Issuu

VOL 03 | ISSUE 01 2021

THE

MOST INSPIRING

EMPATHETIC APPROACH The Essence of Effective Leadership

BUSINESS WOMEN MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021

DEANNA LATSON

CHANGING LIVES ON A GLOBAL SCALE

EDITOR’S NOTE Creating a Better Tomorrow

ately, the status of women in business has changed drastically. It does not come as surprise anymore how women have changed the landscape of the corporate world.

There was a dire need of leaders with different perspective and way of managing people. Women has brought same thing to the table. They are thriving in the business space on their own terms. From shattering the glass ceilings, breaking records, to blazing the trails, women have weathered every storm that questioned their ability of being at the helm. However, they have brought a significant paradigm shift in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by wearing the hat of a leader or an entrepreneur. Be it academics, technology, politics, administration, or social work or any field, they have been performing exceptionally well in almost every sector. Now, all the efforts of women are in the direction to bring a drastic transformation in the business world and make this world a better place for everyone. These leaders of today are creating a better tomorrow for upcoming businesswomen. This International Women’s Day, which is celebrated annually on March 8th, CIO Look came up with the edition “The 10 Most Inspiring Businesswomen Making a Difference, 2021” to celebrate female business leaders who influence positive change throughout the world. And, Deanna Latson is the inspirational leader we’ve chosen to feature in our cover story. When you meet Deanna Latson, you know you’re in the presence of someone exceptional. A phenom. A phoenix. An incredible, inspiring force.

THE MOST INSPIRING

BUSINESS WOMEN MAKING A DIFFERENCE 2021

The only female corporate officer in NewAge, Inc., an internationally recognized social selling health and wellness company, Deanna embodies confidence, competence, and ingenuity. As NewAge’s Chief Product Officer, Deanna’s knowledge of and dedication to the purity and potency of the company’s products are unapparelled. A wellness authority and fearless nutritional pioneer, she has been the keynote speaker at almost 1,000 colleges, including Stanford and NYU, and regularly works with major companies on issues of health and nutrition. In 2019, Deanna logged more than 200,000 miles traveling the world to educate and support customers, representatives, and communities. She continues, amid this worldwide pandemic, to spread her message, and in 2020 Deanna has held empowering webinars in more than 50 countries. Delve into more alike and inspiring stories of such inspiring women leaders and spread the word about their contribution in making this world a better place. While flipping through the pages, make sure to scroll through the articles written by our in-house editorial team and CXO standpoints of some of the leading industry experts to have the know-how about the industry. Have a Fruitful Reading!

Hitesh Dhamani

COVER STORY

DEANNA LATSON

CHANGING LIVES ON A GLOBAL SCALE

ARTICLE

Empathetic Approach

Leaders Viewpoint

The Essence of Effective Leadership

Stepping for Global Leadership

CONTENTS

Alicia Carroll

Maximizing Various Socioeconomic Sectors

20 Elizabeth Thrailkill Setting a Striking Example of Resilient Leadership

30 Linda Grasso

A Lifelong Learner Making Exceptional Strides in Industry 4.0

Marietta Robbe Groskamp

Grateful & Contributiondriven Leader

40 Nancy Zeffman

Making a Difference through Fresh and Effortless Fashion

48 Nin Desai

An Avid Leader, Investor and Tech Geek

Sumita Sarkar Editor-in-Chief CONTENT

Senior Editor Alan Swann Executive Editors Hitesh Dhamani Alex Spellman

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March, 2021

Featuring Person

Company Name

Brief

Alicia Carroll President

Tech Innovation Global Incorporated techinnovationglobal incgov.com

Tech Innovation Global provides Project Management and Business Administration for individuals, organizations, businesses, nonproﬁts, youth, and professionals.

Deanna Latson Chief Product Oﬃcer

NewAge Inc newage.com

NEW AGE is a Colorado-based organic and healthy products company intending to become one of the world's leading social selling and distribution companies.

Elizabeth Thrailkill VP of Global Marketing

GDS Link gdslink.com

GDS Link is a global leader in credit risk management, providing tailored software solutions, analytical and consulting services.

Karolina A. Dehnhard Managing Director

Lindabury, McCormick Estabrook & Cooper, P.C. lindabury.com

Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, P.C., is a midsized general practice law ﬁrm, located in Central New Jersey.

Kelly Bagla Attorney At Law

Bagla Law baglalaw.com

Bagla Law is a Law ﬁrm overseen by Kelly Baglas, a dynamic powerhouse of an attorney.

Digital Business Innovation Srl dbi.srl

Digital Business Innovation is a digital business transformation consulting ﬁrm.

Mariëtta Robbé Groskamp Country Director

Velti velti.com

Velti is a leading provider of innovative mobile marketing, customer retention and content solutions, trusted globally by hundreds of mobile operators, brands and media groups.

Nancy Zeﬀman Co- Founder

Cucumber Clothing cucumberclothing.com

Cucumber Clothing makes luxurious clothing for everyday.

Nin Desai CEO

NIN Ventures nin.vc

NIN Ventures LLC (or NIN.VC) is a ﬁrst of its kind technology venture capital fund to be raised via world wide web.

Pamela Wiggins Owner

Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC wmc-llc.org

Wiggins Management & Consulting LLC provides personalized business solutions to meet their needs.

Linda Grasso Chief Operating Oﬃcer

Deanna Latson Chief Product Ofﬁcer NewAge, Inc.

CHANGING LIVES ON A GLOBAL SCALE

“

We set our limitations in our mind and commitment is a mind game. I never stop learning. I never become complacent.

S T O R Y C O V E R

Deanna Latson

nternational Women's Day, celebrated annually on March 8th, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This month’s CIO Look Issue celebrates female business leaders who influence positive change throughout the world, and Deanna Latson is the inspirational leader we’ve chosen to feature in our cover story. When you meet Deanna Latson, you know you’re in the presence of someone exceptional. A phenom. A phoenix. An incredible, inspiring force. One of only two female corporate officers in NewAge, Inc., an internationally recognized social selling health and wellness company, Deanna embodies confidence, competence, and ingenuity. As NewAge’s Chief Product Officer, Deanna’s knowledge of and dedication to the purity and potency of the company’s products are unapparelled. A wellness authority and fearless nutritional pioneer, she has been the keynote speaker at almost 1,000 colleges, including Stanford and NYU, and regularly works with major companies on issues of health and nutrition. In 2019, Deanna logged more than 200,000 miles traveling the world to educate and support customers,

brand partners, and communities. She continues, amid this worldwide pandemic, to spread her message, and in 2020 Deanna held empowering webinars in more than 50 countries. Well-Earned Accolades Among her other accolades, Deanna is the recipient of a total of 20 professional awards, having been named Woman of the Year, Female Executive of the Year, and Innovator of the Year from the prestigious Stevie® Awards, One Planet® Awards, Golden Bridge® Awards, and Women World® Awards. In addition, Deanna has received another 20 awards from the same award organizations naming her a contributor to the success of the company in her role as an executive leader in categories such as Executive Team of the Year, Management Team Achievements, Most Innovative Company of the Year, Best Company of the Year, etc. Man or woman, her list of accomplishments is impressive. But it is her personal story and uncompromising commitment to her beliefs that are truly extraordinary.

‘Staying Power’ Philosophy After witnessing the power of the human body through her own journey overcoming an eating disorder and watching family members suffer from serious illnesses, she became interested in nutritional education. A certiﬁed nutritionist consultant with a master’s degree in health communication, Deanna worked as an educator at San Francisco State University for a number of years. Through lectures and trying to reach students, she realized her message for well-being could best be spread through a career in public speaking. Discouraged by others from pursuing her topic of health and wellness and told public speaking was a “man’s world,” she refused to be dissuaded. “Nothing was going to rock my boat,” she said. It is that ﬁerce determination and strong sense of self that forms the basis of Deanna’s “staying power” philosophy. And it is that staying power that created the wings that have carried her to soaring heights in her professional career. The way Deanna explains it, all professional endeavors have ups and downs. She says many people quit and give up on their dreams right before they’re about to make a breakthrough, usually because they feel unworthy or not good enough. She says staying power means you can’t falter or give in to those feelings, which are a normal part of the process. True staying power means the difference between a 99 percent commitment and a 100 percent commitment. That even a one percent chance leaves too much opportunity to give up. Your goal must be “non-negotiable.” In her journey, Deanna has encountered others who are smarter or more talented. But she succeeded when they didn’t because she stayed 100 percent committed to her goal. Deanna says this level of commitment is scary because, “It’s a big jump. The biggest jump.” But one she believes can be achieved by anyone. Helping Other Women Find Success While Deanna’s message for success through tenacious commitment has no gender bounds, she has advocated this belief, and her story, in a tireless effort to teach and empower other women. As a C-level executive in a major company, Deanna is well aware of the disparity in the number of women in high-level positions. Yet, Deanna never felt obstacles

being a female. From a young age, she learned to thrive in male-dominated industries. Her father worked in law enforcement, and her family also owned several paint and wallpaper stores. By age 12, she knew how to fix a pressure washer and worked daily with contractors who were almost exclusively men. If these unique experiences gave her an edge, she has made great efforts to share it by becoming a trailblazer in helping other women find success. As a NewAge executive, Deanna regularly speaks with women from all over the world. She views these experiences as a privilege and embraces them with great passion and responsibility. In her observations, women, unlike men, often hesitate to display confidence or express their wins. To this end, she has organized a multitude of global empowerment and selfimprovement events for women, including leading firewalking and arrow-breaking ceremonies, boardbreaking activities and other events in many countries such as China, Australia, Indonesia, Bali and others. These activities offer an element of danger if the participant isn’t fully committed and are designed to

help women work through the perceived threat, thereby conquering their fears and limitations. The results are nothing less than miraculous as women are shocked by their own strength and perseverance. It’s the successes the women experience that teach them that they CAN overcome limitations, objections and male-imposed barriers. The trust Deanna inspires in her audience allows their participation in these powerful events that help them overcome obstacles to create lasting change in their lives. Deanna encourages women to let go of their doubts and to be themselves. She explains that being a woman in a powerful position doesn’t mean you have to act like a “tough guy.” She is adamant that leadership doesn’t require you to hide your emotions. On the contrary, as a woman, your authenticity and empathy are powerful tools. Finding Balance Deanna says the biggest challenge women conﬁde in her is balancing family and work. In speaking with women from hundreds of countries across most of the

major continents, this concern of work-life balance is universal regardless of culture or upbringing. Yet, fascinatingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, she has never once heard this concern from a man. As a single mother, Deanna is no exception to the worry of balancing family and career. From her own personal and understanding viewpoint, she advises women that her approach to effectively straddling those two worlds is to be fully present when she is home and with her children. Deanna explains there is a difference between being physically present and making the most of every moment with her kids. Whenever possible, she brings her children with her on her travels, including them in as many avenues as possible in her professional life. She says, “I want them to know what I’m doing.” Building Connection is the Key In her vast experience speaking with women, Deanna has also learned that many assumptions are made about women in leadership positions. “A lot of women look at me and think I’m so strong. But I’m not good at everything in life. I struggle sometimes. I have personal hardships.” She explains that what links us as human beings is that regardless of who we are and where we come from, we all experience hardships unique to our own lives. Even if you are perceived as successful or seem like you have it all together, there’s always a backstory. It’s this kind of transparency and vulnerability that Deanna shares about herself and her difficulties that give her strength and help her make connections with others. Connection is a key ingredient in Deanna’s efforts to empower women. In addition to helping them face their fears and claim their powers of empathy and authenticity, Deanna teaches female brand partners how to tap into their naturally social natures to connect with NewAge’s predominantly female client-customer base. This woman-to-woman connection has helped countless female brand partners find a path to financial success and security through social selling. With Deanna’s passion and continuing efforts toward helping other women, she is on track in assisting NewAge meet its goal of becoming the number one social selling company in the world! For Deanna, the future will continue to include her efforts to help women (and men!) realize their true potential. It also means working hard to continue

“

EMPATHY HAS A BIG ROLE IN EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP. creating the best products on the market and continuing to get to know the people in NewAge’s social network of brand partners, which she considers the best part of her job. “I actually feel the world is small,” she says. “We’re all dealing with our own stuff and trying to learn and grow from the hardships we face. And while each person’s experience is individual, we all share the same human story of wanting to be the best person we can be, for ourselves and our families. In this, we are all the same.”

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Alicia Carroll Maximizing Various Socioeconomic Sectors

ood leaders have clear definition of tasks, identifiable output that can be readily measured, exceptional performance standards. They are able to make a difference in the industry by their competitive, exemplary, and professional approach. They surround themselves with experts. One such competitive leader in the world of business is Alicia Carroll. She surrounds herself with experts, and industry leaders with an exceptional past performance work history and capabilities with measurable improvements (i.e., safety, statistics, outstanding leadership medals, certificates, skills, awards) to achieve success.

with public health officials, health care systems, states, regional to medical experts in the three-phased approach based on public health experts to help state and local officials reopening economies. Integrated Supply Capabilities to Data Analysis Tech Innovation Global Incorporated provides telehealth services, consultation services which includes best practices, integrated supply capabilities to data analysis. Alicia has a broad and comprehensive responsibility in translating policies since January to ordering procedures, procurements, tool box training, PPE, medical records, best practices, and metrics under the Department of Defense (DoD) Afwerx National Response & COVID-19 JAFT to slow the spread of SARS CoV-2 in healthcare setting and general population. For this effort, a scientific to technical background is required with certification in FAR52. Alicia’s background and previous role in working Department of Defense (DoD) provided essential data analysis reviews, training and requirements to organizations in order to achieve the following accomplishments:

Alicia Sheree Carroll, is an American engineer, technologist and President of Tech Innovation Global Incorporated®, a company founded for community initiatives, COVID-19, analysis; mandatory mask recommendations and the environments’ biodiversity to connect science to earth and overall well-being. Tech Innovation Global Incorporated is a Small Business/Minority Business for community service, improvements, charity and overall well-being. Alicia Carroll is an award-winning technologist of 18 years. Tech Innovation Global Incorporated is to maximize various socioeconomic sectors. Alicia has diverse life experiences that involve public safety. Alicia considers it is imperative each month to have weekly meetings, measure performance, discuss performance analysis, monitor performance, resource allocations coordinated

Integrated Supply Capabilities February 2020 Industry Qualitative Profiles (SBA) and Capabilities Certified WOSB/MBE Minority Business Enterprise 117446586 Ÿ Verified Vendor Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

| March 2021 |

Alicia Carroll President Tech Innovation Global Incorporated®

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

http://www.techinnovationglobalincgov.com/ Reopening COVID Analysis and mandatory face mask recommendations on April 13, 2020 https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-veilcoronavirus.html Face Mask Recommendation April 2020 Training February 2020 to May 2020 COVID-19 Best Practices July 2020 COVID-19 Symptoms Screening & Additional Safety August to 2021 Tech Innovation Global Inc. encouraging companies to support mask/face coverings, economic initiatives to promote ﬂatten the curve, US Industry from various socioeconomic categories Communicating health literacy, wearing a Mask, Face coverings, Maintain at least 6 feet distance, Positivity rates, and Wash Hands slows the

transmission of COVID-19 foreign and US reduced transmissions April 7, 2020 in Certiﬁed WOSB/MBE Minority Business Enterprise 117446586 Ÿ Tech Innovation Global Inc.®, Tech Daily Life® ISBN-13: 978-1-7344654-0-2 (2019) Ÿ Developed a Quarantine site Questionnaire and Reviews October 2020 https://www.webtechdailylife.net/ Ÿ Web Tech Daily Life® for initiatives, environmental improvements, charity and overall well-being https://www.techdailylife.net, techdailylife.app Environment Friendly Procurement Offerings Safety, Sustainability, Infrastructure, Performance and Operational Planning have a important role in diversiﬁcation of organization’s offerings. Tech

| March 2021 |

technology and should know the difference in policy, and she considers improving communities is very important in measurable standards. According to her leader should be encouraging in the heart (i.e. attitudes) as she considers empowerment is the net effect of enabling others. Empowerment is whereby you make a plan with positive intention. Others vital attributes she considers important are being intuitive, listening (gut), purpose, motives, motivation, intensity and stability. Alicia and her team communicate based on various methods such as emails, meetings and lunch as words may be measured 7% in the communication percentage vs. higher if you are utilizing electronic procedures (workﬂows, electronic authorizations) in the percentage breakdown in industry. In innovation, for example, percentages are 35% Product development, Sales Marketing 25%, Finance 15%, Talent training 10%, IT 8% and Customer Quality Assurance 7%. Essential Planning Services

Innovation Global Incorporated has FLS Medical training providing translations in 7 different languages local to global. Green engineering industry provides greener processes flowing from requirements documents to support in areas of wind turbines, nonrenewable resources etc. Diversification is to perform market research and look for 2 or more. The function of the procurement offerings process is not only to define what is to be performed, but allows for effective management, maintains security, performance and enhances competitive procurement for best performance in tracing and tracking in health care settings, public settings and challenges.

Tech Innovation Global Incorporated was one of the ﬁrst in January 01, 2020 to provide essential planning resources at https://www.webtechdailylife.net to help reduce the spread with COVID-19 screening symptoms. It also provided 1, 2, and 3 phased approach in planning health concepts that includes 4 socioeconomic factors highly driven by health, collaboration with other to maximize efforts to physical environments. It consists of concept of operations/guidelines, along with implementation and measuring performance in a physical environment led by the Department of Défense (DoD) in response to the WH guidelines April 16, 2020. Ms. Diana Phillips in COVID-19 screening is HIPAA compliant with

Promoting Sustainable Future Tech Innovation Global Incorporated is in collaboration with the Department of Defense in COVID-19, companies and industry during the next ﬁve years products to market. Tech Innovation Global Incorporated also offers science, socioeconomic businesses, and a sustainable future. Several companies currently perform green purchasing to green solutions. Tech Innovation Global Incorporated and others provides assessments to beneﬁt humanity, community service and technology.

“

Think of solution-driven original perspectives for progression as

Being Encouraging and Empowering

you improve humanity.

Alicia considers that every leader should possess values such as measurable achievements, respect and processes for compliance; knowledge of new

| March 2021 |

registered RDNs, doctors; and collaborative developments in screening, planning and vaccinations are essential priorities in corporate planning and public (interpreters can be arranged in advance) to reduce the spread of COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2. Comprehensive Experience Creative leadership spirit is sustained in this changing technological age by people from different walks of life and backgrounds. Comprehensive experience working with various backgrounds, skill information and technical competence is essential to ensuring best performance and measuring progress to developing new technology to beneﬁt the public sector, consumer goods, medical, safety and transportation as discussed in Tech Daily Life and Tech Innovation Global Incorporated.

Innovation Global Incorporated more effectively which in turn creates more positive impact across America and countries, such as, United Kingdom, Canada and France. She is currently working with FLS, Inc. established in 1979 for translations serving 80 languages in medial and technical interpreting. You can give today at https://www.techinnovationglobalinc.com and https://webtechdailylife.net.

Tech Innovation Global Incorporated https://www.bookwire.com/book/USA/techinnovation-global-incorporated-businesscommunity-technology-ecommerce-integrated-itsolutions-environment-health-9781734465426alicia-carroll-74202677 USD $43 ISBN 978-17344654-2-6 2 Tech Daily Life https://www.bookwire.com/book/USA/technologyfor-daily-life-9781734465419-alicia-carroll74101162 programs, skills and businesses USD $43 ISBN 978-1-7344654-1-9 3 Children’s Developmental plans with illustrations https://www.bookwire.com/book/USA/the-abc-sof-life-9781734465440-alicia-carroll78417346_69/ $14.95 Proceeds beneﬁt charities 1

Flattening the Pandemic Curve Tech Innovation Global Incorporated provides global COVID-19 safety in collaboration with the Department of Défense, FAR52 and Public safety. Tech Innovation Global Incorporated also provides services for private industry to global. and products to marketplace with many companies in the marketplace including NGOs, the BBB, private industry, non-proﬁts, commercial, and security WINTRIO DEVSecs Ops IT https://www.wintrio.com. As COVID-19 cases continue, Alicia encourages everyone to continue to wear a mask and face coverings; keep people safe and healthy at 6 feet distance; and wash hands for at least 20 seconds and test, which all reduce the spread of COVID-19 in health care setting and the general community.

Alicia possesses creative leadership and comprehensive experiences that helps her to lead Tech

Tech Innovation Global Incorporated is a Registered Alabama (CERT#117446586) Small Minority Business Enterprise Vendor and it can fulﬁll requirements for vendor/supplier diversity. It is a a ONE STOP PORTAL for all business needs. At Tech Innovation Global Incorporated https://www.techinnovationglobalinc.com Tech Innovation Global Incorporated performed commendable data analysis to lift the veil, COVID integrated supply capabilities assessments February to March 2020, and best practices to ﬂatten the curve. It practices Wearing a mask. Washing hands for at least 20 seconds, and maintaining 6 feet distance.

| March 2021 |

“Often times, organizations do things the way they do them simply because that’s the way it’s always been done. The key qualities in being a disruptor is to have the spirit of an entrepreneur and a knack for seeing past what exists to what could exist. The art of disruption as an executive really comes to life when you can focus a team around something new and embrace a shared vision.” It is this belief that keeps Elizabeth Thrailkill, going ‘on’. Elizabeth is serving as the VP of Global Marketing at GDS Link. She is setting a striking example in the marketing arena through her expertise ranging across the entire marketing discipline. Being a highly strategic leader, she often ﬁnds herself reaching into nearly every area of the business due to her collaborative and execution driven approach.

Elizabet Th

Setting a Striking Example of Resilient Leadership

| March 2021 |

START

WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE BEST WAY TO DO SOMETHING IS NOT THE WAY IT'S BEING DONE

RIGHT NOW.

- Elizabeth Thrailkill VP of Global Marketing GDS Link

th hrailkill 21

| March 2021 |

Challenging the Norms Elizabeth spent the ﬁrst 20 years of her career with IBM, primarily in marketing roles. She traversed a few different IBM categories as a marketer but spent the second half and her executive years leading strategic marketing for its consulting and business services where she worked directly with the C-suite, both internally and externally. It was during this time that she began honing her craft and elevated herself as an executive. She left IBM in 2017 seeking an opportunity to build something new, to test herself and what she learned at IBM, and see her impact on an organization in a much more tangible way. In the discipline of marketing the purpose is to cause change, but that philosophy can extend into other areas of the business as well. Elizabeth has spent the last 4 years practicing what she calls “collaborative disruption” where she takes a very collaborative approach within the company and challenges the norms. Understanding the Needs and Delivering Accordingly A diverse customer base and an aligning portfolio is key in protecting one’s business and GDS Link serves many different types of lenders across the globe. What is most important is to understand the different needs of the lending verticals we serve. For example, banks and credit unions are still making the move to digital, while marketplace lenders that started online are native to digital. GDS Link recently launched a new offering to help banks and credit unions attract borrowers and offer a complete online digital solution from the loan application to origination. And across all lending markets, its client’s need new sources of data to make smarter lending decisions, ﬁght fraud and protect their existing portfolio while still driving growth. The company’s best asset in attracting new clients is demonstrating the value it is delivering to its clients today, with a deep understanding of their business. Innovation for the Future of Lending At GDS Link, its vision is straight forward: innovation for the future of lending, for both clients and citizens.

| March 2021 |

She takes that same approach within her speciﬁc discipline and the leadership roles that she has held. In many ways, technology has further enabled and enhanced her ability to sustain her creative leadership spirit. But time erodes all advantages so staying in tune with what is changing, best practices, etc. is part of how leaders evolve and even in some cases remake themselves along their career journeys. “Technology might require you to reinvent yourself. As they say, evolve or die,” she says. Building Something from a Blank Canvas Elizabeth always wants to be growing along with people around her. She is most inspired by the opportunity to build something from a blank canvas. She thrives on roles where she can create strategies that don’t exist, stand up functions that have not been areas of investment, and create growth. According to her, her future, near and beyond, will also be in a role where she can build. Her last 2 roles have been in companies that had not yet made the leap to invest in a marketing executive or high-level marketing function. Building that was very rewarding for her. Enlightening Emerging Businesswomen This is a constantly changing industry and there are a lot of factors and trends impacting lending as a whole. A couple of examples include the rise of non-banks entering the lending market, as we’ve seen with Amazon offering small business loans and Apple offering credit cards. At the same time, traditional banks and credit unions are struggling with Gen Z expectations and increasing pressure to offer top notch user experiences. And the borrowing needs of citizens are experiencing change, leading to an increase in lenders that offer specialty ﬁnancing, such as medical. At GDS Link, its software and analytics offerings serve lenders across all these markets. The company not only looks at the needs of its clients, but also has a deep understanding of the borrowers they serve. Elizabeth believes that with its innovative culture, deep industry expertise and client-centric approach to the market, GDS Link will continue to successfully grow its client base, offering, and hold its market leadership position.

In the opinion of Elizabeth, resilience is one of the most essential traits every leader should possess. According to her, leaders must have the confidence to take risks, challenge the norms, and have a willingness to fail. But most importantly, they must have the resilience to get back up and try again. In her advice to upcoming businesswomen she says, “Be more confident. Lose the uncertainty. The easiest way to begin practicing this is to drop the SOFT words and phrases. We are undermining ourselves in the way we write and speak. Women do this much more often than men. Examples of soft words include inserting ‘just’ into a sentence: I just wanted to check on the status of the project. Instead, we should state we need to check on the status of the project. Another example is asking ‘Does that make sense?’ That phrase screams uncertainty. Instead ask with confidence ‘Do you have any feedback’. There’s quite a bit written about this and I would encourage women to research and learn about the other soft words we use that undermine ourselves.”

Adapting Quickly with Technological Trends Elizabeth mentions that during her time with IBM, technology changed so fast that she had to adapt quickly to keep up and of course that trend continues.

| March 2021 |

The ESSENCE of EFFECTIVE

LEADERSHIP

| March 2021 |

Empathe c Approach

f you consider yourself a leader, go all the way. Real leaders are those who lead and move forward along with the team.

innovation, digital transformation, sustainability and he indulges in sharing it with the team. Lastly, implementing innovative methods for the development of the team.

Insights on Leadership Leadership is a ‘term’ and a ‘journey’ of no return. It demands traits like awareness, decision-making ability, and sacriﬁce. Although it is a challenging position, leaders are ready for every part of it. Any team’s success depends on a leader’s skills and talents, indirectly affecting the growth of the company. The company is able to perform well only when the requirements and needs of the team are met. Hence, understanding the team members, motivating them, and bringing the best out of the team, leads to success for any company.

What Deﬁnes a Leadership? When you are a leader, you are involved in business meetings, conference calls, appointments, and agreements. So, setting the terms and agreeing upon it becomes challenging. This is where Empathy works. Being empathic about the people around you, and caring about them helps to agree on the terms set by the leader. Empathy deﬁnes the leadership. It is upon the team which makes a good leader. So, trusting the team members and showing concern/empathy for them is considered an important quality above all. It builds connection. And the connection is a key ingredient as it brings the goal/vision together of the team and the company.

To Lead is a Journey On a leadership journey, one has to continue to invent and reinvent himself. He/She has to walk his own path creating his/her own leadership style. The image of the leader is very important in any form of leadership. He/She has to stay out of the clutches of mediocrity. To stay updated about the latest technological developments is also equally important, as we are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Digital Revolution.

Empathy is something that comes from the heart, it builds conﬁdence and brings everyone together and most importantly it develops the attitude of never give up and get back again. Moreover, the future belongs to the one who is adapting to apply all the above traits according to the situation demands.

Being self-taught in life and leadership is also a must. There will be situations where the knowledge will be limited about the speciﬁc ﬁeld. The ability of selflearning will help to cope up with this aspect. Learning from Mistakes and not repeating them is as crucial as well. Leadership comes with Risks, and Risks means Success. So, taking calculating risks and even if failed, learning from it and overcoming them, makes you a good leader.

Mean it Like you Do Just like any other person, leaders have their good and bad times. There are leaders who fail to keep courage during their turbulent times. That is why dedication and commitment are part of the leadership process. It is this trait that gives a competitive edge over other leaders. Ultimately, being a leader does not mean you are a ‘tough guy’. It is just the position where a leader needs to be tough. Having concern and empathy for the people is why a leader is loved and respected.

Important Chapter of Leadership Change is often considered good and accepted with more or less critics. The same goes for a leader, change in the personality, tone, hobbies are considered good as long as works in the favor of the team and the organization. Basically, continuing to improve throughout as a person is a good quality any person should hold.

Conclusion In conclusion, the fourth industrial revolution is driving the workforce transformation and leaders are involved in building the future of work. The real progress will lie in our efforts to bring a change in improving the quality of humanity and create a better world to live in. Because this is the question which we need to ask ourselves,

It is always good to grow along with the people you work with. This inspires the team members and a leader to build strategies and plan growth for the team and the company, as the team develops the understanding among them. A leader is insightful of knowledge about

After all what will we do if this transformation and growth are not for the betterment of society & humanity?

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Stepping for T

here are some industries that are still predominately comprised of men, and this includes all transportation related careers. From driver to CEO, women are still a minority in trucking, rail, airlines and maritime. For this reason, the Women In Trucking Association was formed to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, address obstacles faced by women in the industry, and promote the accomplishments of our members. Simply, the goal is to increase the ranks of women working in the trucking industry. Currently, women comprise about ten percent of professional drivers, less than two percent of diesel technicians and about one quarter of women in leadership roles. While these number have increased considerably over the last decade, we are still in the minority in all roles in transportation careers. Warren Buffet once said, “The closer that America comes to fully employing the talents of all its citizens, the greater the output of goods and services will be.” Even the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that if we close the global gap in workforce participation; the Gross Domestic Product worldwide would grow by nearly twelve percent by 2030. Increasing the ranks of women in leadership roles has been shown to elevate business success, outperform industry medians with overall proﬁts much higher and

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r Global

Leaders Viewpoint

Leadership

create a better return on equity than male dominated ﬁrms. However, according to the Global Gender Gap the United States still ranks only 51 out of 149 countries for gender equality.

male? There are numerous studies that show how diversity increases the bottom line, but women actually help retain employees through greater engagement. Since women have been proven to be more collaborative and team oriented, the environment with female bosses is more inclusive, which encourages engagement and employee retention. Are there challenges in hiring, promoting and retaining women in leadership roles? Yes, most definitely. First, Hewlett Packer research proved that women won’t even apply for a position unless they have one hundred percent of the qualifications, as opposed to men who feel that sixty percent is enough to feel qualified. It’s about expecting perfection and wanting to check all the boxes before submitting a resume.

Women are increasingly gaining board seats and currently occupy over 26 percent of director positions in the United States. However, in the trucking industry, women create only 22 percent of all board seats at publicly traded carriers, but there are still some with no women as directors. Women comprise about seven percent of CEOs in the Fortune 500, which is an all-time high of 37 women in 500 companies. In trucking, women

Additionally, women are less likely to negotiate their salary or beneﬁts from the start. Negotiating anything is more uncomfortable for women who don’t want to take an adversarial role, when men just assume the interaction is part of the process. Women also tend to avoid power structures and hierarchy and appreciate a more collaborative and team orientated approach according to Deborah Tanning in “Talking at 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work.”

comprise only nine percent of the executive suite (in publicly traded companies) with seven carriers having no women in leadership.

A Proctor and Gamble study found that men typically oversell their abilities, while women, who are sometimes more interested in being liked, often undersell their abilities. A study at Yale found that men who spoke more often than their peers were reported

Why do we care? Why do we want more women in leadership roles in transportation careers, or any career that is traditionally

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to be more competent than their peers, while women who spoke more than their peers were rated lower in competence by both men and women.

promotions and take risks. By the way, be sure to refuse unnecessary requests and don’t expect perfection.

Women are often expected to display high levels of social qualities and when they demonstrate more aggressive qualities, they are viewed as less credible. Likeability is often more highly valued when women are part of a team.

Women add a different perspective to any industry, but especially to make dominated ones such as transportation. We can make a difference and that it the goal at the Women In Trucking Association. Join us at www.womenintrucking.org

So, how do we counter these concerns that might keep women from entering or succeeding in transportation careers? As women, we need to have positive afﬁrmation. We can do it and we can succeed. We need to learn to handle criticism, take credit for our accomplishment and speak up when we have success at work. Take credit and accept praise and stop deﬂecting a compliment. Enjoy it, you deserve it. Ask for raises and

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her

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