37: Rising Up & Creating More Gender Balance in Male-Dominated Industries with Sumi Singh of Microsoft

How can we change the gender balance in traditionally male dominated fields? The tech industry is one that's been known to be male dominated. I have a lot of clients in the tech industry, and some of them feel very daunted by this problem, often wondering if they'll ever get a chance to get the recognition they deserve. So I'm so excited to have this conversation with a leader in tech that's been a change agent in this way, and to learn more about what's happened to help her be more successful in her career. 01:41 — What Sumi did to bring more gender balance to the leadership team at Microsoft 09:59 — The role Sumi’s network has played in her ability to develop a high-performing team 12:32 — How she has navigated to senior leadership levels in a competitive industry 16:20 — The biggest changes she’s had to navigate to succeed in a senior leadership role👋 CONNECT WITH SUMI Sumi Singh is a Corporate Vice President in the Collaborative, Applications & Platforms organization. She has over 25 years of experience as an engineer, leader, and customer advocate. She is known for creating a culture of inclusion and building resilient teams where people are able to do their best work and operates with a growth mindset. Her team is focused on delivering Microsoft Teams, the hub for collaboration in Microsoft 365 that connects people, content, and tools they need to be more engaged and effective everywhere.—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Mid-career women often have an allergic reaction to how to build their network. They don't want to feel cheesy, sleazy, or like they're only out for themselves. They've seen others doing this and they don't want to be perceived in the same way. But the problem with this is it holds them back in their careers because your network is more important the higher your rise.In this episode, Jill shares how you can balance giving and taking so you can build a strategic network with people you enjoy spending time with. She’ll share how she’s created a reputation as someone people can count on and who they turn to when they need an expert.So if you've been resisting the whole idea of networking or feel lost on how to do it in a way that doesn’t just feel like you’re taking, taking, taking, this episode's for you!Tune in to hear:  01:48 — Givers vs. Takers: How to find the right balance when networking 02:50 — What to do when it feels like you don’t have anything to offer others09:26 — Who you want to focus on networking with—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

You’ve likely heard the saying, “you can’t control the situation, but you can control how you react to the situation.” That can be easier said than done, but that’s exactly the skill great leaders are able to develop.Our client, Wendy, was initially a little resistant to the mindset work, but when she was laid off from a role she didn’t enjoy, she used that time to reflect on her unique strengths and skills that helped her land the new role she’s in now.As she transitioned into the new role, she focused on three mindsets that have helped her not only succeed in her role even when there’s conflict and challenges, but also enjoy it because her emotional response is much more balanced. If you find yourself feeling frustrated by challenges or situations in your role, tune in to hear the mindsets Wendy has developed and how they’ve supported her!02:20 — The mindset shift Wendy had after losing her job that helped her turn a setback into an opportunity to create a career she loves 10:28 — The importance of choosing an aligned coaching program so you’re surrounded the right types of leader to build your network 12:48 — One of the most important things you need to embrace if you want to evolve as a leader 15:49 — How practicing this one skill with yourself supports you in leading others more effectively👋 GET TO KNOW WENDY Wendy is a Creative Director who loves to build brands by listening to what is needed and building a strong foundation on which to develop a design system. She’s led and worked with cross-functional teams to launch and implement brands across all digital, print, social and video channels. Wendy is an engaged and enthusiastic leader unifying teams to work together through collaboration.—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Every leader with an eye on a senior role needs to understand how to find a mentor. When you seek out the right mentors, they become an advantage that will help you rise into senior leadership roles more quickly and easily. In this episode, Jill and SisterSmart Career Success Coach, Sarah, share how to determine what you want to get out of a mentorship, find the mentors that are right for you, and nurture those relationships to position yourself in the best way.They also share a few of the traps you’ll want to avoid in a mentor relationship so you can ensure the relationship is beneficial for both you and them. 01:08 — It’s your job as the mentee to find your mentor 02:51 — How to identify what you need and want out of a mentor07:51 — Why you want to start with an informal relationship rather than jumping into a mentorship 10:43 — How to have the conversations to get what you'd like out of the mentorship14:20 — Understand what isn’t appropriate or ideal to bring to your mentor 16:22 — How to become the mentee that your mentor loves to support—👩‍💼WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A MENTOR CHECKLIST: See what steps you need to take and the right questions to ask yourself to find your perfect mentorwww.sistersmart.com/MentorChecklist—🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Everyone's heard the phrase, your network is your net worth. Then why do so few mid-career women have the robust network that will get them into senior management? According to McKinsey, even female CEOs have networks that are several times smaller than their male colleagues and the numbers get even worse the farther down the ladder you go. So if men have this all figured out, why is this still something that women shy away from? In this episode, Jill explores the misconceptions that women have about networking and why a personal board of directors can accelerate the path for every woman who wants to rise up into senior management.She shares about the essential mindset shifts that you need to take to be able to go from nay to yay when it comes to this important work and she will help you design your own personal board of directors to save you from going to networking events and having to talk to a room full of strangers or tooting your horn around the company.  02:39 — Your "good work" isn't enough to secure a promotion into senior management05:12 — How to design your personal advisory board so you know what seats you'd like to fill06:57 — The types of people you can consider having on your personal board of directorsBook Your Free Growth Accelerator Call: https://calendly.com/sistersmart/leader—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

What happens when you have a failure? Like when you make a mistake at work — big or small — or you get rejected for something that you thought was a sure thing. It’s tempting to hide away or play small after a failure has happened. Sometimes people let it derail them or even end their career. But what happens when you use failure to propel you forward? That’s what Jessica Bacall, editor of two top 10 books, Mistakes I Made at Work and The Rejection That Changed My Life, explored in her books and her work as the director of Reflective Journaling at Smith College, in Northampton, MassachusettsTo be a successful leader doesn’t mean avoiding mistakes or failures, but rather to expect them, prepare for them, and use them to build your resiliency. Tune in to hear how you can apply Jessica’s research to your own life and career.  01:25 — How recognizing that failure or rejection is inevitable helps you neutralize your thoughts around it04:14 — How recognizing that failure or rejection is inevitable helps you neutralize your thoughts around it07:12 — How to navigate a recent failure or rejection without getting caught up in it10:59 — Understand the differences between how men and women handle mistakes and failures16:05 — How you can increase your resilience ahead of having a failure so that you’re prepared when it inevitably happens 👋 CONNECT WITH JESSICA BACAL Jessica Bacal is director of Reflective Journaling at Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts. She leads programs to help students explore identity and find resilience in community. She also teaches a course called Designing Your Path, which guides students to consider questions like: What is your story? What matters to you? What skills do you need to pursue what matters?Jessica is the editor of two books published by Penguin Random House.: Mistakes I Made at Work: https://a.co/d/cqLvMo5The Rejection That Changed My Life (2021): https://a.co/d/aVnO8Oz⭐  Download a Free Copy of SisterSmart Presents: The Rejection Notebook, and Enter to Win a Signed Set of Jessica Bacal’s Books, “Mistakes I Made at Work” and “The Rejection That Changed My Life” : http://www.sistersmart.com/TheRejectionNotebook—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to...

Are you afraid of taking risks because you don’t know how to bounce back from failure? You’re likely nervous that if you fail, you’ll be “marked” forever or side-tracked for a promotion because of it. This is a common fear that women can hold, and for good reason. Women are criticized for not taking enough risks and being held back from further success because of it. A lot of this has to do with the way that we are raised, because there can be little latitude for anything besides perfection.This follows us into our careers, creating more caution than we need. But it's not true. Women can fail and recover from it. This episode, we are talking about how to prepare for the inevitable failure that you will face if you're going to be a senior leader and we'll talk about how to bounce back once you've had a failure. Maybe you've had a failure that you're still recovering from, or maybe you've kept yourself safely secure until now. Either way, you're going to want to listen to develop this skill set. 02:34 — How to socialize the risk you're considering taking so you have allies in case a failure happens 04:42 — Why it's important to not hide failures 05:38 — Take a no excuses, 100% ownership approach to cover yourself politically—🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Your mental skills are likely what’s holding you back from being a senior leader. Our inner emotional life is like a governor for our success, and we need to work through our mindset limitations to avoid getting stuck behind outdated ways of thinking. Our growth gets stunted and our potential gets cut off unless we work to expand our mindset into new territory.The mental game is every bit as important as being good at your technical skills when it comes to moving up the ladder, and it gets more important the higher you go.In this episode, Jill shares the 3 areas of mental skills you need to develop in order to earn a senior-level position and thrive in it without burnout or overwhelm. 02:24 — Uncover your limiting self-beliefs and learn how to rework your neural pathways 07:50 — How your imposter syndrome is self-sabotaging your career and how to feel worthy of your next step just as you are right now12:00 — How to let go of rumination and worry so you can lead with a clear mind 📚MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE•  Common Limiting Belief Exercise - http://www.sistersmart.com/NoMoreLimits—🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:  4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register! https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration —✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL 🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/

Senior and executive leadership roles bring more responsibility, but that doesn’t have to mean taking on more work and sacrificing your personal time or well-being in the process.In fact, prioritizing work-life balance and self-care becomes more critical as you rise through the ranks because you need the capacity to navigate more challenging situations, lead more people, and make more prominent decisions.&nbsp;When Nadia joined the Sisters In Leadership program, she wanted to gain clarity on where she wanted to be 3 roles from now and what opportunities she would need to take to bring that vision to life.Throughout her time in the program, she learned that it was not only possible for her to continue rising in her career without sacrificing balance —&nbsp;but required.&nbsp;If you’ve been working hard to prove yourself, sacrificing family time or time off to get to the next level, tune into this episode to hear:&nbsp;&nbsp;03:34 — Why you need to be the one actively shaping the trajectory of your career to end up in senior or executive roles you want&nbsp;06:19 — Using a personal strategy retreat to prioritize self-care as a way to further her career10:08 — How Nadia used her 360 feedback from her company to shift her way of working to align more with her family life&nbsp;14:27 — The differences between your corporate program vs. private coaching19:18 — How to gain clarity on where you want to be 3 roles from now and how to get there33:37 —&nbsp;Where to find mentors and sponsors and how to be a great mentee👋 GET TO KNOW NADIA&nbsp;Nadia Sutton is a Marketing Director within a large pharmaceutical organization responsible for leading the US commercial launch and execution of a targeted, precision medicine treatment option for patients with prostate cancer.She has 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, spanning across pharma, medical device, and diagnostics sectors. Nadia has led marketing campaigns and tactical plans for several oncological and HIV products, driving awareness, adoption, and access in the US and global markets.—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register!&nbsp;https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration&nbsp;—🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:&nbsp; 4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted&nbsp;https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM&nbsp;An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL&nbsp;🌐 Website: <a href="https://sistersmart.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

You need to get comfortable with failure to be a successful leader and rise into more senior roles.&nbsp;We all make mistakes and we all have failures, even big ones.Women often take failures hard and it can be debilitating and even derail your career if you don't recover effectively from it.In this episode, you’ll understand why you need to be failing if you want to earn senior leadership roles and how you can overcome failures — big or small —&nbsp;when they inevitably so you can learn from them and be a better leader because of them.&nbsp;03:01 — Why you need to get comfortable with failure if you want to rise up as a leader&nbsp;04:24 — How our brains learn more from experience than success07:36 — How to reflect on failure to learn from it rather than dwell on it—🧠DECISION TREE: TACKLE ANY DECISION HEAD-ON AND WITH CONFIDENCEhttp://www.sistersmart.com/DecisionTree —🌟FREE MASTERCLASS: From Director to VP:&nbsp; 4 Shifts Women Need to Get Promoted&nbsp;https://sistersmart.com/sil-watch—Register for the Free Executive Presence for Women Masterclass: The 3 keys to Increase Authority and Influence, happening live on Thursday, August 8 at 12 PST. A replay will be available for those that register!&nbsp;https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkdOsrDItGdHchQv1BXFozsGRUjL74xlK#/registration&nbsp;—✈️FREE PASSPORT TO PROMOTION PRIVATE PODCAST: 7 STEPS TO GET PROMOTED FROM DIRECTOR TO VP Get access to the Passport to Promotion Private Podcast —👩‍💻APPLY FOR THE SISTERS IN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM&nbsp;An 12-month coaching program for women leaders who want to rise up and fulfill their career potential and get promoted from director to VP Join Sisters in Leadership to Get Promoted to VP —💻EXPLORE OUR LEADERSHIP COURSESWe offer a few leadership courses for you to begin sharpening your skills from meeting management to executive presence and productivity. Sign Up for a Leadership Course —👋 CONNECT WITH JILL&nbsp;🌐 Website: https://sistersmart.com/&nbsp;🎥 YouTube: https://linktw.in/uWD3ko&nbsp;💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillavey/