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Book Gwen to Speak
Gwen’s speaking audiences across the country encompass private and public corporations, the nonprofit sector, educational institutions, and healthcare and government organizations.
Presentations for Executives & Emerging Leaders
Gwen focuses her speaking engagements on the following topics, but also customizes presentations on request.
Your Leadership Journey: Live and Lead In and On Purpose
Gwen Webber-McLeod delivers an energizing interactive keynote based on her book, “Your Leadership Journey: Living and Leading In and On Purpose.” The keynote is designed to inspire emerging and established women leaders. The central messages focus on the importance of women intentionally defining and claiming leadership as a resource for living and leading in and on their chosen purpose. The keynote features concepts and ideas from the book. Gwen shares observations based on her experiences as an expert on women and leadership. She notes when women decide to lead this experience deeply intertwines the personal and professional.
Gwen believes leadership is a whole life experience for women. Becoming an effective woman leader requires developing specific philosophies, skills, and behaviors that support her at home and work. Gwen observes the creation of a Personal Leadership Development Plan is a great resource to guide decision making about life and career goals based in commitment to living and leading in and on purpose.
The Unexpected Leader®
Gwen Webber-McLeod trademarked the term The Unexpected Leader®. To describe the unique experiences Black women have as they lead at the intersection of race, gender, and leadership. Specifically, Black women leaders navigate the following dynamics when hired or promoted to positions that cause them to shatter the glass/cement ceiling:
Being the First Only and Different– Unexpected Leaders simultaneously make history and deal with the isolation of being the only or one of a few Black woman executive leaders in a company or organization.
Gaining and Sustaining Credibility – Unexpected Leaders are always qualified and exceed expectations. Yet they struggle to be experienced as credible leaders due to unchecked racism, sexism, implicit bias and microaggressions.
Legacy Building – Unexpected Leaders realize their historical hirings are often done from a perspective of risk management. Given this they are highly aware that perceptions of their effectiveness set the tone for whether other Black women leaders have access to executive positions and opportunities.
The experience of unexpectedness has career long impact on the careers of Black women leaders. This keynote focuses on specific strategies Unexpected Leaders and those hiring them can use to ensure this talented group of leaders do what Black women leaders have historically done, exceed expectations that lead to legacy building careers.