When Women Win

Caroline Miller is one of the world's leading experts on the science of goal setting and grit. She's spent more than 30 years helping individuals, leaders and companies to cultivate grit to achieve their goals and find personal and professional success. Caroline is the author of six books, including Getting Grit and Creating Your Best Life. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC and CNN.

During our chat we discussed the two kinds of goals – learning goals and performance goals – and how grit helped Caroline overcome bulimia at the age of 22. We talked about the value of humility, hope and optimism. We defined happiness and I learned the happiest people are the people who wake up to hard goals – people who have "ikigai", a Japanese word that means "reason for being". I was delighted to hear that only half of grit and happiness are hard-wired – the rest we can develop. Caroline mentioned "job-crafting", a way to find your purpose in whatever role you have. We also got into women bullying other women, and how important it is that women support each other through "active constructive responding" and push each other forward.

At the end of the episode, Caroline makes specific recommendations to build your tribe and help others thrive: for example, find two women you know and share their success stories on two social media platforms #share222; or list 5-6 people you know who are givers and set up a monthly meeting to share goals and hold each other accountable to them (in a kind way!)

To take the free VIA Character Survey that Caroline mentioned, head to https://www.viacharacter.org/www/

You can find Caroline on LinkedIn and Instagram.

While you're here, please remember to subscribe to, rate and review the podcast. Thank you!

Sara Al Madani is a well-known Emirati fashion designer, partner in a tech company and owner of a creative consultancy. She is the youngest board member at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry and also sits on the board of the UAE SME Council. Sara has won numerous awards and is a passionate advocate for women in business. We met at Dubai's bustling Youth Hub for this recording.

Sara started her first business at the age of 15 after declaring financial independence from her bewildered parents. She amassed enough money to start a fashion label by doing odd jobs and selling her belongings. She bought and resold goods and, against her parent's wishes, did promotional work for soft drinks companies in a mall. 17 years later Sara is still running her fashion business to provide stylish and unique abayas (traditional wear of Gulf Arab women) as well as turning her hand to many other businesses.

But it hasn't all been easy. Sara has faced opposition from the start and has suffered setbacks along the way. Her determination and faith have helped fuel her success as she's struggled with stereotypes, bankruptcy and divorce. "I take ownership of failure," is her approach. Sara's optimism and energy are highly contagious. We discussed her thoughts on "women empowerment", on how to raise boys and on the positive impact of women in boardrooms. My favorite quote was "I am a mango tree. I only want mango-lovers to come to me."

You can find Sara on Instagram @sara_almadani and LinkedIn.

Welcome to Season 2 of When Women Win Podcast!

Before we dive in, I would like to take a moment and acknowledge you for making When Women Win the number 1 podcast in the Middle East. To all of you who subscribed and listened to the podcast, to all who reviewed and shared it... A million thanks.

For the opening episode of Season 2 we are fortunate to have an international powerhouse in the world of marketing. Beth Comstock spent 25 years at GE where she led efforts to accelerate new growth and was named GE's first Chief Marketing Officer in 2003. Beth served as President of Integrated Media at NBC Universal, from 2006-08, overseeing ad revenue and the company's digital efforts, including the early formation of Hulu. She is a corporate director of Nike and has been named to both the Fortune and Forbes lists of the World's Most Powerful women.

We discussed Beth's new book, Imagine It Forward. We covered many aspects of innovation – how entrepreneurs approach it, how entrepreneurial people within a corporation can innovate and disrupt, and how the corporation can encourage and support them. We explored the personal and professional price that disruptors might pay as organisations resist change. Beth gave practical tips for introverts like herself – introverts who wish to lead, as well as tips for managers of introverts. We touched on the problems that have rocked GE and talked about gatekeepers versus goalkeepers and how they can shape your job choices.

My favorite quotes are:

"No is not yet"

"You cannot mitigate risk, you have to navigate it."

Beth recommended three books:

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

Management Principles by Peter Drucker. "Without a customer there is no business"

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

If you would like to follow Beth on social media you can find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @bethcomstock. Her book, Imagine It Forward, is available in stores and online.

Today's special guest is one of CNN's most experienced journalists. She anchors HALA GORANI TONIGHT, a show that brings viewers into the heart of CNN's International operation and immerses them in the latest stories of the day. In addition to her anchoring duties, Hala often goes into the field to report on major breaking news stories like the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon in 2014 and the 2012 Egyptian Elections.

We had a wide ranging discussion about careers, politics, and social norms. We talked about how CNN has managed to keep Hala for 20 years... We discussed unconscious bias in women, where it comes from and how to overcome it. We compared Europe's bloody path to peace to the Middle East's current conflicts. We touched on the (non) impact of the Arab Spring. We even made time for tips on interviewing.

I loved every second of our high-energy conversation, but if I had to choose my favorite part, it would be something Hala mentioned closer to the end, when I asked Hala what advice she would give her 18-year old self. It amazes me how many women would say the exact same thing.

If you would like to follow Hala you can find her on Twitter @HalaGorani, or Instagram @hgorani. and of course also on CNN. She also serves as her dog's PR agent and you can follow Louis on Instagram @louis_lately.

Kristy is responsible for executing Ellevate Network's mission to close the gender achievement gap in business by providing professional women with a global community to lean on and learn from. Kristy is also host of the Ellevate Podcast.

We dived deep into the power of networking – and how to network effectively. Your tribe, your squad! We discussed the concept of a personal brand and how important it is to cultivate one intentionally, noting that one's brand must change over time. I asked Kristy about recent guests on the very popular Ellevate Podcast and what we can expect to learn at Mobilize Women, the 2018 Ellevate Summit which will be held on June 21st. Finally we closed with some personal questions and I was surprised to find a fellow Nancy Drew fan!

One of the many insights Kristy shared was that "all leaders have different traits – different narratives, different identities. So how do you start to cultivate what your identity is?"

Please forgive the sirens – the podcast was recorded in New York City!

To find out more about Kristy, follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram @kristyawallace and Twitter @kristysisko

The Mobilizing the Power of Women takes place on June 21. While the event is sold out, you can follow it and watch for FREE on ellevatenetwork.com.

This episode is packed full of actionable tips and truth bombs. Marshall has coached over 150 major CEOs, is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers and has decades of experience helping men and women win.

Marshall is the first male guest on When Women Win! He has recently co-written with Sally Helgesen an incredibly powerful book called "How Women Rise", which breaks down the 12 habits holding professional women back in the workplace.

While structural and systemic changes must be made to the workplace to give women equal opportunity to rise, this book rather focuses on things that a woman herself can control to make herself more effective. I was blown away by the insights and I recommend the book highly to all women, dads of daughters, HR managers, and CEOs out there.

It was also a humbling experience to be coached on air, during my own interview. In the end I was hit with a well-deserved fine (charitable contribution) for starting too many sentences with "but" and "no". I really want to thank Marshall for this eye-opening experience.

Here's a few of the insights and quotes from our chat:

"When men and women get an offer, men negotiate - women say thank you." "Don't fall into the trap of being indispensable." "The average woman leader gets better 360 feedback than the average male leader." "Don't worship the corporate God." "Don't be ashamed to need help."

To further upgrade your skills head over to www.marshallgoldsmith.com where Marshall makes all his material available for free. You can also find Marshall on LinkedIn where he has over 1 million followers.

A big thank you to Naseba, Moustafa Hamwi and Right Selection for making this episode possible.

Helen McGuire launched Hopscotch in March 2016 whilst seven months pregnant with a mission to enable professional women to play a part in the workplace in the Middle East, no matter what their personal commitments. The company now employs a strong team across its three tenets of Work, Learn and Connect; has grown a community of over 50,000 women in the region and works with multinationals to SMEs in order to spearhead initiatives, skills sessions, events and training for women and companies.

Helen is also a lead member of the UN Women's Empowerment Taskforce in the UAE, speaks regularly at Forums regionally and internationally, and is a mum of two.

On this episode we talked about Helen's journey from the world of entertainment to media to starting her own business in the UAE. Her insights on knowing when its time to move are super interesting.

From there we transitioned into talking about Hopscotch, the first women's empowerment platform in the MENA region to launch an offering purely for female professionals looking for careers support through work, skills and networking. We talked about what how women who have been out of the workforce can hit the ground running. From there we moved onto the support women need at all levels - at work and at home. We also discussed what companies can do to better serve their male and female employees.

You can find more about Helen and Hopscotch on Instagram @hopscotch_me and https://hopscotch.work

We got into Karen's life story and her fascinating journey to this point. She also shared some great advice for anyone interested in growing their social media presence. As a result, this episode is a little longer than usual.

Karen is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle influencer whose followers are mostly women aged 18-34 located in the USA, UAE and KSA. She has worked with numerous, diverse brands including Dior Beauty, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Jo Malone and Cadillac. Karen is busy! She has a husband, three children under the age of four and a hectic work travel schedule. Karen is a big believer that women can "do it all" and is a passionate cheerleader of women everywhere.

We had an animated chat about all things "influencer": I asked Karen what she does on a daily basis and how she maintains a balance between glitz and reality. We talked about the recent reveal of her skin condition and how her followers reacted to it. We discussed how Karen became one of the region's biggest influencers and how she curates her digital content. The burden of scrutiny also came up – including the need for thick skin! Finally, Karen gave us some tips on how to take strong photographs and how to build one's following on Instagram.

My favorite quote was: "you can grow horizontally or vertically". I think it's applicable in many different contexts.

You can find Karen Wazen on Instagram @karenwazenb and YouTube.

Since leaving her native Ireland, Dawn Metcalfe has worked in seven countries including China and Japan, and now calls Dubai her home. Known for her straight-talking truth-telling and powerful insights, Dawn has worked with leaders around the world to change their perspective, their behavior and their impact on others. Dawn's inspiration behind the book was being hired on eight different occasions to tell an employee that they smelt bad!

We discussed how to approach difficult conversations in every day circumstances, such as a corporate employee wanting to give a peer feedback, or an entrepreneur disagreeing with your business partner. This episode is essential listening for CEOs who want to create a culture of "speaking up" (spoiler alert: this is linked to a culture of "being heard").

Dawn draws from extensive research and neuroscience techniques to explain human communication behavior and how to combat instincts that hold us back. We talked about how to resolve conflict and affect change no matter what your culture, background or experience.

We also discussed Dawn's journey and the challenges she has overcome to get to this point – from threats of physical violence by her teenage students to managing a chronic disease.

My favorite quote was: "Being nice is not the same as being kind".

You can find @TeamHardTalk on all social media platforms, follow Dawn Metcalfe on LinkedIn or Twitter @PDSiDXB, or email Dawn at [email protected]. You can order the HardTalk Handbook online at noon.com and jamalon.com.