Women Leaders

Can I say something gently, the way I would if we were sitting across from each other with an almond milk latte? If you’ve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “Dang it. I should have said that,” you’re not alone.

Stories from Women Who Decided to Get Unignorable No one wakes up and decides to mute themselves.

I’ll never forget the day a nonprofit leader in D.C. smiled at me and my colleague, patted us on the shoulders, and said, “Best to you, ladies”…like we were little girls playing at leadership. That moment lit a fire in me.

If you lost your job tomorrow, would your self-worth go with it? There’s a story so many of us have believed: Do the work. Get the title. Protect your seat. And you’ll be safe.

Let’s cut the crap. You’ve been told (directly or indirectly) that if you want to lead at the next level, you need to “work on your executive presence.”

There’s a pattern in corporate leadership that most people don’t talk about. When a company is in trouble—facing financial downturns, scandals, or leadership failures—women are more likely to be promoted into senior leadership roles.

Ever notice how, when things get rocky—politically, economically, or even just in your company’s leadership—gender bias seems to get worse? Microaggressions increasing? Fewer promotions? Getting talked over or ignored? There’s a reason for that.

As a senior woman leader in STEM, you likely face unique challenges that test your confidence daily. You might be over-prepared for meetings or reluctant to share your ideas.

Look here, Louisa, I’m going to cut right to the chase on this one because we’ve spent the last few posts reviewing the legacy leadership framework to build up to this moment right here…The moment where I bring it all together to talk legacy leadership.

Dust yourself off and grab those big scissors over there. You’re about to be the guest of honor at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Today, I’m back to kick up the dust on leadership and walk you through one aspect of my new Legacy Leader Framework (as we started to discuss in the last post)–authentic leadership. But before we go jumping on that horse and riding toward the new frontier of authentic, inspiring, and impactful leadership, I want to make sure you’re picking up what I’m laying down, partner.

Picture this through the lens of leadership. Just try. You sit in a dark living room, the only lights coming from your TV. The black and white picture cascades shadows around the room. You rifle around in a bowl for another fistful of popcorn but miss your mouth because you can’t take your eyes off the screen.

My latest album, The Transfer of Trust is about to drop and I want you all to know before I take the show on the road (Eras style…I might even go blond). Every hit single I’ve included is meant to inspire empowering women leaders to empower new leaders.

I have a serious question for you. If the way you showed up as a leader were like a dog, what kind of dog would you be?

May is mental health awareness month, and we must talk about it. I’ve learned this the hard way. In this month’s blog post, I’m here to advocate for a different and better way forward. A way that encourages us to de-stigmatize talking about mental health and to advocate for ourselves and others.

This one is for you–a powerful woman leader in STEM. I see you sitting in your power suit around the ‘big boy’ table. I see you. But do they?

Spoiler alert– I’m writing another book! It won’t be like any other…kind of like my oh-so-brilliant audience. (Hint: that’s you– the inspirational female leader in STEM.)

You’re more than your corner office, your role, your title. I want you to consider that for a moment. When was the last time you really took the time to think about who you are outside of your professional identity and accomplishments?

In last month’s blog post, I encouraged you to make this new year a banner year for your leadership. To toss aside the rulebooks you never wrote and the playbooks that weren’t ever really yours. This year is about stepping into your next level of leadership, not defined by anyone else but you.

As we gear up for another year, let's talk about something near and dear to my heart and absolutely critical to the future of the world (yes, the WHOLE world)–the incredible power and unstoppable rise of female leadership in male-dominated industries. And let’s just pause for a moment to acknowledge and celebrate that you're not just part of this movement; you're at its forefront!