The revelation that mechanical engineering was a profession.
Dr. Toshia’s experience as a minority: as a child and in college.
Hear about her early work experiences in a field dominated by white men.
The life-changing experience of meeting another black female engineer.
How she realized she needed to inspire other girls of color to take a path into STEM.
She reflects on how her experiences, both good and bad, have molded her.
The importance of challenging stereotypes: not just in kids, but in their parents.
How the opportunity arose for Dr. Toshia to publish a children’s book.
Thoughts on the writing process.
The success of the book so far.
The goal of the book to introduce small children to engineering terms.
The importance of introducing STEM to children from a young age.
Hear about Dr. Toshia’s future plans, including a new book, consulting services, and her online show.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Create Your Leading Edge

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Dr. Toshia

STEMming in Stilettos with Dr. Toshia

Dr. Natoshia (Dr. Toshia) Anderson on LinkedIn

Dr. Toshia on Twitter

ABC Engineering Book

All STEAMed Up with Mocha and Foam on YouTube

All STEAMed Up with Mocha and Foam on Facebook

Black-ish

ABC Engineering Book (STEAM Baby for Infants and Toddlers)

Episode S2E14: Show Notes.

If you were looking for a candidate to head security for a major corporation, today’s guest should be on the top of your list. Technologist, attorney, former federal cybercrime investigator with the FBI, privacy leader, and the founder of a non-profit that assists Minorities in Cybersecurity, Mary Chaney Esq. is a professional who has always set the bar very high for herself! Her story of driving herself to the top of her field while overcoming challenges and bias is a uniquely inspiring one and, in this episode, she shares the details of her professional path, where it led her, and how she blazed a trail for others looking to follow in her footsteps. She also shares her insights into being a minority in corporate America and her advice for picking your battles, hunting for yourself, and viewing adversity as your greatest teacher. Tune in today to learn more from this formidable woman of color in tech!

Key Points From This Episode:

Mary shares her professional journey and how she got into cybersecurity.
Some of the challenges she encountered as a woman of color in corporate America.
What sparked the decision to start her own cybersecurity and privacy law practice in Dallas.
Learn more about Minorities in Cybersecurity, which assists minorities in the field with leadership development and opportunities.
Mary reflects on forging her own path and always aspiring to reach the top of her field.
How wanting more for herself allowed her to become a role model and resource for others.
Biases in law enforcement often prevent African Americans from choosing that path and took an emotional toll on Mary.
Sometimes, it isn’t about the fight, it’s about determining which battles you can actually win.
The diversity and inclusion challenges she encountered in the FBI versus corporate America.
Many corporate spaces aren’t diverse enough, which is why you sometimes have to “hunt for yourself,” as Mary puts it.
Find out why Mary says that there are no failures, only opportunities to learn.
The benefits of not taking yourself too seriously; all you can do is your best!
The myriad of things you can learn about yourself when facing adversity, and you have to know yourself in order to be yourself.
Hear about upcoming cyber security-specific workshops at Minorities in Cybersecurity.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Mary Chaney Esq. on LinkedIn

Mary Chaney Esq. on Twitter

Mary Chaney Esq. on Facebook

Mary Chaney Esq.

Minorities in Cybersecurity

All STEAMed up with Mocha and Foam on Facebook

All STEAMed up with Mocha and Foam on YouTube

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Burnout is common in the tech world because of the constant push for innovation and the fast-paced nature of the industry.

Former HR Professional Lisa Duerre spent over 25 years leading top Silicon Valley companies and experienced burnout herself. She now works as a burnout prevention and high-performance advisor for tech leaders.

In this episode, Lisa talks about her tech journey and how imposter syndrome and a lack of boundaries contributed to her running herself into the ground. She talks about the symptoms of her burnout and what she did to work through it. Lisa highlights that so many people experience this issue, and you should not blame yourself or feel as though you have failed if it is something you are going through. We hear how Lisa came back a better, more thoughtful leader and the incredible impact this had on her team as a whole.

Near the end of the show, we share an exciting project that Lisa and Karen are working on in Clubhouse, to help you reset and recharge for the week ahead. Preventing burnout takes intention, setting clear boundaries, and actively recharging your batteries in whatever way makes sense for you. As someone who knows the tech world inside out, Lisa has a wealth of knowledge we could all learn a great deal from!

Key Points From This Episode:

Get to know Lisa, her background in tech, and how she came to do burnout work.
When Lisa realized that she was experiencing burnout and what caused it.
What happened when Lisa paid a visit to the hospital when she had arm and chest pain.
The importance of setting boundaries and knowing when enough is enough.
How a lack of self-worth and self-love contributed to Lisa pushing herself so hard.
Why overachievers are more prone to burnout.
Lisa's decision to stay at her job and how she regrouped after she took time off.
What Lisa noticed in her team when she came back with more intentionality.
The importance of celebrating wins, especially in the fast-moving tech space.
When Karen realized that she was experiencing burnout.
Drawing a parallel between an airplane on autopilot and someone heading toward burnout.
What the doctor told Lisa after she was cleared of a heart attack.
Details about Lisa and Karen's project on Clubhouse to help people reset.
Lisa's Ctrl+Alt+Delete podcast and the topics she and her guests cover.
Two of Lisa's top tips for dealing with burnout.
Life goes through cycles, and we can easily default back to burnout habits, so take care.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lisa Duerre

Lise Duerre on Twitter

Ctrl+Alt+Delete with Lisa Duerre

Tony Robbins

The Desire Map

Dr. Manuel Astruc

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul

More than ever, cybersecurity professionals need to communicate effectively, whether you’re talking to your team, at a conference, or to the board of directors. Here is a secret: when you learn to tell a story, that is when your presentations will generate real results. Today’s guest tells you why and shares some tips and tools to help you make your next presentation capture the board’s attention and get the results you need. Pat Quinn is a speech coach, professional consultant, and speaker. As a former professional magician, he learned the art of commanding a stage early in his career, and, with an advanced degree in brain research, Pat understands how adults learn new information. As a consultant and speaker, he has keynoted some of the biggest conferences and spoken to audiences from around the world. In this episode, he highlights the key elements of effective presentations, explains why stories are more powerful than facts, and shares some incredible tools that you can use to make it easier for you, plus a special discount code, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Pat shares a bit more about effective presentations and the power of stories versus facts.
How stories are processed differently by the human brain than facts or sales pitches.
Using story to make a pitch for funding; the value of telling an ordinary, relatable story.
A tool Pat has developed to help capture and organize all his stories: StoryLinq.
Many people are intimidated by a blank sheet of paper; create personal touch-points!
Pat talks about the training feature in StoryLinq and the value of a founder story.
The structure of a great story; 60 seconds for the “before”, 30 seconds for the “pivot”, and 60 seconds for the “after”.
The importance of telling a simple, personal story; Pat shares a practical example.
How you can use a story to move up in your company or get a promotion.
Why Pat believes that storytelling is a currency of the future.
Hear his personal story about the power of storytelling and how it has changed his life.
Your personal brand is your story, because relevant anecdotes happen to you everyday!
Pat encourages listeners to keep telling stories; when you tell your stories, other people know they are not alone.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Pat Quinn on LinkedIn

StoryLinq

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

**Clutter is stressful, but organizing doesn't have to be.

Today’s guest is Star Hansen, a Certified Professional Organizer that helps her clients create systems and strategies to eliminate chaos, enabling them to focus on what is important and guiding them towards a state of organization and joy. In this episode, you’ll hear from Star as she explains how she looks at the truth beyond the surface, allowing your clutter to show you who you are. She shares what your clutter can say about you, how it can block you from achieving something, and how you could use it more creatively to assist you on your journey if it were better placed. Find out about the method Star uses, the books she recommends, and her advice for stepping more fully into the present in order to let go of the past. You can create a sense of control and empowerment within a chaotic environment, and Star Hansen will show you how! Make sure not to miss this episode.**

Key Points From This Episode

The moment Star realized that her calling was helping people transform chaos into purpose.
What clutter can say about you; why organizing actually has nothing to do with organizing.
How clutter can also be a barrier: if you can’t find it, it can’t serve you.
How your physical clutter is an outward representation of your internal mindset.
Learn how to recognize what you’re blocking: are you hiding behind your clutter?
Looking at where it is; clutter on a walkway could indicate an attempt to limit someone coming into your space, for example.
Find out how your clutter could help you in a creative way if it were better placed.
Star explains why she believes that your clutter actually holds the keys to your freedom.
The method she uses with a client to help them move from chaos to order: curiosity.
Why Star advises that you look for the yes in the mess.
The importance of taking your time when it comes to family heirlooms versus junk mail.
Star recommends Inbox Zero by Merlin Mann and The Hamster Revolution by Mike Song.
From deconstructing your past to make space for your future; it’s easier to stress over something small than the big underlying issue.
Creating a sense of control and empowerment within a chaotic environment.
How every room in your home can be brainwashing you and how you can change that.
Allowing yourself to step more fully into the present so it’s safe to let go of the past.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Star Hanson on Twitter

Star Hansen on LinkedIn

Star Hanson on Instagram

Star Hanson on YouTube

Star Hansen

’10 Things in 20 Minutes’

Inbox Zero

The Hamster Revolution

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

Inbox Zero: How to Stop Checking Email and Start Finishing It

The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before It Manages You (Bk Business)

Do you ever feel that your skills and talents as an introvert are overlooked by your boss or colleagues? Maybe you’ve spent time trying to be more outgoing in order to fit in, only to find it exhausting and unsustainable. Well, you’re not alone!

What today’s guest calls the extraversion bias is a common phenomenon, and it’s costing businesses money. In this episode, Joanna Rawbone shares her advice for introverts who need to show up in order to contribute, be seen, or get promoted.

Joanna is an expert on introversion and what it means to flourish as an introvert and, tuning in, you’ll hear some of the differences and distinctions between introverts and extroverts, how the corporate environment doesn’t cater to introverts, and how extroverts can learn to recognize the important contributions that introverts make. Joanna also shares some tips for becoming a flourishing introvert by continually working at the edge of your comfort zone, playing to your strengths, and speaking up, as well as her advice for organizations to become more introvert-friendly. Tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Hear about Joanna’s personal journey from introvert to global change-maker and speaker.
Shyness versus introversion and why you can’t conflate being shy into being an introvert.
The distinction between introverts and extroverts when communicating or problem solving; think, say, think.
How to leverage the power of introverts by being sensitive to their “recharging” needs.
Why introverts will only speak up if they have something of value to contribute.
The importance of continually expanding your comfort zone as a flourishing introvert.
Learn how extroverts can recognize the contributions of introverts.
Joanna reflects on the unconscious bias embedded in daily processes in organizations.
Some of the frustration for ambitious introverts when their potential is going unnoticed.
What Flourishing Introverts does to help introverts identify their strengths and own them.
Techniques that Joanna uses with organizations, including observation and focus groups.
The value and benefits for an organization when ensuring that all voices are heard.
How the recruitment process could be adjusted to ensure that introvert-friendly processes like equitable tasks are built in.
Joanna explains that it’s not about slowing down, it’s about making space.
Hear from Joanna what the “offed-off bag” is and how she riffs from it each week.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Joanna Rawbone on Twitter

Joanna Rawbone on LinkedIn

Joanna Rawbone on Instagram

Joanna Rawbone on Facebook

‘Tackling Extraversion Bias to Unlock the Potential of Introverts’

Flourishing Introverts

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Sandy Gledhill is a Corporate Problem Solver who has dedicated her career to helping high-performing leaders unlock the secrets to even greater levels of success. Her years spent coaching executives, entrepreneurs, and influencers uncovered a secret that is harbored by many high achievers; the hidden fears that often restrict them to living smaller lives than those for which they were destined.

Sandy was well-acquainted with this particular secret, as she too had perfected the art of looking like a risk-taking success story while being plagued by a host of debilitating fears that were tearing her apart inside. In this episode, Sandy shares some of the misconceptions about fear and how you can start to live fearlessly. She also explains the mental shift required, how clearly defining your fears can help diminish them, and the importance of having an abundance mentality, as well as trusting your instinct and embracing failure. Tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

How Sandy came to understand every leader’s struggle with hidden fear.
What she has learned along the way that helps her help others: fear of anything is not a healthy motivator!
The broken corporate culture in America and how it encourages a sustained state of fear.
Karen talks about her wakeup call, when she was no longer driven by her fear of failure.
Sandy describes her personal relationship with fear and how she overcame it.
Hear more about her book, The Fearless Revolution, and the practical tips it offers you.
How to confidently project yourself into the future and anticipate a positive outcome.
Understanding that your body doesn’t differentiate between excitement and fear, it’s all in your mind.
Why fearlessness is not synonymous with being a daredevil; it’s a contract you enter into.
Sandy explains that fear thrives in the shadows; clearly defining your fears is the first step.
More about the fear of public speaking, why it is so common, and how to overcome it.
How asking “so what?” in the face of your biggest fears can help you diminish them.
The importance of having an abundance mentality when fear causes us to restrict.
If living in fear causes things like arteries to contract, it’s possible that fearlessness opens everything up.
Fear versus instinct; Sandy advises living fearlessly and trusting your instincts.
Sally’s advice for professionals dealing with fear in the workplace: embrace failure!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Sandy Gledhill on LinkedIn

Sandy Gledhill on Instagram

Sandy Gledhill on Facebook

The Fearless Revolution

The Fearless Revolution

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

The Fearless Revolution: The 7 Secrets to Becoming Fearless

If you are a woman in tech and you’re getting unwanted attention from a colleague, what do you do? Do you set boundaries and stand up for yourself? Or do you file a complaint first? Since #metoo, we are all still navigating the confusing issue of inappropriate attention in the workplace but today’s guest, Lana Wolfe, became uniquely qualified to explore this topic after the man she tried to help nearly took her life. Following her near-fatal experience, as told in her book, Like a Moth to a Flame: A Fatal Attraction, she overcame the trauma and began actively pursuing her passion: to help women overcome fear, find inner peace, and live the life of their dreams. Tuning in, you will hear from Lana as she speaks candidly about the trauma she experienced and the steps she took to overcome her fear. She also shares her motto, weighs in on unwanted attention in the workplace, and offers her advice for living without fear, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Lana speaks candidly about her near-death experience.
Hear about the man that tried to kill her, who was struggling with mental illness.
Some of the red flags that might have warned Lana that this man was dangerous.
The steps Lana took to overcome her fear and trauma, like exercising and setting goals.
Lana talks about her motto, “Fill the bucket before you kick the bucket.”
The importance of taking time for yourself and the positive outcomes it has in your life.
How to deal with unwanted attention in the workplace; Lana weighs in on this topic.
Why it is important to first speak up and then escalate the issue.
Living without fear: how Lana has pursued her goal of enjoying life.
Women are conditioned to be polite when protecting yourself should be your first instinct.
Hear Lana’s perspective on victim-blaming and her experience of it.
Putting her experience to work by becoming a coach; how Lana turned her pain into purpose.
Lana shares her advice for women dealing with unwanted attention: don’t let fear stop you!

“The #metoo movement has put [sexual harassment] out in the forefront, where it’s okay to confront and to go ahead and set your boundaries.” — Lana Wolfe [0:18:05]

“My advice is: set your boundaries and make it known that you are valued too.” — Lana Wolfe [0:35:20]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lana Wolfe on LinkedIn

Lana Wolfe on Instagram

Lana Wolfe on Facebook

Lana Wolfe

Like a Moth to a Flame

Intentional Destiny Facebook Group

Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Like a Moth to a Flame: A Fatal Attraction

After a hiring freeze straight out of college, Lynn Power couldn’t pursue her dream of joining the FBI. Instead, she got a job answering the phone at an advertising agency. This was only the beginning though, as Lynn accumulated the skills and experience needed to become the CEO of New York's largest and oldest advertising agency. In this episode, Lynn shares her journey with us, detailing her early years, time as a CEO, and what life has been like as her own boss. Lynn’s career, although successful, was influenced by prejudice and male-dominated industries. During her time in advertising, she found ways to burst through the glass ceiling, receive the compensation she deserved, and empower women: all points which she expands on in the show. We find out from Lynn how women can empower themselves in the workplace too, by finding their voices and setting boundaries. All too often, Lynn says, women are too quiet and often say “yes” to tasks they’re not suited to or are too qualified for. Toward the end of the conversation, Lynn touches on culture in business and why it is important to find a company that reflects your own values.

Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing today’s guest, Lynn Power.
Lynn shares details about her journey in a male-dominated industry.
Lynn never had intentions of working in advertising, but rather for the FBI.
How Lynn worked her way up the corporate ladder.
Contrasting experiences in different roles that Lynn took on.
Ways Lynn empowers women.
Some experiences where Lynn’s competence was undermined.
Hear about Lynn’s thoughts on women and their place in her agency.
The importance for women to set boundaries.
The surprising desire women have in light of the pandemic.
Women and compensation: Lynn’s perspective.
How women can be assertive in the workspace.
Culture in business and why it should be created.
How relationships between female employees and their companies have changed over time.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lynn Power on LinkedIn

Lynn Power on Twitter

MASAMI

J Walter Thompson

L’Oreal

Nestle

American Express

Campari

Grey Advertising

Ogilvy

Mccann

Arnold

Geena Davis Institute

Berne Brown

The Power of Vulnerability on Amazon

Glassdoor

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connection and Courage

Here on the MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech Podcast, you hear about all kinds of approaches for making a better workplace from the inside out. Today’s guest goes even further. Kristen Knowles believes that a better workplace grows through executives, who do the inner work of connecting deeply to their purpose, and she has the results to prove it. You might say that Kristen’s heart-centered work makes her the tech industry’s “innovation whisperer.” In this episode, she shares a bit more about her background and the work that she does as an international speaker, expert in leadership development, and the President and CEO of Brave Leaders Group. She explains why this important work should start from the top-down and how she helps her clients do the internal work through her one-on-one coaching programs. You’ll also learn about the progress Kristen has observed in creating safe, inclusive, and equitable workplaces and how she believes we can achieve true diversity. Her advice to professional women working in tech is on point, and you’ll find her optimism encouraging, so make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Hear a bit more about Kristen’s background and how it informed her current role.
Finding corporate clients in tech that were receptive to her heart-centered approach.
Why this kind of work should start from the top-down; get executive leaders on board first.
How Kristen helps her clients do the internal work using one-one-one coaching methods.
The progress that Kristen sees in creating safer and more inclusive environments.
The importance of asking for feedback and receiving it with an open mind.
Why leaders have to exemplify the work they want others to emulate.
Being strong and capable while also staying soft and teachable; finding a healthy balance.
The presence of women and women of color in tech and how Kristen sees that evolving.
Valuing diversity versus showing inclusion and actually having an equitable workplace.
While men are less risk-averse and more likely to value ROI, there is the need to be flexible and adaptable to evolve.
Kristen’s advice for women in tech: deeply connect with your purpose and your why.
The power of being true to yourself, even in the midst of failure.
Kristen asserts that the most important work is the internal work, even if it’s hard; that’s where true transformation lies.

“The most important work is typically the internal work first and we don’t like that and it’s hard. It’s not quick, get rich, easy, fix my problem, but it’s where the true growth and transformation happens.” — Kristen Knowles [0:45:47]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kristen Knowles on LinkedIn

Kristen Knowles on Instagram

Kristen Knowles on Facebook

Kristen Knowles

Brené Brown

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

It’s a beautiful thing when you overcome something; when you push through and climb that mountain that’s staring you straight in the face. Yet, the other side of your tough experience is beautiful, it is truly magnificent. On the show with us today, is a friend of many years, Tab Pierce. He is the CEO of Calibre Security Partners, a book author of Upsurge: Wreckage to Triumph, Rebuilding Your Personal and Business Life, and the Founder and CEO of Refiners. We will be talking about the Refiners Conference coming up, but what Tab really brings to the table today is his story of going from being a successful small business owner to having the mountain of adversity to climb in order to save his business. Be sure to tune in today for a heaped teaspoon of encouragement and wisdom from Tab!

Key Points From This Episode:

Tab talks to us about his amazing and uplifting “mountain” journey.
The pivot points that took Tab from the bottom of the trough to the way out.
How Tab managed to keep his company going.
The importance of transparency and vulnerability when going through a tough time.
How Tab kept himself going in a sustainable way.
We talk about self-care and why it’s considered a learned skill.
How Tab used meditation and gratitude as part of his healing process.
Tab talks more about what the Refiners Conference is and how it stemmed from his journey.
How Tab’s perspective on tackling adversity has evolved.
More about his second book, Outlast Everything.
How Tab’s experiences changed him for the better.
More about what inspired Tab to organize the Refiners Conference and its goals.
Where you can go to find more information about the conference.
Parting advice from Tab to our listeners.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Tab Pierce

Tab Pierce on LinkedIn

Tab Pierce on Instagram

Tab Pierce on Twitter

Refiners Conference

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Making the internet a more secure place is a passion that runs deep for today’s guest. Tanya Janca, also known as She Hacks Purple, is the author of Alice and Bob Learn Application Security and the Founder and CEO of We Hack Purple, an online learning academy, community, and podcast that revolves around teaching everyone to create secure software. Tanya has been in the IT software development and security community for over 20 years and has won numerous awards. Tanya is a huge advocate for diversity, inclusion, and kindness. As you will see during today’s episode, that really does shine through in everything that she does and says, with magnificent results. We talk about what inspired her to establish her company, and how her company values impacted the accessibility of her community and platform. She shares personal experiences about being a woman leader in tech and how she stood her ground and stood up for herself against companies trying to bully her. We can’t wait for you to hear today’s show about all this and more, so tune in and enjoy!

Key Points From This Episode:

Tanya gives us an update on everything that she’s been working on since the last time she was on the show.
What drives Tanya to do the work she is doing; establishing her company, We Hack Purple.
What inspired Tanya to write her book Alice and Bob Learn Application Security.
Tanya talks about the community she has established and the encouraging environment it has become.
Tanya shares a personal experience where she stood up for herself as a woman in tech.
Company values and how they impact the accessibility of Tanya’s platform and community.
She explains more about the values and concepts behind her company and community.
Tanya talks about her podcast – the We Hack Purple Podcast – and the heart behind it.
We talk about the many awards that Tanya has received as a Woman in Security.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Tanya Janca on LinkedIn

Tanya Janca on Twitter

We Hack Purple

We Hack Purple Podcast

Alice and Bob Learn Application Security

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Alice and Bob Learn Application Security

The theory of abundance suggests that, if you align your thoughts and feelings with positivity and opportunity, you can begin attracting personal and material abundance in your own life. If you find yourself in a place where the role doesn’t feel right, the boss isn’t a good fit, or whatever it may look like, know that there is always another opportunity. You just need to get out and look for it.

Our guest today is Aleta Jeffress. Aleta is the Vice President of Consulting Services for CGI. She has over 20 years as a successful CIO, executive business leader, and technologist, building relationships between business and technology to enable digital transformation and market growth.

Aleta is truly such a special individual for us to listen to as she talks about building relationships, connecting with one another, and forging her path to her role as a senior leader. She shares her opinion on seizing abundance and the importance of continuing your search for options that are out there; finding the right fit. You’ll also learn why investing in yourself, on your own terms, for your own benefit, is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your career, how hiring a relational sales coach impacted her greatly, and so much more. So, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Aleta describes the work she was doing before moving to Denver, Colorado.
How she weighed up different cities and why she settled on Denver; with its emphasis on women in tech.
Why she values one-on-one interaction and follow-up as part of her networking strategy.
Aleta talks about her new role and her work in the Denver technology community.
Her perspective of women in tech now and how that’s changed over the years.
Hear about Bro Culture, Only and Lonely, and Aleta’s personal experience as a woman leader in tech.
How Aleta established her aura of confidence; identifying key parts to figure it out for yourself.
How going through the ‘sales journey’ helped establish Aleta’s presence and confidence.
Aleta talks about the process of hiring a relational sales coach and how that impacted her.
Why it is key to invest in yourself, on your own terms, for your own benefit.
The seasons in life – there’s a season for everything just continue to look for options.
Aleta shares two go the big challenges she overcame during her career.
Some last words of advice from Aleta; security is an art.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Aleta Jeffress on Twitter

Aleta Jeffress on LinkedIn

CGI

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Episode 25: Show Notes.

It is no exaggeration to say that a great teacher can change a student’s life, but have you ever heard the phrase, “A great teacher learns from their students?” Karen had this experience over the past few months with her intern from the University of Colorado, who brought her energetic perspective as a Gen Z’er. Kaylie Pykkonen spent the last semester with the MOJO Maker for Women in Tech team and, in this episode, she shares some of the lessons she learned from her time with the MOJO Maker team, including the ability to forge her own path and the value of perseverance, promoting diversity, and empathy. She also explains what she learned from a mural that said, “After the Plague came the Renaissance,” and the potential lessons she believes people from all generations can learn from the pandemic. Hear her unique perspective and find out about her passion for photojournalism, as well as a bit more about her experience of the internship at MOJO Maker. All this and more in today’s episode, so make sure not to miss it!

Key Points From This Episode:

Kaylie explains what she learned from her time with the MOJO Maker team.
A lesson that stood out to Kaylie was the ability to trust in herself to forge her own path.
Making the best out of a difficult situation is a lesson that has been relevant during COVID.
The role reversal between teacher and student: What Kaylie taught Karen about tech.
Closing the gap between generations and the value in acknowledging differing perspectives.
The importance of diversity, inclusion, and learning to listen.
Kaylie shares a bit about her focus and interest in her pursuit of becoming a photojournalist.
One of the key takeaways from hearing other people’s stories is developing empathy.
How the pandemic has created a disconnect between people in some instances, rather than the expected unity.
What the quote, “After the Plague came the Renaissance” taught Kaylie about progress.
The potential lessons all generations can learn through our experience of the pandemic.
The subject matter Kaylie is researching, writing about, and photographing for her thesis.
How we can experience joy through our bodies rather than punishing them.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kaylie Pykkonen on LinkedIn

Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés

The Dangerous Old Woman

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

The Dangerous Old Woman (Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype)

To change things up a bit, this week we won’t be interviewing a guest on the show.Today, we are sharing some very special things with you, as well as some reflections as we move into the new season. After the year we have had, it is crazy to think that we are already approaching the end of the year - a traditional season of gifting. This year everything has been so incredibly different and it is hard to know, or to anticipate, what is coming. Even though the calendar says one thing, the way it feels, is very different. Today’s episode is a combination of personal perspectives and some practical suggestions. It is inspired by a story about my mom and her struggles with the winter seasons, where it was dim, the light was dim, it was often bone-chillingly cold, damp, and wet and you could go days, or months without seeing the sun. All things that account for the winter blues. Over the years, I developed a few tactics that help me get through them. Today we will be going over some of those strategies in the hopes that they might be helpful for the season that is ahead of us!

Key Points From This Episode:

Why I’m known as the Gadget Queen — ’tis the gift giving season.
I go through my top 10 gift list: Why I picked them and where to get them.
10: Fuzzy Socks!
9: Anything Cashmere.
8: Drinking Chocolate: Drinking a melted dark chocolate bar.
7: iPhone 11 Pro — The 250GB version.
6: Books: Kindle and Audible — Easy to cite, search, copy & paste it.
5: Apple Pro AirPods
4: Down Puffy — A Colorado essential, a packable insulation layer.
3: Stovetop Potpourri.
2: Waterproof — Warm and Dry boots for your feet! There are so many options!
1: Natural Beeswax Candles — They smell great and give off a dripless glow.
Why reaching out, especially this year, will go a really long way.
We talk more about Flameproof: A new program for our community.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Karen Worstell

Karen Worstell on Twitter

MOJO Maker

Flameproof: How to Flameproof Your Career and Your Life and Handle Adversity Like a Boss

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Facebook

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on Instagram

MOJO Maker for Womxn in Tech on LinkedIn

Mountain Rose Herbs

Big Dipper Beeswax

Now more than ever, boards are looking for qualified women candidates, but it can still be lonely at the top, especially with so few women in positions of corporate leadership. How can you turn your uniqueness into your advantage, and lead with your intellect and experience? In today’s conversation with Board Director, Michele Ashby, we came to the conclusion that we should no longer use the term “only and lonely” to refer to underrepresented groups and women in male-dominated work environments. Michele is an independent corporate director, named one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business in Colorado for 2019. She is an expert on board governance and helping you find your path to the boardroom. In this episode, we discuss visibility and having the strength to hold your ground, and Michele shares the personal transformation she had to undergo in oder to become a champion for women in the boardroom. She also has some poignant advice for women looking to climb the corporate ladder, proposing that they prioritize themselves and never settle for less. Listeners also find out more about Michele’s programs and courses, and she shares her goal to train 1,000 women from diverse backgrounds. Learn from Michele about how she leads with curiosity, is always willing to learn, and how she mustered the initiative and confidence to grow her network, build something out of nothing, and turn her uniqueness into her advantage. Tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

How Michele became a board expert with a background in mining and finance.
How Michele gained the support and visibility she needed to become a board member.
Being invisible isn’t something Michele accepts – she demands the attention she deserves.
Developing the necessary skills to hold her ground in a male-dominated environment.
The role Michele’s family played in helping her develop the confidence she needed.
Working with men versus working with women: Michele had to learn to trust women.
Becoming a champion for women in the boardroom and the internal transformation that meant for Michele.
Retooling or shifting her own thinking by talking to 200 women over 18 months.
Bringing women to the board as qualified candidates and teaching them executive vernacular.
Standing out as a young, motivated women in a male-dominated industry.
Michele believes that curiosity, openness, and being willing to learn are crucial traits.
Flip your thinking! Believe that you deserve to be paid for what you bring to the table.
Michele advises women to prioritize themselves, to cut out what is sucking energy from them.
No more only and lonely – if you’re standing on your own, you have the floor, so use it!
What Michele teaches the women in her programs, particularly her board certification course.
Overcoming the barriers the patriarchy has set up for women without creating new barriers.
Translating the patriarchal model into words that women understand.
How we can change the way we dance with adversity by appreciating what it’s teaching us.
Michele talks about her goal to train 1,000 women from diverse backgrounds to sit on boards.
The ongoing engagement Michele has with those who have completed one of her programs.

How do your eyes see a sunset?

Do you even have the energy to climb up the mountain to see it?

The question you should ask yourself is are you experiencing life in full color, or moving through it in black and white? These are things our guest is super passionate about.

Today on the MOJO Maker Podcast, we welcome Dr. Heather Denniston, a popular health and wellness coach who speaks frequently to major tech audiences. Dr. Denniston is a seasoned chiropractor with additional certification as a wellness chiropractor. She is a NASM trained certified personal trainer, avid athlete, health enthusiast, and writer who has a passion for inspiring people of all ages to ignite the first step towards their personal best.

Dr. Denniston knows a thing or two about balance and living life in full color. Stay tuned for this highly energetic and inspiring conversation about taking the small steps that give big results, and help keep you in the best shape to live your best life.
Episode Highlights:

Dr. Heather shares more about her background as a chiropractor.
Her journey as she started working on her personal fitness lifestyle.
The importance of setting a firm foundation for a long-term shift.
Discovering your deeply moving wellness driver: Establishing your fitness “why.”
Should versus good goals.
A wellness pit-crew: Who is in your well-curated fitness support team.
Every decision you make will lead you somewhere: Where do you want to go?
A tiny shift made consistently will provide longevity.
The key role rest plays in our day-to-day life: Letting your soul catch-up.
Self-compassion can help you reach your goals.
Dr. Heather shares the concept behind A Full-Color Life.
We discuss her role to bridge personal wellness and professional success.
How to gain access to the free gift Dr. Heather has available: Deeply moving wellness driver.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Flameproof: How to Flameproof your career and your life and handle adversity like a boss
Karen Worstell
MOJO Maker
Dr. Heather Denniston on LinkedIn
Well Fit and Fed on Instagram
Well Fit and Fed on Facebook
Well Fit and Fed on YouTube
Well Fit and Fed
3-Day Reset
The Junk You Should Know Show Podcast

Resilience is a necessary condition for women to rise to senior positions in the tech world. Today we speak with OneLogin Chief Trust and Security Officer Vanessa Pegueros about what it would take to have more women in senior and boardroom positions.

We open our conversation by exploring Vanessa's passion-fueled career path and why, by following her intuition, she transitioned into cyber-security, despite it not being her area of expertise. After chatting about the power of networking, we talk about how falsely militant perceptions of cyber-security have frustrated women’s entry into the industry.

Vanessa dives into why security is ideal for women before sharing how women in tech have to constantly justify their skills and knowledge. We touch on other limiting factors including race, how our culture links appearance to ability, and how a lack of confidence can hamper your progression. We then discuss how sport and other competitive activities can build resilience in young women. Vanessa shares the virtue of healthy locker-room talk in fostering resilience, and we chat about the importance of looking after yourself. Near the end of the episode, Vanessa gives young listeners her final advice; change the tech sector by creating companies and hiring women. Tune in to hear more of Vanessa’s hard-won insights on what we can do to create a more inclusive tech scene.

Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing CISO, board member, and tech investor, Vanessa Pegueros.
Passion meets survival; hear about Vanessa’s early life and career trajectory.
Why following what you love leads to career success.
Listening to your intuition when making career decisions.
The power of your network to help you to find new jobs.
How perceptions of cyber-security led to the field becoming a male-dominated space.
Vanessa shares her thoughts on why there is a lack of women in senior tech positions.
Why having resilience is a requirement for becoming a senior woman in tech.
How race and gender can be a lightning rod for negative attention.
Why appearance is a poor indicator of ability and character.
How your feelings about yourself affect what you can bring to the table.
Vanessa’s advice to young girls; play sport — you will learn how to win and lose.
The unexpected value of having a locker-room mentality.
Dealing with stress and the importance of taking care of yourself.
Vanessa’s final advice to young women; “Go out and create companies.”

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Vanessa Pegueros on LinkedIn
Expedia
OneLogin
DocuSign
US Bank
Karen Worstell
MOJO Maker
Flameproof

Habit Building Secrets for Your Success with Edie DeVilbiss.

Establishing new habits seems daunting because more often than not we are not successful in forging those long-term habits. However, it is really easy to start a new habit, we just tend to start in the wrong place! Our brains naturally do not like change; to it, change screams danger, and so beginning a new habit can quickly fail if we do not start from the right place. Our guest on today’s show is an expert when it comes to establishing and maintaining long-term habits. Edie DeVilbiss is passionate about sharing her discoveries. She worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for fourteen years, which left her cranky, fat, and cynical. She suffered from compassion fatigue, health problems, and spiritual malaise. Over the next 20 years, she intentionally renewed her life, and along the way, she earned a Master’s of Science, and an MDIV, and served as an addictions counselor and chaplain before retiring in 2020. Now, Edie enjoys a peaceful, thin, and joyful life she loves. It is her delight to help others in their journeys. Invite your best future — through working with her, you will gain simple and actionable tools to shape a life you love. She offers this quote; “Good habits are the key to success, bad habits are the unlocked door to failure,” from Og Mandino. Stay tuned for today’s episode, as we dive into the topic of how to establish lasting good habits with Edie DeVilbiss.

Key Points From This Episode:

Edie shares her background and pathway to helping people build good habits.
Edie explains what compassion fatigue is and how it affected her life.
How the principle of habit formation changed Edie’s life and outlook.
How our culture indulges us in our bad habit formations.
Edie takes us through an example of how to start building a good habit.
Meditation: Being quiet helps us.
Accountability partners and how they can influence your habit-forming.
Edie shares what you will notice when you succeed in being quite daily.
Why you should wait for a habit to be fully established before moving on.
The role a guide played in Edie’s journey towards implementing healthy habits.
Incentive versus anxiety: How humans have the capacity for delayed gratification.
The next “right thing,” a very easy first step to changing your habits.
How to get in touch with Edie.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Edie DeVilbiss on LinkedIn

Shape Good Habits

"How to Authentically Handle Unwanted Attention" with Mitch Shepard.

Episode 19: Show Notes.

Today on the podcast we welcome my very good friend and coach, Mitch Shepard. Since the day her mother enrolled her in her first positive-thinking and manifestation course at the sweet age of 13, Mitch has always lived life on her own terms. From her childhood roots in middle-class Novato, California, to turning down a hard-earned job with Ernst & Young to pursue a career guiding wilderness expeditions, to leaving her position as CEO to take a 12-month sabbatical around the world, living life unconventionally has become one of her best talents.

Mitch is a regular on the corporate speaker circuit as the CEO of Humin Inc., presenting topics related to Leadership, Cultural Intelligence, Tackling Pervasive Bias in Business, Building the Habits and Behaviors of Inclusion, Dreaming Big, and Avoiding Burnout. She has spent over 20 years coaching some of the world’s top leaders and her expertise lies in helping people push beyond their perceived limitations to achieve big goals. Aside from travel, a few of her passions include the outdoors, cooking, meeting new people (in the oddest of places), and speaking truth to power. Today we dive into the topic of what to do when you become the recipient of unwanted attention, so take a listen, take some notes, and enjoy!

Key Points From This Episode:

Mitch shares her career journey and the key insights she’s developed over the year.
The moment Mitch she knew she had to be part of the solution for women in business.
What led Mitch to become involved in women and culture development around gender.
How Mitch is “Raising the floor and loosening the ceiling, simultaneously.”
Strategies for getting your word in when you’re “one in a few.”
The different varieties of unwanted attention and how to identify them.
A few examples of when a compliment puts you under unwanted attention as a woman.
Why giving guidance on how women can respond to unwanted attention.
Mitch shares some examples of situations she experienced throughout her career.
Why “building up the trust account,” before you make a “withdrawal” is important.
How we gracefully find our paths to responding to situations.
The role companies play in measuring the actual experience of the “one in few.”
Who the responsibility should land on when these types of situations arise.
An example of a newer generations’ response to these issues.
Fight, flight, or freeze reactions: What’s right for you may not be right for another.
We discuss the two part approach: In the moment and afterwards.
Why getting safe first is important.
How to send through comments or questions to Mitch.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Mitch Shepard

Mitch Shepard on LinkedIn

Mitch Shepard on Twitter

Mitch Shepard on Instagram

Contact Mitch Shepard

Mitch Shepard on Email

Humin Inc.

Episode 18: Show Notes.

Diversity and representation are incredibly important in technology, and while change is not going to occur overnight, tangible shifts are happening. Today's guest, Chenxi Wang, is recognized as an advocate for diversity and equality in the high-tech world, and she is at the forefront of the work to make tech more equitable. Along with her Ph.D. in Computer Science and her academic experience, Chenxi also has extensive practical knowledge, which has culminated in her role as Founder and Managing Partner of Rain Capital.

In this episode, we gain insights into what led Chenxi to tech, and she shares the influence that her mother’s career as a math teacher and professor had on her. We also unpack the decline in the number of women developers and some of the factors that may be influencing this downward trend. As a WOC fund manager,

Chenxi knows that she is in an incredibly unique position, and she does not take this lightly. She expands on how actively pursuing inclusion and working to overcome implicit bias has led Rain Capital to have a portfolio with over 40% woman-founded companies. Along with this, we also discuss what great leaders do to uplift their teams, advice for those hoping to make their mark in the world of tech, and why you should always ask questions. This was an incredible conversation with an inspiring woman tech leader. To hear more, tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Get to know Chenxi, her diverse professional background, and what she is up to now.
The factors that influenced Chenxi to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science.
Why Chenxi thinks the stereotypical portrayal of developers in media dissuades women to pursue this path.
The disconnect between what is taught at college in computer science and what it takes to succeed practically.
A twofold way to address inequity in tech — Organization reform and the individual woman.
Some of the positive shifts that are happening in the industry, like in cybersecurity.
Chenxi’s unique role as a woman of color fund manager and what’s she’s doing for other women.
The percent of woman-founded companies Rain Capital is backing.
Changes that Chenxi is seeing in diversity in the Silicon Valley landscape.
What Chenxi has noticed about the woman-founded companies in her fund.
A mentor that made Chenxi realize that her contribution was valuable.
The gradual nature of change and the importance of reflecting on how far you have come.
Chenxi’s advice for marginalized groups coming up in cybersecurity: Hone in on your strengths.
You have to know yourself and what makes you tick.
No matter how experienced you are, always ask questions from those with knowledge.
Develop skills outside of the technical competencies to stand out.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge
Karen Worstell
MOJO Maker
Chenxi Wang on Twitter
Chenxi Wang on LinkedIn
Rain Capital
Equal Respect
Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley
Emily Chang on Twitter
Melinda Gates

Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley

Episode 17: Show Notes.

It's not a secret that stereotypes and biases exist, but how can workplaces create systems and processes where gendered characterizations are stripped away to create more equitable, merit-based environments? This question is one which Andie Kramer and Al Harris address in their new book, It’s Not You, It’s the Workplace.

As gender-bias experts, attorneys, and speakers, Andie and Al have dedicated their research efforts to understand the influence that stereotypes have on the way women are treated. In this episode, we discuss what sparked their interest in gender-biased workplaces, and what they learned about the issues women had with one another in the workplace. This unexpected finding led them to question myths like the 'mean girl', where women leaders are frequently characterized as bitchy and unpleasant because they are not fulfilling misplaced expectations that stem from stereotypes.

We also consider how the small number of leadership roles for women fuel competition by pitting women up against one another. Along with this, we explore the importance of methods and practices that work to remove the subjectivities that always hurt women in the workplace. Although these problems are systemic and require more than a one-time workshop, Andie and Al offer ways that women can support themselves and one another in the absence of organizational reform. To hear more about this important work, be sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

What Andie learned in her time on her law firm’s compensation and management committee.
The research that Andie and Al explored in their first book, Breaking Through Bias.
Surprising findings of experiences that women have with other women in the workplace.
The misplaced expectations that are placed on women leaders around being nice and kind.
These stereotypes are deeply ingrained in us, and getting past them is hard.
The ‘Goldilocks dilemma’ — Balancing between nice and being assertive.
Debunking the 'mean girl' myth and how we can move past this.
How the limited seats at the leadership table lead to competition among women.
The difficulty that senior women face bringing junior women up with them.
Exploring what Andie and Al refer to as ‘the three separate trains leaving the station.’
Finding ways to prevent bias from influencing the trajectory of people’s careers.
Some ways to remove biases from evaluation and hiring procedures.
What women can do right now to cope with the gender-biased workplaces.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Andie & Al

Andie & Al on Twitter

Andie Kramer on LinkedIn

Al Harris on LinkedIn

ITSPmagazine

It's Not You It's the Workplace

Breaking Through Bias

Goldman Sachs

Kim O'Grady adds "mister" to his resume, gets a job

It's Not You It's the Workplace: Women's Conflict at Work and the Bias that Built It

Breaking Through Bias: Communication Techniques for Women to Succeed at Work

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

The Uncommon Journey Podcast

Alyssa Miller on LinkedIn

Alyssa Miller on Twitter

The Diana Initiative

Snyk

We, as human beings, are hardwired for belonging and we are currently revolving around a corporate machine that somehow excludes this concept from its value network. We are fighting an asymmetrical war against an unseen enemy that does not worry about diversity, equity, inclusion, or belonging [DEI&B]. To combat this, we need to work towards changing the way we build an organizational culture and also how we hold organizations accountable to their business objectives in the context of DEI&B. Today, my friend Cornelia Shipley and I are talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion for people of color in tech. Cornelia has a saying, “You can’t talk your way out of something you behaved your way into,” and today she’s applying that to the topic we are discussing.

Cornelia is a best-selling author and wrote a book called Design Your Life. She holds an MBA from SMU and is in the process of developing her Ph.D. in Conscious Business Ethics, and her organization team specialized in the retention and advancement of mission-critical talent, including diverse talent. If you have a question about diversity, equity, and inclusion and you want a straight answer, Cornelia is the person to ask!

Stay tuned for today’s episode as we dive into the topic and how Cornelia is working towards a cultural shift to bring change and reformation in the workplace and out.

The way you organize your workplace and your team contribute so much to the kind of results you can achieve in your tech business. Here at the MOJO Maker for Women in Tech podcast, we are passionate about making workplaces better from the inside out. Joining us today to share his insights is friend and operations management specialist and expert, Audie Penn.

In this episode, Audie sheds light on the powerful set of tools with which he has deep expertise, and we kick off the show by hearing about his journey in operations management. From there, we turn our attention to one of Audie’s career highlights where he saw massive gains in performance. By getting into the nitty-gritty and precise understanding of a problem, the focus shifts away from the person to the process that needs to be changed. We then discuss how to work in a politically-charged organization, and what needs to be tackled to diffuse the tensions. Throughout the conversation, Audie stresses the importance of not only extensive knowledge of Six Sigma and Lean but also applying these tools within supportive contexts. Many moving parts contribute to organizational success, and the layers all have to work together to achieve desired results. Audie rounds off the show by talking about some of the resources he has available and others he's developing, along with how you can find him online.

Audie is a co-founder of Faro Partners. His expertise is in executing strategy deployment processes, training both executive and local leadership to execute process improvements to achieve targeted results, and sustaining these performance improvements. All this is done through the execution of management system practices that are all steeped in tactical leadership concepts that inspire organizational participation.

Be sure to tune in today!

Links mentioned today:
Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Audie Penn

Faro Partners

Six Sigma

Introduction to Lean Manufacturing

Toyota Motor Corporation

Caterpillar

Kanban Tool

FABTECH 2020

AT&T

Lean Certification

My guest today grew up in small-town Iowa as a biracial first-generation Afro-Latina American and has always had a strong passion for inclusion and diversity. As the first family member to attend University, Alicia Jessip, learned early on that her path was not only to build a more inclusive community but to be a light and bridge for other underrepresented people to realize their personal and professional potential. Having served in the education, start-up, marketing, and now technical sector with TEKsystems, the nation's leading IT Services and Staffing firm, she understands the nucleus to how every company thrives: by emphasizing their people. With multifaceted experience and moxie, Alicia is here to help companies take a look at their current workforce, realize their talent opportunities, and create plans that impact teams individually and organizationally. Alicia has her degree from the University of Northern Iowa and is the founder of the largest Women In Tech MeetUp organization based in Denver, CO.

Join us today to listen in on our recent conversation about the impact of silence, empathy, equity, and inclusion and why understanding all of this is so necessary and still so hard.

Claudia Schabel is a D&I professional who works with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. She has seen first hand the entrenched systematic barriers that womxn in Tech encounter daily. I this episode we dig into our shared conclusion: Meritocracy in Tech is Dead. In fact, we go further than that and expose the system and belief framework that holds womxn back.

I think all our episodes are great, but if you are a womxn working in a male-dominated industry you can't miss this one.

Episode 11: Show Notes.

This week we explore the challenges of landing an entry-level position in the cyber-security discipline and how tough that is for one woman — even with a Master’s degree in criminology, with a focus on cyber-crime. On today’s episode of MOJO Maker, we welcome Gaylynn Fassler, an information security professional, based in Raleigh, NC. Gaylynn works as an information security analyst focusing on security education and awareness. She is passionate about security and enjoys being able to share her knowledge with others to help them understand how to be more secure. During our conversation, Gaylynn shares with us the path that finally landed her a role as a cyber-security professional, how paying it forward paid off, and what she would change in our industry if she had a magic wand. She turns the tables and asks me, your host Karen Worstell, a great interview question as well! So stay tuned for the show to hear Gaylynns’ candid and refreshing perspective as one of the up and coming cyber-security professionals in our community.

Key Points From This Episode:

Gaylynn shares her education pathway to information security.
How Gaylynn uses her experience to break down barriers and help women get into cyber-security.
How she would change the industry if she had a magic wand: How we hire people.
The problem with the lack of diversity in the cyber-security industry.
Gaylynn shares the best thing about the industry she’s discovered thus far.
The distinction between a mentor and a sponsor and how they are beneficial.
Gaylynn asks our host a great interview question.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Gaylynn Fassler on LinkedIn

Gaylynn Fassler on Twitter

ISSA

Interpersonal communication can definitely be challenging, not only when the goal is working together effectively and in a fun way, but also when producing an excellent end result. There is always a spectrum of personalities that come together — quiet, reserved voices and loud, overbearing voices — but it’s finding the most effective way for the team to all feel empowered to share their ideas and engage equally, for the best outcomes. Our guest today is Brenda Batista, entrepreneur, engineer, and management consultant and founder of Inspiring Company Culture. Brenda was compelled to find out why, when her team did transformational work for a client, the changes didn’t last. On our episode today, Brenda will be sharing some surprising insights and a valuable communication tool called The Five Voices, which will change the way you look at communications and how your team works together to deliver quality results that stick.

Welcome back to another episode of the MOJO Maker Podcast. The world is a different place; everyday things are changing and we are finding and navigating new normals in every aspect of life. Whether it’s your job, your family, how you have fun, or even how you cope with stress — everything seems to be changing. Today’s guest, Dr. Manuel Astruc, is a practicing psychiatrist and also a coach.

His philosophy and background are all focused on helping us live the most impactful life and the importance of understanding the impact of things that we do, which create our own barriers to having the kind of life that we want. As we continue in this swirl around COVID-19, Dr. Astruc is the perfect guest to have on the show. During our conversation, we discuss a lot of different topics relating to stress and burnout, empathy, and gratitude — a great guide whether you’re an executive or whether this pandemic is impacting you as an individual.

Listen carefully and take out a notepad because there are so many nuggets in this episode!

Then head over to BeAnAlly.today to get your free gift: our guide on How to Flameproof Your Career (and Life) and Handle Adversity Like a Boss.

Key Points From This Episode:

Dr. Astruc shares the background story of his path into psychiatry and coaching.
We hear some strategies that individuals can apply during this difficult time.
The power of hope and what it can do for the individual.
The importance of making manageable changes and doing things differently, consistently.
How negative environments can lead to depletion.
Principles for implementing exercise or movement, without “falling off the wagon.”
Dr. Astruc shares his “Gratitude Practice” and keeping to something bigger than ourselves.
The importance of living with a “Radical Amazement” attitude.
How to up-level your empathy and why it’s important.
We need to remember that we should be honored to lead others.

Caroline Wong, the Chief Strategy Officer at Cobalt.io, is known for her practical information security knowledge that stems from her diverse experiences as a Cigital consultant, a semantic product manager, and day-to-day leadership roles at both eBay and Zynga. Caroline teaches cybersecurity courses on LinkedIn Learning, is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, and was named 2019’s Cyber Educator of the Year in the 6th annual Cyberjutsu Awards. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, holds a Certificate in Finance and Accounting from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and authored the well-known textbook, Security Metrics, A Beginner’s Guide. In today’s episode, we have a personal and candid conversation with Caroline about the influence of her father in her decision to study engineering and her approach as a woman in the tech sector. She not only shares key leadership insights but also talks about how she shifted from relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms to a philosophy focused on meeting uncertainties and challenges with the perspective that it can be figured out once you get there.

Today we are fortunate to be joined by Cindy Miller, a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) professional, one of GolfDigest’s top 50 women teachers in the US, and a certified behavior, motivation, and emotional quotient analyst. Her no-nonsense yet approachable style helps individuals and teams make better decisions, overcome frustrations, and reach their full potential. Cindy is also a sought-after speaker for major events of mega brands like Pepsi, Microsoft, Deloitte, and KPMG. In this episode, Cindy talks about having the resilience and perseverance to keep going after her dreams, even after she was repeatedly told that she was not good enough. She describes being motivated both by a drive to avoid pain and the pursuit of a reward, speaking candidly about growing up in an abusive home and discovering golf as an escape from her home life—a situation which also fuelled her dream of playing the LPGA Tour. She talks about how women find innovative ways of overcoming the barriers presented by male-dominated environments, sharing how she learned to adjust her communication style to get what she wants. It is not about manipulating others though, but rather applying wisdom to exert your influence in ways that will produce the desired results. Be sure to tune in for more from Cindy!

Episode 05: Show Notes.

Whether you are navigating critical business transitions, transitioning to the next generational leadership, or just making sure you have the right organizational culture in place, our guest today knows all about it! Michelle Bonahoom is the founder of VisionOne High-Performance Group. She is passionate about working with mid-market business owners to increase their value in preparation for sale, strategic acquisitions, and transferring to the next generation of leadership. Through VisionOne, she’s worked with over a hundred different companies as they prepare for key, critical transitions and she is also a managing partner of a family-owned private equity company focused on acquiring and driving value with an integrated portfolio of manufacturing-related acquisitions and investments. In today’s episode, we are diving into Michelle’s personal back story. She blew me away with her own pivotal story when her out of control work-life balance got worse and she anchored herself in what was truly important for her. From simply knowing what she wanted, Michelle was able to convert tragic loss into multiple thriving businesses, great relationships with her teams, and a healthy weight loss of over 100 pounds. Join us in our conversation as we talk about powering through adversity, finding the balance you crave, and showing up in a powerfully authentic way that plays to your strengths, even in a male-dominated culture.

Key Points From This Episode:

Michelle shares her career journey with us.
The importance of servant leadership as a role in the foundation of who Michelle is.
How the tragic sudden death of her husband leads to a turnaround in her life.
Applying her own advice of navigating critical transitions to her life.
Knowing your why is important for bringing about change.
We talk about her book, Unstoppable — a guided journey.
The 7 P’s: Passion, Purpose, Principles, Practices, Proficiencies, Platform, and Performance.
Platform: The importance of culture support and accountability in the new work-from-home environment.
Three principles from Michelle for women in a male-dominated organizational environment.
Embracing change and the conflict that accompanies it.
The importance of knowing who you are, how you’re wired, and being authentic in conflict.
Michelle shares a few of her biggest life lessons.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Michelle Bonahoom on LinkedIn

Michelle Bonahoom on Twitter

VisionOne

Brene Brown

Episode 4: Show Notes.

When you have a passion to do good and make a difference, there is nothing better than having credible, compassionate, vocal allies in your corner. For women in tech and STEM, Brad Johnson and David Smith are those allies. In their books, Athena Rising and the soon to be released Good Guys, as well as in multiple Harvard Business Review articles, they give us all a guide for putting gender equity on the fast track in the workplace. In this episode, we talk about allyship, especially now that work-from-home has made painful barriers and inequities so obvious. We talk about what it will take to turn a COVID-19 work from home disruption into a game changing, win-win opportunity for everyone, and what companies need to do to make sure that we develop change that lasts. Brad and David share some surprising observations about work-from-home life and actions that men and companies need to take right now to help all of us move forward.

Key Points From This Episode:

Brad explains his research and why he writes about gender in the workplace with Dave.
Dave introduces himself and explains the motivations for their upcoming book, Good Guys.
How the inequities in the workplace are related to the difficulties of working from home.
Brad explains how their research for Good Guys would have been affected by COVID-19.
Suggested strategies for companies going forward, including paid sick leave and childcare.
Brad talks about how to be both an interpersonal ally and a public systemic ally to women.
Dave talks about where to start to encourage federal and company policy changes.
The ‘wimp penalty’, how it has kept men on the sidelines, and how to reverse it.
Avoiding self-proclamation, actually doing the work to be an ally, and encouraging others.
Dave notes that one of the motivations for Good Guys is to teach men how to communicate.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Brad Johnson Website
David Smith Website
Brad Johnson on LinkedIn
David Smith on LinkedIn
Harvard Business Review
Athena Rising
Good GuysPre-order
Create Your Leading Edge Challenge
Karen Worstell
MOJO Maker

Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace

Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women

Welcome to the show for diverse womxn at their allies, where we will explore what it takes to break down barriers, personal and structural, that hold you back, how you can take positive steps to increase your visibility, opportunity AND compensation, and to create the Tech life you LOVE. Each episode we will talk with experts and share insights and tips that work to put your career back in YOUR control. This week I share a little about my story, about why I pivoted from a long and successful cybersecurity career to focusing exclusively on coaching women in Tech and how we all need to work together to shed the career blueprint laid on us by the boys' club of Silicon Valley.

Thanks for being here!

Episode 3: Show Notes.

Sometimes, we go through difficult things that prevent us from achieving our full potential, whether it’s chronic pain, or something as simple as being fearful of new experiences. My friend and kindred spirit Brian Bogert is an expert in overcoming adversity. In this episode, you will hear Brian’s extraordinary story of recovering from a devastating accident as a young child and learning, with the support of his family, what it means to embrace pain to avoid suffering. Brian’s perspective is that, no matter what, we always have a minimum of two choices. You’ll be inspired by his choice to embrace the pain of walking away from his multimillion dollar business in order to speak and coach others to help them live the life they really want. In this episode, Brian introduces his mantra, tells us the story of his accident, and explains how we can apply his lessons to everyday adversities, no matter how insignificant we may consider them. Brian shares his advice on how to change your perspective and discern what is within your control, as well as how to acknowledge the suffering you wish to avoid. He talks us through identifying the pain that we tend to avoid, and learning to embrace it, and establishing how to choose pain as a habit to avoid suffering in all areas of our lives. This session is so full of golden nuggets for you, you’ll want to hear this one more than once! Tune in today.

Key Points From This Episode:

Brian introduces his mantra: embrace pain, avoid suffering.
Brian tells the graphic story of the accident he was in as a child and how it has shaped him.
How people can apply Brian’s lessons to everyday adversities, no matter how small.
The difference between pain and chronic pain, which Brian believes is suffering.
Discerning between what is in your control and what is beyond your control.
Choosing to change your perspective of a situation or remove yourself from that situation.
Brain shares how he got stuck on an inactive path because of fear and how he took action.
Our evolutionary conditioning to avoid pain and why we should choose to embrace it.
The first three steps that Brian suggests for someone to get started with embracing pain.
Brian explains how to ‘acknowledge the suffering that we wish to avoid’.
Brian explains how to 'identify the pain that you tend to avoid, and learn to embrace it’.
How to establish choosing pain as a habit to avoid suffering in all areas of our lives.
Purpose can overtake pain if we’re clear about our objectives.
It’s not about ‘should’, it’s what you ‘could’ or ‘would’ do if you weren’t confined by limits.
Brian’s transition from the insurance industry to full-time is doing currently and how people can contact him.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Brian Bogert on Twitter

Brian Bogert Companies Website

Free NO LIMITS Alignment Guide from Brian Bogert

Create Your Leading Edge Challenge

Karen Worstell

MOJO Maker

Ken Mosesian takes us from his experience treating victims of the "Knife and Gun Club" to the corporate hierarchy where breaking down silos, fostering collaboration, and communicating UP to executives and the board are a matter of understanding our shared humanity. Get your note taking system ready for a terrific episode with my guest and good friend, Ken Mosesian.

You can find more information about Ken's work at Mosesian.com including a free offer and his book: The Power of Promise. How to Win and Keep Customers by Telling the Truth
About Your Brand.