The people that make up your business are your most valuable resource. In order to ensure your startup continues to thrive, it’s important to always assess whether your team is ready to expand or not.
As the number of women entrepreneurs grows each year, there are always new and upcoming business leaders we can learn from for our entrepreneurial endeavours to inspire and shape our startup journey. Despite 2020 being a rocky year, there are many women tech leaders emerging from the storm in 2021. Many are leading the way […]
Despite the current state of the world, it’s important to continue being resilient and striving for success. Preparing for the unexpected and building resiliency will not only facilitate your startup’s survival now but will also ensure longevity moving forward.
One certain thing to come from this year is the need to re-evaluate the perceived makeup of a great leader. Traditionally, we’ve both sought and praised those that exhibit traits like overconfidence, assertiveness, and are authoritative.
Now that we have moved to a virtual world, virtual interactions are as prevalent as in-office engagement. This leaves businesses to find new and creative ways to connect and engage with their employees to keep everyone motivated.
Does this sound familiar? Feeling unqualified for the position you currently hold, skeptical of your worth, and questioning if your education and experience are enough. This causing you added anxiety and stress, negatively impacting your confidence, and a nagging need to ‘do more.’ If this rings a bell, you may be experiencing imposter syndrome. Although common in nature, there are aspects of imposter syndrome that disproportionately affect women. This can have a lasting impact on their careers, mental health, and confidence in overcoming challenges in the workplace.
Iliana works with fortune 500 clients across many industries helping them shape their innovation agenda through her role at Accenture. Iliana is also strongly connected and involved across the business, tech, and non-profit communities. She is a contributor to the Don Tapscott led Blockchain Research Institute, is an Associate at the Creative Destruction Lab incubator at the University of Toronto where she provides mentorship time to start-ups, and sits on the Emerging Leaders Advisory Council for CPA Ontario.
Do you have a story about your business that could help benefit women entrepreneurs from your advice and experience? We’d love to hear from you! Your answers will help us serve entrepreneurs better by giving real-world tips to struggling businesses throughout the virtual transition.
Challenges women face in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity; the impacts of the increased presence of women in the Canadian economy. Do you remember what made you pursue entrepreneurship? For me, it was as a child. My mom would take me with her to work where I would set up pretend businesses or ‘help out’. Later, it was watching my parents begin their own companies or help/consult with other startups. They would entertain me by explaining their business plans, or what they were working on, and answer my endless questions. But, my exposure to startups in my formative years wasn’t limited to my parents. I was very fortunate, growing up, to have many family role models for business ownership. It was witnessing all of them exhibit a striking combination of determination, hard work, and an ability to create, which was vital in stoking my enthusiasm for entrepreneurial pursuits.
One thing we can all agree on is that 2020 seems to be a year that will go down as a long chapter in history books. With many tragic global health and societal issues surrounding us, it becomes apparent just how important leadership is. We can see it’s crucial, especially in times of hardship, to lead with compassion, empathy, understanding, and fairness.
Despite the troublesome year, several women have stepped up to show how pivotal feminine leadership qualities will be in overcoming many challenges we’re facing. Acceptance of, and successful adaptation to, our new normalcy will be ushered in by leaders who not only rise to the challenge of guiding, but uniting, people through difficult times.