#ChoosetoChallenge: International Women’s Day

The best way to empower women is by representation. My small office has several strong women producers and an amazing female VP to look up to. Luckily, we do not have to strive for equal empowerment, as it comes naturally when you put women in positions to succeed.

—Jessica Stine, Recruiting Executive

I believe that everyone brings something unique to the table. I enable equal empowerment by asking for everyone’s input and ideas, and listening to what they have to say. I solicit open and honest feedback, and I trust all my team members to provide positive feedback whenever possible.

— Carol Spector Riegert, Vice President Technical Services

Equal empowerment is treating everyone as their own individual, recognizing who they are, and constantly working with them on how to maximize their strengths. A team needs to all learn from one another in a positive environment.

— Erin Gaudet, Director of Recruiting

With my team, everyone has an opportunity to participate and provide input. They need to feel supported and pumped up with encouragement to succeed. It is important to create a comfortable environment with an open door policy for people to share their ideas and opinions. Everyone has a voice and is always heard.

— Jill Jones, Southern California Market Manager

Now more than ever, women in business need to recognize the importance of supporting and empowering one another. Equal empowerment for all starts with us as leaders.

1. Give others the opportunities and moments to demonstrate strength, leadership, and always delegate
2. Encourage women to speak up
3. Be a mentor for other women you work with and within the community
4. Develop others knowledge and skills
5. Share your experiences with other women and listen to their experiences
6. Always be available to provide guidance and try to find teaching opportunities daily
7. Communicate often, and be a supportive and trusted leader
8. Share information with others and ask for input, ideas, and insights to make your organization better
9. Make women and others feel special, valued, and strong
10. Be true to who you are and always know your own worth as a woman

— Amy Karpowicz, Senior Vice President, Local Office Operations

Open communication, trust, and respect are three very important ingredients that allows for equal empowerment in my team.

— Sinead Lenihan, Marketing Manager

I focus on creating a positive work environment and encouraging my team to have a voice and share their ideas and opinions. Keeping open communication builds trust and makes my team feel valued and respected.

— Courtney Howe, Director of Corporate Recruiting

I try to encourage diversity; diversity of opinion, or approach but mostly through the diversity in the type of people that we hire. Not everyone we have brought onto the team is that “perfect” sales person with the “ideal” sales background and experience. Hiring people that you know you can believe in and can make successful, empowers them to push themselves to be top performers. Through this, they set their own performance and challenge one another’s perspectives which promotes an overall holistic team network. Equal empowerment comes from respect between team members; whether it’s to help one another or to compete with one another, the main aim always needs to be to try to achieve great things together.

— Noreen Daly, Director of Recruiting

I have long-valued working with a team built of strong contributors whose collective experience, knowledge, and capabilities can complement one another and draw out the achievements and accomplishments that we see every day. This requires empowering each person by providing the proper tools and resources to encourage productivity, success, and stretching to reach the next level. I constantly ask for feedback and encourage everyone to share their ideas within a circle of trust that has developed, and allows us to explore ideas, be creative, and support each other. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with a group of people who are invested in our business and work hard toward achieving meaningful goals each and every day.

— Angela Kolarek, Sr. Vice President, Human Resources

I try my best to lead by example and enable equal empowerment by working hard and owning it. You have to stay consistent, determined, and dedicated whether you win or lose. I take a lot of pride in my name, and being recognized for how far I have come in my career. One of my favorite quotes that resonates strongly with me, (especially when the job gets tough!) is by Lalah Delia: “She remembered who she was and the game changed".

— Katy Flucker, Business Development Executive