How to be a successful female leader in a male-driven industry
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Chan With A Plan, host Max Chan speaks with Martina Pichler, a transformational and empowerment coach for aspiring women who want to access their authenticity, creativity, and vision to create a luscious life of their choice. In this conversation, Martina talks about her 1st experience as a leader in a male-driven industry, where she had to manage a team that was all men that were much older than her, and what she did to gain their trust, resulting in building one of the highest performing teams in the company.
QUOTES
“The number 1 obstacle for me, being a 1st time leader, was trust. So you come in, and they see that you’re younger than them, most of them were way older than I was, and then I had no experience in managing or leading a team. Also at that time, the company was downsizing a lot, so they also had a lot of fear, and that’s where trust comes in.” - Martina Pichler
“When you’re a 1st time manager, the 1st thing I would do is find yourself someone in the company you trust as a mentor, someone that you can ask questions, someone who is in a similar position, or had that position already and don’t be afraid to ask for help and support.” - Martina Pichler
“The biggest roadblock for me, was getting out of my comfort zone, and finding myself in the process, compensating for what I didn’t know, with what I knew I could really do, that I was really good at and figuring out what are my strengths and instead of focusing on what I didn’t know or on my weaknesses, I just leverage my strengths.” - Martina Pichler
TIMESTAMPS
[0:38] Meet Martina
[6:39] Advice on achieving work life balance where you can strive for your career goals but still have a personal life you can enjoy
[7:48] Martina’s experience in her 1st role in leadership and how she had to successfully manage a team that was all men
[15:58] Advice for 1st time managers
[25:00] Navigating workplace politics as a leader
[27:07] Common perceptions of female leaders and how to combat and overcome them
[33:11] The impact Martina made with her leadership ability on her team before she moved to the next phase of her career
[34:55] Biggest career challenge Martina had to overcome, to get to where she is today
[37:07] How Martina became a transformational coach as the next part of her career journey
[39:13] Contacting Martina
[40:18] Outro
