The Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit is flooding over with powerful, professional leaders. What happens when these leaders are women leading in male- dominated industries?
[Related: Celebrating a Lifetime of Excellence at Women of Power Summit]
President of Professional Diversity Network and National Association of Professional Women, Star Jones, sat down with Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer of the NBA, Pam El, and the Chief Marketing Officer of the NFL, Dawn Hudson, for a lively, in-depth discussion on how to transfer your winning skills no matter the job, position, industry, or gender domination.
Star Jones kicked off the conversation acknowledging what “bad women†these ladies are; not only for their career accolades, but also their grace, strength and bad girl spirit.
This is one of those conversations you simply had to be there to witness. The spirit of sisterhood and success pulsated as these women disclosed a little of how they’ve done what they’ve had to do in order to become who they are today.
Check out a few golden nuggets from the discussion below:
Star Jones: How do you thrive as an executive in a male-dominated industry?
Dawn Hudson: You have to be yourself and you have to reach out to get to know people as people.
Pam El: As a marketer, it’s what I was born to do. It’s all I’ve ever done. I reach out emotionally to invite people to walk in.
What is the most effective way to deal with crisis and outcry while in a high-profile position? (I.e. Maria Sharapova’s recent drug test failure)
El: Take off the mask. Tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and let the chips fall where they fall.
What does the future of marketing professional sports look like?
El: Global presence will grow and virtual reality will be implemented. We’re working on the ability to view the game with virtual reality while sitting in the arena. Because of technology and new products, the marketing of the game will change.
Hudson: Technology will have such an application in sports. Technology will allow people to sit in different rooms across the country with virtual reality glasses on and watch the game together. The challenge is that with technology people are now watching games in snippets and checking statistics, instead of really watching the whole game and investing in the players.
Attendee Question: What masks do you feel you continue to have to wear working in a male-dominated society?
El: I don’t think it has anything to do with male and female. I think it has more to do with Corporate America. The same masks you wear in Corporate America are the masks we wear in the leagues.
Hudson: I’m not going to work if I have to wear a mask. What you see is what you get. Authenticity makes you happy where you work, makes you more effective, and makes for better teams.