Ungovernable Women: Two fixers. Nothing off limits.

“What does it take to be a good ally and accomplice?” 

In this episode host Portia Mount talks to three dynamic founders; Jennifer Martineau, President of Leap and Inspire Global, Tiffany Waddell Tate, CEO of Career Maven and Amy C. Waninger, founder and CEO of Lead at Any Level. We are going deep on allyship among women, and specifically allyship among Black women, women of color and white women. In this no holds barred conversation we talk about the barriers that keep us from being better allies to one another and what being a good accomplice and ally looks like. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned 

Instagram and websites:
Leap and Inspire Global
Career Maven Consulting
Lead at Any Level
 Rachel Cargle on Instagram
Layla Saad on Instagram
Karen Fleshman

Books and Articles:
Article on white women's tears
The Memo by Minda Harts
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Kick Some Glass by Portia Mount and Jennifer Martineau
Little Allies by Julie Kratz 
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
How to be an Antiracist by Ibrahim Kendi 
White Feminism by Koa Beck
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Network Beyond Bias by Amy C Waninger

Classes and workshops:
David Campt - White Ally Toolkit
How to Ally for Black Women at Work by Career Maven Consulting
Courses at Lead at Any Level 

“I'm not sure how I define success. But I know I've had it.” - Jackie Levin

In this week’s episode host Portia Mount talks to Jackie Levin, storyteller and TV producer. We will follow this midwest native’s extraordinary career in broadcast journalism, from early career intern to the dizzying heights of producer for The Today Show and The Megyn Kelly Show. We’ll talk about succeeding at work and at motherhood in high stress jobs, the importance of self care, taking risks and using continuous learning to evolve oneself. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned 

Disrupt Yourself Podcast (link)
Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser (link)
Brené Brown Podcast (link)
19th News (link)
Vital Voices (link)
How Women Lead (link)

“The excitement of what my next 20 years will be like is what fuels me everyday” - Denielle Finkelstein

In this episode host Portia Mount talks to Denielle Finkelstein, entrepreneur and co-founder of The Organic Project. A startup focused on providing women and girls with organic, eco-friendly period products. They dig into the most important lessons Denielle learned as a corporate executive working with some of the world's largest retail fashion brands, and what ultimately led her to leave corporate America to co-found a startup and become a champion for destigmatizing how we talk about periods. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned 

https://toporganicproject.com/
The Organic Project on IG (link)
More on Period Poverty (Global Citizen, Period.org)
Strengthsfinder by Don Clifton (link)
Becoming by Michelle Obama (link)
Five Minute Journal (link)
Unicorn Headband similar to Denielle’s although we did not find the exact same one (link)

The Manifista Podcast explores the career paths of ambitious women and how they charted their own unique path to success. In season two we have fresh and inspiring conversations with successful women about their careers and the lessons they've learned along the way. We'll discuss the lasting impact of the pandemic on our personal and professional lives, explore allyship among women at work, how to discover your authentic voice, leaving corporate America to become an entrepreneur, handling burnout and so much more. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

“I want every woman to make a shit ton of money” - Cindy Gallop

Episode Summary:

In this episode host Portia Mount speaks to legendary advertising guru, business consultant and entrepreneur Cindy Gallop. This episode is quintessential Cindy - blunt, humorous and serious about diversity and women gaining power through financial freedom and entrepreneurship. You will hear her no-holds-barred take on why big companies aren’t more diverse, why every woman needs to start her own business and not be afraid to make money. You will also hear how and why Cindy is tackling one of the most male dominated industries of all, adult filmmaking. Cindy is out to completely disrupt a market that has been traditionally run by men for men with her sextech start-up Make Love Not Porn. 

Be advised there’s some salty language and adult themed content in this episode.

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Resources Mentioned 

Cindy Gallop's website
Cindy Gallop on twitter
Make Love Not Porn TV
3 Percent Movement website 
Author Minda Harts 

“We are wired to want simple” - Jen Gresham

Jennifer Gresham is the executive director of Work for Humanity, an organization that is making bold moves to fundamentally rethink the nature of employment and solve one of the biggest challenges the US economy faces today, rebuilding the middle class. If this sounds like a big, audacious goal, well it is. And you will hear why Jen is the perfect person to tackle it. Jen is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a scientist with a background in human performance. In this episode we trace her career from her early days as assistant chief scientist in the Air Force to her bold decision to leave the Air Force just a few years short of retirement. We also explore her journey from successful blogger and business coach helping thousands of professionals achieve their career aspirations. Jen shares her ups and downs along the way and what finally led her to found Work for Humanity. In this episode you will learn about why we need to embrace complexity, risk taking and why you should bet on yourself. The future is female, let’s get started!

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Topics discussed in this episode:

Embracing complexity and being comfortable not knowing

• We often don't solve a complex problem, we evolve with a complex problem.
• There's untapped human potential, which is something I'm really interested in.
• We need the intellectual and emotional capacity for complexity, because we are so wired to want simple.
• The importance of being comfortable not knowing and having to experiment and find your way. 

Work for Humanity and envisioning a better future 

• Income inequality is the highest it's ever been in 50 years.
• My vision for the future of work is that everyone has a job that enriches them financially, intellectually, emotionally, socially and spiritually.
• We need to upskill the workers and employers in small businesses, so they can start to work together as a strategic team.
• Our system is inhumane by design. We all need to really understand that we are part of that system, and therefore we are part of the problem. 

Resources Mentioned 

Jennifer Gresham (link)
The report: Reimagining Inclusive Economies (link)
Work for Humanity (link)
Peter Diamandis (link)
Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas (link)
Humanocracy by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini (link)

“China is an amazingly diverse place in terms of food” - Jen Lin-Liu

Jen Lin-Liu is a journalist, memoirist and founder of Beijing based culinary school Black Sesame Kitchen. In this episode she talks about life as a journalist abroad and how she discovered cooking while writing her travel memoirs Serve the People and On the Noodle Road. Just before this episode was recorded Jen also opened her second restaurant, Qianmen Kitchen, inspired by her travels across Asia, The Middle East and Europe.

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Topics discussed in this episode:

Cooking and the Chinese Cuisine 

• I was the typical Chinese-American kid, becoming a chef or a restauranteur was definitely not in my cards. 
• You rarely do see female chefs in professional kitchens in China.
• China is an amazingly diverse place in terms of food.

Traveling and Expat-life

• It's been a great experience for our children to understand that the world is not just their immediate community.
• I traveled from Beijing to Rome, which is a trip I did overland 6000 miles.
• I could spend my whole lifetime studying Chinese food.

Resources Mentioned:

Jen Lin-Liu (link)
Black Sesame Kitchen (link)
Qianmen Kitchen (link)
Peter Hessler trilogy (link)
Serve the People by Jen Lin-Liu (link)
On The Noodle Road by Jen Lin-Liu (link)
Missionaries by Phil Klay (link)
The Sellout by Paul Beatty (link)

“A career maven is someone who really takes ownership of her career story and is charting her own path” - Tiffany Waddell Tate

In this episode Tiffany Waddell Tate, founder of Career Maven consulting, talks about her advice for job seekers and her ambitious goal to help one million women find careers they love. She also shares her advice for standing out on social media and how to stay connected in a virtual world, as well as her best working-from-home tips. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Topics discussed in this episode:

Career advice   

• Success is not a place, it's not a destination. It’s really a well rounded vibe.
• A career maven is someone who really takes ownership of her career story and is charting her own path.
• We need to shake the patriarchal dust off and really create the workplace and the work community that we want to see. 

Standing out on social media 

• People absolutely need to be on LinkedIn, that’s where professional people are.
• Let your LinkedIn profile reflect who you are as a professional, I like to believe that we are a lot more than whatever our day job may be.
• Be socially generous, respond and amplify the work of others.

Working from home 

• Just take a beat and make sure that your next step is your best step.
• Real agency is having the option to have both a career and a family rather than choose.
• I can still hit my deliverables and not hold up a desk chair for eight hours. No one needs to do that.

Resources Mentioned 

Career Maven (link)
Brené Brown podcast (link)
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown (link) 

“Really be fearless from the start” - Samantha Lomow 

Samantha Lomow is the president of branded entertainment at Hasbro, the global play and entertainment company. She is currently responsible for leading popular brands such as The Transformers and My Little Pony, beloved by kids and parents alike. In this episode she talks about the importance of early risk taking and how she creates value for herself at work and at home. She also shares her view on the future of work in the light of the pandemic. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Topics discussed in this episode:

(How to) excel in your corporate career  

• I've always been a listener, and that has definitely served me well.
• Take risks early, and really be fearless from the start.
• I got to be involved in everything from T-shirts to theme parks.

The Future of Work 

• There's never been a more opportune time for women leaders to bring innovation and creativity to the table. 
• We (as women) often don't recognize the strengths in ourselves.
• Think about taking on a bigger role for broader exposure, through a board seat.

The Future of Entertainment 

• I think people will continue to platform surf, there's gonna be a lot less loyalty there. 
• The trend of family viewing is going to continue and grow even stronger.

Resources Mentioned 

Hasbro (link)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (link)
How I Built This with Guy Raz (link)
Ted Radio Hour with Manoush Zomorodi (link)
Sway with Kara Swisher (link)
The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova (link)
The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger (link)
Circe and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (link)

“Within two weeks of leaving the workforce, I made my salary for the year” - Blessing Adesiyan

Blessing Adesiyan is a mom of three and founder of the popular platform Mother Honestly and her new venture Villo. In this episode we explore what led her to leave her corporate career as a successful engineer to found not one but two startups focused on transforming the workplace for working mothers. We learn how she manages a busy life as an entrepreneur, raising three children and the advice she wants all working mothers to know. 

Have a question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Topics discussed in this episode:

Leaving a corporate career

• I did not want to give up my spot at the table
• I wasn't really aligning my ambition with my personal goals 
• I felt like I had no choice 

Making entrepreneurship your career

• I spend a lot of time putting that roadmap together
• Be strategic about how you're making the switch
• Within two weeks of leaving the workforce, I made my salary for the year 

Integrating motherhood with your career ambitions

• America is very behind when it comes to parental leave
• We're gonna leave our careers to go touch groceries?
• There are so many systemic challenges women face in this country 

Resources Mentioned 

Mother Honestly (link)
Villo (link)
Eve Rodsky (link)
Mom Congress (link)
Moms in Office (link)
The woman who wrote the viral 1,000 word job posting (link)
Calm (link)
Headspace (link)
Motherly Podcast (link)
The Daily Podcast (link)
How I Built This with Guy Raz (link)
Raising the Bar with Alli and Adrian (link)
Career Contessa Podcast (link)