Everything End of Life.
This podcast is dedicated to talking to experts and others about all aspects of death and dying. You know, that thing we don't really want to talk about!
As a hospice carer and former psychiatric nurse as well as writer and former Theatre director, I invite guests to talk about their roles in and what to expect in the last four weeks of life. What happens to the person dying, what help is there, what to do before and after the event.
Many of the families we go in to see have one thing in common and that is that they don't know what to expect. I thought that a Podcast may help and then discovered so much to explore that is of interest to people such as alternative funerals, what do Hospices actually do, what role do religions play?
So join me for the first interview as we begin this Podcast with Clinical Nurse Specialist Becky Rix where we grasp the nettle and discuss what happens to us generally in those last four weeks.
Time to explore "Everything End of Life".
Everything End of Life.
How Female Leaders Are Reshaping Workplaces with Compassion
The leadership landscape is changing, but not fast enough. Linda Fisk, founder of Leadership Global, pulls back the curtain on the persistent gender gap in corporate leadership during this revealing conversation about women's path to the C-suite.
Drawing from her extensive background as a Chief Marketing Officer for major media corporations like Discovery Channel and Scripps Networks before becoming CEO of multiple organisations, Linda shares startling statistics that paint a stark picture: despite making up 58% of the civil workforce, women hold only 23% of C-suite positions in America, with women of colour comprising a mere 4%. The bias runs deep—both male and female managers are twice as likely to hire men over women, yet when gender is removed from applications, women's hiring rates jump by 25-46%.
What makes this conversation particularly illuminating is Linda's exploration of how traditionally "feminine" leadership qualities are finally being recognised as valuable business assets. Research by the Hay Group confirms women outperform men in 11 of 12 key emotional intelligence competencies. These "soft skills"—authentic communication, team development, empathy, and humility—once dismissed as weaknesses, now represent the future of effective leadership.
The pandemic has only widened existing gaps, with women facing higher rates of layoffs and career stagnation. Through Leadership Global, Linda has created a 10,000-member community across six continents dedicated to ensuring women have equal access to funding, opportunities, and connections typically reserved for men. Her vision isn't about displacing men but creating space at the table for diverse leadership that combines both mind and heart to build lasting, positive impact.
Looking to support women leaders or become one? Connect with Linda on LinkedIn or visit LeadHership Global to learn how you can help break down barriers in your organisation.
For those interested in what Palliative care looks like at home there is "The Last Kiss" (Not a Romance)
Available on Amazon now
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Kiss-Romance-Carers-Stories/dp/1919635289/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13D6YWONKR5YH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._59mNNFoc-rROuWZnAQfsG0l3iseuQuK_gx-VxO_fe6DLJR8M0Az039lJk_HxFcW2o2HMhIH3r3PuD7Dj-D6KTwIHDMl2Q51FGLK8UFYOBwbRmrLMbpYoqOL6I5ruLukF1vq7umXueIASDS2pO91JktkZriJDJzgLfPv1ft5UtkdQxs9isRDmzAYzc5MKKztINcNGBq-GRWKxgvc_OV5iKKvpw0I5d7ZQMWuvGZODlY.fqQgWV-yBiNB5186RxkkWvQYBoEsDbyq-Hai3rU1cwg&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+last+kiss+not+a+romance&qid=1713902566&s=books&sprefix=The+Last+kiss+n%2Cstripbooks%2C107&sr=1-1
Okay yeah, recording your progress. Okay Okay, linda. Well, I'll start off by saying hello and welcome to everything foster care, with myself, jason Cottrell and my guest Linda Fisk, who is from America. Can you tell me which state you're in in America?
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm in Dallas, Texas in America.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm in Dallas, texas, dallas, texas. See, that's an iconic place for us here in England because of all the TV stuff that we get that comes from there over the years you know You've got to be of a certain age to remember the program itself called Dallas, you know.
Speaker 2:Dallas. You know that's right, that's right, fantastic.
Speaker 1:So we, just before we started recording, we were talking about you being adopted and that's where we started the conversation, but it'd be lovely to find out. We'll come back to that, I think, and it'd be lovely to find out a little bit about your journey, your kind of education and, moving on to the business you presently have at the moment, and why you have that particular business. I'm really interested in that.
Speaker 2:Thank you. So my journey, in a very short, succinct sort of description, has been always helping businesses grow and scale through sales and marketing. I have led sales and marketing teams for major media corporations like Scripps Networks, bilo, freedom, all kinds of media companies all around the United States and my role was to grow those media companies through sales and marketing initiatives. So I served as the chief marketing officer for several different media corporations really large media corporations like Discovery Channel, scripps Networks, etc. And then at a certain juncture in my career I transcended just sales and marketing into leading the company beyond a sales and marketing sort of area of focus to leading the company entirely. So I was the CEO of an organization called Collective 54. Of an organization called Collective 54.
Speaker 2:I served as the CEO of a couple other pretty sizable organizations and then ultimately decided that I wanted to create an organization really focused on helping accelerate the success of women in positions of leadership all over the world. So my focus is to help amplify and accelerate the leadership journey of women in positions of influence, whether that is their own entrepreneurial journey or they were hired into a CEO position of a nonprofit or for-profit anywhere in the world. So we have 10,000 members that are a part of Leadership Global now in Africa, europe, australia, new Zealand, South America, north America. But the one uniting factor of all these women is that one they have ascended to a position of leadership within their respective organizations and they are all committed to deeply investing in the success of other women. So this is a community that really does pay it forward and that has been fully committed to ensuring that women have access to the resources, the tools, the connections, the access to funding and media opportunities that will help them actually accelerate their success.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. And it is an amazing thing because the world of business has always been largely male dominated, doesn't it? And that, you know. I think the zeitgeist is that has to change. You know, not just from business. You know not just from business, but from politics as well as management, and you know certainly the what we're seeing here in our politics is a lot of women actually taking a lot more leadership roles than in the last ten years, and that is great to see. But on a personal level, uh, it's. I'm going to share it with you.
Speaker 1:I grew up, um, uh, it's strange, but in an old people's home parts reaccommodation we used to call it because my mother was a matron and, uh, we lived in this place. So I spent a lot of time around nurses and women, uh, and my brother and my sister as well. And then I went to boarding school and I trained as a nurse so predominantly a female environment that I've grown up throughout my entire life and I became a nurse and then left to look after my mother, and that was. I had carers around who were predominantly female, so I've had a predominantly female life in a weird way, and I've come across some women that have just been so incredibly strong, especially when I moved into end-of-life care myself recently and we had a team that was led by one particular lady called Becky Ricks and her approach to a team was a compassionate approach and it was amazing because she was there for every member of that team.
Speaker 1:I was the only male member, but there was a team of about 20 of us and we used to go into people's houses in the morning and get them up and dressed and then in the evening and put them to bed and it was the last four weeks of their lives and the teams before she came along were fairly dysfunctional, but she had this thing where she drew everybody together by being there for them and their families and it was a very maternal nurturing team and, I've got to say, the best team that I've ever worked in and I've worked in quite a few. Now we're doing fostering. Interestingly, that's led by a lady called Elle Alan and oh, I forgot my surname, I'm going'll get shot so by L and she started this fostering company and I'm struggling because I'm wondering how many other foster companies because they're independent foster companies we have what they call independent fostering services are run just by women. I mean, how is that in your country, in Dallas, I mean, is it a predominantly female-led experience?
Speaker 2:Well, I will tell you that, although I don't have the statistics specifically to fostering organizations, as you and I discussed, I have a personal story of being adopted from an orphanage early in my life and being raised by two parents that were not biologically related to me, but they definitely invested the time, the resources, the care, the love to bring me up and I'm incredibly grateful to them. In terms of you know, back then the orphanages and foster organizations I guarantee were primarily led by men. I will tell you that right now, despite making up 50% of the US population and 58% of the civil labor force, women are staggeringly absent from upper-level positions in the American workforce. And while there is a long history of women's role in the American workforce, between wars, social movements, political climates, very little progress has been made in the way of gender equality in the workplace. So you know, we believe that there's still a lot of room for development and growth. I mean, women only make up 23% of any C-suite aspect of an organization, either a for-profit or non-profit business. The C-suite leadership group only 23% of that C-suite leadership group are made up of women, and women of color make up just 4% of C-suites.
Speaker 2:And so my belief is that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that women are available to move into those positions of leadership, are available to move into those positions of leadership that they're seen, they're heard, they're recognized, they're valued, and especially women of color. In fact, only 3% of Fortune 500 companies have at least one Hispanic or Latina member on their board of directors. So, in my mind, you know, again, there's still a lot of work to be done, but I do think that there are some ways that we can all work together to break down barriers. So, you know, that's really what I focus on is what can we do to accelerate the success of women in either a corporate setting or as an entrepreneur, where they are creating their own organization, either for profit or nonprofit? How can we support those women in ensuring that they are able to grow and scale their business and create meaningful impact?
Speaker 1:It's crazy, isn't it? Because, you know, coming from a primarily female-led world, if you like, a lot of the managers, especially in nursing, were male and they would run a ward or they would run. Actually, the ladies would run the ward and the men would run the hospital. You know, uh, and every time I've seen, um and this is in nursing very often I've seen women put me more powers of authority. I said, you know, just as a guest, 90 of the time it lifts the whole efficiency.
Speaker 1:Okay, because I think that there's, you know, men are very target led, you know, and, and that in our country we have, you know this, we have a the nhs system, but they have targets that they have to meet and there's more time spent chasing targets than actually looking after patients. There's a big thing in that, um, well, I, while speaking to a guy called, uh, sir john timpson and he was saying, even in the fostering service, uh, what we're seeing is 80 percent of social workers times who are largely also female, um, having to chase targets and spending that time away from families, not actually dealing with the families. So I think there's a kind of maternal hands-on feel that goes along with efficiency when you put women in charge. Is that something that you see? Do you see, when somebody gets into a company in a position of authority, that it helps to change that company, or is that just a bit of a myth?
Speaker 2:No, I think you're absolutely right and you've mentioned something that I want to really focus on for a moment, and that is the bias either the conscious or unconscious bias of both men and women to hire men over women. Get this both male and female managers that were recently surveyed in a nationwide corporate survey that reached over 10,000 different businesses indicated that both male and female managers are twice as likely to hire men over women.
Speaker 2:Women are 25 to 46 percent more likely to be hired through blind applications. So if in the application there is no identification of gender and even to the place where maybe the first name is blanked out, the gender is not included in the application, then women are 25 to 46% more likely to be hired. And it's funny because 40% of people in the workforce today, whether you are in a Fortune 500 company or a small mom and pop entrepreneurial startup, 40% of people do notice a double standard against female candidates, and at companies where 90% of leadership is men, half of the men in the company view women, ironically, as being well-represented, as though 10% of leadership by women is enough. So even if that's crazy, isn't it given an equal opportunity to be hired into positions of leadership? And often that means blind interviews, right where you're looking at resumes, without gender being identified and without names necessarily being identified either.
Speaker 1:Is that something you think that could ever be adopted into law, because that seems like so sensible that gender shouldn't actually be put down. Or ethnicity, ethnicity, ethnicity, ethnicity, because it should really be going on achievement, past and present, shouldn't it?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, and there are places where we're seeing a lot of progress being made around the world, with you know now, legislation is indicating that a certain number of board seats have to be allocated to women. That's true in several places around the world. So we are seeing some legislation and some mandates that allow women to have an equal opportunity to be in positions of leadership. And I will tell you that, since the pandemic, I think, the challenges that women face have been identified. So women, especially women of color, are more likely to be laid off, more likely to be furloughed, more likely to stall in their careers, which, of course, jeopardizes their financial security. So what we're really focused on in Leadership Global is trying to ensure that women have equal access to funding, to privileges and benefits and opportunities that are usually reserved for men, and not at the detriment of men at all, but at least given equal opportunity for men. So that's really what I think is incredibly important right now.
Speaker 2:But you know, when you think of this is something else you touched on that I think is so brilliant, when you think about the most important qualities of a good leader. It's really about establishing a unique leadership style based on your own values, character, traits and talents, and I think women specifically serve with both their mind and their heart. They incorporate an attitude of service and they try to genuinely connect with the people that they are in service to or that report to them. And I think most women do try to be generous and participate, share their knowledge generously with those that they lead, being a role model to inspire and motivate people forward. In fact, women have been proven to hold a pretty key advantage in soft skills, where you often hear the term like emotional intelligence. In fact, a study by a global consulting firm called Hay Group found that women outperform men in 11 of 12 key emotional intelligence competencies.
Speaker 1:Yeah, In fact, the hey Group found that that's quite remarkable, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yes, and that's exactly what you were talking about, and you're so right on. Women leaders tend to slightly outperform men in most leadership skills that are considered to be soft skills, so emotional intelligence or any ability pertaining to the way you approach others and handle your professional life. So some of the qualities and characteristics where women have an advantage, according to the hate group, is having authentic communication and leadership style. Is having authentic communication and leadership style navigating through discomfort and the imposter syndrome, giving and receiving actionable feedback, setting and reasserting boundaries, negotiating on behalf of themselves and their team, and also developing teams and developing champions. So those are some of the things that women do exceptionally well, partly because they think how we've been socialized, but I think it all comes down to the traits of empathy, humility and self-knowledge. Those are keys to excelling in leadership and they absolutely are the keys to overperforming in a crisis situation, and women tend to do that very, very well.
Speaker 1:You know it's interesting. I have to give a talk, a sort of inspirational talk, to a group of business leaders coming up shortly and it's based on Compassionate. Colchester City has been awarded compassionate city status and there's a thing we're called a compassionate business community Doesn't eat up and try to learn from each other and support each other. And I'm supposed to give them a chat and the interesting thing is I think about 80% of business leaders are women. They're attracted almost to the word compassion and compassionate approach and we'll be talking about listening skills and hear, see, feel, which is coming back to what you were saying. It is really about that not touchy-feely approach, because that's dismissive. But you know the real paying attention to workers, john Simpson.
Speaker 1:As I say, john Simpson does a thing called upside down management, where he doesn't call his workers workers, their colleagues and the area managers that go around to see their colleagues are not managers. They're more like social workers, because they're there to say, well, you're doing this job, how can we help you to do it better and more brilliantly? And then you know they'll also help out their families. It's a much more rounded approach and he's I won't say what his net worth is, but it's quite a lot, so he's very successful. This company over the years, um, and it's based very much on that compassionate family feel to a business being really inclusive, and that seems to be what you're reflecting is really needed in business in general. I would say so, it's going to be so, it's going to be really handy having this interview. I would say oh, by the way, I've got this lovely friend who did this.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so kind of you. I will tell you you've nailed it. I mean, your area of inquiry, I think, is just brilliant, but your insights are so dead on. I think female leaders do express more awareness of fears that their team members might be feeling. They have generally more concern for the well-being of their teams and also confidence in the plans that are presented by their teams.
Speaker 2:So I will tell you that what feels common to most women and what was also considered to be a detriment to their leadership is now, I think, being recognized as a strength.
Speaker 2:So things like being able to network, collaborating with others, communicating authentically, both orally and in writing, and critical thinking, those are all aspects of leadership that I think you know in prior generations might have been seen as a weakness, but now I think there's this idea that advancing your skills in those areas can actually make you more competitive.
Speaker 2:You know, being able to cultivate executive presence, polishing your presentation skills, calling people to take action, all of those things are fundamental, regardless of your gender. But some of the, I think, qualities and characteristics that are very natural and common to women in prior generations, although they were often suggested as weaknesses. Now I think that there's this sense that no, in fact, those are some of the most important aspects of leadership, because impactful leadership is about making long lasting, positive and meaningful contributions to the organizations and the communities that you serve. Really, what that means is you're making a positive contribution in the lives of people around you, and to do that, you do have to combine both your mind and your heart to lead and to achieve sustainable goals and build lasting impact.
Speaker 1:Listen, linda. I'm conscious that we've got about 30 seconds or so to go on the Zoom meeting. I don't want to cut out. Have you got a website people can go to specifically or to find out more about your whole leadership approach?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, so you are welcome to reach out to me on LinkedIn I am Linda Fisk, or you're welcome to reach out to LeadHershipGlobal, so it's Leadership Global with an H, so LeadHershipGlobal. Through email, through LinkedIn, through any of the social media platforms that you may prefer.
Speaker 1:I shall certainly, when I do the business talk, I shall certainly put that forward. Listen, it's been an absolute pleasure and I hope we can get back in contact and get some more information about this and talk about the whole subject. So a little bit more, Jason.
Speaker 2:you've been amazing and I'm so honored to be a part of your program. You are one of the most engaging hosts that I've ever had the good fortune of listening to and now participating in your podcast. You're engaging, you're memorable, you're also incredibly insightful, and I am very, very grateful to be invited to be a part of the platform.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Linda Get me there. So thank you very much, Linda Fisk from Lead Her Ship Global. That's very cool. Thanks very much.
