Senior Marketing & Communications Manager, Libby Arnold, had listened to a recent episode in which I shared some techniques about helping introverted women to ace their next job or promotional interview.  Libby gained some good insights and in this episode,  as an aspiring C-level Marketing Executive, she shares her own story and experience.  Libby sees herself as a woman who is on a never ending quest to harness her super power of introversion, which she believes allows her to listen fully, understand deeply and formulate great ideas.  Her superpower of introversion also enables her to help others step out, discover their aspirations and thrive.   About Libby Arnold In her role as a Senior Marketing & Communications Manager,  Libby is head of marketing and communications for the Road Usage Charge (Government R&D) SaaS line at Azuga Inc, a Bridgestone Company in the US. Libby is an aspiring C-level Marketing Executive on a never ending quest to harness her super power of introversion.  She believes quietness allows her to listen fully, understand deeply, and formulate great ideas. In her free time, Libby organises group gatherings for mothers to provide them a space in which they can connect with like-minded women. She believes introversion gives her the power to help others step out, discover their aspirations and thrive. Libby is seeking a new role in marketing management and is open to sharing ideas, and also seeks professional connections. You can find Libby on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/libbyarnold/

Charlotte Hillenbrand worked as an international airline pilot for 15 years before losing her pilot job in the pandemic.

Before becoming a pilot Charlotte obtained a Master of Laws from Uppsala University in her native Sweden. She had just finished her clerkship at the Administrative Court in Stockholm when she was admitted to a pilot school hosted by the Swedish Air Force in conjunction with Lund University.

No stranger to change, having changed careers and continents previously in her life, the loss of her pilot career became yet another cause for change for Charlotte. This time she wanted to explore what her strength and positive outlook was made out of, and has spent the last two years studying applied neuroscience and positive psychology, and talking to women especially about their view of strengths and confidence in themselves and others.  Her belief is that being curious about yourself and life when wanting to, or having to change direction, will lead you to where you need to go.

About Charlotte Hillenbrand

Charlotte worked as an international airline pilot for 15 years before losing her pilot job in the pandemic.  She moved to Australia in 2002, where she lives in Queensland, with her family.

Before becoming a pilot Charlotte studied and obtained a Master of Laws from Uppsala University in her native Sweden. She had just finished her clerkship at the Administrative Court in Stockholm when she was admitted to a pilot school hosted by the Swedish Air Force in conjunction with Lund University.

No stranger to change, having changed careers and continents previously in her life, the loss of her pilot career became yet another cause for change for Charlotte. This time she wanted to explore what her strength and positive outlook was made out of, and has spent the last two years studying applied neuroscience and positive psychology, and talking to women especially about their view of strengths and confidence in themselves and others. 

Charlotte is also in the final stages of writing a book about her experience of change, to help others who have to or want to change directions in small or big ways. She runs a coaching and mentoring business and is available as a speaker.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-hillenbrand/

www.charlottehillenbrand.com.au/invite

In this week's episode, Patience Ogunbona (known as The Visionary Introverted Woman) using her own personal journey, shares some of the ways in which introverted women feel disempowered because of the pressure to conform to certain stereotypes.  On discovering and realising in her early 30's that she was an introvert, Patience believed that it was something she had to overcome and cure.  She walked around with a mask, pretending to be who she wasn’t until she became aware that being an introvert isn’t an all-or-nothing stamp on your personality.   As a a Transformational Personal, Business and Leadership Coach,  Patience also discusses ways in which you can be empowered to step out and step up to accomplish your goals, lead and thrive - through developing the 3 C's - courage, conviction and capacity.

About Patience Ogunbona

Patience Ogunbona (aka The Visionary Introverted Woman) is a Transformational Personal, Business and Leadership Coach, Corporate Trainer, Inspirational Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author and Member of the Presidential Advisory Council of the Maxwell Leadership Team

Patience believes that Introversion gives her purpose and inspires other introverted women to overcome self-doubt, feel empowered by their introversion, discover their strengths, step out and step up to accomplish their goals, lead and thrive.

Patience also works with businesses to create diverse teams where potential is maximised, leaders are developed, so that everyone feels included and empowered to make a difference and lead, thereby achieving performance and profitability goals.

https://www.patienceogunbona.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patience-ogunbona

As an introverted leader (or aspiring leader), you may feel that you need to change your personality to fit in or progress in your career, in Western society's organisations which seem biased towards extroversion.  Brian Johnson, a naturally shy individual who is also an introvert with a stammer, spent many years working in the financial services, struggling and getting frustrated as he tried to change who he was as an introvert to fit in, in a world he felt didn't value who he truly was.  In this podcast Brian shares how he eventually came to realise and understand that you can find success as an introvert without changing who you are, and see your quietness as a strength.  

About Brian Paul Johnson

Brian, known as the Quiet Coach, is also a Speaker and Trainer.  He previously worked in the financial sector for 30 years and at midlife changed the direction of his career, overcoming barriers to become a successful coach.  He sincerely believes that being an introvert is a strength, often under appreciated but a real strength.  He is passionate about coaching introverted individuals to feel equipped to find the success they want in the workplace.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianpauljohnson/

[email protected]

Even though I never met her, and I’m not particularly a raving fan of the Royal family, I felt a deep sense of loss on hearing the news about Queen Elizabeth. Perhaps this was because of my dad insisting that the whole family watch the Queens speech on Christmas day when I was a child growing up. Or perhaps it was because she was gracious and relentless in her commitment to her role. In this episode I discuss her passing, and touch on my experience of grief.

There are some common challenges regarding interviews that I come across when coaching and in this episode I talk about some of them, along with suggested solutions that you can apply if you've got a job or promotion interview coming up.  

In a survey that I did, 78% of employed women said that fear kept them from pursuing a career that they would love. I think that this figure is far too high and in this episode I share 5 common fears keeping women stuck in jobs they no longer enjoy, and what you can do about it.

Many introverted women think that visibility means constantly being in the limelight surrounded by lots of people, which makes them feel drained just thinking about it. But visibility is important as a leader, particularly if you want to increase your influence and impact, or get ahead in your career. 

When leaders are visible, not only do the people they lead benefit, the organisation, stakeholders and the leader benefit too, and in this episode I talk about the value of being visible for introverted women.

It doesn’t matter if you are introverted, extroverted, a high achiever, socio-economically advantaged, socio-economically disadvantaged, black, white, young, old…  imposter syndrome doesn't discriminate and all manner of people can experience it. And sometimes your working environment can bring it on. In this episode I talk about how your work environment could be bringing on imposter syndrome in you.

Women should not feel unsafe walking home alone at night and but recent attacks resulting tragically in the UK deaths of  Zara Aleena, Sarah Everard, Sabina Ness, and many others, may have heightened your sense of fear if you are walking home late at night, even if it is in an area that you are familiar with.

In this episode, I share with my guest speaker - Kristin Juarez, my recent concern when walking on my own from the underground station to my home after attending a network event one evening.  Kristin, living in the US, discusses how personal safety is paramount and after having repeated amber alerts on her phone regarding missing children often teen/tween girls, seeing so many pictures in the newspaper “have you seen me” with an “age-progressed” photo of what a young girl might look like as an adult. And after hearing about so much violence against women, wishes that more women and parents of younger girls would consider taking a self-defence class, or some type of martial arts class.  Self defence not only prepares you mentally for challenges within your life, but also equips you with skills that could help you defuse what could be a dangerous situation and escape from a perpetrator, when walking alone late at night.

About Kristin B. Juarez

Kristin lives in the US and was inspired to take up a kickboxing class for herself, after her son started Tae Kwon Do lessons.  Kristin who has osteoarthritis in her hands started without much by way of stamina, or ability, and has now been taking classes for 3-4 years, usually at least twice a week.  

Her wish is that more women consider taking a self-defence class or some type of martial arts class.  She feels that there is a lot of benefit to be gained in: confidence, mental health and physical health as well as equip you with skills that may help save your life.