This was a speech I gave in September 2015 to an audience of NZ women as part of The Women in Media and Communication Leadership Summit. It was a real honour to be asked to speak and share my story. This presentation reflects my own opinion based on my life experience and I appreciate that we each do our best and create our own path in life. I have included several reference from those that I admire and are inspired by. feel free to contact me directly for a chat

1. From the edge of leadership: A real life
story
Louise Nash
Chief Strategy Officer
24│09│2015

2. “Louise was born a leader” Mum
Future Chief Strategy
Officer

3. Am I a leader yet?

4. The edge of leadership

5. Derek Sivers
Originally a professional musician and
circus clown he created CD baby and
became the largest seller of
independent music in the world, later
selling the company for $22m and using
this to set up a charitable trust for music
education.
Margaret Heffernan
Originally a TV producer, she has gone
on to be an entrepreneur, author,
formidable public speaker and 5 time
CEO.
Arianna Huffington
She is a greek-american author,
syndicated columnist and occasional
actress and co-founder of The
Huffington Post – a liberal orientated
online news aggregator. She credits her
philosopher mother for the wisdom by
which she lives her life
I’ve brought some friends to join me
How to start a movement The theory behind super
chickens
A little idea that makes big
ideas possible

6. What does it take to be a female leader
today?

7. Welcome to the
Leadership Club

8. Three different global surveys prove
our worth:
Companies with women on their board:
Performed consistently higher on return
on equity
Had lower gearing
Had much better rates of growth, and
Had a higher book value multiple over
the six years of the study
We are amazing!

9. Women : The Third Billion
The potential in our numbers and worth

10. NEW ZEALAND
50% of NZ Workforce
Earn 10% less
12% on board level
3/16 Finalists in NZ
Entrepreneur of the Year
Less likely to work and care
for children Vs OECD
average
But the statistics show our ‘movement’ is slowing down
Source: Ministry of Womens Affairs 2014 Annual Report and Grant Thornton's International Business Report
GLOBALLY
22% of senior management
positions are women
Down from 32% in 2011.
Eastern Europe led by Russia
and are the leading economies
Last year, 30% of businesses
around the world had no
women in senior management.

11. So what stands in our
way?

12. W
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Breeding leaders to be
super chickens
Search: Margaret Heffernan Super Chickens

13. The culture of judgment

14. In a 2014 females leadership study The
five barriers that caused the highest
negative impact were:
• Feelings of guilt for not spending
enough time with family because of
work
• Family responsibilities interfering with
work
• Resistance from other current leaders
• Having to outperform male leaders to
be considered effective
• Lack of support in the household
when work is demanding
This is why we have stalled.
Why women are opting out of the
demands and responsibility that
leadership brings.
Source: Caliper Dec 2014
We constantly seek to
harmonise the world
around us

15. The leader innovates whereas the
manager administers
The leader inspires trust whereas a
manager relies on control
The leader asks what and why
whereas the manager asks how
and when
A leader is not afraid of failing
publicly
Do you find yourself doing or
inspiring?
Is the managing
preventing us from
leading?

16. The feminine approach to
leadership
Its all about team
Listening
A greater good
Intuition
Positivity
Be clear about your purpose
The expectations for
female leaders are
higher

17. Letting go of the doing, frees us up
to lead.
Stop handing out fish and teach
them to fish.
The burden of
responsibility
Nothing is impossible
for the man who
doesn’t have to do it
himself.
A.H. Weiler

18. Richie McCaw knows about responsibility
Search: The game starts here

19. Strategies for personal and organisational
leadership success

20. H
O
M
E
HUSBANDS
Leading in Life: My Tips
HEALTHHOME

21. HOME: Taking care of your
business
• Delegate your home duties. Or
• Don’t look.
• Don’t apologise if you need to take care
of a sick child, or just need to be
somewhere for personal reasons.
• Go home to meet the electrician or go on
that school trip.
• Build it in and make it work.
• Negotiate flexible, work from anywhere
hours

22. • There are exceptions to the rule but generally speaking its going to be you
doing kids, home, and everything in between. It’s in our nature.
• Yes its changing but we can’t help ourselves.
• We want to. This is the life we choose.
• Take responsibility for the things you want.
• Let the guilt motivate you to make it work and focus on what matters.
• Learn to take the emotion out of feeling like you’re the only one doing
everything and lead.
• Shape the vision together and keep it alive even when life is shit.
• Music and Laughter will get you through anything and a spa also helps.
HUSBANDS – Partners with priorities

23. • Your health is worth
fighting for.
• Maintaining good health
is a necessity for great
leaders.
• Move, replenish, be the
fittest, healthiest version
of yourself but accept that
there will be moments
that this will take a back
seat.
• Understand that you will
naturally put everything
else ahead of this, but
you can’t do what you
want to do without your
health.
• Be Well, Live Well, Move
Well, Love Well.
HEALTH: You are a
most loved lady.

24. A little idea that makes big
ideas possible
Arianna Huffington: Sleep your way to the top

25. H
O
M
E
LEANING IN AND OUT
LEADING IN ORGANSIATIONS: MY TIPS
BOSSES & TEAMS
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

26. Where are you looking to
anticipate change?
What is your diversity measure
of your networks?
Are you courageous enough to
abandon a practice that made
you successful in the past?
The experts view: What
it takes to be a great
leader in the 21st
century

27. TRUST and
HONESTY is
everything.
• Always communicate with them
like they are the boss.
MANNERS. Respect. Always
treat what they say to you in
confidence.
• If they have asked you to do
something, OVER-
COMMUNICATE and check in
along the way. Communicate in
the medium they use.
• FRONT-FOOT the issues
directly and one to one, not in
front of others. Talk to them
before the meeting.
• Don’t take it personally if they
decide to put you in your place.
It means they are letting you
know their boundaries. Male
bosses are more likely to do this
publicly. Suck it up and move on.
Bosses

28. Teams
The Power of Connections
• The diversity and strength of your network is key to your success as a leader. Ideas,
opportunities and support comes from DIVERSITY.
• LOBBYING happens outside the boardroom and is led by vision not problems.
• RISE ABOVE IT ALL: Stay focused on what you want to achieve and don’t sweat the
small stuff

29. Leaning In and Out• L
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• LEAN OUT: Know when to leave, knowing when to stay.
• LEAN IN: Knowing when to lean in – the moment I leaned out when I didn’t
have to.
• Its all a negotiation.

31. This book has a big
impact on my view of
work
Look at your to do list
and think about how you
can lead and do one or
two things very well.
Delegate the rest.

32. (keep the vision alive and worth it)
Short emails
Purposeful group
meetings that move
things forward
Insightful, Succinct
Presentations
Relationship building
off-site catch ups
Communicate like a
leader

33. Let go of the doing and
you will lead
Lead by letting go of the doing
Search: The Sanctuary Spa via youtube

34. "I'm convinced of two fundamental truths about human beings. The first is that we
all have within us a centered place of wisdom, harmony and strength. Every
great philosopher and religion refers to it in some shape or form. The second
truth is that we are all going to veer away from that place again and again. That's
the nature of life. In fact, we may spend more time off course than on. The
question is how quickly we can get back to that centred place of wisdom,
harmony and strength. It's in this sacred place that life is transformed from
struggle to grace, and we are filled with trust, whatever our obstacles,
challenging, or disappointments.
Thrive, Arianna Huffington

35. It means failure.
It means showing you care.
It means making work, work for your life.
It means anticipating and understanding change.
It means knowing when to walk away and when to stay.
It means communicating effectively with vision-led intent.
It means growing, fostering and building diverse networks.
It means never using the word sacrifice and admitting this is a life you choose.
It means making a conscious effort to support other women. Become the first follower!
It means being at peace with the over-whelming feeling of responsibility because you’ve got this.
So, what does it mean to be a female leader today? (IMHO)

37. Email me:
louise.nash@mediacom.com
Connect on Linked in
I like coffee!
Connect with me and
each other