Latest / Women Who Make It - A Females in Food Podcast with Angela Dodd / 23. Great Work Won’t Speak for Itself: Why visibility is the top barrier women name, and how to fix it, with Maha Abouelenein

Transcript

23. Great Work Won’t Speak for Itself: Why visibility is the top barrier women name, and how to fix it, with Maha Abouelenein · Women Who Make It - A Females in Food Podcast with Angela Dodd

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Be clear about who you are in order for it to make it easy for people to find you and to people to understand how to recommend you, how to work with you, how to invest with you, how to partner with you.
0:11
SPEAKER_01: If you are not clear, nobody else will get it.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Women Who Make It.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Real conversations with women in the food and beverage industry who are building careers, leading teams, and figuring it all out.
0:23
SPEAKER_00: After years of building females on food, I've had conversations with some of the most brilliant women in the industry.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: And they shared the real stuff.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: The pivots, the boundaries, the burnouts, and the moments of is this even working before it finally clicked?
0:36
SPEAKER_00: So I hit record, and now you get to hear it too.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: We're women who make it.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: So let's dig in.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Women Who Make It.
0:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Angela Dodd, and today we have a special episode.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: This past year we surveyed 462 women across the food and beverage industry for our second annual State of Women in the Industry report, which just published on October 20th.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: And we asked them what was standing in between them and a leadership role.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: And the answer at the top of that list wasn't work-life balance or bias, even though those were quite high.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: It was being seen.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: 38% of women named lack of visibility and recognition as a barrier to advancement.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: So today, I brought in someone who has spent her career making people visible.
1:27
SPEAKER_00: My guest today is Maha Abulanin, CEO and founder of Digital and Savvy, a global communications consulting firm with offices in the United States and the UAE.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: And for more than 30 years, Maha has advised Fortune 500 companies, governments, high-profile executives, and celebrities on personal branding and reputation.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: She led communications in the Middle East for Google, Netflix, and Kareem.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: And she's a best-selling author for the seven rules of self-reliance.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: And she's also a fellow Minnesotan.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: So today we're getting into what visibility actually looks like at work, not as a celebrity or as an influencer, but inside your own company and across our industry.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about how getting seen turns into someone saying your name in rooms where decisions are getting made and why the fastest way to build your own network is to help build other people's.
2:22
SPEAKER_00: Hello, Maha.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the podcast.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: You all, we have the queen in the house for all things personal branding.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: And I am so excited for this conversation.
2:33
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much for having me, Angela.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: I love your community.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: And if there's anything that I keep telling everyone to do is focus on yourself, build your personal brand because you are the it factor in every relationship, in every interaction you have, whether it's personally or professionally.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: So excited to dive in today.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we have so much to cover.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: And I, it is truly an honor and privilege that I get to have this conversation because I think everybody wants a PR strategist in their back pockets to ask all the questions, right?
3:06
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm gonna try to play that role for all the women, um, all the women with us today and listening in.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: So for everybody that knows, our State of Women in the Industry report just got published.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: And this was key data that we collected from almost 500 women across the industry, and they have rated in our report that a lack of visibility or recognition was the top barrier that women named from preventing them from moving up or getting sponsorship, accelerating their careers.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: And so this is a topic that I want to dig in today because we have the queen of personal branding here, but you also just have a front row seat to what this means for leaders, influencers, celebrities.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: And I think of anybody, you have such a great perspective to offer in being able to help women on this topic.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: So the first question like, let's unpack a few things.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: What why does great work so often go on unnoticed?
4:04
SPEAKER_00: And why does that hit women harder in your perspective?
4:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: So the number one reason why it came up in your report is the thing that people need the most help with is visibility.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: Like you're working hard, you're putting in your efforts, you're delivering your job consistently, you're building relationships and you're really networking and showing up for yourself.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: The problem is like, you know, silence doesn't scale.
4:27
SPEAKER_01: So you could be super good at what you do, but that's not that's not how you're gonna move forward.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: You have to actually be the amplifier or the person who's trying to explain to people this is the value I'm creating.
4:39
SPEAKER_01: These are the things that I'm doing that's actually bringing value to the business, to my colleagues, to my team, to my investors, to my partners.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: And that's where I coach people on how to improve your visibility.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't mean that you're out there shouting from the rooftops, look at me, I know stuff, look what I did.
4:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm the coolest, I'm the best.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: It's actually being intentional about being good at storytelling and be good at communications.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: And that's what being visible is all about.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: And the reason why so many people struggle with it is that they don't want to be out there promoting themselves.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: And so I want you to take this mind shift in your head of, I can't be out there selling myself.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready doing the work, I'm ready delivering.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: Like I know I'm good at what I do.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: Because right now, the way that the world works is you really need to have that communication storyteller layer put on top.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: Even CEOs and founders are like, oh, now I gotta be a content creator on top of, you know, running the PL and leading my teams and building supply chain and talking to customers.
5:42
SPEAKER_01: Now I have to be a content creator.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: Yes and no.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: One is you need to do storytelling in a way that's authentic to you.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: Is that through one-to-one meetings with your team?
5:52
SPEAKER_01: Is it through all hand staff meetings?
5:55
SPEAKER_01: Is it through a weekly newsletter on LinkedIn?
5:58
SPEAKER_01: You know, doing this storytelling and communications is not 100% of time to look for my phone about being on your phone and sharing it on social.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: Your reputation gets built in rooms, it gets built in one-on-one conversations and your visibility circle starts with people in person and then it moves out to people on the internet.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: So I think you've hit the nail in the head on the key differentiator here, like the internal visibility versus the external visibility and where it starts.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, if I'm somebody sitting here today that's sitting corporate America in the food and beverage industry, maybe I'm a manager or director or whatever level in the organization, I like how you broke it down from the one-to-one meetings, all hands meeting.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm like all hands meeting, right?
6:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, making sure we're preparing for those.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: But when you, you know, it's not about becoming an influencer on the internet, which we're gonna get to that because that's still a really important aspect of external visibility in the network.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: But what is can you share a story, especially for somebody who's in that middle manager position who maybe doesn't have the stage to be at an all hands meeting?
7:10
SPEAKER_00: What should they be doing day to day?
7:12
SPEAKER_00: What would that look like for them in the workplace to start becoming a better communicator?
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Because we communicate all day, right?
7:21
SPEAKER_00: But what's some advice you have for them to stop, slow down, and think about what they're saying?
7:25
SPEAKER_01: I want you to think about two things the what you do and how you do it, right?
7:30
SPEAKER_01: What you do is you have to be consistent in how you show up, right?
7:34
SPEAKER_01: You guys don't want to come to work and have a manager where you're like, oh, I wonder if he or she's in a good mood today.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: You need to be consistent.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: So what you do has to be consistent.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: Are you consistently showing up?
7:43
SPEAKER_01: Are you consistently adding value?
7:45
SPEAKER_01: Are you consistently like your behaviors?
7:47
SPEAKER_01: The first thing I tell people to do is focus on what you do and do it well and be consistent in that, right?
7:54
SPEAKER_01: The second thing is how do you do it?
7:56
SPEAKER_01: So, how do you do it in a one-on-one meeting?
7:59
SPEAKER_01: How do you do it online?
8:00
SPEAKER_01: I always start with focusing on building relationships and grow from there.
8:05
SPEAKER_01: So I even coach people like when you're in college, like build relationships when you're young, because you never know when those who your classmates from college might end up being somewhere.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: For every age and stage of your life, your number one priority to build your visibility is to build relationships and build a network.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: That is how you build a reputation.
8:26
SPEAKER_01: It's days compounded into weeks, months, and relationships through people because your relationships are gonna help you bring bring you into more other people's networks and that will increase your visibility.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: So it's that compounding effect of like, I know you, Angela, we've met, right?
8:46
SPEAKER_01: I have you on my radar.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: If I have people that are interested in what you do, I'm gonna start connecting them.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna increase your visibility by bringing you into my network to introduce you to other people.
8:56
SPEAKER_01: The number one thing someone can do today is start building relationships.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: That is what will compound your reputation, and that's what will compound your relationships and your reputation.
9:09
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna take this and make it as a soundbite and put it all over the Females in Food website, by the way.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Like if there's any hill that I'm gonna die on, it's like relationships move business, they move visibility.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: Like, I could not agree with you more.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: And even being on our summit stage that year, I'm like, yes, finally.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: Somebody who's saying it out loud.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: When I'm talking to women, especially women, and I've just went through this stage, right?
9:34
SPEAKER_00: And I hear this multiple times a day, not just not just once a month or so.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: We got 35 to 44.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: We got women colliding with caregiving years, which they are burned out, they are exhausted.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: And the last thing that they want to think about is spend extra time networking, building relationships.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: And this is the hill that I die on.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: Is like we have to be making time for this.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: We have to be investing in our networks.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: What would you tell these women though?
10:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, as you move.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: Easy.
10:02
SPEAKER_01: Everyone's busy.
10:03
SPEAKER_01: You and you're busy, I'm busy.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: How about microdosing it?
10:06
SPEAKER_01: What does that mean?
10:08
SPEAKER_01: Can you spend 10 minutes a day?
10:10
SPEAKER_01: Can you spend 10 minutes a day on LinkedIn where you are networking online?
10:15
SPEAKER_01: Low lift, small amounts of time, and do that over the next four weeks.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: Can you spend 10 minutes a day going on LinkedIn, connecting with people, reading your friends' posts, commenting on your friends' posts, sharing their work, building relationships virtually is low lift and it takes a small amount of time and you can do it without changing your pajamas.
10:41
SPEAKER_01: And it's free.
10:42
SPEAKER_01: You don't even have to drink.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's free.
10:45
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to set up a coffee chat, you don't have to get in your car and drive somewhere to meet somebody.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: So that that's the for everyone who's like overwhelmed and busy and stuff, please start there and watch the results of what will happen if you just build a consistent habit of 10 minutes a day, once a day, and then I want you to go to twice a day 10 minutes and then bump it up to 15 minutes.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: That's all it takes.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: That's all it takes.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: And I'm telling you because this is what I do for a living.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: I help people build relationships through scalable frameworks that are easy to do.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: And that is very easy to do.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: I love the thought of microdosing.
11:24
SPEAKER_00: We can all start somewhere, and I think that's it.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: You just have to start, right?
11:28
SPEAKER_00: And the microdosing um perspective, I think will hit hard for it.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: That's the only way I can make people think like it's it's a small thing to do.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: Just do it in small doses, in small steps.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: It's that consistency that is gonna keep nudging, you know, people in your network, like, hey, I'm here.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I have this opinion, right?
11:45
SPEAKER_00: And it it does create that visibility.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: There's actually a word for it.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: It's called it's it's there's a word, it's sort of a word for it.
11:54
SPEAKER_01: I think I'm taking it to the next level.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: But have you ever heard of the term pebbling?
11:58
SPEAKER_01: Like when you pebble somebody with like when you send like your sister, my sister, I send my sister Instagram reels, like I'm pebbling her with stuff.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: But it's like it's it's actually a form of love and attention where you're really trying to like, you know, sending somebody some pebbles is giving somebody some, hey, I'm still here, I'm still around.
12:16
SPEAKER_01: Like I, you know, that consistency of the follow-up and the follow-through, if you do that consistently, let's say, for example, and I just something I just saw a video that Ryan Sir Hant did about this about, you know, every other week he would send this customer a note, whether it was, you know, an idea, a referral, something that he thought might find interesting, consistently.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: And then when they needed help with real estate, he was the first person they called because they were visible.
12:44
SPEAKER_01: They were visible.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: He was consistent in how he did things.
12:48
SPEAKER_01: And so that's really what's important there.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the adding that high value, also the high value visibility of like you're adding value to somebody, which by the way, this is the other key place that I love how you frame it of consistently adding value into your network.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: And when I even think in the food and beverage industry and spending 20 years, you know, in the last 10 being in sales, so so many people are saying right now, it's so hard to get time with your customers.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: It's so hard to win that sale, it's so hard to win that business or to get um new traction in a very legacy or commodity business.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: And I'm taking this very FB specific, but I think you could apply it across the board of if you can't get that meeting in person, right?
13:33
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't cost anything to send a high-value like article saying, I thought of you and re when I read this, and I thought you would find value in that.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: I that's there's a ton of what are some examples that you've seen done really well?
13:46
SPEAKER_00: You just mentioned a few, but where people are adding value in their network.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: The first thing you need to do to add value to somebody in their network is you need to listen.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: And I do that by following people.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: What do they care about?
13:57
SPEAKER_01: What are they posting about?
13:59
SPEAKER_01: What's happening in their lives?
14:00
SPEAKER_01: I can't add value or give them a nugget or share something for with them to kind of build that connection and that connectivity unless I really know what they care about.
14:10
SPEAKER_01: So there's two ways to do this.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: One is you just follow them and listen to see what they're interested in and then figure out where's the right place for you to step in and either make an introduction or try to solve a problem or give them an interesting article or you know, share something from your network with them.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: Or second, if you know them, you can actually ask them.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: And it's it's a very simple question.
14:32
SPEAKER_01: How can I help?
14:33
SPEAKER_01: Very simple.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: And when you ask them, they'll tell you these are my problems, these are my ambitions, these are the things I'm struggling with, these are the things I actually need help with.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's not it's not that hard to find out what somebody cares about.
14:46
SPEAKER_01: Follow them and you might know.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: Ask them as a second way.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: But then I try to see which one of those strings I can pull and actually add value to them on it.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: And you're right, people, if the simple question, just ask the simple question, then shut up, right?
15:02
SPEAKER_00: What can I have?
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and find out.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I get so much from following people so that I do it over time.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Like, and I'll uh this is just for everyone listening.
15:12
SPEAKER_01: I don't like have 20 to 25 to 50 people that I'm doing this for.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: I had on my list in the beginning of 2026 three people that I wanted to work with this year.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Three.
15:25
SPEAKER_01: If I can deepen my relationships with them, if I can add value to them, if I can really invest in these three people, it'll have a flywheel effect for not just me and my business, but for the future for the next X years, right?
15:39
SPEAKER_01: Take a few people you know are the in be intentional about who you want to build a relationship with.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I invest in.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: Because I don't have time to do this for everybody at scale.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: But I really intently follow them, see what they care about, see what they're posting about, see what they're what they're doing.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: Did they have a dog?
15:55
SPEAKER_01: Did they have a baby?
15:56
SPEAKER_01: Did they celebrate a milestone?
15:58
SPEAKER_01: Did they make an announcement for their company?
16:01
SPEAKER_01: Did they post something that they were upset about?
16:03
SPEAKER_01: Like you have to really lean in for the ones that you care about.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: And it's you have to make it a short list.
16:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't do New Year's resolutions and have 18 things I need to work on because that would overwhelm me before it overwhelmed the next person sitting next to me.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm very specific.
16:20
SPEAKER_01: I only have limited time, I only have limited bandwidth, I have a life to live, I have fun to have, I have things I want to do outside of my career outside of my career.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: And I know that if I can just focus on what matters, I think the hardest thing for any entrepreneur is to know how to focus or what to focus on, because there's so many things that are exciting or are opportunities or things to do, or like, should I spend time learning about AI or should I spend time building my business?
16:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, if I spend time learning about AI, I might improve the efficiency of my business so I can take on more new business.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: It's that yin and the yang of knowing where to focus.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: So for your relationships, for your reputation, for your brand, for your visibility, try to focus because it is overwhelming on oh, do I have to create content and have LinkedIn and be have a Substack and have a YouTube and network at events?
17:20
SPEAKER_01: Nobody has time for that, including me.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: It's too much.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: It's too much.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: And that's what I think people begin and stop, right?
17:28
SPEAKER_01: That's why I coach people on where to focus so that you can get the biggest bang for your buck and your time because you have children or parents to take care of, because you want to, you know, play tennis on the weekends, because you have other things that are important to you, because I do too.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're here for we're here for the human side.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, let's we want to show up for the actual humans in our life and and for ourselves, right?
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Actually live, actually live our lives.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I ADHD uh entrepreneurship unmedica, you know, I I think that's one of the greatest qualities of us entrepreneurs is like this uh it's the ability to go down multiple rabbit holes, but also the greatest challenge is just this focusing.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: But in a world, even with those in a corporate space who maybe aren't entrepreneurs, I think it's incredibly difficult to focus.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: We are hearing it from women in the report.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: You know, you're being asked to do so much more with AI without workload coming off.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: You know, that recalibration of workload isn't happening.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: So it's a constant inflow of information, of tasks, of being behind, of trying to chase business.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: And it's hard to remember sometimes to focus and do those small things that we need to do for ourselves every single day.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: Not to mention like drink water and work out, right?
18:51
SPEAKER_01: And get your protein in and sleep your eight hours and uh step on the vibration plate.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: We we know we're all in the same boat here.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: All of it, all of it.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: So when you're, you know, let's go back a little bit to, you know, I think I think we've uh I think we've covered a lot of the internal bits and pieces.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: If you if there's an ex specific example around, you know, if I were to ask or think about where women are struggling with the next when it comes to internal, it's around sponsorship.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: How do you make sure people are saying your name?
19:23
SPEAKER_00: And I think we've already touched on a lot of those aspects of being present, showing up, making sure they know your work.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: Is there any other things that come to mind as to how you can make sure individuals are thinking of your name when you're not in the room, that they're that they're advocating for you sponsoring you?
19:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for people to be saying your name in the room when you're not there, you need to have a good reputation.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: And that good reputation comes from being consistent, adding value to others, all the things that we just talked about.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like, you know, that's what I try to do for other people.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: Like I spent a little bit of time this morning.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: Like I know this woman, she's incredible at what she does.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: She wants to switch her roles, and I know she's capable.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: So I just spent 10 minutes introducing her to a bunch of people over text.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: That took nothing out of my takes, nothing takes away from me, but adds tremendous value for her.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, that's a deposit in a trust bank with her that I think we just need to be intentional about having a good reputation is like an everyday game.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: Act as if the camera is always on.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: Like, are you always acting in a way that's meaningful?
20:33
SPEAKER_01: And that's what people will, that's how you get sponsorship into other rooms.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: The end.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: That easy.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: It is that easy.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: That easy.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: And that, but going back to the focus, and I do really love, you know, if I'm gonna take actually something into my new year, it's it's choosing those three people that you really want to be intentional with, uh and not having a huge laundry laundry list.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: But okay, so let's talk a little bit more around external visibility.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: Let maybe say for more of those advanced listeners who are like, man, I'm ready to show up.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm ready to show up on camera.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: I do not want to dance like a monkey in front of the camera to get people's attention.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: And there are several different routes we can be going down to build that visibility.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: Where would you tell them to start?
21:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it starts with uh building relationships on LinkedIn.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: I think you should start on LinkedIn.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: Like that is a great way for you to start to build relationships and then start to post because on LinkedIn, you can just write your ideas.
21:34
SPEAKER_01: You don't need to design anything, you don't need to create a video, you don't need to have a graphic designer help you with anything, you don't have to have a video editor.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: It's just your thoughts.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: The definition of thought leadership is share your ideas, share your point of view, share your experience.
21:53
SPEAKER_01: What is it that you like?
21:55
SPEAKER_01: I could see a story on the news that happened and give my hot take on it.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Or see an article that someone posted on LinkedIn and say, hey, here's here's how I'd like to build on this.
22:06
SPEAKER_01: Share your ideas.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: People want to connect with people who have a point of view and have an experience that they're bringing to the table.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: Like I could have the same exact career as this person sitting right next to me, worked at the same companies, had the same experience, the same degree, everything.
22:22
SPEAKER_01: But we may see things differently based on our point of view.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: And that's your edge.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: And that's what you need to share.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: And just because somebody has said something similar doesn't mean that your perspective doesn't bring people hear it differently.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: And I think for even me, like I see something, I'm like, oh, they said it really well.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: And I have the same thought internally.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: Like I may have thought that to myself yesterday, but you don't share it, right?
22:47
SPEAKER_00: Because you're like, oh, somebody else already said it.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: And it's let me tell you something.
22:52
SPEAKER_01: The world is abundant.
22:54
SPEAKER_01: Like this is the this is the friend of mine who's a personal trainer who's like, I don't want to start my own YouTube or Instagram account because there's a million personal trainers on the internet.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: That is true.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: However, they're not you.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's your way of storytelling, your way of explaining things, your way of doing the workout that I will connect with, and then I'll want to follow you.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: Your unique energy is only you.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's only you.
23:16
SPEAKER_01: And I feel like so many people like always like, oh, it's too late for me to start.
23:19
SPEAKER_01: It's never too late for you to start.
23:22
SPEAKER_01: Mel Robbins, who's 58, do you guys we nobody knew who she was five years ago?
23:27
SPEAKER_01: She came onto the scene just that recently.
23:30
SPEAKER_01: Like we know who she is now, but like at 58, imagine you deciding to restart your career at 53 or when she started.
23:40
SPEAKER_01: It's never too late.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Ever.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm just in my 40s and I'm like, I definitely feel like I'm stepping into my prime right now.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: There's something about well, because we know stuff.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: Like the older we get, the more context we have, the more experience we have, the way that the technology can help us with things that could never help us before.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I just feel it's extraordinary for you to think about taking that time watch time off your wrist and throwing that watch away because it doesn't matter.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: The internet is for free.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: Information is for free.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: YouTube and podcasts are for free.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: Reading books are for free.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: The only difference is starting.
24:21
SPEAKER_01: Well, the only difference is starting, but we're putting in the effort.
24:23
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, I I like nights and weekends.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: Like I wanna, could I I can be watching television and enjoying my evenings in front of the fireplace, or I can take one of those nights and say I'm gonna give myself an AI course, or I'm gonna learn how to knit because I want that hand-eye coordination.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: I want to learn new skills.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm gonna play Mahjong because that's like good for my brain.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: And it's also social and fun, which is important for my happiness and longevity.
24:50
SPEAKER_01: So that's where you spend your time and how you focus your time determines like your outcome or your results on your outlook on how it will go.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: And I I'm a huge believer in that.
25:02
SPEAKER_01: Like I was like, I can spend every Sunday watching football or I can take an hour and go for a walk.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: I the intentionality, it something you know, in my 20s and 30s, I think I watched a lot of TV.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, you binge for a whole week.
25:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you have to, but that's normal.
25:19
SPEAKER_01: Like, don't get me wrong.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: I still have my shows.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: Don't get me wrong.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: I'm still watching my shows.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: I just don't do it every day, all day, and I mix it in with other things that fill my cup.
25:31
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: I I need a good show right now, by the way.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: Like, I wish I'm I'm looking forward to moving into the winter months and hoping that some good some good stuff.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: The diplomat is coming back.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you've seen the diplomat, that's good.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: The gilded age, that's good.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: Um, Doc is good.
25:47
SPEAKER_01: Last night I was catching up on tracker.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: Like, I I like television.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: I like to be entertained.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: I like to watch the morning show.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: I like that's the Reese Witherspoon show.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's all so many.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: I I I'm a binger, I'm a watcher.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: Well, while we're digressing for one minute, if if people don't, if people don't know this about Maha, she's also the most avid book reader I know.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: You and one other person, uh Julie, who's the CEO of Life Way, the the only two people I've interviewed on this podcast that I think read more books than anybody else I've ever met, like one a week.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: So, what's your top book recommendations of the past two months?
26:24
SPEAKER_00: What have you?
26:25
SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm reading now the new Barbara Kingswolver book, uh Partita.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: I just got that over the weekend.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: I just read a lot of books.
26:33
SPEAKER_01: Like, I can't tell you everything that I've been reading, but like I have to have a book.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: That's one of the things a new habit I developed in 2026 is like Sunday mornings.
26:42
SPEAKER_01: I will read for a couple hours.
26:43
SPEAKER_01: Like everyone's like, Do you have two hours to read?
26:45
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, yeah, if I get up early and I have my coffee, I enjoy doing that, like that silence and to be focused and not grabbing my phone.
26:53
SPEAKER_01: In the beginning, it took me a long time.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: It's like, read a little bit, grab your phone, creep.
26:56
SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, put the phone away.
26:58
SPEAKER_01: I want to focus because reading for your brain is like working out is for your body.
27:04
SPEAKER_01: Like it's very good in preventing Alzheimer's and all the like it's apparently, I mean, I've been reading all the studies, but yeah.
27:12
SPEAKER_01: So I mean, I get I I have a whole bullet list of recommendations on my Instagram page because I read a lot and like don't waste your time on these books.
27:18
SPEAKER_01: Definitely binge these books.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if you guys aren't following.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: This is we're already skipping to like some of the things, but really for sure.
27:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, if you can multitask, go follow Maha right now.
27:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, click follow, she has tons of great recommendations of both personal branding.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: Like, you drop so much free content on personal branding, like, yeah, because it's important.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: If you need a daily dose of encouragement, insights, like Maha's account is that.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: So my biggest thank you.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: My biggest and her book, um Seven Rules of Self-Reliance as well.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say, I always have a copy.
27:53
SPEAKER_01: I always have a copy next to me, because I just got the copy, they just gave me the copy in Chinese, and I was like, that's so cool.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, the book is out.
28:01
SPEAKER_01: It's also an audiobook for people who listen to audiobooks.
28:04
SPEAKER_01: And yes, listening to a book is reading a book, it's the same thing.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: It is a lot of people had that big debate like, is listening to the book mean I read it?
28:12
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, yes, because you are listening to the book.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: You absorb the content.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so one of my last questions for people, as an entrepreneur, of course, like this is really important to me when, and I heard you say it recently of everybody should have a media kit.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: And if I'm sitting in corporate and I'm a manager or director, what does like what does that look like for me?
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Right.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: And why would I want to have one?
28:37
SPEAKER_01: I think I I have like five pillars of building your personal brand.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: And the first one is clarity, right?
28:43
SPEAKER_01: If you aren't clear on who you are and what you stand for, how do you expect anyone else to know what that is?
28:50
SPEAKER_01: And that's why you need to create this.
28:52
SPEAKER_01: Like, you need to have a professional headshot.
28:54
SPEAKER_01: You need to have a nice little bio about yourself, you need to have like these are the topics I like to talk about, or this is something important you need to know for me that you're not going to get for my LinkedIn profile.
29:04
SPEAKER_01: It's on you to prepare that one pager that you can use for your work, for your partnerships, for your jobs.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: It's the clarity thing that the clarity document that I want everyone to have.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: Just like you have a driver's license and you have a LinkedIn page, like you should have this one asset that explains very clearly who you are and what you should be known for.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: So most people would say that's a resume if you're working corporate.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: Do you think that is now an outdated thing?
29:33
SPEAKER_01: And today's day.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: I don't think it I don't think a resume is an outdated thing, but I do think the way that we have LinkedIn is a lot of people just put like their their careers, like it's your online resume.
29:43
SPEAKER_01: Great, keep that.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: But you should put, use all the assets of the LinkedIn page to tell your story.
29:49
SPEAKER_01: That is the one you have room to tell your story of who you are.
29:53
SPEAKER_01: The the amount of time, and I just spent time coaching a dentist in in California about her updating her LinkedIn profile because she has all these degrees and all these accolades and all these nutrition.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: She does all this stuff, but it wasn't on her LinkedIn profile.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: She just thought it was supposed to be her job experience.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, no, you have that banner.
30:13
SPEAKER_01: Do you guys know you can change that banner and put anything in it?
30:16
SPEAKER_01: It's like real estate advertising for you personally.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: It's like your personal website.
30:19
SPEAKER_01: That's free.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: You can put under your title your name.
30:23
SPEAKER_01: Mine is, you know, CEO, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, board member, you know, all the things that I do.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: It's not just your title.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: You that is real estate for you to put all of the roles you play so that somebody knows who you are and what you're about.
30:38
unknown: Yeah.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: So the most important thing is to share your be clear about who you are in order for it to make it easy for people to find you and to people to understand how to recommend you, how to work with you, how to invest with you, how to partner with you.
30:53
SPEAKER_01: If you are not clear, nobody else will get it.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: What are the three questions somebody should ask themselves to get clear on that?
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm sitting here as a listener and I'm and I'm coming, you know, this was my 30-minute walk to myself, and I'm like, I don't even know what I stand for.
31:09
SPEAKER_00: Like, what are the three questions you got to do?
31:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's um the the first thing is I say, you know, what do what do I care about?
31:14
SPEAKER_01: What do I believe in?
31:15
SPEAKER_01: Because you want to really get into like what are your values?
31:19
SPEAKER_01: I care about educating people, I care about adding value to others, and I care about like leaving people, you know, not just informed, but inspired with new tools.
31:28
SPEAKER_01: So that's like I those are my values of how I want to live in the world consistently with my family or my friends or whatever.
31:35
SPEAKER_01: Second thing is ask somebody who you know what are three words you would use to describe me.
31:41
SPEAKER_01: And if those three words are the three words you're like, yep, that's right, spot on, that's what I want to be known for, then good job.
31:49
SPEAKER_01: You you're rep you're representing yourself in the way that you want to show up.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: But if those three words are different than what you would describe, there's the gap that you need to work on.
31:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
32:00
SPEAKER_01: So it's that self-awareness of like, I need to ask, like, how am I showing up?
32:04
SPEAKER_01: What do we think I'm known for?
32:05
SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, Maha, you're the personal branding, maha, you're the person who's the executive coach and leader, you're the CEO and founder and entrepreneur.
32:13
SPEAKER_01: Yep, those are those are me.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: If someone says to me, you are an influencer about uh fashion or whatever, like, no, that's not what I do.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: Like, I need to make sure that what I'm doing is actually being interpreted and understood by the audience that I care about reaching.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, by the way, I was working through your course online, which she also has a ma, she also has a course online.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I did this exercise.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I ever told you this.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: I did this exercise and I texted naturally.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: I it was like nine o'clock at night, and I'm texting all these people in my life, and I'm like, what are three words you would use to describe me?
32:47
SPEAKER_00: And it was just that as an exercise for me, right?
32:50
SPEAKER_00: And you have to think I've had 20 years in the industry, but some people only know me as females on food.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: And what the gap for me that was coming up was that uh people didn't realize, you know, a lot of people don't say my technical background, right?
33:05
SPEAKER_00: And I identify so much first as a food scientist.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: I've always wanted to be known for my technical acumen, uh, more so than connectivity or everything I've done with FIF, but it doesn't show through, right?
33:19
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't talk about it.
33:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't put it out there.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: And how would I expect anybody to know that if you don't put it out there?
33:28
SPEAKER_01: So then what did you do?
33:29
SPEAKER_01: Did you start putting some like technical stuff in your social?
33:32
SPEAKER_01: Did you start talking about your knowledge on food science?
33:35
SPEAKER_01: Like that's a brilliant example of like everyone knows everything about me except for this one thing that I think is the most important thing that I my secret sauce that I bring to every relationship in your business is your awareness and knowledge of the food science piece of it.
33:49
SPEAKER_01: That's incredible.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: So I started, I truly I started changing like those content pillars of what I put on LinkedIn because when sometimes I feel like when I'm most inspired to post something, it comes, that's not the piece of comfort that comes out creativity, like from a creative side.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, that's not where I'm speaking up.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: And so I had to be really intentional about the content that I was posting.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, at least two times a month, I'm gonna post content that is more technical focused or an insight around the FMB industry from an industry strategist or advisory lens that leans into that technical expertise more.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: But it it was so that was an insight.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: I um I had to work through that from myself.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: That's really great.
34:35
SPEAKER_00: All right, we're coming into time.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: I promise, I promise our listeners like quick hitting episodes here.
34:41
SPEAKER_00: But naturally, I selfishly love to just keep this conversation going and extract out as much as we can from our from our guests.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: But if you were, we shared so much here, right?
34:52
SPEAKER_00: We're talked internal, the you know, placing tokens in those banks of building your network, adding value, being visible internally, doing the simple things, showing up 10 minutes once a day on LinkedIn to build that network.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: So there's so much in this 30 minutes for people to already walk away with.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: But if you were to say to a middle manager director today who's listening to us, who's been doing all the work, you know, they've been doing all the work, putting in all the hours, getting the results, but quietly for years.
35:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking 15 years of unrecognized work.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: What's the one thing they need to start doing this week?
35:33
SPEAKER_01: Building their personal brand by starting to talk about the things that they haven't been talking about for the last 15 years.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: I just want them to start.
35:43
SPEAKER_01: I want them to start sharing their knowledge on LinkedIn.
35:47
SPEAKER_01: I want them to start to write down their ideas, their thoughts, their experience, and start sharing it.
35:53
SPEAKER_01: They'll get confidence because then they're gonna feel that when you see other content on the internet, they're gonna be like, actually, I know what I'm doing.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: Actually, I have these experience and these skills that I just haven't shared before.
36:03
SPEAKER_01: So many times in your life, I at least I've faced it and I talk about it in the book.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: I got asked to do things I'd never done before.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: Somebody asked me to help lead an IPO, and I'm like, I've never done that, but I'm a pure person.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: I've never done that.
36:16
SPEAKER_01: I'm not a financially literate person at all.
36:19
SPEAKER_01: And everyone knows that about me.
36:22
SPEAKER_01: But when I got asked to do it, you find a way, you step up, you lean in, you learn, you ask questions, you lean on people, you ask for help, and then you get it done, and then you're like, oh, I can't believe I did that.
36:32
SPEAKER_01: And then you get the confidence to do the next thing.
36:35
SPEAKER_01: So it's getting the confidence to start talking about your work and your experience and your skills and your expertise because you know you have value to bring.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: You just haven't done it yet.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.
36:49
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you, Mahan.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
36:52
SPEAKER_00: This time, your energy, your insights.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: I so funny.
36:56
SPEAKER_00: I know it's so fun.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: I like I said, I could do this every day with you.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: I get the greatest honor and privilege of sitting here and having this conversation for everybody else.
37:05
SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, we could do a whole deep dive on storytelling.
37:08
SPEAKER_01: We can do a deep dive on how to get on stages, how to get yourself on podcasts.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, they can follow me on Instagram at Maha Gabber, M-A-G M-A-H-A-G-A-B-E R.
37:19
SPEAKER_01: We can put it up on the screen, or my LinkedIn, which is my first name and last name, which is here on the book.
37:23
SPEAKER_01: It's a very long last name.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: So, anyways, but I'd love to, if anyone has questions, let them send them to you, Angela.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: And I'm happy to answer any of them on a video or anything we want to do to follow up with the audience and answer their questions.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: And maybe we should do something together and help teach them what they are.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna I was gonna say this is not the last time we're gonna be hearing from Maha.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: We definitely consider this, consider this the appetizer.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, because at the end of the day, we're not just making food, we're making moves.
37:49
SPEAKER_00: We're women who make it.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, click follow, and share this episode with others so that we can reach even more women in this industry, and we will see you next time.
37:58
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Women Who Make It.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: If today's episode inspired you, please follow the podcast so you never miss one of these powerful conversations.
38:06
SPEAKER_00: And we would also love your help in growing this community by sharing the show with friends and colleagues, because together our stories can create change.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: For even more connection and inspiration, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at femalesandfood.community.
38:23
SPEAKER_00: Or join our global community of women by visiting the website femalesandfood.community.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: We're not just making food, we're making moves.
38:31
SPEAKER_00: We're women who make it.