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Writer's pictureRuhi Ladwa

Lisen Stromberg - Advisory Board Member EDA, Inc | Best-Selling Author | Social Impact Entrepreneur

3x Social Impact Entrepreneur | Board Member | Start-Up Advisor | Executive Coach | 2x Best-Selling Author | Global Keynote Speaker



Ruhi Ladwa #GirlPowerUnleashed in Conversation with Lisen Stromberg




Ruhi Ladwa


Hi, everyone, welcome to the Girl Power Unleashed podcast! Today I'm here with Lisen Stromberg, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the podcast- to start, tell us about yourself and your journey so far!


Lisen Stromberg


To narrow it down to one sentence I am an author, and I am the future of work- Human Capital Transformation, specialist expert. I'm a professor, I teach. I'm many different things. I'm also a mother a wife, and a community activist and human.


Ruhi Ladwa


Next, what are the most interesting things you're working on? And how will that empower women?  


Listen Stromberg


That's a great question. So I wrote a book in 2017, called "Work, Pause, Thrive." I went out and researched women's careers to understand how we were integrating our deep ambitions for our professional careers, as well as our ambitions for our family and our community. And what's fascinating is almost everything I predicted, everything I wrote about has now come true after receiving, COVID, and the pandemic, and returning to Office. So long story short, I'm now redoing some of the research. I'm doing it for the next generation, who are now young mothers trying to figure out how are they going to navigate this. And, it's not just to mothers, it's every employee- Gen Z, and Millennials- what you want from the work and how we're going to make the workplace great, so you can thrive.


Ruhi Ladwa


That's so amazing. What were the obstacles, you had to overcome any specific learnings from them?


Listen Stromberg


Well, I mean, there are so many. When we think about going to work, we think we're going to be able to rise to the top, nothing's going to hold us back. But many of us learn, there are all these challenges that we could never have anticipated. All those isms, Sexism, racism, whatever it is that you want to call it, but there are these systemic issues that we have to face. 


So navigating what's true for you, and making sure that you're navigating in a way that actually can allow you to have the best life possible. That was the best learning that I've had. Now, I also don't believe that we should only be focused on ourselves, we should be focused on what can we do for others. So yes, it's important to figure out what's good for you. But it's also important to partner and collaborate with others, to make sure that we all can thrive in the workplace. We all need to work, we have to take care of our families, and we have to take care of ourselves. So how can we do it in a way that allows us to thrive and provide our best work so that all of us can do that? That's what I believe. And that's what I've come to learn. 


Ruhi Ladwa


Yeah, like being with your community? 


Lisen Stromberg


Yes, exactly. You and I might have different points of view on things that we do. And we have to work together.  I want to make sure that your ideas are, elevated and heard. And I would love you to do that for me. So collaborating and being open to that, and open to those difficult conversations and making sure that we hear each other matters.


Ruhi Ladwa


What is your secret to success? Are there a few key qualities that helped you attain success?


Lisen Stromberg


Well, I love that you think I'm successful. What a compliment. I think that we are seeing a fundamental shift in what it means to lead today. And I truly believe that everyone's a leader look at you. You are a young woman who is saying, I want to understand the recipes, what is out there, you're a leader, right? You may not consider yourself a leader. 


But that's true. All of us are leaders at whatever level we are at. I think leadership has changed. What we used to ask of leaders and what we used to be as leaders was very hierarchical. We would assume that I'm older, I'm more experienced, I've got a bigger title. So as a result, you need to listen to me and you need to follow my rules, etc. That's all changed. I ended up writing a book, just recently called “Intentional Power”, you can go find it if any of your listeners are interested. It's really about those modern leadership skills. And they're our research shows that there are six modern leadership skills. It's humility, empathy, accountability, resiliency, transparency, and inclusivity. Those are the core leadership skills for success in today's world. So I try and practice at least those six not easy all the time, but that's those are my guiding lights.


Ruhi Ladwa


What would you tell the next-gen or the girls who want to be the next generation to have a leadership room?


Lisen Stromberg


I think I just did. those six rules, but I also would say, we're getting so many narratives about women and ambition and and what success looks like. And I think the truth of the matter is only you can define what success is. In my research my first book “Work Pause Thrive” was interesting, this model of what success looks like was the model of rise up the ladder- do this do that.


They all said they don't want actually to sit, I think it was over almost three-quarters who said they viewed themselves as very successful in the research, but 72% downshifted or paused their careers, which meant they left the paid workforce or reduced their salaries to support their families. Are they not successful? Are they not ambitious? I would argue they are. They're deeply ambitious, but their ambitions aren't the traditional ambition of rising the ladder. Their ambitions are much broader. I want a great family. I want a great community. I want a great career. I want a great planet like all these things, right? Having big ambitions isn't just about a linear dream. It's about really being holistic. So that's the advice I would give, be audaciously ambitious, but make sure those ambitions are fast and wide and inclusive.


Ruhi Ladwa


 Well, thank you so much Leeson for taking the time to be on the Girl Power Unleashed podcast. I know you're a very busy woman. So thank you so much. Once again, I'm sure our listeners win very valuable lessons. 


Lisen Stromberg


It's an honor lead on! Thank you. 


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