On day one of the 2023 European Women in Tech Conference, Janet Maldonado, Head of Engineering, Boehringer Ingelheim, stepped onto the stage to deliver her talk, “Disrupt or Be Disrupted: Embracing Change to Thrive in the New Frontiers of Technology.”

I’ve said over and over throughout my career that improving your communication skills is a lifetime journey. You can never refine them too much.

Because women are still fighting the headwinds of workplace inequality—and often, their own self-limiting behaviors—learning to recognize and communicate their value is crucial if they want to grow and advance.

I want to tell you a story about the importance of connecting as humans at the start of a meeting.

In May of 2022 our executive team gathered to talk about budgets. I was so deep in task mode when the meeting started, that I dove immediately into the topics at hand.

As more Fortune 500 companies issue sweeping edicts making a return to the office mandatory, I confess, I’m surprised—and disappointed. 

What is it that makes us decide it’s time to rethink our professional or personal goals? An unsatisfying job? A career that no longer feels “right”? A nagging sense that we’d like to contribute more to solving community—even global—issues?

The world is changing, and so are stakeholders’ expectations for communication from the C-suite. Today, employees, customers, and partners demand a new level of authenticity, transparency, and engagement from business leaders.

You’ve been asked to make a sales presentation to a potential international customer located in a country you’ve never visited. 

Before moving into training and coaching, I was an IT Consulting Engineer for 25-plus years.  To this day, I have a left-brain bent.  But I remember the experience that changed my perspective on what makes a powerful technical communicator (hint: it involves both hemispheres).