Phonexa CEO Lilit Davtyan served as a panelist for a webinar titled “Women In Leadership: How to Succeed & Pave it Forward” on March 8 alongside an esteemed group of executives and forward-thinkers to discuss their experience growing as leaders and providing women with strategies for professional and personal development.
The webinar was hosted by Dr. Ronke Komolafe, founder and CEO of the Integrated Physical & Behavioral Health Alliance, and Roxanne Derhodge, a registered psychotherapist, author, podcaster, and founder of Roxanne Derhodge Consulting.
Panelists included:
- Sabrina Shafer, Esp., CEO of Transformation Continuum
- Kelly Blackaby, FTI Consultant and Board Trustee & Chair of HR Sub-Committee for RESULTS UK
- Michelle Risi, Broker of Record and Owner of Royal LePage Connect
In addition to their experiences as entrepreneurs and female leaders, each panelist has also been featured in Forbes as a member of the Forbes Council.
During the panel discussion, each participant shared insights on differentiating cerebral equality and physical equality, promoting mental health and self-care, and redefining work-life balance.
The following are some of the key takeaways provided during the webinar.
Work Toward Goals By Complementing Your Colleagues
Navigating the perception of cerebral and physical equality is one of the most common challenges women face.
For Davtyan, circumventing comparisons to male colleagues boils down to how women use and leverage their brain power.
“Use your strengths differently. In the work setting, what I’ve navigated through is instead of comparing to them I want to complement them,” said Davytan. “Try to find out how you’re going to complement your colleagues.”
Davtyan expressed that it does take a level of confidence to do this effectively, especially when collaborating on projects. The end result is seamless communication when working together to achieve a common goal.
“Once you establish self confidence and self awareness, everything else starts falling into place,” said Davtyan.
Recognize Your Strengths to Alleviate the Pressure To Compete
Another common obstacle women encounter is feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to compete with their male counterparts.
Risi shared her experience breaking into the male-dominated real estate industry. From her perspective, learning how to recognize where you can show up as your most powerful self and in your best light is essential for overcoming this challenge.
“For me, it’s really been about getting clear on who I am and what I want so that I don’t feel the pressure to compete with everybody because it is such a competitive industry by nature. When you’re in that space, everything just kind of seems to flow a lot easier,” said Risi. “Entrepreneurship and business ownership are not easy, but it doesn’t have to be as difficult as we make it.”
Blackaby added to the discussion by sharing her experience mentoring women in Saudi Arabia where recent efforts have been made to increase women participation in the workforce.
“I’m so glad that I took the chance and raised that challenge. Now I mentor women across the Middle East,” said Blackaby. “I’m sharing my experience with them and hopefully helping them to see where they can take up a challenge.”
Define Your Version of Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is a topic that gets discussed quite often, but how is it exactly defined?
According to Davtyan, the problem is that some women are hesitant to let go of certain responsibilities at home.
“If you want to have balance, you really have to figure out where you need help,” said Davtyan. “You have to give people the chance to actually help you.”
Shafer added that by trusting your partner to fill certain roles, it becomes easier to define the work-life balance that best suits the demands of your day-to-day life.
“When we let go of that control, it starts to feel like a work-life balance,” said Shafer.
Davtyan reiterated that certain obstacles shouldn’t be viewed as a detriment, but rather as an opportunity to learn and grow.
“Everyone has challenges that can range from family dynamics to cultural dynamics to self confidence,” said Davtyan. “I was thrown a lot of challenges my way early on, and I’m proud to say that it actually shaped me into who I am today.”
For more information about Davtyan, connect with her on LinkedIn.
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