YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP8VTRAvro0
Original Published Date: Sep 26, 2023
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Unlocking Success Empowering Women in Leadership to Excel
In the dynamic landscape of leadership, women continue to shatter glass ceilings and redefine the future. However, securing the support of investors remains a critical challenge. This session dives deep into the strategies and insights that women in leadership roles need to excel by garnering the backing of investors. Join us as we explore women leaders' unique hurdles in accessing capital and investment and get actionable advice on building robust investor relationships, crafting compelling pitches, and confidently navigating the investment landscape.
Nazma Rosado, Principal Consultant, Avion Consulting, Inc.
Megan Antonelli, Chief Executive Officer, HealthIMPACT
Final_Unlocking Success - Empowering Women in Leadership to Excel
[00:00:00]
Megan Antonelli: Hi, welcome back everybody, Megan Antonelli, and I'm here with my friend Nazma Razzato , who I have known for longer than I care to say, which tends to be my [00:00:36] thing, but this is true because I went to high school with Nazma. And we have had we've cut her passive cross many times back when I used to do events in pharma, she's had an amazing career in healthcare and I'm so excited to have her here today to talk to her about, you know, women in leadership roles in healthcare and, you know, what we can do to, you know, sort of work with our investors and our partners better, but Nazma introduce yourself.
Tell us a little bit about your background and what you've been working on most recently.
Nazma Rosado: Yeah, perfect. Well, Megan, first of all, thanks so much for having me. [00:01:12] I'm so excited to spend some time with you chatting about work, because usually when we get together, it's about everything, but, and it is crazy to think how many years we've known each other, because neither one of us looks as old as we really are.
That's my belief. So I'm Nazma Rosado, as Megan mentioned, and I'm an executive coach and leadership development consultant. I've spent the first coach. Oh my gosh, 27 years in biotech and healthcare and some biotech and big pharma and have a lot of healthcare experience in that case. Now I've transitioned into executive coaching, leadership development, and really [00:01:48] working with companies on both sides of the deal, right?
So I work with venture capitalists. I work with private equity firms and I work with small startups. As well as midsize biotech, large pharma and other industries as well. We work in, you know, at Avion Consulting, which is the consulting group that I'm with. We work across industries, finance, law, automotive, like everything.
But for the purposes of today, really working on both sides of the deal with ensuring that VCs and PEs are comfortable with who's on their portfolio team in terms of [00:02:24] leadership. Thank you. Right. So I help them to ensure that we have the right people in place and that they're performing at the level that's expected.
And I also work with these organizations as they scale up or prepare to scale up on change management and project management to make sure that they're ready for what they need to do. Amazing.
Megan Antonelli: Yeah, we've been lucky to talk to a lot of healthcare CEOs with, you know, with startups. There's, of course, for so many years, there's been, you know, innovation in the healthcare space.
And, you know, it's not often enough that we have female CEOs and [00:03:00] you know, leadership on the innovator startup side, but we certainly see a lot of it. And I think our audience would love to hear your thoughts on kind of What are those leadership qualities that, you know, we as women need to work on to, to bring to that table to make sure that the investor has the confidence in us.
What are, you know, what are some of the, those qualities as well as, you know, what do we do
Nazma Rosado: to get there? Yeah, I would say. I mean, if I were to summarize it, it would be competence, confidence and credibility, right? You need to really be able to communicate and in a way that shows that you know [00:03:36] what you're talking about.
And so, in order to do that, the very first thing you need to do is know your business and know your role. Right. I've worked with some CEOs who have no idea of what's expected of them in that role. And what happens is, particularly in, you know, some of the organizations, it's really deeply embedded in science.
You might have a expert in a particular area or, you know, in a really deep science knowledge. And that expertise is highly valuable, but without leadership capability, their ability to really establish credibility. Is greatly [00:04:12] reduced, right? Because they can't communicate outside of that, those parameters that they're used to communicating in.
And so you, I think, you know, for those folks, if you're someone who is really Very strong expert in a particular area, but hasn't had much opportunity to develop their leadership skills. I mean, you know, get a coach or just identify what your strengths are and leverage those and identify what your opportunities are for improvement and build on those.
Right. So I think, you know, that's where competence comes in [00:04:48] and really, you know, your capabilities as well. And I think if you're looking at C suite roles, particularly in small companies, that's looking to then expand and grow, you need to be operationally adept, right? You need to know how to run a P& L.
You need to know how to make a decision quickly and clearly. You need to know how to execute. You know, when you're working with VCs and private equity firms, there's a three to five timeline, right? Three to five years is really the horizon that they're looking at. So there's no time to stop and train you into being the right leader.
[00:05:24] You need to really sort of proactively come with that, right? So, so that's why I think some of those things are so important is really, you know, being competent and that gives you the confidence that you need. To then really communicate in an effective manner, right? Communication is key. Like, I'm going to probably say it a million times for everything you ask, because that's what these sponsoring companies are looking for.
They're looking for these honest, open dialogues. They want to know the facts. They want to know what isn't working and how can we help you fix that so that everyone wins in the long term. Sure.
Megan Antonelli: Yeah. And I mean, that's healthcare [00:06:00] is so siloed that it's very easy to get in your lane and not be able to talk about it more broadly and, you know, in even a relatable way, right?
I mean, so whether it's science or deep technology, and of course now with AI, you know, for people to really You've got to translate it, right? And to be a communicator like that, but communicating is hard. I mean, I literally elevate and amplify people for a living and I hate public speaking. I hate doing this and I'm not good [00:06:36] at it.
Even though I've watched hundreds of people do it for so many years. How do you help them? You know, what's the way to sort of help them, get from whether it's public speaking or even just talking directly to that investor, what are some of the tricks of the trade or the tips that you give?
Nazma Rosado: Well, first of all, I've never met someone who doesn't suffer from imposter syndrome, right? We all have that voice and like in the back of our head that keeps saying, you know, do you really know that? And are you really sure? And it's just sort of, you know, it holds us back and keeps us [00:07:12] from really showing what we know and how strong our conviction is.
Because we grew
Megan Antonelli: up in New York and we went to Spence, but other people have it for sure.
Nazma Rosado: Other people. Fence girls rule, so we're, you know, we know people want to hear our opinion and we're happy to give it. But the truth is, right, I think, you know, especially with women, but this is a true statement across the board, imposter syndrome holds us back.
And I think if you're going to step into this leadership, you know, position and you're looking to gain the support and backing of others, you need to, again, know your [00:07:48] strengths and you need to lead with confidence, right? Know your value and share your expertise. I think women in particular are so hesitant in highlighting what's so fantastic about us, right?
It's like we rather be demure. And that ends up being vague in what are we bringing to the table. So I would say fight the urge to undersell yourself and to focus more on being likable. Right? Because we tend to do that. Just put that to the side and instead really present your experience. Don't be so modest, right?
Your male identifying [00:08:24] counterparts won't be doing that. Right. They lead with here's why I'm the best candidate. And here's, you know, they'll give you a 25 point list on all of the career successes that they've had. That really helps to highlight their performance and their track record of, you know, doing the right things at the right time.
And investors are always thinking in terms of ROI. So if we're not doing the same thing, we're going to look like we're not as strong. Right? And the truth of the matter is that we come out there and we sell ourselves appropriately, right? And we talk about, you know, here are the things that we've done.
Here are some challenges that [00:09:00] we've had, and here's how we met them. And it's okay if you're saying, you know, I identified a need that I couldn't fill, so I brought on an advisor. That's still solution oriented, right? So it's not, none of us are the experts of everything. We all need help. We all need, you know, direction at times.
Just be honest about it. Right? And really, I think, understand, I cannot underscore enough how important it is to know thyself. Know what you're good at and know what you're not good at. Right? You tend to enjoy the parts of your work that you're good at because it feels easy and comfortable.
And the thing is [00:09:36] that you don't really like doing, chances are you're not really good at it. Right. And so the point is to leverage those strengths to help develop the areas that you're weaker and make yourself a little bit more, you know, overall lifted in terms of what your capabilities are.
Megan Antonelli: Yeah, that's a really good point.
And I think, you know, one of the things I always say, You know, as we've tried to emphasize, of course, I always want my programs to have women on them and I want to be elevating women. It is always a lot harder to get women to speak, you [00:10:12] know, even the process. It's not because they're not as qualified or not as good speakers or, you know, not as available, although arguably that might be that is probably the case.
And in a lot of cases, it's harder for them to get away, but. It's also they always ask more questions. They need to know more, you know, and that's, you know, it's a positive, it's a strength, you know, and they come when they do come and they come better prepared, you know, and more and more engaged, right.
Whereas often the men just hop in and hop out, you know, so I [00:10:48] think taking those skills to really bring them to, you know, to the table of whether it's the, you know, trying to get the investor or trying to get marketing and PR for your company. It's
Nazma Rosado: all good reason behind that. I think, you know, just traditionally men have the opportunity to walk into the room command the space and be listened to.
Women have to establish credibility, more so than Amanda's in the boardroom, even today. We've come a long way but we still have a lot further to go and if we as women are second guessing ourselves. Well, they're going to second guess us [00:11:24] too, right? So it really is, you know, the reason why we prepare and overprepare is because we know we have become prepared to show up as the leaders that we know we can be.
But I think it also holds us back sometimes because then we craft this That we feel like we can't go off of and in which case our natural abilities don't shine through. And I think the thing that's so powerful in a leader is their ability to connect. And if you are hiding behind, you know what you think people want to hear instead of just speaking from the truth, right, providing the facts.
I mean, Private equity firms, [00:12:00] venture capital firms, they don't want, you know, your opinion. They don't want to have to dive in and like sort through things. It's not like presenting to the street where you have to put some spin on it or you have to like package it as selling it. They want to know, tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly so we can help you leverage the good, solve the bad, and identify the ugly, right?
And so it's a partnership. And I think that's the key to success, whether if you're male or female and you're in. A role where you're, you know, in a leadership role at a company that's looking for funding, own that space and be open, [00:12:36] honest, transparent, and communicative. And it's, that's going to really get you far.
Yeah, for sure.
Megan Antonelli: So beyond communication and that, you know, very important part of that role. What about, you know, within healthcare for sure, there's just, there's so much, you know, volatility, it's complex, sometimes you have to pivot, sometimes there's a lot of change, you know, what the company that you think you might be running might have to Change entirely.
What are some other, you know, more of the sort of strategic operational qualities of leadership and things that you [00:13:12] think are important
Nazma Rosado: to highlight? Yeah, I think change management is incredibly important, especially for companies that are going through rapid growth or hopeful growth, right? And you're just.
Sort of unsure. Is this going to work or are we going to get the next series? And you know, where are we on things? And so it's really important to structure and plan. How are you going to manage this change? Because it's not just what's going on between you and the rest of your colleagues in the C suite or your advisors or you know, your partner company that's backing you.
It's also everyone else who's working in your [00:13:48] organization, right? And change is. At the individual level, it's extremely personal because, you know, if you hear there's a change coming immediately in your workplace, you start thinking, well, is this going to, am I going to lose my job? Right? Is that going to impact my ability to provide for my family?
Am I going to end up with like food or job or home insecurity? Like, it takes us back to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right? So any change at the business level, while we're looking at it strategically, as far as what does this do for the business? And you know, is this the right move to make? And is this going to [00:14:24] increase our ability to generate, you know, high value products or what have you?
From an individual level, it's really much more simple than that. It's like that feeling in your gut of, am I going to be okay or not? And so when it comes to change, the best thing a leader can do is to plan for it, really be focused, right? Remind the team of the ultimate goal, let them know, look, you know.
It takes time, right? And so connect the efforts of today towards the future goals and the realization of those goals. And I know I keep saying it, but really, you know, have those clear communications, right? [00:15:00] Know who needs to know what. So do your stakeholder analysis. Right. Who needs to know what, when, and what's the best way to communicate it to them.
And just be available, you know, right now we're in a hybrid and from some companies, some are virtual completely. It really doesn't matter if you're in the office or if you're behind a computer, be available to your people. Right? Because if they feel like you're hard to reach, they're going to start reading into that.
In the absence of information, we're very creative and we're always creative in the negative. We never seem to think like the best can happen. We're always like focused on the worst case [00:15:36] scenario. And statistically, the worst case happens very rarely. But that's where we put so much of our energy.
So instead of letting people direct their energy towards, you know, supposing the worst case, have them focus on what you need in order to grow and strengthen your organization by having them be a part of the conversation.
Megan Antonelli: Yeah, that's great advice. I think when you look at that, too, I mean, you talked a little bit about, you know, the hiring towards the needs, right?
If there is a problem, what do you do? You know, and how did you deal with it? And so with [00:16:12] keeping that communication, especially in today's, you know, hybrid environment, what about, you know, when you talk to folks about how they're building their teams and how they're hiring? What are the you know, companies looking for in that type of, you know, what are the investors looking for to see, you know, that you've got that covered, that you're doing the right thing in terms of building those teams.
Nazma Rosado: Yeah. Well be decisive, right? Be really clear on your expectations and your needs. Hire those who have strengths and areas that you're weakest. Right. So that you overall bring up the competence of your team. And then [00:16:48] once you're on board, listen and learn from them. Yeah, I'm a strong believer in doing your due diligence to bring in the right people and then letting them have the space to do that, which we hired them to do, but also I feel like I need to observe and learn, right?
Because everyone has a different way of approaching things. And. The more you pay attention to those differences and you learn from those different ways, the stronger you become as a leader because you start establishing, you know, a tool belt of sorts where you can then have different solutions that are fit for purpose as opposed to your go to mechanism of action.
Right.[00:17:24] I would say also when you're looking at building your teams and you know, everyone wants to have a high performing team. When I say be decisive, I mean, fire fast, right? If someone's not working, just pull the trigger. It's not going to help anyone to tumbleweed down, right? Just be this, be decisive and fire fast.
Hire, hire proven leaders. Right. So really activate your network. Who do you know that has the qualities or that has the expertise or the experience that you're looking for and pull from them. Maybe they're not ready to make a move or they're not [00:18:00] interested, but they're going to know other people who are like minded.
Right. So really leverage your network to bring in. Proven leaders. And, you know, for yourself, right again, just ensure that the right people are in the right seat from the very beginning because it goes fast that 3 to 5 year horizon for peas and PCs. Right. But what in terms of your own growth and development, identify and work on those areas that you need to improve and do the same for your team.
Right. So you need to get past that forming and storming. You know, of team development early so that when you're ready to really work with your P and [00:18:36] VCs teams, you are performing at a higher rate of speed, right? There's trust, there's confidence. The communication is seamless. That is going to make your backing organization feel like.
The right people know what needs to be done and they're operating seamlessly. That's what they want to see. And I think another thing is really to remember that it's a partnership, right? Leverage their advice and don't take it as like, you know, they didn't call your baby ugly. They're just trying to help you identify that, you know, maybe it's winter and they need an additional bunting or whatever it is.[00:19:12]
Right? Right. Giving you and then, you know, Engage, right? Engage and adapt. Don't be afraid to adapt. So in that,
Megan Antonelli: I mean, what are some of the big, you know, are there mistakes that you see women, specifically women leaders make from time to time that you would call out when it
Nazma Rosado: comes to that? We have this drive to be perfect.
And we think that's somehow attainable. And so in our search and our, you know, just. We give so much of ourselves that we deplete our own energy and it's [00:19:48] all towards this ideal, you know, what is it in my head that a leader looks like or what does a CEO look like? And We put too much pressure on ourselves, right?
And I think that combined with the imposter syndrome really holds us back. So I would say, you know, it really is a matter of identifying what it is that makes you so passionate about the work you do and really lean into that and stop thinking about, well, I'm not a man or, well, you know, I don't have a PhD or I don't have an MD or I don't have a whatever it is, right?
And [00:20:24] instead focus on, What do I have and what gives me value? And what are the things that make me the right person to be in this seat? And what do I need from the others right on my team, in my organization and in a partnership with another firm? Right.
Megan Antonelli: Well, that's awesome. And I think kind of covers, I think we were going to talk a little bit about what the must do's are, but that kind of covers it.
But anything in, in closing in our last few minutes that you would say are, you know, the things that you just would want everybody to walk away with, you know, in terms of you know, whether it's approaching their [00:21:00] investors positioning their company, or even just, you know, if they're just at that phase of building their company.
Nazma Rosado: Yeah, again, I think I'm being a bit repetitive, but no one understand your strengths and weaknesses. No one can read your mind so communicate clearly and decisively and robustly. And I think another thing would be to establish a sounding board, so you have objective input. Right. Whether if that is having a coach that you go to and you're like, okay, just listen to me kind of, you know, think this through, or if it's a mentor or a trusted, you know, friend.
Right. [00:21:36] I think it's really necessary for us to sometimes vocalize and kind of get it out and hear ourselves and then think about. Does that make sense or not, we tend to listen to others more than we listen to ourselves. And so it's important to have someone who can say, you know, I think you're on to something there or tell me more.
Right. And so yeah, I mean, just, I would say stop holding yourself back and you're in the place that you're supposed to be and you're there for a reason. Right. Own it.
Megan Antonelli: Awesome. Well, I love that. Tell us, tell the audience how they can get in touch with you. Nazbah. I mean, I know, but [00:22:12]
Nazma Rosado: well, you probably have some pathways to me that others don't, but find me on LinkedIn.
I'm very active on LinkedIn. And so you could just search my name, right. You can also find me at avianconsulting. com. And you know, You can also find me. My email is the easiest ever. It's my first name dot my last name at mac. com. So, I mean, definitely out if there are questions that, you know, you'd like to follow up on if there are you know, any advice I tell everyone I teach a lot, I do some adjunct teaching and I teach for different organizations and I tell everyone just, you know.
Connect with me on LinkedIn because [00:22:48] you might not have a question today, but you might have one three months from now. I'm more than happy. I think we need to use our networks in a stronger manner. So, I invite anyone who's interested to do so.
Megan Antonelli:
Yeah, and I will attest by that. Contact her, reach her.
She's been a wonderful mentor and friend to me for years and It's a, you know, I think I just, I'm so excited for you to have kind of gotten to this place. Cause I think it's such a perfect fit for you to be able to share that with all the women and men, I'm sure in terms of leadership and helping them get to where they need to go.
So thanks so much for joining us today. And that concludes this segment of health impact. We'll talk to you [00:23:24] soon.