Picture this: you’ve just finished an incredibly important presentation. It was dense with crucial information… And you absolutely nailed it. 

At the end, one of your colleagues wants to give you some feedback. You thrive on constructive criticism, and welcome the chance to learn. But all he says is: your outfit is too distracting. Your dress is so sparkly it made it difficult to concentrate. 

How do you react? 

Most of us would blow a gasket - to hear something so overtly sexist and inappropriate would send almost anyone into a fit of rage, or even despair.

But not Dr Catriona Wallace. When this happened to her (yes, this actually happened!), she’d spent enough time navigating male-dominated businesses and boardrooms to know that outrage wasn’t the answer. It might’ve been reasonable, but it wouldn’t have been productive. 

Instead, Cat chose empathy. She put herself in that colleague’s shoes, and understood that even though what he’d said was absurd, he clearly didn’t mean to insult her. By meeting him where he was instead of where she wanted him to be, she was able to help him understand the contents of her presentation without diminishing herself, or descending into an all-out shouting match. 

Cat shares how this moment, and others just like it, turned her into the empathetic leader she is today.

Connect with Catriona on Twitter or LinkedIn

You can find the full interview here: Dr Catriona Wallace’s million-dollar nose ring and what it taught her about running a business

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CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.