FirstWoman Success Stories from Professional Women

Hosted by Mel Stanley

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Jun 2024

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About the show

Hello and welcome to Success Stories from Professional Women a new twist on last years series This year it's less about me and will feature monthly guest appearances from women who are leaders in their field and have achieved success on their terms. They will share their career stories, their individual challenges and how they overcame them so other women, especially the next generation of female leaders can benefit from their deep and valuable experience I’m Mel Stanley, Personal Brand Strategist & CMO You can find links to my website & FREE content at https://linktr.ee/firstwoman.co.uk

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19 recent

June 12, 202439 min

It starts early! A conversation with Career Development Expert Anne Wilson

Anne Wilson is currently (but not for much longer) Head of Careers at Warwick University. We have a shared passion for Gender Equality and amongst other things, Anne has spent her own career furthering the advancement of women by helping them overcome the barriers to success. So we have much in common! Her experience in this area is vast. From the late eighties, when she ran a survey in the local paper aimed at understanding what would encourage women returners (spoiler alert *no different to today!) to the programme she managed at Warwick, to help prepare female undergraduates for the work place. There are many insights and stacks of wisdom in this conversation but three key takeouts 1. Not much has really changed for women in the last 40 years. 2. The challenges for women, internal and external start way before entering the work place 3. It's no good fixing the system without supporting women to better navigate it and vice versa you have to do both! And if you ever wondered why gilders were all men, apparently it's because women 'lose the knack' after they've had children!

May 7, 202443 min

Disagreement, doesn't mean Disharmony

Pam Conway is a former colleague of mine who has not only succeeded but found a way to thrive in male-dominated corporate environments. Starting out as a Project Manager she is currently Marketing Director at Biffa and has a background in energy and utilities. In this episode Pam shares her experience and the strategies behind her success including Embracing challenge and disagreement in a constructive, non-fearful way How to say no without worrying you're being difficult Welcome challenge and debate rather than avoiding conflict Believe in yourself and don't apologise for your perspectives. Changing the language you use can boost your confidence

April 9, 202447 min

Gender equality doesn't mean fewer rights for men. It's not a cake!

A Success Story from a Professional Man....because equality is about inclusivity! Why aren't there more men like you Jeremy?? Jeremy Stockdale, CEO of Ylead, spent, by his own admission, 50 years thinking he was one of the good guys when it came to gender equality. And then with the help of his daughter, a T-shirt and a few good books on the subject he realised he had got it wrong. If you haven't heard of Jeremy, try searching LinkedIn for "On Wednesday we Smash the Patriarchy" It's the platform Jeremy created to encourage open conversations around the many challenges and some of the taboos, facing women in the work place. I haven't edited this podcast. The conversation is so rich, not to mention entertaining, I wanted to leave it all in. In this episode we discuss His motivation for creating the platform, what's worked and what hasn't Why he thinks it's so important for men to support women in the workplace The reasons some men still aren't getting it What makes an effective gender ally Being trolled by women Sleeping less stupid An edited transcript from this episode will be included in Success Without Compromise: Empowering the next generation of Female Leaders Now available for pre-order on Amazon

March 10, 202432 min

Don't Lean in...Look Up

Leaning in is so last century. Don't Lean In, Look Up! I had the huge pleasure of speaking to Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, and boy did we cover some ground! Cynthia has oodles of leadership experience and she generously shares her experience and tips across a range of subjects:• Dealing with bullies and flirts (my particular fave)• The importance of sponsors, particularly male sponsors• Becoming an exporter of talent• Putting you and your aspirations out there• Asserting boundaries• How to intentionally pursuing your 'Next' by looking up rather than keeping your head down and focussing on the job in hand Cynthia has co-authored a book entitled "Now, Near, Next: A Practical Guide for Mid-Career Women to Move from Professional Serendipity to Intentional Advancement" which launches March 18th. Listen to the podcast and mark the date! You can pre-order the book on Amazon already https://a.co/d/0urbnQd or direct from Cynthias website www.zealoftheheel.com

February 5, 20248 min

The new look 2024 podcast, less of me and more of you!

In 2024 Success Strategies for Professional Women is having something of a refresh as Success Stories of Professional Women Continuing with the guest appearances at the end of last year, the new look podcast will feature conversations with real women, who have a successful career and have made it to where they want to be on their terms The first of the interviews is being recorded in March but I've published a short intro cast to explain why I've decided to do this and what you can look forward to in the coming months The stories will feature in my up and coming book Success Without Compromise so please drop me a line if you'd like to get involved

December 13, 202313 min

Don't look back, that's not the direction you're heading

The second part of the December episode is about me….my tips and strategies for success, and how I achieved C-suite and Board level positions in my career I think most of these can be summarised as don't ruminate on the past and let it get in the way of moving forward As Cindy Gallop would say "Don't look back, that's not the direction you're heading" Success comes as a result of balancing risk vs opportunity, letting go of certainty, and trying new ideas and approaches that may or may not work: We are more likely to regret the things we didn't do so make 2024 the year for self-empowerment

December 6, 202312 min

My own tips and strategies for building a business from scratch!

When I started FirstWoman in September 2019 my initial offer was half-day face-to-face workshops. Covid and lockdown put pay to those. At the time I considered it a disaster for my fledgling enterprise but it turned out to be anything but, allowing me to expand my virtual offer globally and make a host of new friends, (some of whom I still haven't met 'in the flesh') Since 2019 I've coached over 100 women created 3 online courses a YouTube channel this podcast had articles published run masterclasses for groups spoken at events and guested on podcasts hosted webinars and LinkedIn lives Therefore it seems appropriate to use the last podcast of the year to summarise my own strategies and tips for success in 2 shorter podcast episodes This first part is about how I developed FirstWoman into a successful coaching practice that has made a real impact These are my personal learnings and tips Back yourself and don't forget why you are doing what you're doing Get clear on your offer first and foremost, know your audience inside out Sell the solution, not the product Find your audience and hang out with them Don't obsess about vanity metrics. A small engaged audience is more productive than a large disengaged one Invest in your Personal Brand first before spending money on a flashy website There's something in here for every business woman whether considering making the break, starting out, or scaling up!

November 15, 202329 min

Pitching Yourself and your Business with Confidence

Last month I hosted 2 workshops for women in business. The feedback was so positive I decided to share the love and summarise the outputs in this podcast episode Overcoming the fear and discomfort associated with self-promotion is crucial for business success. If you don't possess budget for paid media, self-promotion is the most cost-effective way to raise brand awareness, and it's something every business owner, particularly women needs to embrace, even if it feels unfamiliar or challenging. In this episode, I draw on the 20 or so years I spent in Advertising to share my top tips for successful pitching including ⭐️ How to reframe Self-Promotion ⭐️ Fusing your Personal Brand with your Business Brand for double impact ⭐️ Crafting a compelling Value Proposition ⭐️ Delivering an Elevator pitch for all occasions This is a prelude to the half-day online workshops I'll be running in December and January, tickets are now available on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-pitch-yourself-and-your-business-with-confidence-conviction-tickets-749071812957?aff=oddtdtcreator

October 30, 202346 min

Personal Brand Super-Strategies with author and podcast host Mary Shirley

Welcome to Episode 10 of Success Strategies for Professional Women This month I'm thrilled to be chatting with Mary Shirley, co-founder of the Great Women in Compliance podcast and author of two books...oh and did I mention she achieved all this whilst holding down an executive role in Compliance and Ethics The role of hosting a podcast and publishing a book as a way to establish your credibility and Personal Brand cannot be understated, they are both Super-Strategies but are also not without challenge There is so much insight and solid advice in this episode, that I can't begin to summarise all the gems. It is inspiring, empowering, and relatable all at once Mary's shares Her podcast experience and subsequent book Her unconventional motivation to author her second book How she used her strengths and communication style to best effect in writing about short tips and hacks rather than 'long text' format Her challenges in owning her success. Self-promotion as a woman and how she suffered Tall Poppy Syndrome How male allies remain fundamental in opening career doors and the importance of women supporting each other and sending the lift down ....Oh and me ranting about how women speakers should be paid! I hope you enjoy listening to the episode as much as we did recording it #podcast #womenleaders #personalbranding #womenempoweringwomen

September 7, 202330 min

Step into your power by developing a Personal Leadership Brand

Who says you can't be a leader? Far too often women self-reject, focussing on what they can't do whilst forgetting what they can There are so many myths about what it takes to be a good leader, no wonder it seems distant and unachievable In this episode, I repel those myths and turn the tables by looking at how you can build a Personal Leadership Brand to adopt the authority of a Leader even if you haven't any formal experience in Leadership With a little self-reflection you'd be surprised how many leadership qualities you already have, it's simply a case of teasing them out and repackaging your Brand and stepping into your power #womenleaders #womeninleadership #personalbranding