“My mission is to pick apart what women did who have succeeded – and success is defined by making it to the C-suite at these very, very large companies where the deck is stacked against her, but she still made it. And what I found is, these women, even if they don't call it positive emotion, tapped into positive emotion to make it through.”

Join us in this conversation with executive coach and three-time best-selling author L. Michelle Smith as we delve into leadership dynamics, corporate culture and the power of authenticity around women, and particularly women of colour.

L. Michelle Smith is an executive coach with expertise in applied positive psychology and neuroscience. She shares her insights into the unique challenges faced by – and solutions found by –women of colour in traditionally white male-dominated spaces. L. Michelle recently published "Yes Please, 7 Ways to Say I Am Entitled to the C Suite," which provides valuable tips for women navigating corporate culture and aspiring to climb up the corporate ladder.

As someone who started under female senior leadership herself, she observed first-hand how rare it was seeing other women, especially women of colour, occupy similar roles across different companies despite their qualifications matching or surpassing their male counterparts'. This observation, paired with her journalistic background, sparked her to investigate this in-depth.

L. Michelle’s approach to women leadership, rooted in evidence-based data, drives strategies for both individuals and organizations. She has made strides in advocating for women's leadership roles within the corporate world, researching and coaching on ways forward into the C-suite.

Despite being a 'double outsider,' L. Michelle's resilience led her to success while inspiring others along the way. A testament to this is her eight-year-old daughter who authored a children's companion book highlighting lessons of self-love and strength - values deeply rooted in her work.

Central themes throughout the conversation include:

• Balancing authenticity within structures not designed for diverse leadership.


• Discomfort that shows up when marginalized individuals exert power or authority.


• The concept of privilege varying depending on context.


• The part that healing plays in growing forward

More about L. Michelle Smith:

• Website https://www.lmichellesmith.com/


• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmichellesmith/


• The Culture Soup podcast https://www.lmichellesmith.com/culture-soup/


• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lmichellesmith/https://www.instagram.com/lmichellesmith/

Mentioned in this episode:

• ‘Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome’ by Ruchika Tulshyan and
  Jodi-Ann Burey (Harvard Business Review) https://hbr.org/2021/02/stop-telling-women-they-have-imposter-syndrome


• Dr Jeff Gardere https://www.drjeffgardere.com/

More about us:

• Lisa Dempsey – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisakdempsey/ - https://www.leadershiplabs.eu


• Marjolijn Vlug – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjolijnvlug/ - https://www.marjolijnvlug.nl/

Reach us both at PeopleImpactPodcast@gmail.com