Lead Like a Woman

Danielle Cobo is a motivational keynote speaker, best-selling author, and medical sales career consultant who helps organizations lead through change. As a former Fortune 500 senior sales manager, she built a high-performing team despite company-wide downsizing, restructuring, and acquisitions. This earned Danielle several awards, including Regional Sales Manager of the Year and four Sales Excellence awards. She is also the author of Unstoppable Grit and the host of the Unstoppable Grit podcast. In this episode… The professional landscape is demanding, especially for women leaders. These individuals face immense pressure in all aspects of their lives. How can you cultivate sheer determination to mitigate burnout and grow exponentially? Versatile leader Danielle Cobo was raised by a domineering mother who eventually committed suicide, nearly lost her husband in the Iraq war, and experienced a toxic work culture. Rather than surrendering to her trauma, Danielle identified and honed her propensity for resilience and grit. When facing hardships in work and life, she advises recognizing when to reprioritize and rest. Before lending yourself to others, caring for yourself, your family, and your business is vital to foster a long-term impact. On today’s episode of The Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston speaks with Danielle Cobo about her path to resilience and determination. Danielle shares how to discover your superpowers, the origin story of her brand, and how her traumas shaped her career journey.

Hayley Painter is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Painterland Sisters, an Icelandic-style Skyr yogurt made with USDA-certified organic milk. As a fourth-generation farmer, she strives to sustain her family’s organic regenerative farm in rural Pennsylvania. Hayley believes in nutritious, sustainable food and connects consumers to its source. In 2024, she and her sister were named in Forbes 30 Under 30 in the food and drink category. In this episode… Farmers are the foundation of US society, paving the way for consumers to work and live. Yet many farmers struggle to stay in business, especially those prioritizing sustainability and regeneration. One inspiring woman has revitalized the industry by empowering and connecting local farmers. With a mission to accelerate sustainable agriculture, pioneer and connector Hayley Painter engages with and supports diverse farmers to facilitate balanced regeneration. Having grown up on her family’s dairy farm, she recognizes the value of accelerating other farm’s unique missions to strengthen and integrate like-minded communities. When advancing these beneficial relationships, Hayley recommends creating a dialogue with those inside and outside your network.  Tune in to the Lead Like a Woman Show as Andrea Heuston sits down with Hayley Painter, the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Painterland Sisters, to discuss the brand’s mission to elevate farmers. Hayley describes how the brand became national, the farm’s early history and manufacturing process, and why she produces Icelandic-style Skyr yogurt.

Hannah Smolinski is the Founder and CEO of Clara CFO Group, a virtual CFO agency providing small businesses with financial clarity and profit maximization strategies. As a CPA, Hannah's professional experience with one of the world's largest accounting firms shaped her vision of bringing high-level financial expertise to the small business community. She founded Clara CFO Group to be a trusted resource for small businesses as they navigate key financial decisions, strive for sustainable revenue, and plan for scale. Hannah also hosts a YouTube channel with over 50,000 subscribers, where she extends her mission of empowering small businesses. Through this platform, she shares financial strategies, best practices, and educational resources that assist companies in understanding their financial statements and achieving financial success. In this episode… The majority of US companies are small businesses, and women own 40% of them. Yet many of these entrepreneurs lack knowledge and awareness of how to manage their finances. Through empathy and accessible education, one leader helps women and other small business owners gain financial clarity. For many small business entrepreneurs, finances constitute their income and life savings, which often hampers their decision-making. With many of these professionals lacking transparency and managing their companies based on money in the bank, it’s crucial to maintain emotional intelligence to guide them through their journeys. As a CPA and entrepreneur, Hannah Smolinski hires analysts and consultants who possess a keen sense of empathy. She also creates comprehensible content to educate small businesses on loans and forecasting. In this episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston invites Hannah Smolinski, the Founder and CEO of Clara CFO Group, to address financial management basics for small businesses. Hannah shares common financial management mistakes, her experience working for her family’s business, and how she educates businesses through transparency.

Barbara Wichmann is the Founder and CEO of ARTEMIA, a full-service strategic communications and digital marketing agency. As a marketing and communications strategist, she prioritizes DEIA in public outreach, national advertising, and culturally relevant in-language marketing programs. Barbara has garnered media coverage for her clients in outlets, including Good Morning America, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. In this episode… Women-owned businesses comprise 40% of all businesses in the US, amassing $2.7 trillion annually. These companies have a tremendous impact on local communities, providing support and spearheading environmental, social, and governance initiatives. How can you advance your endeavors to inspire your community? Through empathy and reciprocation, women-owned companies promote employee, partner, and community growth. Drawing on her upbringing in the Netherlands, sustainability strategist Barbara Wichmann established a Women’s Business Enterprise certified, ESG-focused, and green business. She maintains that female-led organizations can assess and mitigate their carbon footprints, provide training and other resources for employees, and educate the community on social and environmental initiatives. Tune in to this episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show as Andrea Heuston sits down with Barbara Wichmann, the Founder and CEO of ARTEMIA, to discuss her social and environmental impact. Barbara details her path to entrepreneurship, how to become ESG certified, and her experience as a member of WBEC.

Krista Bourne is a business leader and speaker who specializes in sales, service, operations, and workplace culture. As the former Chief Operating Officer of Verizon’s Consumer Group, she led five consumer channels, including 1,500 corporate stores and more than 5,000 authorized retail stores, multiple non-exclusive national retail relationships, and a globally operated customer service program. Krista focuses on challenging biases, embracing diversity and inclusion, and mentoring underrepresented groups into sales leadership roles. In this episode… Everyone has choices to make in their professional lives. Rather than relying on fate alone, your decisions shape your impact and how you present yourself. Learn how calculated choices can help you become a powerful leader. After dropping out of college to raise a child at 19 years old, Black business leader Krista Bourne decided she didn’t want to become another statistic. Through self-discipline, leadership, and personal accountability, Krista became a key changemaker at a Fortune 20 company before transferring her skills to coach other rising professionals. By choosing to build a portfolio of skills, capabilities, and experiences, you can communicate and lead authentically through storytelling. In today’s segment of the Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston invites Krista Bourne to speak about creating an intentional life. Krista shares how storytelling facilitates effective communication, how to silence your critics through authentic leadership, and her approach to leading professionals.

Maeve Wang is the Co-founder and CEO of IAMBIC, a tech-driven footwear company that reimagines the shoe manufacturing process. With 10 years of experience in strategy, market research, and entrepreneurship, she strives to bring personalization and innovation to the traditionally mass-produced footwear industry. Maeve has worked with Fortune 500 companies and invested in wellness, wearables, and data analytics technologies. She is a recipient of the US National Science Foundation grant for IAMBIC’s groundbreaking footwear. In this episode… The startup landscape is dominated largely by white men. So when women and minorities try to acquire funding for a new venture, they often face criticism. One Asian-American woman defied the odds to execute an innovative and passionate vision. After noticing her feet changing shape and growing bunions from traditional footwear, Maeve Wang struggled to find specialty shoes to support her feet. What began as a mission to develop an accurate size-prediction tool for footwear blossomed into technology-driven shoes that conform to consumers’ feet. Yet this journey was met with judgment about Maeve’s identity as a minority entrepreneur, leading her to doubt her capabilities. Through mentorship, encouragement, and a supportive team, Maeve launched substantial ideas with conviction. On today’s episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston welcomes Maeve Wang, the Co-founder and CEO of IAMBIC, to discuss her mission-driven journey. Maeve shares how she fuses art and science to revolutionize traditional shoe manufacturing, the origin story behind one of IAMBIC’s most notable inventions, and how to build a passionate and collaborative team.

Heather Dominick, CEO of A Course in Business Miracles, discusses how highly sensitive individuals can excel in leadership. She highlights the importance of recognizing strengths, conserving energy during overwhelming periods, and embracing deep listening and feeling. The podcast also explores the transformative power of embracing uniqueness and discomfort, and the significance of intuition in decision-making.

Thais Gibson is the Founder of The Personal Development School, which offers personal development courses to empower employees and teams. As a best-selling author, speaker, and counselor, she has been recognized by Psychology Today and other publications for her cutting-edge research on the subconscious mind, attachment styles, and personal transformation. Thais is certified in over 13 modalities, including cognitive behavioral therapy, somatic processing, and trauma work. In this episode… Childhood trauma and experiences become embedded in the subconscious mind, dictating relationships and work styles. This belief is known as the attachment theory, which focuses on emotional connections formed in early childhood. What are the various attachment styles, and how can you identify and heal them? Professional counselor, teacher, and theoretical researcher Thais Gibson has discovered four main attachment styles. The securely attached style is characterized by healthy emotional expression and balanced relationships, whereas anxious, preoccupied individuals experienced inconsistent emotional attention in their formative years, leading to people-pleasing tendencies and poor boundaries in adulthood. Similarly, dismissive and fearful-avoidant people internalize volatility and struggle with workplace communication and relationships. Reconciling these styles involves subconscious reprogramming through repetition and memory. In this episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston invites Thais Gibson, the Founder of The Personal Development School, to speak about attachment styles in the workplace. Thais talks about her research on attachment theory, how to recondition the subconscious mind, and her impetus for founding The Personal Development School.

Emily Drake is the CEO of The Collective Academy, a leadership development firm working with global organizations. With decades of experience in counseling, coaching, and facilitation, she helps leaders and teams create cultures that foster community, purpose, and well-being. Emily produces and leads programs for professional services and nonprofit organizations, supporting entrepreneurial thinkers, creators, and leaders to envision the future. As a mental health clinician, she hosts the Who’s Missing podcast, which explores the stories and perspectives of people from diverse backgrounds. In this episode… Every high-reaching leader has a personal growth story. Whether originating from trauma or accomplishments, these anecdotes facilitate meaningful connections. Learn about the impact of community on personal and professional development from an esteemed mental health expert. According to therapist Emily Drake, the most effective way of discovering your identity is through connection and community. These facilitation groups should include a humanitarian leader who can make decisions and support and appreciate other members. However, leaders need support too, so Emily says to cultivate relationships with other high-achieving women and diverse individuals to advocate for you and help you attain your next endeavor. In today’s installment of the Lead Like a Woman Show, Andrea Heuston welcomes her guest Emily Drake, the CEO of The Collective Academy, to discuss discovering yourself through high-achieving leadership and support. Emily shares the importance of honesty and self-acceptance, how she establishes personal development programs, and why she decided to interview her mother on her podcast.

Jane Frankel is the Managing Partner of The Art of Performance, which provides business education services to help organizations develop and grow through customer and partner relationships. As an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Temple University, she oversees project-based internships and corporate partnerships. Jane is a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum in Greater Philadelphia, an advisory board member for Temple University’s Center for Regional Economics, and a member of the Middle Market Steering Committee for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. In this episode… Women have a competitive advantage in today’s corporate environment, with businesses dependent on their autonomy and authoritative decision-making. However, to become leaders, women must discover and own their strengths. How can you harness your mindset to boost performance? With a versatile career in education and innovation, Jane Frankel has identified four components of mindset: goals, values, beliefs, and work styles. Once you’ve established these elements, you can align them by observing and recording your behaviors and reactions. Gaining full control of your mindset lets you assess opportunities effectively to propel your personal and professional life. Tune in to this episode of the Lead Like a Woman Show as host Andrea Heuston sits down with Jane Frankel, The Art of Performance’s Managing Partner, to discuss the fundamentals of mindset. Jane breaks down the difference between mindset and mindfulness, her definition of women in leadership, and how to identify your five “whys.”