Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Fisk.
Hi Linda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
No one grows as a leader by themselves. It’s impossible. You have to be surrounded by other leaders that are truly genuinely invested in your success. That is where true leadership begins. Of course, every leader needs to be purposeful and intentional about where they spend their time. And being in a community of other purpose-driven, creative, and generous leaders willing to share their experiences, their insight, and their wisdom is a valuable way to spend your time in your journey of continuous learning.
Throughout my career, I learned the transformative power of bringing inspiring leaders together to create opportunity, discover possibility and solve problems. No one grows as a leader alone. You need a supportive, confidential, and uplifting community of people that are dedicated to helping you along the way. In LeadHERship Global, I now have the privilege of supporting and guiding ambitious, creative women to move in the direction of their purpose, their mission, and their dreams with powerful connections, critical support,
At LeadHERship Global, where I currently serve as CEO, women can develop meaningful relationships with other leaders who are transparent, authentic, and vulnerable. We provide a safe haven where leaders can be open about their struggles, their challenges, their obstacles. As a member, you get access to the valuable expertise, the lived experience, the unbiased advice, and the objective guidance and feedback from other women who have overcome the challenges you’re facing and taken advantage of the opportunities right in front of you. And they can help you navigate to that next level of success.
Prior to her role in LeadHERship Global, I served as the CEO of Collective 54, the CMO of Susan G. Komen, and the CMO of Young Presidents Organization. I was fortunate enough to forge a career as an entrepreneurial and forward-thinking marketing executive on the cutting edge of brand marketing. Through those experiences, I developed a passion for bringing inspiring leaders together to create opportunity, discover possibility and solve problems.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like all leaders, my journey has been marked by incredible successes and significant failures. And, like most women in leadership, I have experienced unofficial barriers, both formal and informal obstacles, to achieving success. I have experienced subtle, intentional — or oftentimes unintentional — comments or behaviors that indicate some sort of bias. These implicit or explicit biases and microaggressions, along with overt discrimination, have certainly helped me become more resilient, more tenacious, and more dedicated to pursuing my passion.
I have integrated a sense of tenacity, grit, and resolve in my ability to learn from my failures, as well as overcoming social, political, cultural, or organizational barriers to leadership.
I have learned that to FAIL simply means:
First
Attempt
In
Learning
And, while I am convinced that incorporating the tenants of grit into your approach can help you overcome any failure, roadblock or obstacle, it is equally important to embrace the concept of grace. In this definition of grace, I am referring to your ability to push towards excellence, leaving room for failure. To really unpack this concept of grace, you first have to know and accept your own shortcomings and failures. You have to deeply understand the consistent themes embedded in your past and woven throughout your life’s story because they are the keys to your purpose and your future. You have to understand your limitations, your mistakes, your shortcomings, and your failures – and really examine those recurring issues in your life. Carefully examining your past, especially your failures, is essential to knowing your value.
Indeed, failure is often why successful people achieve such remarkable heights of greatness: They learn from their setbacks, failures, and mistakes and then get back up and apply these learnings to their next attempt.
True grace recognizes that lessons are often learned through experiencing the result of a failure, a bad decision, or a mistake – and learning from it. Grace does not remove consequences or attempt to protect you from your bad decisions but rather allows for the recognition of the mistake, the forgiveness of the failure, and the resilience to incorporate the learning into our forward progress. Grace is embodied; it is an attitude, a characteristic, and a belief – and as such, it has a contagious effect on others, including your team and your company.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about LeadHERship Global?
The purpose of LeadHERship Global is to create and support personal and professional breakthroughs and guide women to achieving greater leverage and freedom in their careers and businesses. We provide a global community of world-class women thought leaders and experts brought together to collaborate and facilitate excellent outcomes for each other.
LeadHERship Global enhances the leadership blueprint of unstoppable women around the world and helps them embrace their power to be the best version of themselves – in work and life. In a confidential and supportive community designed to accelerate success of each member, we offer self-directed learning, impactful group experiences, peer advisory services, and expert-led coaching and mentoring.
We feature inspiring connections with powerful women in business, politics, and entertainment that provide priceless guidance about the pivotal steps that pushed them in the direction of their purpose, their mission, and their dreams. We provide practical tools, resources, and quick tips you can use today to show up, speak up and step up in your career and personal life, and step into your power.
As a member, you can meet inspirational leaders, create lifelong friendships, and be surrounded by people that are invested in your success. You will be inspired and motivated by other women leaders who will cheer, council, and support you to greater levels of success and impact!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Today, there is a particular crisis for women—a vast confidence gap that separates the sexes. Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities across the board. A growing body of evidence shows just how devastating this lack of confidence can be. In fact, confidence predicts success much more than competence.
For years, women been convinced that with enough hard work, our natural talents would be recognized and rewarded. And we’ve made undeniable progress. In the United States, women now earn more college and graduate degrees than men do. We make up half the workforce, and we are closing the gap in middle management. Half a dozen global studies conducted by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Columbia University have found that companies employing women in large numbers outperform their competitors on every measure of profitability.
But, despite all our progress, women are still woefully underrepresented at the highest levels. Overqualified and overprepared, too many women still hold back on seeking opportunities. Women feel confident only when they are perfect. Or practically perfect.
For those just starting out, I would remind them that it’s not enough to keep one’s head down and plug away, checking items off a list. Having talent isn’t merely about being competent; confidence is a part of that talent. You have to have it to excel in confidence. Confidence is a belief in your ability to succeed, a belief that stimulates action. In turn, taking action bolsters in your belief in your ability to succeed. So, confidence accumulates—through hard work, through success, and even through failure.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://leadhershipglobal.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/leadhershipglobal
- Facebook: Facebook.com/leadhershipglobal
- Linkedin: Linkedin.com/company/leadhershipglobal
- Twitter: Twitter.com/leadhershipglob
