What Rules!?: A career podcast for women of color

When others see potential in you and offer you opportunities, take them even when you’re scared. It’s paid off for Cartier exec Erica Lovett. 

At age 32, Erica is the first DE&I leader at Cartier, the global luxury jewelry company. She shares how she’s followed her instinct to create her own career path to become the Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Cartier North America. 

Erica encourages all women to show up as themselves in the workplace. “I’ve learned that no matter how old you are, no matter how much experience you have or don’t have,” says Erica, who’s Black American, “you still have a right to be in the room and share what’s on your mind.”

Theme: Create What You Want to See

Episode Highlights:

• Following your instinct
• Sharing your ideas at a young age
• Taking opportunities offered to you
• The power of exposure
• When others see potential in you
• Being the first in a role
• Working with different cultures
• Figuring out your own path
• Following your North Star

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The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

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Learn how to build a community that will open doors and grow your career, thanks to Ivonne Valdes, Chief Channel Officer at Sorenson Communications. 

Cuban American Ivonne shares how everyone around her, from neighbors to recruiters, have contributed to her career success. She has secured mentors and sponsors at every job and she has built an advisory board that helps with her career moves.

We chat about the cultural taboo of bragging vs stating the facts, aka our accomplishments, and Ivonne teaches us that there is nothing wrong with telling people what you want!

“If you want something, tell people because we are a very tightly knit community and we love helping each other,” she says. 

Ivonne also reminds us that you don’t have to do it alone when outsourcing elements of your life can help you be more efficient and prioritize what matters.

Theme: Don’t Do It Alone

Episode Highlights:

• How to be persistent in a job search
• Bringing your uniqueness to a job
• Challenging a job description
• Leveraging your transferable skills
• Setting aside your ego to get ahead
• Learning from your failures
• Building an advisory board
• Making career moves with the help of mentors and sponsors
• Bragging vs facts
• Outsourcing to work smarter, not harder
• Prioritize what matters

Mentioned In This Episode:

“Work-Life Balance Is a Cycle, Not an Achievement” article by Harvard Business Review

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.

Get ready for a deep dive into vulnerability with Mimi Park, a Field Chief Technology Officer at Databricks.

Mimi grew up in Korea, where she “essentially didn’t have a voice,” she tells us. So when she started her career in the U.S., “I wanted to be like everyone else, but me.”

Thanks to a personality assessment, Mimi learned it was ok to be herself and she began to open up to her co-workers. Today, Mimi leads with vulnerability to build trust and authenticity with her team and her boss.

“The thing about vulnerability is that it can only come from a sense of security,” Mimi says. She points out there’s a time and place to be vulnerable in the workplace and we discuss when it’s psychologically safe to do so.

Theme: Turn Your Adversity into Your Strength

Episode Highlights:

• Seeing the big picture through change management
• Growing up with no voice
• Reacting to life with black and white thinking
• DiSC personality assessment
• Feeling you're not enough
• Being vulnerable in the workplace
• Leading with vulnerability
• Managing as a servant leader

Mentioned In This Episode:

Mimi’s InformationWeek article: Maximizing AI ROI Through Change Management

DiSC personality assessment

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.

What’s more badass than talking about money? Although most of us cringe at the thought of sharing our salary with others, Slack exec Rukmini Reddy believes it’s one of the best ways to advance your career.

As the SVP of Engineering, Platform at Slack, Rukmini tells us about the “network of incredible women” in her industry, who are open about sharing compensation data with one another. The results? They lift each other up and land better paying jobs.

“I’m not shy about discussing money,” says Rukmini, who’s Indian. “I encourage all women to call a friend and tell them how much you make, and just be really uncomfortable.”

Rukmini also fills us in on why you should scrutinize the feedback you receive at work and how you can manage impostor syndrome as a multicultural woman.

Theme: Own Your Power

Episode Highlights:

• Having a squad of people you can trust
• Not taking feedback at face value
• Aspiring to be on a paid board
• Talking about money
• Power of data
• Changing jobs every few years to grow
• Being the only woman and person of color at work
• Managing impostor syndrome as a multicultural woman
• Documenting your accomplishments

Mentioned In This Episode:

Rukmini’s LinkedIn article, “I’m a VP of engineering and a woman of color. These 5 lessons got me here.”

Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra

Board of directors salary in United States by Indeed

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.

Did you know there could be one million more women in management in corporate America if the “broken rung” was fixed?

The broken rung, the biggest hurdle multicultural women face climbing the corporate ladder, is a systemic issue. That’s why we’re covering what organizations can do to fix it in our last episode of our Broken Rung series.

We talk about the holistic strategies companies can implement so they can promote more women of color from individual contributor to manager. We highlight the benefits of having more multicultural executive coaches to serve as catalysts. And we discuss the importance of providing psychological safety for multicultural women employees in the workplace.

Remember, you don’t have to do it alone! We’re here to help with this three-part series and with our upcoming What Rules!? Leadership Conference, specifically developed for multicultural women and their managers, on 10/25/23. Learn more at whatrulespodcast.com. 

Listen to parts one and two of our Broken Rung series, where we cover how managers and employees can fix the broken rung. Episodes linked below. 

Episode Highlights:

• Zera Consulting announcement
• What is the broken rung? 
• Organizations need to be aware of the broken rung
• Organizations need to hire more multicultural executive coaches
• Organizations need to ensure psychological safety at work

Mentioned In this Episode:

2019 Women in the Workplace by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org

Listen to the rest of our Broken Rung series:

Ep 72: How Managers Can Fix the Broken Rung

Ep 74: How Employees Can Fix the Broken Rung

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.

Do you avoid discomfort at work? Human Resources exec Lashanna “Sha” Farley reveals why feeling uncomfortable is, actually, good for your career.

We chat with Sha about her career pivot to non-profit after working in corporate America for 20-plus years at some of the biggest companies, including  Walmart, Pfizer and Sam’s Club. Sha tells us about the tough decision to leave and how her faith helped her work through her doubts.

After five years, Sha is back in corporate as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Allvue Systems, a private-equity backed SaaS company. She shares how her career pivot opened the door to the C-suite and how discomfort can help you grow as a person and advance your career.

“If you’re not uncomfortable at least one day a week at your job, then it’s time for a new job because it means you’re not growing,” says Sha, who’s African American.

Theme: Change Course Without Hesitation

Episode Highlights:

• What holds you back from making decisions
• Getting neutral
• Making a career pivot to advance your career
• Using faith to work through doubts 
• Overcome hesitation by being intentional
• Do it scared and take a leap of faith
• Leaving corporate to get a higher title
• Changing environment to open the door to the C-suite
• Look at opportunities holistically
• Don’t hesitate for things that don’t matter
• Discomfort helps you grow
• Why you should apply for a job even if you’re not 100% qualified
• Getting on a paid board of directors 

Mentioned In This Episode:

Sacred Pace by Terry Looper

Ep 58: Focused on Her Faith with Dr. Janice Stain

National Director of Corporate Directors Directorship Certification

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.

Multicultural women are often “double onlys” in the workplace, meaning they are the only woman AND person of color in the room. This burden is mainly due to the “broken rung.”

In our special three-part series, we've been tackling how managers, employees and organizations can fix the “broken rung,” the biggest obstacle that prevents women from climbing the corporate ladder. Even worse, it disproportionately affects women of color.

In this second episode, we talk directly to multicultural women employees, like yourself, and how you can own your narrative to address the broken rung. While many of us are told to “call out the bias,” we offer real-life situations that can come up at work and how to be strategic when handling them as a woman of color. Alisa, Merary and Courtney share their personal experiences with bias and provide steps to deal with it.

Remember, you don’t have to do it alone! We’re here to help with this series and with our upcoming What Rules!? Leadership Conference, specifically developed for multicultural women and their managers, on 10/25/23. Learn more at whatrulespodcast.com.

Listen to parts one and three of our Broken Rung series, where we cover how managers and organizations can fix the broken rung. Episodes linked below.

Episode Highlights:

• What is the broken rung?
• Being an “only” and “double only”
• Turning your weakness into a strength
• Embracing your differences
• How to be strategic when addressing biases in the workplace
• Turning to allies for advice and support
• Accepting help from others
• Reinforcing the good instead of being critical
• How to get noticed at work

Research Mentioned:

2022 Women in the Workplace by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org

“Women of Color Get Less Support at Work. Here’s How Managers Can Change That.” by Harvard Business Review

Episode Mentioned:

Ep 73: 3 Moves to Improve Your Next Meeting with Monique Lanaux

Listen to the rest of our Broken Rung series:

Ep 72: How Managers Can Fix the Broken Rung

Ep 76: How Organizations Can Fix the Broken Rung

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin:

Want to slay your next work meeting? Monique Lanaux, Chief Talent & Diversity Officer at Albertsons Companies, shares what you can do before, during and after a meeting to be seen and be heard—and get ahead. “Meetings are like a sport,” says Monique, who’s Caribbean American. “So, you have to start strong and finish strong.”

We also chat about the rubber balls vs glass balls we all juggle with our career. And Monique reveals her secret weapon to getting what she wants in life. Hint: You’ll need some sticky notes! 

Theme: Know What You Want

Episode Highlights:

• Importance of the “meeting before the meeting”
• Having agency over your career
• Figuring out what you want and don’t want
• The power of writing things down
• Seeing life as juggling rubber balls vs glass balls
• Reverse engineering your career based on your intentions
• Saying out loud what you want so that people can help you
• Mentoring others – asking questions and letting them be themselves
• Meetings as a sporting event
• What you can do before, during and after a meeting to advance your career

Book Mentioned:

Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.

Women face their biggest hurdle to becoming leaders at the very first step up the corporate ladder. Known as the “broken rung,” this obstacle prevents women from reaching even the most entry-level management roles. Worse yet, it disproportionately affects multicultural women. 

In a special three-part series, we tackle how managers, employees and organizations can fix the broken rung by breaking the rules.

In this first episode, we talk directly to leaders on how they can uplift multicultural women early in their careers when they’re most likely to encounter the broken rung as well as seasoned professionals who have been overlooked as a consequence of the broken rung.

We offer practical actionable steps for managers to support their best talent before they burn out and quit. Whether you’re a leader or working on advancing your career, this episode is for you!

Listen to parts two and three of our Broken Rung series, where we cover how employees and organizations can fix the broken rung. Episodes linked below. 

Episode Highlights:

• What is the broken rung?
• The consequences of the broken rung for multicultural women 
• Taking a stand against microaggressions and unconscious bias
• Sponsoring multicultural women
• Building relationships to fix the broken rung

Research Mentioned:

2022 Women in the Workplace by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org

Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters (2020) by McKinsey & Company

Repairing the Broken Rung on the Career Ladder for Women in Technical Roles (2022) by McKinsey & Company

The P.I.E. Theory of Success: Performance, Image, Exposure by Arrowhead Consulting 

Half of U.S. Workforce Suffers Panic Attacks and Depression Due to Money Worries, New Survey Finds (2019)  by Salary Finance

2019 Women in the Workplace by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org

2023 Mental Health at Work: Managers and Money by The Workforce Institute at UKG

Listen to the rest of our Broken Rung series:

Ep 74: How Employees Can Fix the Broken Rung

Ep 76: How Organizations Can Fix the Broken Rung

Register Now!

The What Rules!? Leadership Conference is on 10/25/23. Learn more and register at Eventbrite....

It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and we are happy to chat with Thear Suzuki, Global Client Service Partner at EY, one of the largest professional services networks in the world.

Ten years ago, Thear started her transformation from living in “survival mode” as a refugee from Cambodia and having “this limiting belief that I was lesser than other people,” she says. With the help of an executive coach, Thear was able to change her mindset and behaviors to become a healthy individual, engaged mom and impactful leader. “I realized through this internal work over the past decade that I needed to see my own value,” says Thear, who’s Chinese and Vietnamese. 

Thear shares her advice to empower Asian women in the workplace and her book recommendations to own your power and transform your limiting beliefs to get ahead in your career and life.

Theme: Own Your Power

Episode Highlights:

• Writing a personal mission statement or purpose statement
• Coming to the U.S. as a refugee 
• Working with an executive coach 
• “Life by design” exercise
• Recognizing unhelpful behaviors
• Working through limiting beliefs
• Transforming your mindset and behaviors
• Giving yourself grace while you figure out what you want
• Owning your power by uplifting others
• Succeeding despite your limiting beliefs
• Changing habits leads to transformation
• Book recommendations for self development
• Empowering Asian women to lead
• The importance of leadership development

Books mentioned:

Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Connect with us on social media: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Alisa Manjarrez: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Courtney Copelin: Instagram and LinkedIn

More from Dr. Merary Simeon: Instagram and LinkedIn

Learn more at www.whatrulespodcast.com.