Welcome to a new episode of the New Female Leaders podcast
Welcome to a new episode of the New Female Leaders podcast. The podcast about authentic leadership where we interview role models and experts and together we try to answer the question: what IS authentic female leadership? How can you make an impact and stay true to yourself? This time we’re talking to Nicola Mendelsohn, the Facebook Vice President for EMEA. We’re so excited to have her on the show. Enjoy!
Listen to this episode on
Nicola Mendelsohn
“If you can be your true, authentic self, you can be vulnerable. You just create an environment where others can speak that truth, what’s on their mind.“
– Nicola
Here’s what you will learn:
- Why the concept of work/life balance is outdated
- How the future of work has changed
- The role of social media in society
- How being diagnosed with an incurable illness highlights the importance of leading with empathy
- The importance of setting realistic goals and defining your North Star
- How to manage your biases
- How to deal with imposter syndrome
- How to treat everything as a learning opportunity
Scroll down for an introduction, show notes, and relevant links
Get to your own definition of authentic leadership with the New Female Leader book
In the book New Female Leader Caroline gives you concrete handles for how to lead as a woman and stay with your own values. You'll read from inspiring female rolemodels, Caroline gives you tips to lead in your own way and refers to relevant researches so you can find your own definition of authentic leadership.
Introduction
Nicola Mendelsohn is currently the Vice President for Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Facebook. A role she has held since 2013. She is also a non-executive of Diageo, serves on the UK government’s Digital Economy Council, the Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board, and is co-president of the charity Norwood.
In 2019, Nicola founded and launched the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation, a charity focused solely on raising funds to help the thousands of people living with Follicular Lymphoma to live well and get well.
At the heart, her position at Facebook is about “making sure that whether it’s a person using our platforms or it’s a business, large or small, that Facebook can be the best platform and the best partner for the individuals or for the businesses, especially through this last year where we’ve all gone through this rapid digital transformation.”
No two days are ever the same at Facebook. Before the Covid world, Nicola would travel most weeks to different parts of the region. She would meet with all different groups of people, with business owners, small and large, that were using Facebook’s platforms: politicians, community groups, and female entrepreneurs, to accelerate women in business and get more young women into STEM careers.
Prior to joining Facebook Nicola worked in advertising for over 20 years working at BBH, Grey and Karmarama. Prior roles include: first female President of the IPA (the advertising industry trade body), Trustee of The White Ribbon Alliance, Chairman of Women’s Aid Development Board and President of the Women in Advertising and Communications London club (WACL). She was also a Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Co-Chair of the UK Governments Creative Industries Council. In 2015 she was awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the creative industries in the UK. Her greatest joy in life comes from her husband Jon and her four children Gabi, Danny, Sam and Zac.
Scroll down for show notes and relevant links from the interview
What is your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Be a role model and share your insights in the comments!
Show notes
- Tijdstip
- Notes
- [0.00.18]
- Nicola talks about her role as VP for EMEA at Facebook.
- [0.01.55]
- Nicola explains why no two days in her life looks the same
- [0.03.31]
- Nicola shares how she keeps her life in balance
- [0.05.13]
- Caroline and Nicola share different ways of thinking about the world of work
- [0.07.39]
- Nicola shares her experience of being diagnosed with cancer and how it further honed the empathetic side of her leadership
- [0.11.03]
- Nicola talks about how the importance of community and helping others was instilled from a very young age
- [0.12.15]
- Nicola shares how the support of Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg made her more appreciative of working at Facebook
- [0.13.30]
- Nicola shares about the values she lives and leads by
- [0.14.34]
- Nicola talks about what the effects are of one aspect of your life spilling over to the other
- [0.16.13]
- Nicola talks about the importance of being clear about what your North Star is and what the milestones are that you want to achieve
- [0.18.56]
- Nicola shares why you can be your true, authentic self and still be vulnerable as a leader
- [0.23.17]
- Nicola talks about how you can create a more diverse and inclusive work environment and the training programs Facebook runs to manage bias
- [0.25.36]
- According to Nicola it sometimes takes a hard look in the mirror when you’re going through a phase where things don’t seem right
- [0.27.30]
- Nicola talks about the importance of setting realistic goals
- [0.28.46]
- Nicola shares about her experience with imposter syndrome and how she takes the pressure off of herself
- [0:31:44]
- Nicola shares why the tech industry is not doing good enough by women
- [0.33.01]
- Nicola explains what the detrimental effect is of gender stereotyping on young girls and their eventual career choices
- [0.34.24]
- Nicola shares why she feels blessed to work at Facebook as a woman
- [0.35.37]
- Caroline and Nicola talk about the role of social media and what that means for Facebook and society overall
- [0.40.10]
- Nicola shares her advice to current and future female leaders
- [0.42.58]
- Caroline shares how you can connect with Nicola and New Female Leaders on social media
Relevant links and references
Follicular Lymphoma Foundation
Option B, Sheryl Sandberg’s book
Eleanor Roosevelt
Lisa McCarthy, Nicola Mendelsohn’s coach
Follow Nicola
The handbook for new leadership from your own values
In the book New Female Leader Caroline gives you concrete handles for how to lead as a woman and stay with your own values.
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Het handboek voor nieuw leiderschap vanuit je eigen waarden
De afgelopen 2 jaar hebben we besteed aan het onderzoeken wat het nu betekent om als vrouw te leiden vanuit je authentieke zelf. Samen met jou zijn we op een zoektocht om uit te vinden wat het nu betekent om vanuit je eigen waarden te leiden in deze — nog steeds patriarchale — samenleving.
Inmiddels zijn we zo'n 70 gesprekken verder en is er een BOEK! Zie dit boek als een handboek om je eigen definitie aan leiderschap te geven, waarbij we een model hebben ontwikkeld met handvatten hoe je dit nou het beste kunt doen. Het boek bevat tips van de rolmodellen, in combinatie met Caroline haar visie, analyse en wetenschappelijk onderzoek, zodat je tot je eigen authentieke vorm van leiderschap kunt komen.
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Hét leiderschapsprogramma voor alle vrouwen die hun eigen definitie aan leiderschap willen geven
Het is niet eenvoudig om als vrouw authentiek te leiden.
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Droom jij er ook van te staan voor wie je echt bent? Om te leiden vanuit vrijheid, verbinding, zelfbewustzijn en je eigen waarden? Je kwaliteiten maximaal in te zetten en je potentieel te benutten om de wereld een stukje beter te maken?
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