Women's empowerment might be all the rage, but what does empowerment really mean?  In this episode, I sit down with Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger to discuss some of the ways she's leading by empowering others.  Her ideas may just inspire you to go out and empower someone!

Michelle Davis-Younger is the current Mayor of the City of Manassas, Virginia. A native of Manassas, she is the first person of color, first female, and first Democrat to hold the highest office in the city. Her collaborative approach and innovative initiatives aim to enhance the quality of life for all residents while fostering a thriving environment for businesses and organizations alike. 

What if mindset could be your superpower?  So much of our ability to lead is constrained by our mindset.  Narrow thinking can hamper decision-making, stifle team performance, and drive us to burn out.  In this episode Tina shares how the Energy Leadership® Framework, the same transformative and emerging leadership approach utilized at companies like IKEA, Boeing, and the U.S. Coast Guard, can help us unlock new possibilities for ourselves and our teams. 

Tina Unrue is an ICF-certified coach with nearly three decades of experience spanning the federal government, private sector, and entrepreneurship. She’s held many positions throughout her career, most notably varied leadership roles within an elite law enforcement agency. Tina noticed a significant change in herself and her team dynamics after she became a life coach. She’s now committed to helping other women learn how to lead from the inside out, both at home and in the workplace. Despite numerous achievements throughout her career, her roles as mother, grandmother, wife, and friend are her most prized. In her spare time, Tina enjoys photography, reading, baking, and hiking, as well as lots and lots of coffee.

Gaming is often dismissed as being purely recreational, but it’s actually an highly effective tool for learning and team development.  Today, Alex Suchman joins me to dive into a topic that leaders often overlook.

Alex is the CEO and Co-founder of Barometer XP, a Games-as-a-Service company committed to creating positive impact through play. Its holistic, human-focused approach leverages fun and creative challenges to help teams build healthy relationships, elevate diverse perspectives, foster change, and catalyze innovation.

Alex is a woman on a mission to transform workplaces from the inside out.  I hope today’s episode inspires you to leverage the creative power of play.

- PMP: https://www.pmi.org/certifications/project-management-pmp

- Association for Talent Development conference (ATD23): https://atdconference.td.org/

- DISC Assessment: https://institutesuccess.com/assessment/disc/

- Myers-Briggs Personality Type: https://www.themyersbriggs.com/

- Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

- "Using the Stages of Team Development" by Judith Stein: https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development

- "Research: Women are Better Leaders During a Crisis" by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman: https://hbr.org/2020/12/research-women-are-better-leaders-during-a-crisis

- "An 'Epidemic' of Loneliness Threatens Health of Americans, Surgeon General Says" by Margaret Osborne: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-epidemic-of-loneliness-threatenes-health-of-americans-surgeon-general-says-180982142/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%2049%20percent%20of,an%20almost%2070%20percent%20drop.

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrasuchman

- Website: https://www.barometerxp.com/

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexbxpteams/

- Connect with other ambitious women in our FB Group at www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

- Join the Ambition Unboxed Book Club at www.ambitionunboxed.com

- Love this episode? Ambition Out Loud is community supported.  Your financial contribution partners in our mission to advance women in leadership by providing critical resources and support to mitigate the barriers women+ face as we rise. You can fuel our ambition at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ambitionunboxed, and thank you!

Women account for over half of all management positions in the U.S., but progress remains slow when it comes to breaking glass ceilings.  As of 2022, women held only 8.8% of Fortune 500 CEO roles.  The black box nature of executive search is certainly not helping.

Somer Hackley is here to change that.  Somer is the Founder and CEO of Distinguished Search, a retained executive search firm. She has been in recruiting for 20 years and placed executives in companies from Fortune 100 to startups.  She is also the author of "Search in Plain Sight: Demystifying Executive Search".

Today, Somer joins us as we pull back the curtains on executive search.

LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company - 2022 Women in the Workplace Report: https://leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace

 Connect with Somer:

 Community: 

Connect with other ambitious women in our FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

What if, instead of viewing your emotions as a weakness, you saw them as a source of strength?

Ashley Bernardi, Literary Titan Book Award Winner and Author of "Authentic Power: Give Yourself Permission to Feel" learned how to step into her strength when she finally took the time to process her emotions. In healing from Lyme disease and the traumatic passing of her father, Ashley unlocked healing she didn't know she needed and stepped into a power that was waiting within herself. By healing herself, Ashley also leveled up as a leader which led to explosive growth in her business, Nardi Media.

Ashley and I sit down to talk about her new book and what leading from authentic power looks like.

Want to come to our private book signing with Ashley?  Learn more in the Ambition Unboxed FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

By now we are all well aware that many women felt trapped between a rock and a hard place as the coronavirus spread and dependent care responsibilities increased. In the face of these unsustainable challenges, many women felt that they had no other choice than to leave the workplace.

If this sounds like you and you're now ready to re-enter the workforce, then we’re here to help.  This episode officially kicks off our Get Hired Challenge.  The challenge is designed to support your job search efforts with actionable information, tools, and access to community so that you don't have to go it alone.

 Topic Timestamps:

 Community: 

Looking to connect with other ambitious women?  Our community's online hang out is the Ambition Unboxed FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

When's the last time you flexed your financial power?  Did you read that and think, "Nicole, you are talking to the wrong person.  Where is this "financial power" of which you speak?"  (It might be small, but I assure you it's there.)

 

Rebecca Borton and I sit down to discuss the financial power hiding in your wallet so that you can harness it and reap the rewards of intentional financial living.  Rebecca is a financial catalyst for change makers.  As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, with Concentric Private Wealth, she helps growth-oriented and ambitious people change their behavior and their experience of their wealth, so they can live a life they love today and in the future.  

 

 

 

Looking to connect with other ambitious women?  Our community's online hang out is the Ambition Unboxed FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

 

Phylicia L. Woods comes from a long line of bold and empowered women.  She is a Director of Federal Relations at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and currently serves as Vice Chair on the Fairfax County Commission for Women were she represents the Providence District.  She previously served as Counsel to Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and as Health Counsel on the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.  In this episode, Phylicia shares her multi-generational secrets so that you can learn how to empower yourself.

 

 

 

Looking to connect with other ambitious women?  Our community's online hang out is the Ambition Unboxed FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

 

Pausing time to share your tributes for our recently passed and dearly beloved Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

Looking to connect with other ambitious women?  Our community's online hang is the Ambition Unboxed FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.

 

 

Looking to connect with other ambitious women?  Our community's online hang is the Ambition Unboxed FB Group at: www.facebook.com/groups/ambitionunboxed.