business Archives - Emerging Women

The Radiant Leader: Authentic Leadership for Influence, Visibility and Fulfillment

October 21, 2019 by Chantal Pierrat

As a former woman in technology, Emerging Women CEO Chantal Pierrat understands what it means to be “the only woman in the room.” When she was head of marketing and sales for an OEM product, she often found herself pitching mostly to men in white lab coats.

I know what it’s like to be underrepresented – both in terms of the business side but also on the tech and innovation side. And what that costs us in terms of the depth and the breadth of the solutions that are coming to the table.

Being that fly on the tech wall helped inform me of the challenges women face in the industry. Which is why when I was asked to speak at the Grace Hopper Celebration this year, I already had my topic: authentic leadership.

Why Is Authentic Leadership Important?

Both men and women must be themselves at work to be the best at what they do. But women are often viewed as a problem to be “fixed” for a “better fit” instead of a resource for a new paradigm for leadership.

When we are allowed to be our authentic selves, we radiate confidence and purpose. We come alive through our bodies. And this energetic power is the strongest differentiating quality in any leader.
But when we are pressured to fit in? We suffer from burnout, from fatigue. We don’t see the value in advancing our careers. And we rarely make it to the tech executive level.

The Problem in the Tech Industry: When Women Don’t Feel Valued

Mid-career is an especially challenging time for women. Most of us become discouraged from advancing onward when we:

Don’t see any evidence that our skills and contributions are recognized.
Cannot see a clear future path when so few women have forged those paths before us.
Are encouraged to spend our time fitting-in instead of innovating and streamlining products and services.
Suffer from low input, high burnout and lack of self-confidence.
Become isolated from those who would advocate for our success and advancement.
Have growing family commitments and are expected to “do it all” in order to “have it all.”

Mid-level burnout isn’t only a “tech problem” either. It spans across nearly all industries — from business to finance to farming.

The Solution: Connection-Based Radiant Leadership

Conscious, feminine leadership is changing the world for the better. But we still have a lot of work to do.
If we want to become our authentic selves in the office, we need to first believe we are worthy. Radiant leadership is all about the expression of love, confidence and happiness. But more importantly, the love, confidence and happiness we draw from within.

When we are whole, we are using our hearts, minds, bodies and souls in unison.
The result? Resilient women and men, working together to influence the world through a strong sense of purpose and making an impact on their industry.

When you are connected, you are:

Coming alive through your body.
Using intentional self-talk to override critical or negative thought patterns.
Visualizing your goals and creating your inner reality in the outer world.
Listening to your heart, checking in with your body and tuning into your intuition.
Following your highest truth (your purpose in life).
Connecting with yourself first and using storytelling to connect with others; it’s the specificity that makes all stories universal.
Changing hearts and minds with your charisma.

Case Study: HP

How do we know it works? This isn’t our first rodeo. When it comes to radiant leadership, we’re all for conversation — but we’re all in for more action.

In a collaborative partnership with HP delivering programming to 1,000 women (and men), we were able to measure the following in our participants :

Increased confidence
Higher instances of speaking up
More clarity of purpose
Reduced attrition
Recruitment savings
Increased engagement
Higher rates of advancement

When we support women, everyone enters a greater position of power. Everyone becomes free to innovate and create. We can all benefit from radiant leadership — on personal to societal levels.

How could radiant leadership change your industry? What could you build or streamline if you were fully supported? For more information, contact Emerging Women at [email protected].

Announcing our Emerging Women Live Winner

May 1, 2015 by Chantal Pierrat

Meet the lucky winner of our Gaiam TV + Emerging Women Live contest: Suzana Zavila Pejovic. Suzana and a friend will be joining us in San Francisco in October to see Dr. Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Dr. Tererai Trent and more at Emerging Women Live.

We love learning more about the women in our community, so we asked Suzana a few questions about her experience as an emerging woman.

Suzana Zavila Pejovic
EW Contest Winner & Education Activist

How are you emerging in your personal/professional life?

My emerging process began back in March of 1992 with the start of War in former Yugoslavia (Bosnia).

I was a 20-year-old aspiring student at the Faculty of Law, pursuing my interests and living a life full of dreams and hopes. In March of 1992 all of that changed and my life path took a major detour. I was faced with unimaginable life changing circumstances, and the next 2 years of my life were spent in a survival mode.

Finally, in December of 1994 I was able to immigrate to Canada, arriving at the airport with one carry-on bag and 40$ in my pocket. I was starting a new life in a new country, and would be faced with many new challenges.

Fast forward 21 years: I am a proud mother of three amazing sons (ages 8, 14 and 17) and married for 20 years to an incredible life partner. In 2008 I went back to school and obtained a BA degree with distinction in Sociology/Education. Since my graduation I have been employed at the leading University where I hold the position of Program Coordinator.

For the past few years I have been interested in the subject of “slow learners”, children who fall in the educational gap between students with learning disabilities and students with mental retardation. These children are not currently qualified to receive educational assistance like students with learning disabilities and mental retardation are.

My intent is to create an Independent School which will cater to the needs of students categorized as “slow learners,” while offering support to their parents and siblings. I am very passionate about this project as I believe that every child matters and deserves the best possible chance to grow up and become productive and valuable part of our community.

What drew you to want to attend Emerging Women Live?

This is an incredible opportunity to find out how successful business women lead with power and authenticity. It’s an opportunity to learn practical methods and tools for starting and growing a business, and it’s an opportunity to connect with other women participants in order to exchange stories and offer support to each other.

Who is the most influential person in your life and why?

The most influential person in my life is my mother. She is the quiet guiding force in my life and her wise presence has helped me face many of the life challenges . My mother thought me that we can all rise above our circumstances, negative thoughts and complaints and create a beautiful life – a life of purpose.

“My mother thought me that we can all rise above our circumstances, negative thoughts and complaints and create a beautiful life – a life of purpose.”

Connect with Suzana and other like-minded women in the Comments Section below!

The Business Ecosystem – #emergingnow

March 24, 2015 by Chantal Pierrat

Hello Friends and Loved Ones,

One of the things I appreciate most about my life is that I live in an area surrounded by dramatic expressions of nature – Boulder, Colorado. Mountains, creeks, wildflowers and endless hiking trails are just steps away from my front door. But strangely enough, I did not really start to take advantage of nature’s proximity until I learned how well it meshes with my business life.

In this thriving entrepreneurial town, many of my meetings – with investors, media, speakers, partners, sponsors – get to be in person. Lately, about a third of those meetings take place on a hike.

It took some getting used to: I worried that I wouldn’t be able to articulate my vision without my computer. How could I refer to important statistics or relevant studies… and what if I forgot to say something important? But those worries fall away as the connection you feel with somebody when you walk together in nature blossoms.

Continue reading “The Business Ecosystem – #emergingnow” →

Power Practice #04: Crafting the Big Vision for Your Business

March 18, 2014 by Chantal Pierrat

What does it look like when you’re earning money easily and effortlessly for doing what you love?

The answer may surprise you.Jennifer Lee, author of The Right-Brain Business Plan, shares with us “Crafting the Big Vision for Your Business,” a guided meditation that will help you form a stronger connection with the success and abundance of your future.

Tap into your intuition and let your subconscious guide you as you dream big for your business with the awesome Jennifer Lee.

Play the Power Practice:

Jennifer Lee, founder of Artizen Coaching, is the award-winning author of The Right-Brain Business Plan. Her bestselling book has helped thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide grow their businesses authentically and creatively. She has more than 50 licensed facilitators who lead Right-Brain Business Plan® workshops nationally and internationally. After spending 10 years climbing the corporate ladder at companies including Accenture and Gap Inc., she took the leap in 2006 to pursue her passions. Jennifer has been featured on ABC7 TV, Whole Living, Entrepreneur, and Family Circle magazines, and numerous radio shows, plus she co-developed a Circa Notebook with Levenger.

She received her coaching certification and leadership training through the prestigious Coaches Training Institute and holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from UCLA and an M.A. in Communication Management from USC. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and adorable beagle-mix. Jennifer was also a featured presenter at the 2013 Emerging Women Live Conference in Boulder, CO.

Want to hear more about the Right-Brain Business Plan? Listen to our Emerging Women podcast with Jennifer Lee now:

Juicy Bites This Week: Women Define Happiness

July 27, 2013 by Chantal Pierrat

Juicy Bites: small nibbles of quality content.

This week we find out:

What do women have to do with Bill Gates’s generosity?
How can we adopt entrepreneurial thinking?
What’s Tina Fey’s definition of ‘Perfect Happiness’?
What role did Lindy Boggs play in Women’s History?
What’s Karen Finerman’s career advice?

At the end we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is: “What is your idea of perfect happiness?”

We would love to hear from you, so make sure you leave a comment at the end of this post.

1. Why Men Need Women via New York Times

Fascinating research about the effect of female leadership on men’s generosity, innovation and knowledge-sharing.

“We recognize the direct advantages that women as leaders bring to the table, which often include diverse perspectives, collaborative styles, dedication to mentoring and keen understanding of female employees and customers. But we’ve largely overlooked the beneficial effects that women have on the men around them. Is it possible that when women join top management teams, they encourage male colleagues to treat employees more generously and to share knowledge more freely? Increases in motivation, cooperation, and innovation in companies may be fueled not only by the direct actions of female leaders, but also by their influence on male leaders.”

Continue reading…

2. How To Think & Act Like An Entrepreneur via thenextwomen.com

“To be effective innovation has to be simple, and it has to be focused. It should do only one thing,– otherwise it confuses people.” ~ Peter Drucker, The Discipline of Innovation

Many organizations these days are trying to increase innovation, encourage creativity and develop entrepreneurial leaders. In order to think and act like an entrepreneur you need to be aware 3 elements that truly capture the essence of entrepreneurship:

No. 1 Real and compelling sense of ownership of the business.
No. 2 Opportunity obsession and the drive to follow through.
No. 3 The ability to infuse your colleagues with entrepreneurial thinking and action.

3. How 16 Incredible Women Define ‘Perfect Happiness’ via Huffington Post Women

This is an amazing collection from Vanity’s Fair “Proust Questionnaire – an unscientific but illuminating personality test created in the salons of nineteenth-century Paris. When asked the question “What is your idea of perfect happiness?”, 16 brilliant women give honest, funny, touching answers. Here are some of them:

“A canoe, mixed sun and cloud, no deadlines in sight.” ~ Margaret Atwood
“Loud bar, good band, cold beer, ride home.” ~ Rachel Maddow
“A glass of wine at sunset on Fire Island. / No homework.” ~ Tina Fey

4. Lindy Boggs, Longtime Representative And Champion of Women, Is Dead at 97 via New York Times

Lindy Boggs was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. Three years later, in 1976, Mrs. Boggs became the first woman to preside over a Democratic National Convention. In her 1994 memoir, “Washington Through a Purple Veil: Memoirs of a Southern Woman,” written with Katherine Hatch, Mrs. Boggs wrote that she had learned an important lesson as a political wife and as a politician herself: “You played the Washington game with confidence and authority and graciousness.”

Mrs. Boggs fought for women’s equal pay for government jobs and equal access to government business contracts, and took a firm stand against sexual discrimination. She also, championed racial justice at a time when doing so invited the resentment if not hostility of most Southern whites. She saw the growing civil rights movement as necessary to the political reform movement of the 1940s and ’50s.

5. Karen Finerman: How Women Can Best Navigate The Workplace via Forbes

Karen Finerman, who is an investment manager, CNBC Fast Money panelist, philanthropist and author of Finerman’s Rules: Secrets I’d Only Tell My Daughters About Business and Life, talks about how to manage work relationships, set business boundaries, why you need a financial plan and her best career advice.

“I’ve seen women afraid to stretch for things. They avoid opportunities they don’t feel qualified for yet. Instead, they should grab risky opportunities that will force them to grow on the job and learn to do it.” ~ Karen Finerman