The Mind Takeaway Podcast - Leadership, Psychology and Creativity

Kristen is currently the Vice-Chair of European Women on Boards (EWoB) and the Development Programs Committee chair. EWoB is the European umbrella association for gender equality at the decision-making level; a non-profit consortium of national organizations whose aim

is to improve gender balance on corporate boards across Europe.

From 2016 to 2021, Kristen was Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Barilla. Kristen reported to the CEO of Barilla and led a 12 member D&I Board, comprised of internal members from 8 regions and two external

Advisors.

Kirsten LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-anderson-aaa44a8/

European Women on Boards: https://europeanwomenonboards.eu/

Gender Diversity Index: https://europeanwomenonboards.eu/portfolio/gender-diversity-index-2021/

Timestamps and Takeaways

"You can be successful being yourself; we bring a lot of value in our leadership roles."

01:42 The challenges of getting into senior leadership as a woman and staying yourself.

04:28 Why it is essential to have good role models, mentors and coaches in your career.

05:12 We are up to 50% less productive if we are inauthentic or trying to cover up an aspect of ourselves or our life.

07:40 In performance reviews, women are given feedback on their style, image, or how they express themselves 86% of the time vs 1% for men.

09:38 The difference between homogeneous and diverse teams and the impact that can have on performance and innovation.

17:42 How can we move from box-ticking to hiring more diverse candidates?

23:43 How does the trauma of climbing the leadership ladder as a woman affect how some female leaders treat other female leaders and make it hard for them to grow in their authentic way.

28:24 All leaders need to practise empathy and be able to step into someone else's shoes when it comes to experiencing exclusion or discrimination.

39:47 It's a job-seekers market, and if a company is window dressing instead of being genuinely inclusive and hiding toxic culture, they will fail to recruit and retain talent.

46:11 How can we challenge existing biases and create more inclusive cultures